ANDOR Might Just Be One of the Best STAR WARS Projects Ever Made
The first season of Star Wars: Andor has concluded, and I honestly think that it’s one of the best and smartest Star Wars projects ever made. It’s pretty insane that I’m saying that because when there was a time when I had absolutely no desire in watching a series about this character from Rogue One that didn’t interest me. Why would anyone be interested in watching a show about this Cassian Andor character?! A lot of fans has these thoughts, but this series was so much bigger than this one character!
The series started out with a slow-burn heist thriller, which I appreciated. I actually enjoy slow-burn stories, that take time to properly flesh out the story and characters, and writer and creator Tony Gilroy did it perfectly with Andor. The series just got bigger and more exciting as it went on, with each episode it got better, and then it ended in such a big powerful way.
The season finale actually evoked a lot of emotions in me. It was pretty amazing because I had never felt emotions like that while watching a Star Wars project in my adult life. The damn thing riled me up and had me fighting back tears. I just wasn’t excited about anything this before I started watching the series!
This is a very different kind of Star Wars project, and I hope to see Lucasfilm produce more Star Wars projects like it! The Star Wars franchise needs these kinds of stories. Stories that are gritty, grounded, and smart. We need less of the dumbed-down stuff like Obi-Wan Kenobi, which was such a wasted opportunity to do something great.
One of the things that I appreciated most about Andor is that it didn’t treat the audiences and fans like they were stupid. It treated the fans with respect and offered a thrilling and engaging story unlike anything we’ve seen before in the Star Wars universe.
While the story focuses on Rebel agent Andor in the early days of the Rebellion against the Empire, the series also explores the inner workings of the Empire in a way unlike anything we’ve seen before. The 12-episode series is set five years before the events of Rogue One, and it tracks how and why Cassian joined the rebellion as the Empire aggressively expands its reach across the galaxy. The series is a "refugee story" that sees people trying to escape from a fully powered Empire and the first season ends in such a satisfying way in regards to that.
The acting in the series was also phenomenal featuring some incredible performances. Diego Luna is back in the role of Andor and he’s doing a fine job. He’s joined by Stellan Skarsgard (Thor), Adria Arjona (Morbius), Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve), Denise Gough (Under the Banner of Heaven) and Kyle Soller (Poldark). Then there’s Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera, Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma.
What did you all think of the first season of Andor?