Andor Sets An Incredibly High Bar For Star Wars

I need to start out with a preface that it's impossible to have this discussion without venturing into spoiler territory, but as we are a week removed form the finale, it should be safe to discuss. If you haven't watched Andor yet, what...in THE hell...are you waiting for? You're missing out on that may be the first perfect piece of Star Wars entertainment. The show takes place before the unorganized bands for freedom fighters officially coalesce into the Rebel Alliance, but that is what the events of the series build towards. It's symbolized by the growing accompaniment during the show's opening theme. With each successive episode, additional instruments are added to the composition until it becomes orchestral by the finale.

Andor is completely divorced from the fairy tale aspects that are familiar to Star Wars. There are no wizards or princesses. There are no mystical powers. This is Star Wars at its most grounded, and it's something that I, and many fans, have been asking for. We've been begging for something that strictly focuses on the "Wars" part of the title, and I have to admit that I wasn't prepared for it. It was jarring at first. I wasn't sure how I felt. The initial arc of the series didn't seem to tonally match the rest of Star Wars. It felt more like episodes of The Wire than it did part of the galaxy far far away, but it ultimately fed into the serie's overall greatness. Every single shred of Andor is earned. Every character is properly and believably motivated. Kino Loy is begrudgingly and painstakingly dragged to betraying his beliefs over the course of three episodes. He had to be beaten over the head, almost literally, to change his ways. Contrast that with General Hux who flippantly turns his back on every fiber of his being because Kylo Ren is an icky booger butt.

The writing on Andor utterly lays waste to the tired aphorism that "Star Wars is for children". You will often hear me bristle at that notion because I think it was always a cop out. Silver screen Star Wars was accessible to children, but not made exclusively for them, and that is why it became a cultural phenomenon. The Pac-Man Saturday morning cartoon was for children. You won't find thousands of online arguments over who shot first, Pac-Man or Inky? No, Andor is an adult oriented show that might not even be accessible to children, and I do worry about what the means for its overall adoption. I will go even further and tie in our collective hobby by saying that I don't think Andor is toyetic. In fact, it may be heresy, but I'm not that eager so see Hasbro make any more figures from the source. Whereas recreating Star Wars in my home was always part of the experience with the OT, I'm happy to let Andor live on my TV.

The absolute best part of the series for me is Stellan Skarsgård's Luthen Rael who serves as sort of the Rebellion's Emperor Palpatine, as he manipulates the chess board to bring about the aforementioned formation of the Rebel Alliance. The performances in Andor are some of the best we've seen in Star Wars, and Skarsgård is the cream of that crop. If this were a motion picture, his turn as Luthen would be Oscar worthy and I can say that without a shred of hyperbole. I often cite Jaws as one of the perfect movies in history. Part of reasoning for that is Quint's monologue about the USS Indianapolis is as riveting as anything featuring Bruce. When dialog heavy scenes are as captivating as action sequences, you're dealing with greatness in my opinion. Luthen's monologue will be one of my most rewatched parts of Andor:


I have only one response to that scene:



The only thing negative I can say about Andor is that is shines the harshest spotlight on how substandard some of the preceding offerings have been. Other than the Vader and Obi-Wan final fight, I may never be able to watch Obi-Wan again. After witnessing Tony Gilroy spinning perfection, how can I possibly watch the utterly laughable escape form Fortress Inquisitorious again?

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