Why ANDOR is SO IMPORTANT for Star Wars (Video Essay)
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- čas přidán 16. 05. 2024
- Andor is one of the most unique Star Wars series of the last decade, and a standout approach to storytelling, both enhancing past and present tales from a galaxy far far away. Today, I explore how Andor does this through detailing the effects of an empire, through complex characters, impeccable visuals and rebellion rising, to create a captivating piece of modern Star Wars cinema.
Spoilers for Andor and other Star Wars Properties
Intro: 0:00
Effects of an Empire: 1:15
Complex Characters: 5:30
Visuals, Cinematography and Details: 12:48
Rebellion Rising: 16:19
Conclusion: 17:28
I do not own the rights to any of the content showcased in this film, Disney and Lucasfilm are the owners of Andor footage, I have reused this footage for the purpose of analysing and sharing, and they do not represent my creation.
Website - designedbykirk.com
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Twitter - / designedbykirk
#andor #starwars #videoessay - Krátké a kreslené filmy
The worst part about Andor is how bitter it makes me when I think Disney squandered the opportunity they had in the sequel trilogy
As do I. However, there is a slightly more worse problem in my opinion that exists. To me the hatred by the fandom edges out Disney's poor decision making.
Too many fans and influencers constantly attack Andor but would praise Mando and the animated series like Bad Batch and Clone Wars.
The biggest reason they do this is because they hate that so much attention to detail went into Andor, a secondary character in a sidestory movie, while they're favorite character series flopped like Kenobi and Bobba.
@@joeclaridyoh to be in a universe where Boba Kenobi series was as good as andor
My thoughts exactly.
The best part about Andor is Andor. The worst part about Andor is THIS WASN'T THE SEQUEL, and the sequel is such a weak story in comparison.
@@joeclaridyas someone who liked those things I agree. I also loved Andor and it’s unfortunate how few people have watched it.
Agreed. Andor makes everything else look so bad in comparison. I’m just so happy we got this as it is.
This show has changed everything that I thought Star Wars could be. And now that I know what Star wars can be, I want nothing short of this world/Galaxy.
Absolutely! It adds so much depth to every aspect of the Empire and world building portion of Star Wars, can't wait for more shows like it
When I finished Andor I really wanted to keep watching star wars stuff so I watched the mandalorian season 2 and it was surprisingly so immature and poorly written compared to Andor that I had to turn it off after two episodes
Might have to rewatch mando s1 because I strongly remember it being way better written and directed. Either the quality dropped immensely or I just had rose tinted glasses on back then
@@thestatusjoe9949 some episodes of season 1 were already really poorly writen
Yeah... I don't know.
No one really watches Andor
They complain that the show is too slow.
I can't tell you how happy I am that 1) Andor exists, 2) it's amazing, 3) people appreciate that it's amazing, and 4) Star Wars doesn't have to be a children's franchise.
There really is something for everyone these days!
I like that it gives me a continuity of Star Wars that I can watch Andor, Rogue One, and go directly into the originals without ever worrying about watching the prequels or sequels again. My definitive Star Wars experience starts and ends with that.
Thinking that Star Wars hasn’t had mature adult content until shows that you are absolutely out of touch with reality and have no idea what you’re talking about.
Im baffled people enjoyed Andor. It's 3 random episodes strung together with a bad guy cop "investigating" the MC. The children's shootout at the end was classic-dumb.
@@Litolic 3 random episodes? There was 12 by my last count. Who is 'MC'?
Also, why'd you reply to my thread? Doesn't your opinion deserve to stand as its own comment and thread?
I love the scene when Vel is about to jump down by the dam’s wall. In any other movie she would just jump, shoot the bad guys and save the day but in this show she is notably nervous and hesitates before jumping. I found that way more realistic.
Great mention! You're so right!
I like the hesitation from these rebels near the start, they’re the first ones to jump, not just another one. You see a similar hesitation with Nemik not being able to sleep before the heist. They’re the first rebels to really pay the price for their sacrifice
Fuck I was nervous. I was practically breaking out in sweats. I love the human lens that was used in this series .
the moment he said "i cant swim" my heart dropped. truly one of the highest peaks of Lucasfilm storytelling
1000% I was shocked
It really stuck with me, the horror of it. I thought about it for days afterwards; I couldn't shake it.
I feel like one important thing _Andor_ has done is made the Empire evil again. Like, truly evil, and not just the cackling mustache-twirling evil of leaders like Palpatine or Tarkin, but evil throughout its entire organization.
In the decades since the OT, I couldn't help but notice there's been a kind of growing...admiration? appreciation? for the Empire among the fanbase, to the point where it felt like "Rebels vs Imperials" was an apolitical choice akin to "Alliance vs Horde" in World of Warcraft. It required a pasteurization of the Empire's evil that would allow normal people to choose to identify with them, which you can readily see in popular Star Wars media, particularly video games.
Ultimately, I feel that _Andor_ is a necessary recalibration of the aesthetic soul of Star Wars, reminding us that evil is evil, no matter how cool it looks
Yup, it's the antithesis of the moral subjectivism of the present era. In essence, Star Wars 77 was exactly the same thing, when it dropped in a morally ambiguous decade. Everyone raved about how it made the lines between good and evil welcomingly stark again, the grey fog in which everyone had been enveloped had been blown aside.
Yes, but it also shows the mundane nature of that evil, like when Syril got that job as a filing clerk or data inputter of whatever, behind the Death Stars and the Tie fighters are an army of administrators who are not eveil, they are just normal people going to work and doing a job. I think that is part of the true beauty and horror of this show. And no Ewoks obviously.
it also made them competent again, an actual threat. theres things to exploit, yes, that helps rebels win. but in other shows they were so bad at their jobs you wonder how the hell they even stayed in power as long as they did. overcoming *these* imperials feels like an actual significant win, not just useless thugs getting massacred.
The way the Empire increases their prisoner labor force by making it illegal to do anything else feels very real.
It's scary how that whole sequence made me feel so uncomfortable
"The way the Empire increases their prisoner labor force by making it illegal to do anything else feels very real."
Well at least this isn't the typical MAGA-type's dumbass comparison of the US to Nazi Germany.
@@DesignedbyKirk That was the point, I wager.
because that’s what the US is trying to do.
Democracies are very good at making laws, but almost incapable of repealing laws.
Andor didn't kill Skeen (sp?) out of altruism to the Rebellion. Skeen's offer of partnership was also an ultimatum: if Andor had said no, he'd simply be putting himself on the kill list, while saying yes would mean he'd become a target for the Rebels. So he correctly ascertained that he had to shoot first. That's also why he immediately decided to leave, and even held whatsername at gunpoint while he did it: the situation had simply become too hot for him, too uncertain, and he wanted to extricate himself immediately.
Unless we ask him, we’ll never know :) but very true I think there was an element of both. Considering Andor didn’t take any of the credits
@@DesignedbyKirk What do you mean? Andor took his cut, he got rich after this
@@hollykm any additional credits* off memory
I’m a hundred percent certain Skeen would’ve killed Andor as soon as he’d served his purpose (Skeen needed a pilot). Like Skeen said, it’s him against everyone else.
I’m also positive that Andor knew that’s exactly what would happen, because Andor wasn’t too far away from becoming just like Skeen.
@@hollykm he means Andor didn’t take the full 80 million, like your average bounty hunter/mercenary might’ve done. Imo, before the prison arc, Cassian valued self-preservation over everything else; he hated the Empire but didn’t want to put his life on the line for the cause. After all, his father tried to save people from the Empire and it got him killed and hung in the town square.
That scene where Luthen gets into character in his ship before landing on Coruscant 👌🏻
I agree, Andor raises the Sci-Fi bar, Andor is what all the other show runners should be studying carefully. Andor will age extremely well, just like the originals.
Absolutely! I'm looking forward to revisiting this in comparison to all the other shows in decades time
It's honestly done what no other show aside from Clone Wars and maybe Rebels has done so far: Make itself truly timeless so that it is still growing in popularity years later. The first six SW movies did this too, this is a return to form
For real it should be required viewing and analysing required for employment as a showrunner writer director&actors wishing to work within the field the content quality would dramatically increase overnight they should have to pitch,interview&audition in terms of how they intend to at minimum achieve Andor level production quality Storytelling & how it honours & relates to the source material & fits within said universe
Return of the Jedi didnt age as well as the other two OG movies, largely due to its pacing, reuse of superweapon trope, weird mixture of serious and goofy, sidelining Leia and Han, etc.
@@Bionickpunk Honestly, the first movie didnt age as well eighter. Its due to its age and George being a comparatively inexperienced director/writer still (at the time). I just watched it yesterday and BOY oh boy do people view it through a nostalgia lense, that shit is goofy AF. I know it is an unpopular take, but Episode 4 was limping far behind its creator's vision.
The thing about Andor that makes it great other than the tremendous writing and acting is it’s both gorgeously and expansively cinematic and yet intimate due to the detailed characters. This is hands down best show of the season and makes me think of The Wire in the quality of its writing.
so glad we're getting a second season!
It's also intimate because they kept it human scaled. At least 95% of the screentime showed a person's face at a comfortable standing distance for direct communication, either talking, listening, or reacting to something happening around them. This is why the effects of the original Jurassic Park still work, because we're there with the characters and their facial reactions are telling us it's all real.
Andor is The Empire Strikes Back of Star Wars series.
For sure! Gives Mando a run for its money for sure
For me, it is the Revenge of the Sith of Star Wars series. (CW takes the top spot still)
I'd say Andor easily loops and barrel rolls around mando all day. 😁 Andor is so much better for me anyway.
Agreed, Episode IV was like weed, Episode V is like heroin, then we have been chasing the dragon ever since until Tony Gilroy aka Walter White hands us a little baggy filled with the blue stuff labeled: Andor. Though there have been good times along the way, RO, TCW, Rebels, Mando.
@@DesignedbyKirklol that statement is so out of touch with reality it’s disturbing
there wasn't a single misstep in this entire series. It's just mind-blowing.
I love that they utilize the sound of the bell and metal clanging on Ferrix in the opening theme in the final episode to foreshadow the rebellion rising on Ferrix. Stunning
It's so great, such a nice touch
It’s when the banging stops when the Empire goons are really in trouble. When the people of Ferrix are done banging pieces of metal and trade them in for whatever they can use to fight back
OMFG, never noticed that. That's amazing
Andor felt real, which is a massive accomplishment in and of itself
Something a lot of other Star wars content has been struggling with recently
why? if i want reality, then i will just go outside. or turn on the news. i watched star wars for the fun and entertainment. not to see a reflection of the normal world.
It seems every character matters and has meaning. That’s so refreshing.
1000%!
Not just best Star Wars, but best TV in a long while. Hope it wins lots of awards to prove concept to Disney how important well written shows can do for their franchise. Thanks for nice essay on this.
100% and we want more!
Yeah, I wanted to give RoP and WoT a pass since they were made during the pandemic and considered the typical scifi / fantasy season one growing pains, then HotD and Andor politely told me to, "Hold My beer"!
@@anydaynow01
You can't just abbreviate everything without context. What do these all mean?
@@RetsamX A quiick search came up with Ring of Pakistan and Wheel of Time... i guessing tho that RoP is more likely Rings of Power xD
You have forgotten Arkane
For me, someone who only watched the movies growing up but never having a real connection to it, this made me extremely interested in the star wars universe. This is the kind of sci-fi world I'd love to indulge in and watch extremely in depth and layered characters interact and develope. For me,star wars never showed what this universe could be and I'm so thankful Andor exits
Luthens monologue at the end of the show is some of the best Star Wars I've ever seen
I was fatigued from all the stuff disney put out. Watching Andor made me realize that I wasn't tired of disney produced shows. I was tired of badly produced disney shows. Just like with marvel movies. The bad ones make me not want to watch it. But if they came like Andor, I could watch this for the rest of my life.
For me in the end, it's not the big corpo behind the show but the people and how much they're empowered to do what they'd like creatively and cohesively as a team
I'm also not tired of Star Wars fans. I'm just tired of so-called fans like you. The bad ones make me not wanna watch it anymore.
Andor is what many of us knew Star Wars could always be.
The actress who played Dera deserves an Emmy. I almost couldn't recognize her in the interview segment-- where she looks very beautiful. The character radiates evil and ugliness. Just a wonderful acting job.
Everyone who worked on this show from the set designers, props, costumes, music, editing, cinematography, and especially the writing and acting deserves major kudos for making one of the best TV shows ever made.
Diego Luna is probably the greatest choice to play Andor, especially when it comes to expressing/showing the emotions in this show, that's why he was so loved in Narcos: Mexico as well, his way of playing a messy stressed reckless character is perfect.
The bar was so low that they didn’t even have to try hard at all to garner some intrigue but they said eff that and threw the bar in to space. I loved this show.
The conversation between Cass and Maarva in ep 7 is just gold, one of my fave in the show. But the show is so so good overall! 10/10
Absolutely!
Skarsgaards monologue is tantamount to Rutger Hauer's in Blade Runner, or the Dead poet's society, maybe even the St Crispin's Day Speech from Branagh's Henry the V. It is indeed the best speech, monologue in Star Wars and transcends Star Wars. When I heard it, I stopped the video and immediately rewound it. I've watched the series about three times now with different friends and each time I've had friends audibly gasp. For me, it is the highwater mark of the series, and deserves praise. It encapsulates everything the rebels are going through, all they sacrifice. he speaks not only to what he is going through but also what Andor is going through. Basically, it is so good, its ruined just about everything else for me on TV. haha. There is basically B.L.M. and ALM-Before Luthen's Monologue, and After Luthen's Monologue.
Indeed, im struggling to watch anything after else after this. I just thought Id grown too old to be engrossed or surprised and this innervated. I now have a carousel of screen grabs rotating from it as my desktop. I havent bothered with desktop wallpapers in years but the images are so intelligent they fascinate me. Watching I genuinely thought they were going to rip Dedra apart at the end it was that edgy. Amazing stuff. I do hope it wins a lot of awards to encourage all content creators to give us this level or thought and care. Bravo to everyone involved in making it, I never thought Star Wars could be this good even after loving Rogue 1.
Well said!
Well said! Its been a long time actually since we’ve had another genuinely memorable sci-fi monologue, and Andor has about three fucking brilliant ones; No Way Out, What Do I Sacrifice? and Death to the Empire. Three wholly unique characters with completely different motivations, experiences and aims. And yet all of these speeches are just so damn hard-hitting and impressive, I’ve rewatched the Maarva Andor speech like a dozen times, that whole scene is edited perfectly going between a dozen characters, no other dialogue yet you know exactly what they’re thinking and what they’re planning on doing and its all setting up the last chess pieces. And to think that all of the other Disney+ has taken the simplest, most stripped-down bare minimum storyline/plot and dragged it out and milked it, like Kenobi and Ahsoka did. When a show’s monologues can feel like the peak of excitement, the way Star Trek TNG used to, then you know you’re in for a treat.
Agree 100%. Ahsoka started out okay and then within thirty minutes I was like "Nope!" No character development, awkward empty moments, and yes, totally stripped down. It was a waste of all the actors and film. They completely gut and render Thrawn as a pushover and, really, not that much of a tactical genuis. It was surprising coming from Filoni, who has done some great work in the past. But, I know there were other hands in the work, just meddling. Andor's Marva speech was incredible, and the last time I rewatched the episode I realized how subtle and powerful the final episode is. @@GuineaPigEveryday
It's a very relatable feeling. Andor is the bar that all of the other Disney+ shows should have met or exceeded with the amount of funding and talent that Disney can provide it. Yet, it all falls abysmally short. Andor was so good even other TV outside of Star Wars feels lacking in comparison; it really does come that close to what Perfection could look like.
If Disney does not build on this and just lean back on their previous mind numbing creation I will be so crushed.
It's funny to think disney executives thought so little of Andor, nothing more that another piece of content to fill out the catalog. While they focused their attention on dumbing down mass appeal shows like Mando, Fett and Obi, Andor was allowed the freedom to create something truly unique and thoughtful in the world of star wars.
The people who made this should get to make all the Star Wars stuff going forward.
Pretty much. I wish the Han Solo movie had been a Han Solo single season tv series with this crew helming the project. Woulda been so much better, given Han Solo the origin story he deserved.
This video essay was so well done and Andor is so damn great. It's without a doubt the best Star Wars we've gotten since Rogue One
Thanks heaps, really appreciate it!
After Kenobi & Bobba Fett, I can understand why people are hesitant to watch Andor. Though I hope those same people, take heed of the reviews its been getting by die hard Star Wars fans who took the chance and gave it a go. Its brought the entire SW galaxy to life, and taken story telling to another level. A superb production.
I hope more people see it over the years, and Disney stop pushing the show off it's homepage, it needs to be seen!
The irony is that a sizeable percentage of those ppl would rather have some lazy schlock full of cheap fan service, mediocre lightsaber duels and action figures banging together to talk shit about than actually have a good, smart show set in the Star Wars universe.
Yeah same thing happened with Rouge One after Episode VII. So many people were turned off they didn't want to give RO a chance, or they were so biased they trashed it. Over the years as more folks watched it RO is being seen as right up there with Episode V and IV. True the dialog and story get a bit wonky at times but that's the way it is in most movies that try to do too much over the time span of a movie (Episode IV). I still think RO should have been a one season mini series ending in a movie, or vice versa, but then again, that's probably what we are getting with Andor.
I was very reluctant. Finished last night. I was so wrong for waiting, this is the SW I’ve been yearning for. more please
@@MeanLaQueefa youve summed the whole situation up perfectly.
Andor is also the Star Wars media that is the most relatable and relevant to us. The Power relationships and struggles presented therein are ones existing here, now, in the western world.
it definitely is a show that stands on it's own, rather than just being a star wars show
Andor has some legendary speeches
The lutheran speech to the isb spy
The marva speech in rix road
And the speech replayed to cassian after the heist by the young guy who was crushed
That speech Luthen gave, TOUCHED MY SOUL!! It was RAW!! Great show, great actors and actresses, great writing, great settings…. GREAT EVERYTHING!! ✨☝🏽
1000%!
I know the episode probably wasn’t out yet when this video came out. but the speech in “Rix Road” is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever heard. It made me cry twice, and I’ve listened to it over and over more times than I can count
Stellans monologues are sonme of the best ever. That said, "I cant swim" was so horribly impactfull for its simplicity in deliverance, and what it actually ment. This series is truly epic!
Ive watched this show 3 times now and its still an amazing experience
100%
I've never felt such immersion and escapism since 00-10s -- the times when a teenager me discovered Star Wars. OT and PT, novelisations and EU books, KOTOR and TOR -- I was so invested in the universe. So satisfying to experience these emotions again.
Just out of curiosity. Which KotOR game do you prefer more, and why?
I was born when the original SW was in theaters, was big into it before Empire came back all the way past ROTJ coming out. I never stopped being a fan but wasn't into it as much as my family moved around a lot and then I became a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan in the early 90s, but... when X-Wing and TIE Fighter came out for PC in the early/mid 90s, I started reading the EU books and got heavy into SW again (just in time for the special editions of the original trilogy in 97, I think it was, and then the prequels soon after.
Good to know that people are getting into a large range of video games and EU novels even after I did in the 90s. Every decade, more and more flock to our side. ;)
I was impressed by Andor - and I'm a pretty cynical viewer of film & TV after working on those most of my adult life. I pretty much had (mostly) given up after Empire - sure, Return finished the arc, but I'd grown too old for little Teddy bears. I liked Rogue One, so I gave Andor a chance & I'm very happy I did. I've watched a number of videos about Andor, I actually think yours is the best - deserves more views!
You're absolutely right, Star Wars has grown up as we have, but there continues to be something for everyone. Cheers for watching!
My greatest fear about Andor is that Lucasfilm and/or the SW fanbase will learn the wrong lessons from the show, especially in relation to the issues that the Kenobi and Boba Fett shows had. There's going to be a real temptation to look at the two shows and say that "on-location good, Voluma bad," which really isn't the case at all. Boba Fett and Kenobi used the Volume for scenes that it couldn't really handle, and there were a lot of scenes in Andor that they could have used the Volume for quite effectively if they wanted to.
The real difference between the shows was in the writing. Kenobi was obviously intended to be a 2 hour movie that was poorly stretched into a miniseries. While stretching a film into a short TV series is possible, it's difficult and requires extensive rewriting to make your story fit the dramatically different run time and structure. Book of Boba Fett seemed to have the same issue. It seems like both projects just tried to fill the gaps of their stories that opened up with the change of format by adding a bunch of shallow fanservice. Boba Fett was particularly bad in that regard.
Andor was perfectly constructed from the ground up to fit the episodic structure, so the showrunners didn't have space to put in anything shallow, let alone a bunch of stuff that had no real purpose than to give lore nerds something to point at and say "I know that thing!" Instead, Andor dug down into the revolutionary and anti-authoritarian heart of Star Wars and showed us a story of how normal people who are just trying to get by are forced by systems of opression to become antifa, and how that might not necessarily be a good thing, but it is a necessary thing. Andor shows us that violent resistance to totalitarian oppression is rarely heroic and never glorious, but there are times that there is no other option other than to simply lay down and die. *THAT* is the heart of Star Wars. Lightsabers, aliens, and starships are the fancy packaging: pretty and fun, but not the substance of the thing. The heart of Star Wars is anti-authoritarianism and activism: Empires are oppressive and evil, and good people need to act to stop them.
Let's hope they take all the positives from it and not just the use of real locations, there's tonnes of great things to take away im sure they'll notice
In our world antifa stands for the Empire, they are one and the same, so that was a poor analogy.
@@thebalancedway7639 Wait what? Have you drunk the Faux News kool-aid?
@@prophetisaiah08 They don't sell that outside of the US. So perhaps you've tasted it.... But outside observers, without any stakes in the US project, no, they see more clearly.
I like to think that on Hosnian Prime, there were two memorials to "Justice and Freedom". One would have all the names of known members of the old Rebel Alliance who died during the conflict, and another treated as a "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" for all those whose names will never be known, and for all those who died as a consequence of the Empire's tyranny.
They did use The Volume technology, just in a very limited fashion - the windows in Mon Mothma's apartment were done that way. But as I said, in a very limited fashion, and in a way which makes a lot of sense.
Great pickup! I still love the idea of the Volume, but also glad we got more real locations this time too
@@DesignedbyKirk The Volume is new technology - honestly, less advanced in some ways than the CGI in the prequel trilogy. It just needs some time to develop, but also time for film makers to learn when it is effective, and when it is not. Even on Mandolorian, they ended up doing some location shoots.
Had not realized that. Cool
I've been watching a few reviews and opinion videos about Andor. Your video essay is the best one so far. Thanks.
Too kind! So glad this show is getting so much attention out there
The Eye event is also a metaphor for a miraculous occurrence that people (including Imperials) can't look away from. The star-shower obviously has everyone on Aldani watching, oblivious to the chase going within. But more importantly, the heist itself was a miracle that caught the ISP's attention, forcing them to crack down even harder like Luthen wanted. It's almost like it's called the Eye to say "look here everyone"
Brilliantly written, shot, and executed! Cannot wait for season 2.
This is, by far, Star Wars at it's best. I'm an OT guy but I love Rogue One because it feels like it's extension of the OT. Andor again captures this and I can't speak highly enough of it.
Incredible video, hope this gets the views it deserves.
Really appreciate you taking the time to watch it!
Your mention of Andor's ruthlessness got me liking and subscribing! Great video
Thanks heaps! Glad you enjoyed my angle on the show!
Agreed. it’s his ruthlessness that Luthen latches onto. He can find idealists and willing hands but he needs someone he can rely on to do the really dirty work that others are unable to do so Cinta and Andor are essential for a successful rebellion.
Don't know about the most important, but definitely one of the most well written series. For now. It feels like Walt Disney was on vacation when this tv-serie was produced.
Very nice analysis, I would only add that Andor shot Skeen not because he believed the money will be in better hands, but because he made a promise and it shows how serious he take his word in such grave situations. Also it was still a move of self preservation, because nobody would believe him that Skeen was scheming as even the first reaction of Vel confirms. So Skeen could ridicule him or even spin this situation around against Andor.
Very true! It's one of the most underrated yet poignant scenes in the entire show, almost the turning point for Andor as a character
Nobody knows it yet, but audiences are getting tired of superheroes and fairytales. It's been a long time coming but people are craving brutal realism in movies, and studios will soon know it. You see it in appreciation for Joker and now Andor. But movies like this will soon dominate the box office, I'm sure of it.
Let's hope there's a shift in cinema, going back to the good old days of gritty, grounded stories!
Oh god I hope your right.
I wish I could triple like this post
Then it becomes a new meta and people start craving lighthearted fairy tales and classic superheroes. And so the cycle will continue.
i don't think audiences is tired of superheroes. the problem is that superheroes in modern movies are stupid. they behave like naïve children with super powers. so it is just a movies that are painful to watch and have nothing to remember. why would you associate yourself with someone stupid? you would rather associate yourself with someone who has reasons to behave the way he behaves. this is exactly what we have in Andor show. the overall synopsis can be not that exciting but character's motivations look real and reasonable (in terms of lore of cause) and that makes Andor a good show. This is quite opposite to this dances in the space that Disney used to make (i guess i will never forget those horses in the space in Episode 9, that was way beyond any shit level of stupidity)
Andor is the little Star Wars film that grew up. It has been exactly what generations of fans have waited for.
When I describe this show to someone with some knowledge of Star Wars, I always emphasize that you can feel the tension in the people. Mon Mothma is stifled at every turn due to the Empire. That sadness and tension is something you can feel. There are no lightsabers. There are blasters but the rebels use weapons familiar to our own. There is no laughing or joking around. And Cassian is a dangerous man. He had nothing left to lose.
The gritty pressure makes it even more appealing
Andor, and The Expanse are by FAR some of the best Sci Fi ever.
Andor is simply some of the best filmmaking in several generations.
It's a masterpiece.
And we are blessed with dozens of hours of it.
Can’t wait for season 2 now!
Andor was astonishingly better than I anticipated
Such a great video showcasing Andor. It was a great series and I cannot wait for season 2 and how it cultivates the heart beat of the rebel alliance.
It’s the first SW property that made everything before it better. It’s gave the entire saga more weight.
I’m sure this will be a gem that is better appreciated in time. The costumes were also excellent. Thanks for the video
Andor is Star Wars for grown-ups. Well done and great screenplays. Great characters, real people. Rogue One was going in that direction (I liked it a lot). Now this satisfying addition.
Very stong Analysis Kirk. Thanks for taking the time to make this video and bring more attention to a ridiculously good television show!
More thanks for watching mate! Thank you heaps, all the more to get more people to watch and enjoy it hopefully!
The one great problem with Andor is it's not going to sell toys, merchandise or generate much ROI compared to do much of the other "star wars" so to keep seeing more like it it needs both vocal support from the public but also important behind the scenes support.
I think the former exists but I really HOPE the later does more so we get more of its like in the future not just season 2.
This is such an excellent point. There ain’t that many action figures I find kids would want from this show. For good reason too. Harder for a public Corp to keep green lighting shows compared to others that generate more $
@@DesignedbyKirk yep it's a important factor people forget they are quick to bring the "evil corporation" stick out when it suits them to bonk on about why things are white washed, politics are ignored or troupes reused.
But at the end of the day no matter what the fandom think's it wants. There are lots of mouth's who need to be fed to make a show as complicated as Andor. Moving away from money saving measures or not intentionally courting money making measure's means this is going to continue to be a hard sell!
Nah adult collectors are a thing and a huuuuuge part of Star Wars merch. It is 100% true that at the end of the day toys are made for children first. That said The Vintage Collection and the Black Series (the two biggest Star Wars lines) have figures of Andor characters coming out soon. Lego even has an Andor set with presumably more to come with Season 2. Andor might not sell as much toys as other Star Wars series but it for sure will make money
You can make Lego out of anything.
Andor is amazing, it's not just good Star Wars, it's genuinely great TV.
Great work on the video essay too, a lovely piece of work
Thanks for watching mate!
Thank you especially for production details, like The Volume
Andor & Rogue One are only new SW that made OT better. Bravo
Okay I’ve watched a lot of reviews of Andor and I gotta say, yours is by far the best. Really well edited together and excellently written. Amazing job!!!
Legend! Glad you enjoyed it, thanks heaps for watching!
very well done vid. ive been meaning to watch this show and youve sold me on it even more. ty.
Couldn't agree more. Best Star Wars ever. I've been so impressed. Thanks for summarizing why I felt this way so well!
Excellent piece, bravo. It's a thoughtful and refreshing dive into a show that deserves such an homage.
Andor wowed us as well. It was a breath of fresh air getting a deeper and more mature take on Star Wars. Stepped it right up
Excellent work, thoughtful essay. Thank you!
Outstanding video. Would love to see more like this. Underrated creator !
Excellent job. Cheers!! May the force be with you.
Well done, Kirk! I agree with so much of what you've said here, and I really enjoyed your input on the Escape Pod Aftershows for Andor! Hope to hear you on more episodes in the future :)
Thanks for stopping by Alex! Appreciate it so much!
This is an excellent essay. Thank you for putting your passion out into the world so eloquently.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thankyou!
Dedra and Cyril (and his ride or die, Linus) are amazing. The whole show is amazing. I love all the characters. Serious Star Wars are the Star Wars for me.
This show somehow makes what the Rebels and Luke pulled off 5000x more significant.I was terrified of the Empire. Imagine making a show that boosts the value of the original trilogy?
FYI the 'Empire' being less British sounding and including more strong American accents? Was subtle.
Absolutely! Big part of why I loved the showed, made the efforts of the OT seem so much more earned, the opposite of what the sequels achieved.
I never thought in a million years that Andor would be the show I have always wanted from Star Wars. But here we are. It’s the show I have long waited for and always got angry over and over that I never got. But Tony and his team in the midst of all the bad writing this franchise has had for a while, came out with something that is a masterclass in writing and shows what Star Wars could be if taken seriously.
I like how Dedra and her assisstant had a brilliant relationship with each other filled with both respect and enjoyment
One of my favourite shows I've seen!
it's awesome!
I think word of mouth will garner this show a late following or season two will have a pretty big group waiting for it. Think of a show like Strange Things that got where it got because of word of mouth.
Absolutely, im noticing that a lot of my mates that aren't star wars fans have heard of this show called 'Andor' that they're keen on watching, which is quite refreshing to know the word of mouth goes beyond the star wars fandom
Yeah for sure and the best thing about it is word of mouth fans actually lasts. As oppose to cameo “wow” that satisfies and is great tidbit to talk about for a few days but in the end becomes a somewhat forgettable.
I really hope you're right on that.
Look at blade runner when it was released and look at it now both films
Stranger things is garbage.
Great video, I 100% agree.- Andor is an absolute masterpiece. I hope there will be another season!
This show is so good and has opened my eyes to what could be possible if those who care guide anything, not just Star Wars.
I absolutely love the down to earth, everyday person view of Star Wars. Watching how the Empire's ways effect normal people.
can't wait for s2!
Best breakdown of why this show deserves the praise it's garnered I've heard yet.
This was great I just watched the series a few days ago and wouldn’t have due to the disappointment of previous Disney+ series. I agree 100% with everything said in this video. I just rewatched rogue one today and it made that movie feel so much more intricate and lived in as the same elements of the series were there but it had to be condensed in 2 hrs. But it also showed me how much better it was than the last time I watched it.
Rogue one is one of my favourite SW films of all time, the build up, the visuals, the grit and what movie out there really takes the risk and ends with all the characters *spoilers* taking up the sacrifice
Excellent vid. Agreed, on all points!
Great conclusion to a great video. More quality shows like Andor!
Fingers crossed we get more of it for sure!
KEEP GOING ON YOUR REVIEWS!!! WELL DONE
Too kind Thankyou, I’ll share some more soon
Wow, great presentation! I completely agree!
The show understood what makes star wars great is the universe. Yet it still ties into and does not rewrite the stories already told. Good writing amd story telling is what always maters in the end.
Andor just gets better and better in each rewatch.
totally
Love your video essay and your final message is spot on!
Cheers mate! Appreciate it!
One of the best things that came out of that universe. Quite a fan of it, it deserves more love for sure.
glad you enjoyed it, I thought it was awesome
Really good and detailed video man!! Definitely a really good analysis of how good the show is and how under rated it is. Good job!
Cheers! Hope you enjoy my other Andor essay too!
A new take on the Star Wars universe - brilliant!!! Best SW series so far!
Once again another great video. Amazing 🎉
Cheers brother!
The show was extraordinary, and your analysis of it is superb. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic essay. Well done!
Thanks Phil!
Agreed. Andor was thought provoking and sophisticated. Impressive writing / everything.