'Andor' is the Best Star Wars We Won't See Again for a VERY Long Time
Should any creator be given the keys to the Star Wars gates, or should it revolve around a different set of artists? Perhaps a revolving door of filmmakers is the way to go but stick with the ones who know what they're doing. Dave Filoni brought the prequels back from the dead with The Clone Wars and Rebels. When he was given the keys to produce the live-action Ahsoka series, we began to see some of his flaws. We thought Filoni was Star Wars' chosen one. But perhaps it's not a seasoned lover of the franchise who's the one who will bring balance to the franchise. You need someone like Tony Gilroy to garner interest from not only the fans but also people who don't like Star Wars because it's too simple.
Andor's first season was the antithesis of Star Wars. That tradition continues with Andor's final season. If you've seen Rogue One, then you know why Andor is limited to only two seasons. Thank the force for Tony Gilroy, who has made a limited series to prove that you don't need nostalgia or basic stories that children can follow to produce Star Wars. You can make something nuanced with maturity. That's exactly what Gilroy and the team of writers have done with both seasons of this show. Andor's series Finale ends on a high note, putting all the puzzle pieces together for Rogue One. Unlike most of Star Wars, which is set with constant action, Andor takes a step back, exploring the characters of the show instead of having them fight all the time. The result is a highly engaging tale of espionage, sacrifice, and betrayal. With all that glowing praise, there are some flaws to the show where a handful of episodes could be removed so the show's narrative can run a little more smoothly.
The first season was fantastic, but did indeed have pacing issues. Season 2 has the same problem. The show is very complicated with lots of names of characters we haven't seen before. Like me, a die-hard Star Wars fan, you may need to Google Wookieepedia to see which characters are being referenced. Even worse, some namedrops are for characters we haven't seen in any previous Star Wars project or this show. The show can get muddled with names that sound like something someone came up with on a Scrabble board. Also, with 12 episodes, the story can get dull until something big happens again. For all of its highs, the show has some mild lows.
Twelve episodes are a lot of television to watch. The show isn't always fascinating; it can sometimes get a little boring. It's not until episode 8 that the series kicks into high gear. Much like season one, there are moments of brilliance to elevate the audience, followed by many moments of mundane setups. Like a Jedi, the show will test your patience. If you stick with it, you will be greatly rewarded with some of the best Star Wars to ever be produced.
Andor is a show your kids won't be able to follow. It's too subjective for them. Instead of making another show with the simple psychology of Empire bad, Rebels good, Tony Gilroy makes a show about the moral gray area of the Rebellion. The Rebels aren't all heroes. Last season's heist scene displayed that.
With this season, Andor does what he does best. Kill people with no remorse. Andor (Diego Luna) is a trigger-happy, selfish man who never really changes in the show. He doesn't give rousing speeches like he did in Rogue One about how the Empire is a fascist regime. He's a person where the audience questions if he's doing the right thing. The Rebellion sacrifices people's lives and sanity for a greater cause. Andor shows the cost of risk for taking on the Empire. Yet his loyalty still seems to be to himself. Andor doesn't change much in the show. So, how does he become the man that we know in Rogue One?
Even those in the Empire pay the price for fighting for their beliefs. The show might be titled Andor, but it's more of a show about all the supporting characters. The most interesting characters in the show are Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) and Dedra Meero (Denise Gough). Both serve the Empire, and they don't come off as terrible people, except for Dedra. At one point in the show, she shows guilt for the things she's done. Sorry, Dedra, your actions are too monstrous where you could ever be forgiven.
Syril is the most sympathetic character whose morals are higher than the Empire's. From season one, we completely understand where Syril is coming from. Anywhere Andor goes, there's a path of destruction that Syril witnesses. Even when something is not Andor's fault, it looks like it is from Syril's point of view. Syril wants the galaxy to be safe from Rebel insurgents. Nobody believes in Syril except for Dedra. Not even his mother trusts him. Syril's mom, Eedy Karn (Kathryn Hunter), is a condescending, psychologically abusive person who can't help but put Syril down no matter how far he's risen in the ranks of the Empire. We also see how Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) goes from being a politician to becoming the Rebel leader she is in Return of the Jedi.
The show's writers, Tony Gilroy, brother Dan Gilroy, Beau Willimon, Tom Bissell, and Stephen Schiff, aren't interested in Star Wars' simplicity. They treat the material with a degree of subtlety we'll probably never see in Star Wars again for a long time. I don't know if Disney will have the courage to have a Star Wars show like this once more. For all the Skeleton Crew or Acolytes out there, they fail to measure beyond childish storytelling to make something as complex as Andor.
The second season is just about almost as good as the first season. It doesn't reach the highs like the "one way out" moment did from season one. Nor do the speeches measure up to Luthen Rael's (Stellan Skarsgård) monologue about sacrifice. But it comes close. It's Star Wars, motivated by dialog and ambiguities between right and wrong that a twelve-year-old might not get. We need more of this. It's also beautiful to look at.
The visual effects in Andor are on par with films on the big screen. That said, seeing Andor in a multiplex will reveal details of the CGI's cartoonishness that you're meant not to notice when watching it on your television. The show mixes the dirty, lived-in universe feel of the original Star Wars Trilogy with the sleek cleanness of the prequels. Most of the planets look like dumps compared to the extravagant metropolis that is Coruscant. It's visually staying true to Star Wars while also not feeling like your typical Star Wars show.
Sadly, Tony Gilroy is departing from Star Wars. I can enjoy a show marketed to a younger demographic while also watching something that's catered to an older audience who grew up with Star Wars and expects more than the tired old slop Disney has mostly produced. Andor is a breath of fresh air that reinvigorates a sense of hope in the franchise that I pray Disney inspires new material from. Since it's Disney, it's not likely to happen.
Andor premieres its first three episodes on April 22 on Disney+
