Star Wars: Andor (September 21st, 2022)

[ZE_501]

I must be getting older because I think Mon Mothma's a babe.

I like the characterization of her marriage so far; enjoyed this episode a fair bit. Coruscant has never looked this good to me in any media.

The ISB references to Imperial chauvinism are a very nice touch and address some casting discrepancies between '77 and '22.

I got Dune vibes from some of the scenes.

 

[e30ernest]

Coruscant is giving me Caprica vibes. It's beautiful here and is in stark contrast of the hardships in the outer rim.

 

[Asta]

The writing and acting is a step up from usual Star Wars fare.

Compare this to the PT, ST, TBOBF and OWK.

Imagine how out of place they would be if Jar Jar or the mayor from TBOBF suddenly appeared in Andor.

 

[Mandible]

Quality is there across the board (acting, production value, cinematography, etc), but after 4 eps, I'm now not sure what to think anymore.

The first season of Game of Thrones was slow, but it was so intriguing. This is feeling a little bloated; with only small pieces that genuinely progress the story. The bulk of the stuff with the "raiding group" is treading the same ground over and over again. I've heard 20 times, the same wording that there's only 3 days to go, can we trust him? Etc, etc, etc. I get it - let's move on.

The other stuff with Stellan, Mothma, the guys getting fired, etc is good, but most things around Cassian directly are meandering.

Also, what's with every droid sounding the same???

 

[e30ernest]

Quality is there across the board (acting, production value, cinematography, etc), but after 4 eps, I'm now not sure what to think anymore.

The first season of Game of Thrones was slow, but it was so intriguing. This is feeling a little bloated; with only small pieces that genuinely progress the story. The bulk of the stuff with the "raiding group" is treading the same ground over and over again. I've heard 20 times, the same wording that there's only 3 days to go, can we trust him? Etc, etc, etc. I get it - let's move on.

The other stuff with Stellan, Mothma, the guys getting fired, etc is good, but most things around Cassian directly are meandering.

Also, what's with every droid sounding the same???

Cassian as of this episode has pretty much been a passive character too. So yeah I agree with this assessment. I'm willing to let it set up the story though but I am really hoping for a good payoff.

It's funny this is the show I was least looking forward to. I am genuinely surprised that this came out good, but I don't know yet if it'll be good only because of the supporting cast rather than the story.

 

[Mandible]

Cassian as of this episode has pretty much been a passive character too. So yeah I agree with this assessment. I'm willing to let it set up the story though but I am really hoping for a good payoff.

It's funny this is the show I was least looking forward to. I am genuinely surprised that this came out good, but I don't know yet if it'll be good only because of the supporting cast rather than the story.

Same!

I had ZERO interest, but the quality and artist maturity has me hooked. I just hope that it all pays off and turns into something special.

 

[ArtDamage]

Starting to ramp up some of the Easter eggs and more set up of the plot. Albeit still slowly.

Skarsgard kills it in this though.

 

[user 67922]

This one is going to play so well as an end of season binge-watch, watching all the pieces fall into place. The total opposite to BOBF & Kenobi, which due to their inconsistencies and outright bad writing were just horrible to watch in one sitting.

Kind of feeling Cassian is the weakest character in his own show atm. Maybe it’s just Luna’s acting in his non-native language. He’s superb in Narcos when acting in his native Spanish. Luthen, Mon Mothma and Kyle Soller’s character are far more interesting characters as it stands, I find myself wanting to go back to them every time Cassian is on the screen.

I really don’t need Easter eggs and cameos in this one, but those Starkiller and Rakatan references were more than welcome.

It reminds me so much in tone of those Old Republic games/comics/books, I’m now convinced Tony Gilroy is the man to bring the Old Republic (KOTOR, Bane trilogy etc.) to live-action.

The only real complaint, it needs more aliens.

 

[choombaz]

There are a ton of jaw dropping names mentioned in this episode. Are they just Easter eggs? If so, what awful teasing.

 

[Mondragon]

While Andor's methodical "awakening" is compelling, Luthen Rael (Skarsgård) is by far the more fully formed character out the gate.
First as one persona, then suddenly seamlessly effecting the classic Sir Percy Blakeney/Don Diego de La Vega/Wayne cover, brilliant character and role to drop into the SW U.
And of course he gets the newest, fastest tricked-out "character" ship.

 

[chrisstbh]

Man, Stellan Skarsgård is fantastic in this show.

 

[chrisstbh]

It's not every day in Disney SW/Marvel content that you see multiple female characters get a severe talking to from male characters anymore. It's usually smart women goo goo gah gah men.

 

[Jmek]

I still think this is good, but it needs to stop dragging it's feet a wee bit. Also too many british actors for my taste, needs more American accents. I got Blake's 7 vibes this week, which is a good thing.

 

[choombaz]

You would think Skarsgård would phone it in but nope.

 

[chrisstbh]

I still think this is good, but it needs to stop dragging it's feet a wee bit.

I don't feel that way personally. They've got 2 seasons, 24 episodes and a 5 year time span to cover. We're only 1/3 through the season.

 

[ajp4mgs]

It's so freaking nice to see Imperials portrayed as competent. Not only are they presented as having discipline in their structure, chain of command, and workflow, but also with complete awareness of the importance of staying a step ahead of any potential disruptions. Fantastic! This is the only way for the OT Empire to be believable. As presented in the Kenobi show, they would've already collapsed from within or been rendered impotent by organized crime and rebellions.

Also love the way Mothma was used to contextualize the Rebellion in this latest episode. It's nice to see recognition that the Rebellion in the OT wasn't just a collection of ragtag types going around and blowing stuff up. It's ridiculous when SW content seems to suggest that a galactic Empire could be toppled and overthrown that way, so I hope we keep getting more of Mothma evading Imperial eyeballs to steal secrets and pull strings while Cassian and the ragtags do the dirty work on the ground.

It feels like the other Disney+ shows have writers playing with toys and just trying to move from one "cool" moment to another. This show, on the other hand, feels like it's more interested in making the world of SW seem believably real. This is a major breath of fresh air, and sorely needed, IMO.

With all that said, slow burns don't need to include such tedious monotony. This show wouldn't be sacrificing any of its world building, character building, and context laying by picking up the pace. We don't need so much redundancy and lingering on things that are clear enough from the outset. It's great to establish elements like suspicion within the different camps and players, but there's no need to construct scenes to reinforce it over and over again at the expense of progressing the plot and having a sense of momentum.

Also, might not be a bad idea to actually make this feel like Star Wars. Some aliens, some quicker cuts, an occasional bit of levity, and some story development that doesn't rely strictly on dialogue would all be things that I'd welcome seeing worked into the mix. The show is very well made with good writing, good acting, and fantastic production value, but it can still be all those things while feeling more like actual SW (even if the pacing won't be remotely similar). Looking forward to more and hoping the ultimate payoff makes this epic (and less boring in retrospect).

 

[YoNoSe]

It’s the highest quality boring I have ever seen like super top notch!

That's high praise - didn't you like Square Justice League?

 

[jye4ever]

Certainty the highest quality writing and character interaction since 1980 BUT pick up the pace with the dirty boots on the ground already they literally ended on just FIRST WATCH

Acting by Stellan and Genevieve is freaking oscar levels of superb they raise the quality of this into the stratosphere and fill the place up with proper class as does that imperial commander wow!

 

[chrisstbh]

Binge culture has ruined weekly releases for some it seems. Need instant gratification or nothing.

 

[Mandible]

Binge culture has ruined weekly releases for some it seems. Need instant gratification or nothing.

For me, it's not instant gratification, it's just writing/filmmaking 101 - if you can remove a scene and it has no impact on the story, then it doesn't need to be there - and it definitely feels like some of the Cassian/rebels scenes could be trimmed, deleted, or re-worked to include material that doesn't feel like it's going over the same ground.

Having watched the first 3 episodes again, although slow, it doesn't feel like they are saying the same thing, different ways - as the Cassian, ep 4 stuff did.

But at the end of the day, I'm SO RELIEVED to see something in the SW universe handled with such respect, care, and maturity.

(...and the production design and costumes of the Imperials and Mothma scenes has been exquisite).