I recently watched the entire run of episodes from the first season of Andor, the new Star Wars show from Disney+. Overall, I have mixed feelings about the Star Wars universe. I watched the first movie in what I call a close-to-theater experience in the late 1970s. I lived in Zambia at the time, and though I may have missed the actual in-theater run, the movie was shown shortly thereafter in a large setting, so it approximated a movie-theater feel. It’s possible that some group or organization had gotten hold of the reels usually shown in movie theaters (I did the same thing a few years later, renting movie reels from a facility in Lusaka and showing a poorly attended movie at the local school). As for the 2nd and 3rd movies from the original Star Wars trilogy (which at the time was the only trilogy), I did watch these in actual movie theaters, both of them in Bergen, Norway. I enjoyed the movies, thought them great popcorn SF movie experiences, and stood in line to watch the prequels many years later based on that prior experience.
The prequels and follow-ups were disappointing, to say the least. George Lucas has always pandered to comic relief more than world-building, more to kids than adults or young adults. Some of the actors in the new movie trilogies were great, others poor choices. In terms of the “prequel,” the rise of Darth Vader took far too long, showed far too little, and in the end it seemed like he jumped from decent person to evil lackey in one swift move.
I watched the sequel trilogy with even great disappointment. So much nostalgia, so much destruction of prior heroes. Characters were wasted, though some settings were interesting. Rey’s grasp of the force was unreal, and the death of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Leia seemed forced.
After the Skywalker saga ended, a new set of movies came out to expand on the Star Wars universe, not just the Skywalkers. I actually liked the stand-along Solo movie, as I felt it was true to the flawed character of Han Solo. The other movie, Rogue One, a sort of prequel to the original Star Wars movie (aka A New Hope), was a great action movie, though ultimately dark and gloomy. With movies on pause, the Star Wars machine turned to streaming multi-episode shows. The Mandalorian, the first live TV Star Wars show of note, had a great first season. The second, maybe not so much, and one has to wonder where the third season will go, and how it will end. The Boba Fett series, reviewed in more detail elsewhere here, was a curious affair. And now, we have Andor, a prequel to a prequel.
Set five years prior to Rogue One, Andor spins a story about the spy from Rogue One. Before he was a captain in the rebel group that opposed the empire, Cassian Andor was a low-life scavenger. He’s very much like Han Solo, a sort of anti-hero who finds killing both necessary and easy; he doesn’t hesitate to shoot first. We’ve seen other rebels before, though not in live action shows. The cartoon series Rebels covered a great deal of ground that Andor barely touches.
Still, Andor shows various aspects not covered in Rebels, or in far more detail. Some of the characters that receive vibrant backstories include senator Mon Mothma, who struggles to help the rebels and also maintain a false front. There’s the new character of Luthen Rael, who coordinates many rebel activities, always in the shadows. Various lackeys and agents of the empire are made real, fanatical in their belief, much like the Nazis of Germany (and other abettors of tyranny and despots throughout history). Alongside these characters there are many other memorable ones, some of whom show up in later Star Wars shows, some who we’ll likely never see outside this show.
The arc of the first series takes the title character from his scavenger life to dedicated agent against the empire. The second series, likely a year and half away, is supposed to feature several time jumps leading up to Rogue One. Perhaps it will show Andor’s growth as a spy, as well as how the empire deals with the growing rebel movement, and Mon Mothma’s eventual break with the senate, and the personal cost of that break. Overall, it’s a great show, in part because the heavy hand of nostalgia is absent. We see new parts of the Star Wars universe. There are no force sensitive users here; save that for other shows, perhaps. The Jedi and the tales of the Jedi really need their own shows, and ones that shouldn’t always feature the Skywalker, or even the Sith. Hopefully the writers and creators of Andor will keep to their plans, avoid cute Ewoks and other distractions, and keep building a show with great characters and stories.
