Implementing an actual Star Wars series has seemed impossible for a long time. George Lucas, the creator of the stellar saga, also failed with such a project. The Coruscant series planned in the late 2000s Star Wars: Underworld never seen the light of day. Too expensive. Too expensive. It wasn’t until a decade later that Lucasfilm hit the milestone few dared to believe. Appearance: The Mandalorian.
Where Lucas has pushed the limits of his resources and of traditional television, The Mandalorian has found himself in one landscape of the series radically changed still. Buoyed by the power of streaming services, modern technology and enthusiasm for Baby Yoda, the space adventure transformed into a pop culture phenomenon and became Disney+’s flagship series. But then Star Wars stopped.
Andor finally shows what Star Wars as a series can be
As revolutionary as The Mandalorian was in November 2019, three years later, the part of the Star Wars universe created by Jon Favreau has changed not further developed. Cinematically and narratively, Mando’s cosmos spins in circles. The low point was the extremely sloppily executed branch The Book of Boba Fett, which even rendered Luke Skywalker insignificant. Obi-Wan Kenobi, the most recent live-action series, has also drawn mixed reactions.
You can watch the Andor trailer here:
Andor – S01 Trailer (English) HD
There was an urgent need for a breath of fresh air. It now comes from the blueprint of all things mocked for years became: Andor. Evolving from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the Star Wars series follows the backstory of Rebel Captain Cassian Andor, a name long forgotten by the general public.
After all the returning Star Wars characters in recent years, Andor seemed the most redundant. Twelve heart-pounding episodes later, however, there’s no doubt we’re dealing with the shot of creative freedom of the franchise to deal with. Showrunner Tony Gilroy (known for Michael Clayton and the early Bourne films, among others) has crafted a jaw-dropping series that expands on Star Wars while still standing on its own.
Andor starts small and gets bigger with each scene
A Double murder in the dark marks the beginning of the best Star Wars series ever. Soon after, they escape in the pouring rain which covers Cassian Andor’s (Diego Luna) trail. The story may end at this point, but Gilroy has created a character obsessed with the event: Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), an inspector who works for the Preo-Morlana security firm.
Andor
Syril shuffles files, studies notes and obsesses over details as much as Gilroy’s writing team as they progress through three arcs to a phenomenal finale. Before we know it, the dark alley turns into a complex universe shaped by corporate structures and power imbalances. We see constant ups and downs here. Every detail is in motion.
We experience this on a small scale with Syril. Despite his enthusiasm for the Empire’s cause, he loses his job and literally descends into the depths of Coruscant. Overall, the movement of the originally independent Preo Morlana group can be understood. After a failed mission, he becomes conquered by the Empire – just like numerous other planets.
The Empire has never been more menacing than in Andor
He doesn’t need the Death Star’s shadow to traverse the galaxy far, far away. Andor documents the creeping spread of fascism, until the time comes where the Emperor simply takes all the power and control he wants. Specifically, this is illustrated by the growing influence of the Imperial Security Agency – ISB for short.
Andor
Negotiations and discussions on areas of responsibility in the ISB rooms. One word meets another at the dinner table with razor sharpness. Meanwhile, the real place of exchange in the galaxy: the Senate is silent. Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) unsuccessfully appeals to reason. Every dialogue in Andor is a pleasure it relates the world and the characters and carries an ocean of information.
Entire narrative threads are turned upside down multiple times with a single sentence in Andor, but not in the sense of a lurid plot-turning twist. Rather, these are inconspicuous sentences – such as the hint that a character cannot swim – that tell us the fate of the characters of a completely new perspective to demonstrate. Andor is full of careful observations.
Andor shows living worlds from Star Wars instead of cameos
Gilroy examines four locations in particular: The dystopian Coruscant, which, with its concrete buildings and labyrinthine levels, approaches the sci-fi model Metropolis. The city workers divided into two classes later find themselves in the THX 1138 version of Star Wars when they find themselves on the prison planet Narkina 5 instruments of their own oppression to assemble.
Andor
Even a planet dominated by nature like Aldhani suffers under the rule of the Empire. The locals are driven out by insidious methods, robbed of their history and tradition. The spark of rebellion, which every second of Andor is about to set ablaze, cannot choke the Empire. We have never experienced such brilliant starry sky view as on Aldhani.
And then there’s Ferrix, full of barren landscapes and where the remnants of the old war lie. Just one road galaxy junkyard to bring it to life, to give it a story of pain and suffering – but also to tell the story of the community that unites and resists in the face of oppression.
Andor is the first masterpiece in the Star Wars series
Andor starts and ends on Ferrix. In between, Gilroy presents various theses about the nature of rebellion. However, they cannot be combined easily. Even hardcore rebels like Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) and Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) pursue different goals and resort to questionable methods. However, the series ends with Ferrix on the Rix Road, where evil no longer lingers as a guest alone. It’s here to stay.
Andor
At the latest at this point, Andor proves to be a masterfully written series. All events in the final for dramatic fall Andor has been bringing concerns in the form of raw ideas since the very first episode. On Aldhani, Coruscant and Narkina 5 will be sharpened before we find ourselves on Ferrix. Here we clearly see how the Empire is poisoning the galaxy.
From the ringing of bells to the alarming jingle at Funeral march with brass band: Andor’s impact doesn’t just come from outstanding scripts. The expert implementation of the material makes the presented destroyed worlds and ambivalent characters tangible. We have never experienced such content, emotional and cinematic depth in any other Star Wars series.
Andor doesn’t need Luke Skywalker to return, that’s how Gilroy’s solid series is built. Rich in themes and conflicts, sometimes shocking, sometimes poetic, especially regarding the Tragedy of Cassian’s career. At the end of Rogue One he will die. We know it. Yet Andor is as thrilling as if we were meeting the character for the first time. Hopefully Cassian never directly faces the Death Star.
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