Andor

Andor is the story of the man who would one day play a key role in the theft of the Death Star plans, the moment when the tide turned for the galaxy. It is the story of the Rebel spy known as Cassian Andor. It takes place during the height of the Empire’s power, and the formative years of the Rebellion.

It is a story of an awakening.

“The pace of repression outstrips our ability to understand it. And that is the real trick of the Imperial thought machine. It’s easier to hide behind forty atrocities than a single incident.”

Andor is exactly the kind of Star Wars story that I like.

This is the exact style of Star Wars I originally fell in love with back in 1977. It’s rooted in the same choices that made me a Star Wars kid instead of a Star Trek kid. This is the hard-used, hand-built, heavy equipment look of Star Wars, that lived-in and beat-down feeling, that has always appealed to me much more then the clean, high fantasy, Apple store Magician versions that dominates the Prequels era ever has.

On top of all that, Andor is also a story that somehow gets new blood from an old stone, all while still being irrevocably intertwined with the same kind of social commentary that is just relevant today as it was then. That alone would be impressive, but this is happening while also being a riveting story of the early days of the Rebellion, as well as a thrilling space adventure, one that finally makes the Star Wars universe seem like an actual place for once, instead of Disney World’s Occupied Space-Paris Land.

It’s fantastic.

The first season of Andor is broken up into sections that could each stand alone as separate stories, but together, weave a full tapestry of different people under the same boot of oppression, showing their seperate, but connected lives, lives that are slowly pushed toward their destinies, lives that shaped not only by their own decisions, but by larger events that are beyond their control. Even better, each story is filled with familiar and specific little moments that are vitally important to making the characters whole and real. It is all done so well, that it almost seems effortless. Despite being a space adventure that is full (but not full enough, admittedly) with strange aliens and spaceships, the characters are believable and relatable. This is one of the main reasons why this tale of rebellion and revenge from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away works as well as it does, because of the time and effort the show devotes to developing its characters.

And what great characters they are…

Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor is definitely a marquee name in the Star Wars universe now, a character who was practically a nobody only a few years ago, he is now up there with Luke and Han and Leia. But while he’s great, the glue of the show really, its uniting factor, it’s the smaller characters who really shine.

There isn’t a better, more well-earned, and more iconic moment for the franchise, then when Andy Serkis’ Kino Loy finally says:

Well… except for maybe later on, when he says: “I can’t swim.”

A close follow-up for most iconic moment, and definitely a legendary bad ass one, is at Maarva’s funeral, after the recording of her final words—which were a rousing call to arms, encouraging the righteous fire of rebellion—are interrupted by the occupying Imperial forces, and Joplin Sibtain’s Brasso, driven by rage and frustration, filled to the brim with the insults and slights and the harm caused by their oppressors, smacks an Imperial in the head with the funerary brick made from Maarva’s ashes, and sends the fascist sprawling. Truly amazing.

And they aren’t the only great characters either…

Adria Arjona’s Bix Caleen is fantastic as a person who just wants to live their quite little life, and is so full of doe-eyed innocence, only to end up being smashed on the rocks of Great Upheavals in History. Then there’s the poor little stuttering droid B2-EMO, a child orphaned by events they can barely comprehend. He is a heartbreaking character, which is amazing, because we’re talking about a robot shaped like a rolling air filter. And then of course, there’s Genevieve O’Reilly, who has taken Mon Mothma, the definition of a minor character, and has made her into an icon to rival Leia. And on top of all that… there’s the trials and tribulations, the back-stabbing, and the vicious ambitions of the Corporate Officers and the Imperials.

Amazing work.

But as compelling as they all are, it is Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael who makes the real impression. Ruthless. Dedicated. A man of the shadows, he is both a monster and a hero of the Rebellion, a man willing to make any and all sacrifices in the name of the cause. “I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see,” is a hell of a quote.

All of this, AND we get more of Forest Whitaker’s wheezy, heavily scarred, and wildly paranoid revolutionary Saw Gerrera too?

Every single episode of Andor is an embarrassment of riches.

I really hope the Star Wars franchise learns the right lessons from the critical and commercial success of Andor. I hope they focus on letting creators tell a full and new story, their own story, and not just mandate cheap copies of this show’s patterns, with no understanding of its heart and soul and why it works.

Fingers crossed, but I won’t hold my breath.

Star Wars got lost long ago in dull Jedi shit, and more shows like Andor—that rare breed of smart, cool, fun, and very timely sci-fi that can be enjoyed by fans and non-fans alike—can help bring back the old franchise’s faded glory.