Andor Is A Star Wars Masterpiece From 1978
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- čas přidán 2. 01. 2023
- As of April 23, 2023, this video has become the recipient of the Dilectio Sapientiae Award from the Miami International Science-Fiction and Film Festival. Thank you endlessly for your support and time, for giving this video a watch, and for sharing Andor with others. Long live the Rebellion.
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Andor tells the origin story of Cassian Andor with the lens of an ambitious, polished, and carefully crafted understanding of what makes Star Wars so unique. Andor is a masterpiece and easily the best Disney+ series released in the modern age. From fantastic writing, to incredible speeches and thrilling action sequences, there is nothing here to dislike.
Please remember, this is just one lone man's opinion. I hope you enjoy
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- 9:26 "No one changes the world alone, and no one doesn't change it at all" - Hank Green. Hank, thank you for inspiring me with this quote and for inspiring me to build upon it further. It is a profound understanding of the cost of living and I hope my rendition of it can bring some extra revelations, in the same way you inspired me. You are the best of us.
This video is not possible without the themes that resonated with me thanks to so many of my favorite minds; reviewers, poets, speakers, and the like. From Hank Green and Rhystic Studies, to HiTopFilms and The Closer Look, to SkillUp and Implicitly Pretentious, these minds have fueled so much of how I appreciate art and how I try to communicate its gravity.
If you enjoy this video, I'd really be grateful if you subscribed. I'm hoping to reach 10,000 subscribers this year and I love making content that resonates with you all. Thank you for the continued support on this very small channel.
#andor #starwarsedit #starwars
This is my review of Andor. (to note, this is not an analysis of the show's fundamental components, just my review :) )
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This is one of the best and most comprehensive pieces of analytical media I’ve ever seen. I adore the way you write and your ability to peer beyond the regular praise of this show and really understand this show as the piece of art it is.
This comment means more to me than you know, thank you friend
Well said my friend!
@@SpacemanSR This is the very first video of yours that I've seen. This was an awesome take with well-reasoned arguments. Thank you!
100% agree. Best essay on Andor, by a mile
@@sickemrex287 Can you please explain what you mean by 'Spaceman is a pretentious twat' (this is the only video of his I have actually seen so I was curious about what you meant)
I loved how Andor actually developed the bad guy characters and made them competent. They weren't used as punching bags or comic relief, they actually felt like a real and proper threat.
And likeable in a way. Like, you want the good guys to win, but you also want the bad guys to see success in their own way.
@robbhays8077 it's because they're exceptionally well written, with clear and understandable motivations for their actions.
@@robbhays8077 Yeah, I felt the same way. They had admirable qualities. It’s one of the things that made me get invested in all the characters - shades, nuance and subtlety instead of just a flat binary of good and evil.
I wholly agree, the best villains are the ones you can identify with. The internal competition at the ISB HQ, Syril wanting to get justice for the murder of 2 of his employees, Dedra working as a counter-terrorism figure feels like good against evil alongside the narrative of todays world. they're all relatable, the characters have motivations not too dissimilar to our own. And i love even further that the good guy characters aren't all that good. Both the Empire and the Rebels operate in the grey which makes the moral undertone of the show a lot more compelling. The writing for good vs evil is dry, it's non-nuanced, it lacks emotion and relatability because reality is never good vs evil. There's often good reason for the evil things that happen in the world but it's all about perspective.
Dedra is one of the best villain character in a long time. The CIA/Gestapo of the Empire is so scary.
It’s crazy that the actress playing Mothma went from being a background actor in a deleted scene of Revenge of the Sith to being one of the standouts in a new Star Wars show
Nah dude, she also was in the original trilogy; although she was a Background character even then
Edit: I thought for some reason its about the character and misread. Sorry!
Nah dude, the actress was literally born the same year Star Wars "A New Hope" came out. She wasn't in the OT lol
@@mikebarham4117 I am stupid you are right! My mind registered that as saying that the character is mon mothma, but its about the actress! Sorry
@@thurvinfrostbeard1838So she's the same age as the franchise, wow.
I'm so happy for her. She definitely deserved more recognition and this show proves it.
"I CAN'T SWIM!"
Serkis' character laughing at the dark, hopeless, final absurdity life dealt him really hit me. I know I'd react in the exact same way.
One of my favorite characters, I think it's a good thing we didn't see his ultimate fate and maybe it should stay that way.
@@ForburyLion i wish he would jump and maybe two or three other prisoners could help him stay afloat and bring him to coast...
@@ForburyLion I agree , gives the universe a larger footprint and feeling.
@@ForburyLion we need to see more of that strong character and serkis' acting. i would love to see his character becoming a true rebel and fighting for the cause in many important ways.
@@cenvil2001 He died.
As someone who has worked 12 hour shifts in a factory doing manuel tasks, I found the prison sequences particularly haunting and the old man struggling, not able to keep up, but not wanting to let his team down, it has been on my mind more or less constantly since
This show made me think about my life in ways I never considered, it’s definitely a powerful revelation
you gotta go to the college so you don't have to do the manuel labor
@@Soniti1324 I did the labour while in "college" to pay for college
But honestly, going to college is not a real solution, society has made promises it can't cash.
Not the same but if you have seen the movie "fury" it's a WWII tank movie but they nailed the portrait of living in a crew during a conflict from my experience.
college is not always the solution@@Soniti1324
One thing I really enjoyed about Andor was that you could actually feel the weight of the Empire as a soul crushing force.
Cassian choosimg to try to dissapear only to be met with the all-encompassing stranglehold and terror of indifference towards life was a masterstroke.
Agreed. There was a masterful sense of claustrophobia.
@@plainlake The two-minute scene with the judge in the courtroom was brilliant in a cascade of brilliant scenes; "just another boring day at work" at the DMV /gulag intake center.
Andor, in one 12 episode stroke, sweeps away the overpowering silliness of so much of Star Wars. Superb acting, direction and writing combine with truly convincing world-building to create the best thing to come out of this franchise.
this, 100%
Andor jumps from a C-tier character in the canon to the A-tier in just 12 episodes of origin story. This man was given a Han Solo arc that just happened off-screen back in 1977. Now he is a better written space rogue than Han Solo ever was. Clever, competent, brutal and even a bit of a lady killer, but not without some room left for a heart of gold. Such a good job by the Gilroy brothers.
1000%. I cant wait for season 2, this show just blew everything around it out of the water
one thing i kind of thought while watching is that Andor is a bit of a dark mirror to Han. They're both on the "lovable space criminal" scale but Andor is a Han that wasn't thrust into the spotlight, and while Han's status made him lean farther and farther away from his criminal past as the series went on it seems like Andor's going to venture further into the dark for the rebellion. Similar starting points but drawn in different directions due to circumstance.
@@unmessable12 Andor shot first!
It gives Rouge One's ending even more painful 😔.
dont forget beau willimon that wrote the prison arc lol
This is the show I waited for over 30+ years. An adult take on a world invented for my 12 year old self. Thank you, Disney. More please.
Don't thank Disney. This happened beside them, not because of them.
I really liked the way they handled the separation of Cassian and Kino Loy’s separation. The 2 were set up to be such a good duo, and their chemistry was fantastic. But then they loose each other in an instant. It cut so deep within me and other audience members because it was so real. Life isn’t clean, it’s a mess. Time is fleeting, relationships are strained, and nothing is certain.
I hope Kino's alright. At least if he's dead, he'll die knowing he tried and won, to an extent.
@@TheThing4444 Sometimes choosing to fight is more important than winning. Fighting when you know you can win is easy. Fighting when you know you're likely going to lose is much harder.
@dustinjones7458 Tony Gilroy clearly studied history, particularly the American Revolution, because that theme of fighting while knowing you'll likely lose but the meaning and the principle behind it is too great to ignore it. So chilling
I had told friends that Andor has a weight that Star Wars hasn't felt in a long time, not in emotional content or dramatic weight, but just that the universe feels like it's heavy, that people are tired at the end of the day, that the things on shelves in the background of scenes have uses or sentiment, that the starships, guns, clothes, existed a year before the scene was shot. It feels like a centuries-old world you walked into rather than one that was assembled to tell this story. It had a profound vision for storytelling with intense detail.
Well put!
Yes, well put. I was reluctant to watch it after so much crap. It is proper Star Wars universe. The problem is that I know the sequel trilogy is at the end of everything and throws it all away.
@@TheRonaldbaxter This is a fictional universe, with fictional events, it's not history. If you don't want that trilogy to exist, you have all the authority to make it disappear
@@JJMB27 Nevertheless, it would have been good to have a non- Kathleen Kennedy, non- Rian Johnson, non JJ for that matter trilogy celebrating the OT characters, introducing the new characters and Luke’s new Jedi order facing a new dark threat. It is what I was expecting and hoping for not a woke reboot. That is all!
@@TheRonaldbaxter My point sustains. Your disapointment with the new movies should not get in the way of enjoying a different piece of art.
Andor gave us characters that weren’t just hero’s or villains. They were people, trying to navigate a world that was falling apart.
And that's fine. It's just not Star Wars. Rogue One was not Star Wars. No one wants to see Saving Private Ryan - Star Wars version.
@@neanderthalsnavel7411that’s exactly what i wanted to see lmao. i wanted to for the first time see great cinematography in star wars. rogue one has the best shots in star wars i think and it was my fav one to see in theaters. it also really makes a new hope have a stronger emotional drive. not the best star wars, but easily the best movie
@@neanderthalsnavel7411 i'm not sure if we watched the same series and movie. Both Andor and Rogue One are full of Star Wars, merely omitting the lightsabers and force wielding characters. Star Wars is much more than just flashy action and fantasy and Andor is really digging into that which is what is making people praise it so much.
@@neanderthalsnavel7411 Why would everything in the universe have to be like everything else? Must there be a Jedi in every Star Wars story? Andor shows where the Rebellion came from. The Jedi didn't start the rebellion. People who were under the Empire's boot did, because that's where the metal meets the meat. It is a different corner of the Star Wars universe, and I'm really glad to have seen it.
@@neanderthalsnavel7411 why are characters that feel like actual people not allowed in Star Wars
This show was profoundly good. Can’t wait for season 2. I feel most fans who said this doesn’t feel like Star Wars were caught off guard by the fact that andor didn’t get caught in the cycle of constant self reference.
10000% agree!
..or craving the instant gratification from the latest special effects rather than savouring the 'slow burn' of plot and character development.
it's a shame Tony Gilroy is only getting 2 seasons to wrap up his story, originally his plan was for 5 seasons. I don't know if that was his decision or someone else's to truncate the story, but its a shame nonetheless. With 1 season its already the best Star Wars has ever been, with 5 it could have been up there with the Wire and Breaking Bad as one of the best shows ever made.
@@Haldered Tbf with 5 seasons they probably would've ruined it. Just look at what happened to Mandalorian when it went past Season 2.
@@Halderedthe best stories end. Disney would ruin it if it went on too long.
Watching this season of Mandalorian makes it even more apparent how amazing Andor is
I get the feeling the Mandalorian was written for kids. It's a standing joke in our household how easily these Mandalorians seem to give up their beliefs and come round to a different way of thinking in every episode.
Watching all of Mandalorian, i remember watching the first episodes and realizing it was just a simple adventure story with procedural structure and being surprised people were eating that up and calling it amazing, it was just average.
it makes me even more sad looking at the piles and piles of lazy starwars we get now
@@Gabagu I wanted to watch it just because it had Gina Carano in it but gave up before she showed up for the reason you stated.
-- oh well. But Andor looks fairly interesting.
Andor is the best Star Wars show to date
For me, this is STAR WARS. I never experienced a feeling like this since I saw Episode 4 to 6 in the cinema as a young boy. Andor is the best and the only extension to Star Wars I would say it’s Star Wars. It’s brilliant.
Let's just take episodes 1-6, rogue one, andor and a few parts of the clone wars and make it our own kanon :D
I agree but would I 😊have been able to think like this around 10-15 years old?
@@Terrorbrot Complete FAX
@@fortnite.burger ?
that guy never saw rogue one or else he has stupid tastes.
I think you hit the nail on the head with Andor being "quintessential Star Wars". For years, we've had Star Wars be "action" or "drama" or "comedy", but Andor returns to the genre that truly started it all. An Epic. An epic space opera in a vivid, exciting universe filled with so much interesting people, lore, and life. Hope Disney continues to draw from the roots that make this IP as special as it is.
100%, it's not just about lightsabers and legacy characters with mediocre stories.
Andor is a partisan movie just like star wars was in part a partisan movie.
Look at Eastern block ww2 movies from the 70s and you will see.
Idk if this is true, but some say it was missing the light heartedness. That it was too similar to every other grounded gritty war flic or show. I guess I'll have to watch to see.
In my opinion modern media needs more stories that are both grounded and optimistic, bc sense the pandemic this has kind of a dark time.
@@ThreadBareHope1234 andor is definitely never grim without reason and has its bright spots
@@jm6406 Sweet
One thing about Andor that really stuck out to me is how amazing the world building is, how they took the time to create these little details everywhere all throughout the show to make the galaxy feel real.
Absolutely
I absolutely loved that in Andor too
BUT that's just about all I could enjoy about it. The entire movie besides the factory prison is built up & drawn out beyond reasonable taste, most of the dialog is in code (with only half of it easily broken and the other half confusing or useless), and there's a LOT of completely unnecessary stories told in the series - they spent WAY too many hours focusing on the one young security officer who aspires to only shut down a guy he thought was in connection with a scene of uncompliance and minor revolt.
It had all the funding in the world to be the best Star Wars addition yet (VERY obvious in the atmospheres it built and countless charaters it displayed) but it really fell short on the story telling aspect and correctly showing the importance of each character instead of focusing on their most irrelevant aspects that didn't relate to the "plot".
@@williambartholomew5680 it's literally the best thing Star Wars has ever done lmfao
I don't think we viewed this show the same. @@williambartholomew5680
@@williambartholomew5680To Syril, Cassian represented a threat to order. A threat to the social fabric. It’s fundamental to how Syril sees the world. It’s not a small/minor matter to him!
_Andor_ is the tone that Alec Guinness' _Kenobi_ refers to - ("the dark times" and Darth Vader hunting down and destroying Jedis). _Andor_ is what Alec's acting conveyed so brilliantly.
And as much as I love what Andor shows, it's heartbreaking to see this latest series, Tales of the Empire. We're shown a taste of the Inquistitors and then the ruined arc of Barriss and another Jedi surviving. Normally I don't mind that but I was really looking forward to seeing the Empire being a formidable force.
It's like they get to that point with Andor, the place where the Empire and Vader and Stormtroopers are striking fear and feel imposing, and then they rip it away again. The "dark times" keep getting undersold.
I think the most important thing andor did is individualize every character. Every person who stars in the show feels unique. Everyone looked different, but they all fit in, and they didn't look out of place. Furthermore, every death felt impactful whether it's a self-absorbed imperial or a random prisoner.
and then ..the habitual woke themes came slithering in: lesbians Vel and cinta ..the überiiiinglissshhhh accented black cruiser operator trooper...
@@oddballsok Here's indellible proof the average star wars nerd is a troglodyte
@@oddballsok yea but if the show is well made the wokeness isn't as disturbing as in for example the new trilogy where they shove their woke shot into an already huge pile of shit which just makes it totally unbearable
@@oddballsok woke themes themselves arent bad. The fact is these things exist in real life, there are a lot of homosexuals and people of different race in modern militaries, with Andor aiming to depict a realistic rebellion it makes sense to include, even in ww2 there were homosexual and multiracial people fighting along with everyone else in much smaller numbers. What makes these themes bad is how they're used just to rack in money, the themes arent taken seriously or grounded in any way. In Andor the theme isnt the focus, in fact its far from it. It's an expansion, an add on, to take what's there and add depth rather than to over take it and ruin what makes it feel real for the sake of profit.
The main villains are weak. Not compelling. I have to Google their names.
Syril and his aunt interactions and mannerisms are off. Like they are aliens trying to be human. Or autistic and I don't think they are suppose to be high functioning people on the spectrum.
At least the ISB lady has reasons to be the way she is. She has a facade of a non nonsense get crap done soldier but knows she is scared deep down. I get that.
So until they fix the villains the show will always just be real good IMO. Also Cass in the first half just randomly plopped into important parts of the story artificially.
I'm an old man now. When I saw Andor, it was a flashback to the mid 80s rewatching the original trilogy over and over. They captured the aesthetic and feel, and even expanded upon it. I hope we get to see more of this from Disney in the future. It was very entertaining, nostalgic, and I often catch myself thinking about Andor even weeks after watching it.
That silence at the 10:00 minute mark, that was a damn bold move in the age of tik tok, reels, and stories. But i felt it illustrated perfectly what you were saying. A beautiful peice of work to stand alongside Andor. Thanks for this man
Thanks for the kind words ❤️🙏🏻
@@SpacemanSR absolutely agree, it was necessary to highlight that Andor shows a revolution in its totality. It's not just brave heroes fighting and dying, it's regular people smoldering with the injustice they can't do anything about, without that, the spark never gets lit
The casting of Andor is superb it’s notable that several of the key actors have extensive theatre experience
Just like Alec Guinness and all the great British theatre actors in the original trilogy.
I thought Dedra had only won one Olivier Award ... she's apparently won two!
Syril has got one himself.
Terrific actors - I'm thrilled for them, that they have been involved in the greatest ever Star Wars
They're going to be immortalised.
It's taken some time for things to sink in, and I kinda overlooked how excellent everyone was in their roles. Even Stellen Skarsgaard, probably the most recognizable in the show, is completely in character as Luthen.
I’ve said it before but one scene that really hit home was when Vel is about to jump down over the edge during the heist. She hesitated and was visibly scared of what she was about to do, almost to the point of having the mission aborted. This felt extremely real and gave her character weight in terms of story telling. In any other film she would simply have jumped down, shot all the bad guys and saved the day.
And then, when it truly starts... She's all in. She's everything she needs to be to get the job done. She shows confidence in the face of the enemy and the leadership needed to keep the team together, but the worry is still there. She shows a moment of realistic weakness when its time to let Cinta do her part, alone.
It made her character feel so real. Just another reason to love this show.
I was surprised when this happened and that it did feel so real. I've seen this done before but it felt orchestrated, something purposeful, like you could glimpse the writer's fingerprint behind the action rather than actual character motivation. Here--and it's a credit to the writer, director, editor, and the actress--there is a realistic fear and hesitancy fueled by realistic motivations, love (for Cinta) and hate (of the Empire), and we can see those two struggle within her. And if we had any doubts about which one will always win, she tells the audience later that love only takes up what's left after the fight for freedom. And that right there is character consistency. Not robotic, unquestionable following, but staying true to a character's implicit and explicit motivation.
This is so good because courage isn’t a lack of fear, it’s moving forward DESPITE your fear.
The fact that she was so afraid and still forced herself to move and succeed was powerful.
Dialog. It’s more but that’s the base. Every show from now on needs to take a note.
It was so tense I almost blew a vein
I just finished the finale and my Dad teared up at Maarva's speech. He said "they must've taken inspiration from the Kościuszko and Warsaw uprisings!"
Certified Polish Moment
Polaks simultaneously have an exaggerated sense of self importance and very bad memories of their own past and deeds.
@@michaelalek6490 probably the man's first comment on CZcams and he decides to write this. Wrong place bud, we are here to share our love for Andor
@@Terrorbrot Your comment should be directed at the guy who exhibited Polish exaggerated self importance & tried to change the subject to his sh*t hole Eastern European country
@@michaelalek6490 Thesis, please?
Rogue One and Andor are the best things Disney has done since they took the reigns, thanks for giving some attention here with the respect it deserves. thank you thank you thank you
I've seen so many well made film reviews. But never have I seen one that stirred me so emotionally in a way the original material had tried to. Andor was amazing, but your commentary, editing, and pacing of this video takes my experience of the show and pushes it through to a new level. This was profound. Your presentation of the toll a rebellion takes on the people rebelling and presenting it in complete silence. This video was fantastic and I've never seen someone understand Andor so properly, second only to the writers and cast themselves.
thank you so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it. Thank you for giving this video a listen!
Andor is a masterpiece. In a time where so much is obvious, or oblivious - Andor manages to be critical, truthful, heartbreaking, soul-crushingly claustrophobic and romantically hopeful all at once. It's George Orwell's 1984, in space, acted by the most capable cast with an incredible cinematography. When the story finally crescendoed, I flung my arms in the air and cheered.
Andor isn't "unlike any other Star Wars." Andor is more like Star Wars than anything we've seen in our generation.
Actually, its the exact opposite of 1984 in its thesis and tone. Anyone who knows anything about George Orwell or has read his works should know that antifascism was not exactly his top priority in messaging
@@beansworth5694 I'm reading 1984 atm. What is his priority of messaging if not antifa and antitotalitarism? Freedom of human spirit?
@@beansworth5694 I have no idea how your brain could possibly come to this conclusion.
You are insulting any piece of work by comparing it to the racist hypocrisy of Orwell. Orwell himself is the epitome of the banality of evil. The middle-management of the British Empire. A police officer in colonial Burma he is notable for the callousness for which he recounts his experience there.
"in the end the sneering yellow faces of young men that met me everywhere, the insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance, got badly on my nerves"
"I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible"
To be an invader, an occupier, an oppressor in a foreign country and react with indignant exasperation at the distrust of the people you are invading is the height of narcissism. Especially as you pretend to the idea of opposing the British colonial project.
Orwell was a racist patronizing hypocrite who dedicated his life to, at once, make grand statements against "authoritarianism" in countries he knew nothing about whilst himself never once truly coming to terms with his own evil. In fact, he spent his life reinforcing it.
Orwell did not write a single thing relevant, interesting, or compelling in his life. Excepting in such cases where we can study the mind of the colonial brain-rot that leads to the contradictory beliefs which he recounted in Burma. Orwell's entire relevance comes from the fact that he was the only "pundit" so fiercely and neurotically anti-communist as to actively crusade against the unity with the USSR against Hitler at the height of the war. He was propped up, not by the quality of his work, but by the feelings of the Cold War. He was propped up by the anti-democratic ultra-nationalist crusades of white supremacist red scare propagandists in Britain and America.
Orwell was known to keep a list of notable personalities to himself where he would speculate onto the politics of the contents. Whether they were "sincere" in their moderate presentations or were communists. Some of these people were unambiguous communists. It included 135 names, including the name of his own tax inspector. (How petty)
In 1949 he sent a list of 35 of these names to the British Informational Research Department (a bureau set up with the explicit purpose of distributing propaganda in service of preserving British colonial interests) of people he considered potentially risky connections. His annotations and reasonings for each are particularly revealing. Here are a few interesting examples:
Paul Robeson, a black American communist, was listed. His open communist sympathies were unstated. Instead George Orwell took an interesting and unique take. Mere months after Paul Robeson was attacked by a racist riot for calling out against the Ku Klux Klan, George Orwell listed him on his list as a potential crypto-communist for being:
1. "a US negro"
2. "too anti-white".
Historian Isaac Deutcher was listed for being:
"A Polish Jew"
Ian Mikardo a Columnist at The Tribune was listed for being:
1. "Silly"
2. "Jewish"
Labour Member of Parliament for Manchestor Gorton Konni Zilliacus was listed for being:
1. Finnish
2. Jewish
Biologist J.D. Burnal was listed for being:
"Irish"
Orwell himself was fiercely "patriotic" to England. He took particular interest in this list in targeting major figures in British life who were Scottish, Irish, or migrants. Orwell himself broadcasted messages calling for India to remain loyal to the British Empire within the living memory of the brutal and murderous Bengal famine which went by without a care in the world from the British government.
I’d say it’s much better than 1984. While 1984 has some decent points, the empire shows off a much more realistic methods of control.
Something that I haven't seen commented on fully yet. Another and big reason that it works so well is the ridiculous, crazy, magnificent and award worthy acting.
Obviously Stellan and Andy Serkis but Denise Gough, Fiona Grey and Genevieve are absolute standouts.
Diego with his subtle expressions and inflections, and Kyle with his almost obsessive traits.
For me it's Dedra. That torture scene was outstanding.
The whole cast is RIDICULOUS
Yeah the acting is at a high level. The expressions some of the characters make at times, like you can feel the gut-wrenching horror of it all just by looking at them. This level of performance as been severely lacking in a lot of big franchise productions as of late.
To me, it's close to Better Call Saul in terms of quality
Ben Mendelsohn will thrive in this type of show as Krennic
It's because of how strong the narrative writing is, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Obi Wan Kenobi have their share of competent actors, but there wasn't much they could draw from the script, strong performances usually come from a strong script.
@@Aqua23-ammg absolutely!!!!!
You can tell by the opening shot that this show was going to be good. The cinematography, the story, writing and acting are just on another level. I watched Mandolrian season 3 and then this and my God the difference is so crazy. Mandolorian looks like a Disney back lot.
"On the surface, Andor is unremarkable, yet it wasn't about telling a story about him, but through him. Cassian is used as anchor for other people's griefs"
I think this sums up something I've always felt but couldn't put into words about the show. Watching the scenes with Maarva, especially her eulogy, it always felt to me like the show was called "Andor" because it was about Maarva Andor, not Cassian. Obviously when the other story arcs are taking front stage it doesn't feel that way as much, but I feel you explained why it felt that way during her scenes, the show is told through Cassian but its about the people around him so during her scenes it does feel like the show is about her just like during the Aldhani Heist it was (for the most part) about Nemik or during the prison arc it was about Kino.
Of course Cassian himself is a fantastic character and he does have a huge amount of character development over the course of the show, but it feels in large part like this is happening to him, not something he's doing himself. Similarly it doesn't feel like he's the one pushing the story forward, at least not in a conventional sense where he's the "main character" of the arc, instead he's lifting up the other characters so that they may push their own stories forward.
To add to what you said about the story being told through him and not about him, its almost as if Cassian is the narrator of this show. He's present at all events but for the most part he's just our eyes into this world, he's not directly involved in the events aside from as a speaker for the narrative who gives it a little nudge now and then to keep the story going.
Exactly friend
I felt that Cassian has zero character development until the moment when he asks Luthien to shoot him or take him in, the last scene. Everyone else's arcs were in full glorious swing. It was as if at that moment, for the first time in his life, Cassian decided to care about others outside of what role they play in his life e.g. mother, friend. Cassians state of being before that moment is how I feel 99% of real world people operate, i.e. from a single perspective, a selfish lens, and they need to transcend perspective in large numbers for the World to evolve to a far better place. Cassian was for me the everyman who became the initiate - but boy-o-boy did it take a lot of suffering to get there.
You and Michael summed up perfectly what I've been thinking sub-conciously as well.
It really does feel like Cassian only truly changes right at the end when he finally gives himself to the Rebellion. And I never made the connection about love but it clicks. He does learn to love.
It will be very interesting seeing his arc in s2, simultaneously going deeper and darker with the acts he commits for the rebellion yet building his arc. We'll see the change of a Cassian who said, "Nobody's listening!" To the man about to die for potentially nothing reassuring himself and Jyn, "They're listening."
Well said. Andor is one of the best stories I’ve seen recently. And I’m convinced they’ll never do it again.
It’s gonna be hard to surpass! The storytelling was as good as GOT 1-4
@@lorddaquanofhouserastafari4177 Maybe YOU will be able to generate something similar, when movie-making-technology gives you the possibility to be your own blockbuster-director in your living-room somewhere 2035 ;)
@@lorddaquanofhouserastafari4177 that’s a very bold claim
From what they're setting up for future seasons, it's likely the next installments will be just as good if not better. The Mandalorian did that in my eyes, I think Andor can pull it off too with this strong of a first season.
As a vintage '77 fan who's been here since the beginning, I have to say, you absolutely nailed it. It's 70's storytelling. It's the slow burn, the backstory, and then the payoff. All that time building the foundation is exponentially repaid because everything mattered along the way. Yeah, I subscribed the second the video ended. Fantastic work.
❤
I subscribed within 5 minutes watching this video 😅.
It didn't pander to fickle attention spans.
@@SpacemanSR get real this show is garbage
@@nTrylo yes it did you trendy clown
Thank you. I thought I was crazy thinking I was the only one who thought and felt so deeply about _Andor_ .
Most other Star Wars productions (save _Rogue One_ and _Empire_ ) miss the mark regarding how oppressive and nightmarish life was under the rule of The Galactic Empire. And that is important. Because to get from point A to point D, you must pass through other points. _Andor_ will give immense gravitas to the story.
Well written. Well acted. Brilliant. I know many were upset there was no force, Jedi, Sith or lightsabers. It was a story about regular people starting to move. A brilliant Cold War spy story set in the Star Wars universe.
Cold war? My dude, this is about people living under fascism, not US vs Russia competition.
10:08 Mon Mothma, due to this series, has rapidly ascended to become one of my favourite characters in Star Wars. That stoic, political exterior we know just hides a roiling emotional interior, full of anger and hurt and frustration and pain and fear - not just because of the Empire but also the state of her family. But she has to wear the mask and talk the talk.
And it's very cool to see her down the line as an incredible leader who formed the alliance, knowing what she went through and overcame. Unlike almost every other character we'll get to see her payoff.
I never imagined this show would impact me so profoundly, especially with its dialogue. I’ve been thinking about certain lines from the show for MONTHS now. “I won’t have peace, I’ll be worried about you all the time.” “That’s just love. Nothing you can do about that.”
“I’ve made my mind a sunless space; I share my dreams with ghosts.”
“Tyranny requires constant effort. Oppression is the mask of fear.”
Just…yeah. I will be thinking about this show for a very long time.
That's just love. Nothing you can do about that." Not the expected minimizing response 'Don't worry about me. I'll be alright.' but so 'Marva'.
Tony Gilroy wrote Andor with 'heart' and assembled a cast up to the task of delivering it.
We are witness to something that transcends entertainment. I'll be thinking about Andor for a very long time as well.
“The axe forgets but the tree remembers” stuck with me
The best is between Andor and Kino after they learn about the massacre of floor two.
"They killed a hundred men to hide their mistake. What do you think that is?"
"I think that's power"
"Power doesn't panic".
Same man
"NOBODY'S LISTENING"
"I can't swim."
“I burn my life to make a sunrise I know I’ll never see.”
There are more, I know, but these are the ones that stuck with me after my last rewatch. I'm going to watch it again soon enough.
Excellent review. What I loved about “Andor” was its world building, which is probably the best we’ve seen in the franchise. It grounded the Star Wars galaxy in a mature way that hasn’t been done before to this degree. We all love the child-like fantasy of classic Star Wars (I saw the original in the theater in the 70s and that kid is still inside of me), but this is something different and in a good way: This is Star Wars not as fantasy, but grounded in reality. This is Star Wars for grownups. And yet, it seamlessly fits into the same fantasy universe we grew up with and redefines it as a realistic universe that could plausibly exist. It’s brilliant.
andor was actually one of the last pieces of media to have me hooping and hollering out of my seat whenever the big payoff happened, both in the prison break and riot
And the escape from Aldani.
The three massive highs for me were the heist, the prison break, and the riot. Probably the riot least of all because I knew they were in desperate need of that second season to bridge over towards Rogue One, and I was disappointed upon realising it would be a few years.
But boy oh boy they had me on the edge of my seat.
I was actually so energetic after finishing one of the prison episodes and realising Melshi was in there with Cassian. The connection just got me hyped as I realised they would escape
As a 52 year old man growing up with Star Wars as my whole childhood, I was seven years old when “a new Hope” came out. Never since Empire strikes back have I had that feeling I had even back then, your review put me on the path of watching this! This is everything I wanted it to be and more, this is a masterpiece, a work of art and an emotional feeling I had as a child. This was a Star Wars I’ve always been looking for ❤️
Same
Same age, and yes, this.
I’m in the same age group as Kyle. This is the best Star Wars story has told. It makes up for the Kenobi series.
Same here, especially about Empire. Andor gave me that feeling again.
This was the ideal Star Wars, very unlike the original films i think, I'm surprised people think the tone resembles the original Star Wars when that was a simple story with underdeveloped antagonists, Andor is much better.
What an amazing show. It easily transcends "Star Wars" and just achieves its own greatness. Two scenes that especially stick with me:
- Cinta casually joining the festival after the heist. People who think imperial news calling the heist a "massacre" was propaganda really missed her characterization and what her instructions were. One of the scariest people in the SW universe.
- To cover up her rebellion support, Mon Mothma quietly sells out her daughter and then her marriage. Like with Cinta it took a minute to realize what she was doing with the "gambling" argument. Jeebus.
ohh shit cinta killed them all
damn. i missed that.
@@ovencake523 Yes, the show makes you piece it together from context. It's exceptionally subtle for Star Wars, which usually beats you over the head with its plot points. RIP that kid.
Oh WOW. I missed that.
I cannot BELIEVE it took me seeing your comment to figure out that the massacre wasn't state propaganda, and Cinta killed everyone despite Vel's assurances to the contrary.
And I've watched the show 9 times lol
@@LordVader1094 Well, not exactly. Vel ordered Cinta not to kill anyone as long as the heist went smoothly. The heist did NOT go smoothly, at all. That left Cinta with a judgment call whether to go through with the threat. The show goes a little out of its way to show that she's an ice cold killer, and if she isn't in a hurry when she gets back to the festival then she isn't worried about anyone following after her.
The petty drama and interpersonal rivalries displayed during the bureaucratic struggle between Dedrea and her counterparts was so great. That felt so human and real, like something that happens in many companies/governments around the world all the time. The show was really excellent at moving between genres, episode 6 was a straight-up heist movie that you could watch with no context and probably enjoy.
Seeing the Empire internally ruthless was a treat. You know they'll kill their enemies without remorse when then will stab their coworkers.
I just reached Rogue one and I don't understand how or why I forgot how incredible it's and so glad they made Andor as it fills the whole story in just amazing way. Waiting for season 2!!!
"No one changes the world alone, and no one doesn't change it at all. But what you become at the cost of your mission is al that speaks when no one is left to listen" is such a good quote. How have I not found you before.
Im just glad youre here
@@SpacemanSR The first half of that quote is from a Hank Green vlog from several years ago, is it not? Regardless you made a great critique with a lot of beautifully written lines, but please give credit where it's due :)
@@1lamafarmer Scroll down a bit in the description. Spaceman knows when to give credit.
@@Henle_ ah, fair play! Thanks for pointing it out.
Omg dude the part where you muted the audio and displayed character reactions was PERFECT. It reminded me of the saying (I can't remember from who) "if you can watch something on mute and still understand what's going on, it's a great story."
Wow, that segment was powerful. You deserve way more subscribers than what you have right now.
Subscribed!
Haha I'm glad you liked that part, thank you! It was a fun review to make
@@SpacemanSR Asolutely agree. I’m at work late, distracted as hell with my spreadsheet, AirPod in one ear listening intently but still working, then the sound goes out and I look down at my phone to see the silent frames go by while the actors pour mountains of emotions into me without a flicker of motion…but I was uncontrollably moved with them! Holy hell, this show gets better and better just by re-living it through the eyes of its characters!
I'm dumb and almost got up to charge my headset because I thought it died on me
Lol now I’m thinking what it would be like to play Metal Gear Solid on mute
@@GhostWatcher2024 And even when the show tells us something, they are still showing a ton. Each and every scene is so dense, not in an overwhelming way, but in a real way.
This is the most compendious and best interpretive work of visual media I've yet seen. I have been a vested member of film and visual media criticism since I was twelve, and after seeing Andor I too immediately thought it was the best work of art critically either Star Wars or Disney has produced in a while, however I truly wanted to comment on the ostensibly painstaking effort I can see you have put into writing this analysis.
I have been watching, reading, and writing visual media critiques and reviews for ages, from the New York Times to CZcamsrs like Schafrillas Productions, CinemaStix, or Thomas Flight, I've seen incredible examples of analytical work from independent creators. Though your writing, interpretation, and poetry(especially at the end of this video) moved me. Visual media in my opinion is and possibly always will be the pinnacle of storytelling, it is the ultimate amalgamate of innovation, technology, literature, music, art, and humanity, and I can see that same appreciation from you in the small fifteen minute window you let me peek through.
This video essay of yours reminded me why I need to continue pushing through the hardships of self-edification in writing, I often times find myself dissuaded from continuing to pursue writing and critiquing, writing is hard and writing to your own satisfaction is nigh impossible. Regardless, keep making videos, perhaps one day I'll actually write my own critiques again.
Really appreciate this kind comment, thank you for giving my video a watch. I hope you are inspired to write again and I hope you share that with the world
Andor touched a part of me that had been dead since Blake's 7. Real acting and real characters.
Blake's 7 came out in 1978 ... one year after Star Wars
Its premise was that the Galactic Federation had decided that a rebel leader needed to be silenced/discredited rather than executed.
They wiped his mind, using some headphones (sound familiar?), and then rigged the AI Judge to find him guilty of sexual child abuse.
He was sentenced to Life on a prison planet, Cygnus Alpha.
On the way, the prison transport vessel is attacked ... and a few prisoners escape onto an empty alien spacecraft, including rebel leader Blake.
This band of prisoners becomes "Blakes 7" ... and there's often conflict between them.
Blake, having regained his memory, wants revolution against the Federation. But Avon, the cybertech hacker nerd, just wants to use his expertise to survive.
Hence two awesome actors going hammer-and-tongs at each other!
The VFX were done on the hoof ... the "sonic blasters" are super cool ... but they were only "sonic" because a laser gun would have meant extensive VFX work at 2 weeks notice before the show went out to 10s of millions of people! (still a cool weapon!)
I completely agree ... it's a dream come true, to finally see a wonderful version of Blakes 7 - with £250 million spent on it
As a 7 year-old, ALL of my school-friends loved the show ... Star Trek was on Thursday, Blakes 7 on Monday ... we would choose a character to play during playtime (I chose Avon ... sometimes Tarrant, a couple of years later) ... nobody played at Star Trek, it was ALL Blakes 7.
None of us understood the themes of rebellion that would later be perfected in "Star Wars: Andor"
All we knew is that we wanted to be these characters every playtime.
@@jazzx251 Blake’s 7 was in production when Star Wars opened in the USA. I remember reading in article in the Radio Times where the producer mentioned that he considered flying to the NY to see the film, but decided it would have taken too much of their budget. Which gives you an idea of how tiny it was…
I didn’t want Andor when I first heard it was coming. I had no idea how much I needed it. This is spot on. Just shared the shit out of it. Well done mate.
Thank you so much
It didn’t get the marketing mando got because they knew they wouldn’t be able to sell as much toys from this show...I feel this show is targeted towards a more mature audience that appreciates good storytelling not just a bunch of casual fans who just watch to say they are “Star Wars fans”
@@lorddaquanofhouserastafari4177 Can we stop talking about casuals? You don't have to be a member of any fanclub to appreciate good storytelling, and bite me if nods to "real fans" is not killing this franchise for lack of oxygen
Thank you!!! I kept recommending Andor to my friends! This shown deserves more love
You articulated what I felt, but wouldn't know how to put into words. Incredibly well done. I took some detailed notes!
Glad you enjoyed the video!!
Andor brought back the magic of Star Wars for me that prequels and sequels took away. Mando was a giant step in the right direction, but Andor nails it. I deeply hope that Disney can bottle this magic and infuse many more productions with it.
I can only hope season two is as good, I had the same experience
I have that hope too
I love prequels and Andor, Mando is meh, sequels don't exist...
@@ThreadBareHope1234 Stop spamming this, you already got answered in another thread.
Me too! Exactly how I feel-with every sequels, prequels etc, it was horrible experience for me to be made not to care for anything when I was eagerly looking forward to be emotionally and intellectually invested over and over again. I felt cheated all the time with their treatment. Only Roque One stirred me a bit. It was so sad for me that Star Wars lost its magic for me. But with Andor, I love almost everything about it with its world building that comes with meaningful nuances and skilful handling at every level. I couldn’t believe they took so long to get the magic back.
I love how Andor ties in the Prequels and OT without even trying, things in the background not in your face fan service like the Disney Star Wars era has had a serious issue with.
Exactly! That’s why I think this show is way better than mando...they didn’t rely on fan service and brining back nostalgia just to keep you interested, they did it simply with good storytelling and I loved every single second of it!
I was so burnt out in memberberries bullshit that I almost missed out on Andor, glad I decided to give it a shot thanks to reviews like this one
Shame the show is probably doomed to commercial failure thanks to all the garbage that came before it, devaluing franchise.
I never got to truly feel invested in the Star Wars universe until now. When I watched the original trilogy, I was too young to realize the true depth of the story itself, but old enough to understand the plot, so I never was able to get fully invested. In this story, I was hooked from the first minute. It feels like this generation's own version of 1977's masterpiece.
I’m thankful Disney gave Andor a shot. I’m thankfully I gave Andor a shot, too.
Andor brought me to tears. Somewhere deep within me, this show scratched an itch, one that had escaped me for so long. It is like you said, I didn’t realize what I was looking for until I found it. This show, this piece of art, it has moved me in a way I didn’t know was possible. I’ve truly experienced a reigniting of the love I have for this franchise after having watched Andor. In the age of consumerism, where corporations make shows to sell toys without any consideration for what they’re playing with, it is beyond refreshing to watch something that has been cared for and treated with respect. It’s more than a television series, it is a love letter to the genre of film, and by extension Star Wars itself. Truly a wonderful thing to see in the modern era.
It speaks to our alienation
I kinda get annoyed when people say Andor starts slow because it literally opens with him murdering two people lmao. Nice video, I think you nailed what makes this show so good. It has to earn everything, no riding off the coattails of the previous but expands upon those works. That and it actual tells something of substance while not hitting you with non stop spectacle. Then when you get the spectacle it feels “earned”. Definitely the peak of Star Wars, kinda scared to see if they can follow that up in season 2/ hope they give it a proper and satisfying ending.
100% agreed, it's not slow at all, it's just taking its time to tell a competent story. Never understood some opinions on the show where the main critique was "it's too slow." Always annoyed me haha
@@SpacemanSR The Expanse had the same knock against it when they literally Nuke a ship in the first episode. I think lots of people just have zero attention span.
It was slow because it was generic and uninspired, it's not generic for Star Wars, but generic in general, the pitch is "space mercenary over the course of a season gradually changes to want to fight evil empire"
Sounds fairly bland because it is.
Having the star wars branding doesn't exclude it from this.
A New Hope also had a generic plot and premise, however the universe it introduced was what set it apart, in Andor we know the universe, and the stuff it sets us up with isn't nearly as interesting or unique as the og star wars was, this is generic underground rebels fight against evil empire and both sides are morally grey, we've all seen this before.
@@darrel7589 Did you finish watching the whole series? Every complain I read in many places is from the first 2 episodes, which I admit are the weakest of the season, in the scenes that you mention, but those episodes pay off at the very end. And I strongly disagree with your statement that it has a "Bad script", on the contrary, it is the most cohesive script of the whole franchise, and it has many layers digging from many sources in literature and history, with a good dosage of social commentary on actual events. There´s more than meet the eyes.
@@darrel7589 "A generic fight in an alley isn't impressive"
Would it have been more impressive if Andor did a cool backflip and pulled out a laser sword? Just asking.
Thanks so much for so eloquently describing what makes Andor so incredible. I was shocked at how good it is, when I recently saw it. In some ways, the best of all the Star Wars works. To me.
This video is a work of art. I cant believe i have not found you earlier but this video made me feel the same way i felt while watching andor, i am absolutely amazed. The way you explain your ideas is spectacular, keep on with the good work, you genuenly brightened my day!!!
Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate it a lot
Great video… The scene I liked the most in the 12 episodes is in the fifth episode when the Tie Fighter flew in the valley where they were walking. It made a single Tie Fighter feel dangerous again… It’s good to fear the Empire again.
I think that was the moment when I knew this series was going to be the masterpiece it turned into. Turning a single tie-fighter into a moving force of fear and oppression; that perspective is so nicely done. Beautiful work from Tony Gilroy and the creative team
Yes this. To make one Tie Fighter a threat was the moment I knew this understood Star Wars better than anything since Return of the Jedi.
It’s the one scene that plays in my head the most whenever I think about the series. The cinematography of Andor is unrivaled by any other Star Wars media aside from Rogue One.
@@GreyLion86 Agreed, if only Episode V were made with a bigger budget and 40 years of movie tech later (man I feel old!), I can only imagine what the Battle of Hoth would be like with the tools and budget of a modern movie. Of course they shouldn't tough it, one they would mess it up, two it's a classic in it's own right and the best Star Wars so far, though Andor/Rouge One is right there with Episode IV, TCW/BB and Rebels is the best of the rest to me. Hopefully we get a decent Mando season 3 (2 and 2.5 were meh at best).
I feel like they could have made that scene a lot more fear inducing too but what they did still worked very well
My 17-year-old son and I watched this series together and every episode at least once we would just turn to each and say, “God Damn!”, and shake our heads in amazement.
The strongest sensation I had watching Andor, and which we agreed upon, was that “it’s just so REAL”.
Perhaps we felt it most strongly at the very end of episode 2 when Andor walked toward the camera as the music swelled with the drums rising in volume. My son turned to me and said he doesn’t remember any Star Wars music ever sounding like that.
Just, WOW!
Beautifully said, Viva la Andor
It's a show about the birth of the Rebellion, a missing piece as the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire was before the prequel trilogy. Loved every moment of it. One of the best Star Wars stories ever made. Way way better than the sequel trilogy.
I´m proud that the actor is mexican. I have met him in person many years ago and he has such a great talent. Hope that season 2 will be soon available.
p.d. thanks for your video bro!
WHAT KIND OF MEXICAN? from spain? mix of spain & english? 100% purebred mexico? aztec? would be nice to know. if native mexican like like native american. just say so.
@@genenightthunder2727according to IMDb, “His father is Mexican and his mother was British, of Scottish and English descent”
@@genenightthunder2727 Mexican as in Mexican native, Diego Luna was very active as a young actor in Mexican productions, he was specially brilliant in Y tu mamá también, there isn't those types of qualifications here, Mexican is a nationality.
@@genenightthunder2727 mexican = mexican
I believe that Andor is the best Star Wars product we’ve seen. The depth of the characters and the amazing cinematography, effects, music, and designs.
Tony G and his brother took us down to the street level of a desperate rebellion. The acting, writing, score, and cinematography were first class. Unlike the original movies, this one isn’t for kids - it was for the kids who saw the OT. It left me feeling uneasy because the themes have never been so relevant and there was a bleakness to it that, although we know the victorious outcome, stuck under our skin. I appreciate Andor - cannot wait to see the ripple effect this project has on the franchise.
At the end of episode 3 I realized how special this show was. You have managed to explain in detail what I felt but couldn't put into words.
Andor is the greatest thing Star Wars has done, in decades; thank you for making this.
I've never watched so many reviews and videos about a single TV show before, but I've enjoyed Andor so much that I can't stop hearing what other people have thought about it and the things they've noticed, and when they point out each of it's unique qualities it just makes me appreciate it even more. I've already watched all 12 parts but I want to watch them all again, and there aren't many shows in general that make me want to repeat a season as soon as it's over. You put much of what I've been feeling into eloquent words.
Thank you for sharing words that help incapsulate a fragment of the incompressible masterpiece that is, Andor.
I had the honor of watching this video for the first time today and it was incredible. You had this one quote at the beginning of the video that really sticks with me "when a substance becomes so human that it's themes becomes self sustaining that it effortlessly ignties itself at the forefront of your imagination" this one idea of art being only truly art when is so personable that it becomes it's own person that you can interact with it awesome. While i haven't had enough time to think about this quote to say how it's changed how i think i can see how it changed how you did. The way this video essay was carried out with so much care and attention, it feels like a piece of art. It, like the show that inspired it goes outside you and your own opinions, unlike past video essays do, and it even goes outside the show itself... it really effects those who watch it. Parts of this video becomes its own independent piece to compliment and enhance the show its made after. Parts like the 30 silence where the video asks you to think, think about the show, what you have learned, about the video. Moments like this is where i as a listener get to interact with this show and video and i get to think about it, i get to let them both become peices of art. This is the beauty of this video, it isn't an essay, but a piece of art that elevates the show it's about higher than it ever was. In the same way it elevates me as a listener by allowing me to think, it elevates the show by examining it in a way never before seen, and lastly it elevates you as the arthor of this video. Like i said I've seen your other video essays and they are amazing, but the way in which you humbly allow this video to be it's own thing allows for it to do stuff that you never intended it to do. The reason i assume this happened was because of how inspired you where from the show, showing how this show was a peice of art, because it affected you and made you think in a way you never could of originally.
Lastly I hope that this comment is itself a piece of art, I said at the beginning of it that I hadn't had time to process the quote yet. Well now I have, and I hope that by taking the beauty of this video and using it to encourage you as a creator it can become something else, it can become its own person, something that can affect you. If it does then my comment will hopefully be a piece of its own art, inspired by someone, to inspire someone else. It can become something outside itself. I hope this comment elevates you like this video elevated me. Because if it does then I can help contribute to this work of art. Like every other commenter who was also affected by this video before me.
@@ALIVEBRO. this comment really means a lot to me, and I read every word above it. I love when art inspires people to express the most human parts of themselves, and you did that with this comment. Thank you for leaving the comment and giving this video a watch, much love friend
Didn’t even notice you had 10k subs until you pointed it out in the video. This easily is the work of a massive CZcams channel. Quality editing and quality perspective, great review
I appreciate that!
@@SpacemanSR you’re extremely literate as well, keep it up you got a subscription out of me
After finishing Andor I rewatched Rogue One for the first time since seeing it in cinema. They continue perfectly.
I never thought we'd get something of that calibre ever again. I truly hope this is not the end.
Your video make me cry. It's so true. We need more Andor across all star wars franchise. I'm from México and we are on a time where Andor it's just that real as our political situation right now (2023) we struggle with the problem to unite us as nation... Sorry... It's just that you (and many more) see the truth that Andor tries to reflect. Thank you
Thank you for this wonderful comment. I think the series was echoing a lot of what is going on in the world, and a cautionary tale too
This show was the best thing to happen to star wars in a long time. Beautifully shot and masterfully crafted!
One of the things I do appreciate about Disney's handling of star wars is they've been good about giving different directors a try at the franchise. Some have shit the bed, others haven't, and at the moment it seems like Disney are also hands off (as evidenced by the lack of lightsabers in Andor). A surprising outcome to me has been that there may be room to grow and explore the star wars universe more than I thought.
1000%, I really appreciate Disney giving people a chance to try their hand at things
Not just the lack of lightsabres... I recall not one use of the word "Force".
There is no invisible space magic that will save the day. It's up to the characters to do it, or die trying.
This guy should be hired to read audio books. Seriously, I could listen to him read me the entire collection of Harry Potter books, or Edgar Allen Poe. The cadence of his speech, and the articulation is just mesmerizing. Not to mention the level of intellectual analysis. Very nice!
Imagine this fella reading the rats in the walls, Lovecraft 😍
I hate myself for being *that guy* but I did cringe a little bit upon seeing _Harry Potter_ and E.A. Poe brought up in the same sentence as if they were equals.
@@AthEE_One yeah, I agree, but JKR did inspire a whole generation to read globally in the age of TikTok. That is something comparable to the Bible's influence over the course of centuries in only a decade.
I'm also in my 50's and saw Episode IV in the theater. I don't think I can state my appreciation for your review any better than others here, and I wholeheartedly agree with your opinion on Andor embodying the feel of the original movies. It isn't the stormtroopers or tech that's frightening its the idealism behind it that makes the Empire so menacing. Too many later productions just throw bodies at the rebels and it ends up making the enemy look buffoonish.
Andor makes you feel what is like for the average character to be under the magnifying glass; something that's easily relatable for the viewer. It really is an underappreciated gift.
Very well put...One of the best that Star Wars has to offer...
"...real art is not only experienced but extracted--remembered, related, revered, and inspiring..."
I absolutely love how you express this. This argument blankets over so many great works, like Herbert's Dune, DiMartino's, Konietzko's and Ehasz's ALTA, Levy and Duffer brothers' Stranger Things, and others perfectly.
"Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of art is how it balances the rhetorical examination of The Human condition..."
Also IMO a precise observation
"Star Wars, when understood, is like poetry--it rhymes"
Also a great simile, and I think this applies to many other epics.
"...but what you become at the cost of your mission is all that speaks when no one is left to listen."
I felt this was a fantastic extraction of one of Lutherns main arguments in his speech.
"Andor asks you [to] sit in silence--to listen and breathe -*-and then-*- the answer comes-- [Cue Silence]"
What a **brilliant** execution! So good! this is the epitome of show, don't tell. You tell when you want the audience to think, and show when you want the audience to feel, yet this makes you feel so deeply, then afterwards you ponder and wonder.
"What Andor does that so many interpretations fail to do is texturize the world of Star Wars."
Thomas Flight talked about this, I don't know if you watched his take on Andor's cinematics, but he really dove deep on this.
"... Andor asks you to accept that the forest exists independently of the trees, that it exists in spite of those trees and no matter how many trees rise and fall, it is still a forest..."
This and the rest of the conclusion was so poignant and artistic. Made me look around at people around me through the lens of that analogy. Gilroy and the other writers and directors really understood the humanity of its characters, even if they weren't all human. Spaceman, your writing is really brilliant. How do you write like that?
This comment really made me smile, thank you friend. Writing is easy when you love something
I appreciate how confused Andor was throughout the show. Us witnessing this whole situation transpire from his perspective and him responding in ways that are so desperate, human, and conflicting was really touching. His confusion means that he had the opportunity to witness many different perspectives regarding the fate of many different kinds of people. From experiencing people's needs to run, fight, convert, control, sacrifice, and manipulate... confusion is expected from a catalyst like Andor. But that's what makes his character so great in my opinion.
If you look more into the definition of "Andor", it essentially means that if you tell a big enough lie and consistently support that claim with enough support, people will begin to believe it. And Cassion being the source of this major shift that led to the rebellion is very real and interesting given his background with all of these different characters. Although, Cassion lost a lot to this major shift towards the Rebellion which definitely justifies his distrust in this major change. However, his determination to respect the sacrifices made even though he doesn't exactly believe this was the way to accommodate peace and comfort for a majority of people was pretty heartbreaking.
A great show :)
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” - Goebbels
the opening scene when he shoots a guard in the alleyway in cold blood, I was blown away. This was the "hero" of our story?! Absolutely incredible and I think this video essay undersells how compelling Andor is as a character in his own right, he doesn't fit any George Lucas/Joseph Campbell archetype and goes beyond that. It allows characters who DO fit the mythic archetype to make realistic sense because of nuanced characters like Andor.
Andor has singlehandedly revived my love for star wars. Always as a kid my imagination always went directly to, oo what would it be like to be a jedi. Then later it became what would it be like to just live in that galaxy. Then the new trilogy happened, then Disney+ started and it all fell away... Andor has reignited that love. It's everything that always made star wars great. Gray areas, the good guys already completely clean and good, the political grandstanding and just politics because (star wars has always been political) and a true story where it's not JUST about the action and star ships but more about the people aboard those ships.
retweet. liked. subscribed for life. every single sentence is exactly how i felt and loved Andor
Welcome aboard friend
This video is the first masterpiece of 2023, what a review.
🙏❤
I have only now realized that Andor was in Rogue One, and when it dawned on me that he was building the weapon that will kill him i was just flabbergasted.
The brilliance of "Andor" is found in the way its creators/writers allowed the story to grow. They never once fall into the trap of telling us about the characters/plot points through special effects or other devices-they show us. The CGI is along for the ride. Thank you. I totally agree with your conclusions. This series is on my very short list of greatest episodic scifi stories ever told.
I loved Andor! It was not just Lightsabers, Jedi and Sith, but the story of the people outside of the Jedi / Sith perspective! I want more like that!
The scene on Ferrix shot from the perspective of a doorway arch with the storm troopers marching in formation down the city street is the one time storm troopers came off as truly scary, very reminiscent of 1939 Europe.
It felt VERY much like Nazi occupation. I loved that parallel, so historical
Or Chancellorville, Virginia 2018 and Jan. 6th, 2021 Washington DC.
@@lamarravery4094 not quite lol
@@Hoodie-K the empire was originally based of off America so a good point
@@domesticateddryo8306you mean germany?
Andor has character, not just characters, it’s a deep, long paced experience that gives a credibility to everything on screen. From ordinary lives turned into freedom fighters to the technocrats on a career path in the empire’s heart of darkness. All complexity and struggle in environments dripping in real world feel and use.
Superb. And yes, Andor and Rogue One are by far the finest of the Star Wars saga.
Andor showed me not only what it's really like to foment a rebellion, it showed me what it takes to be run an imperial bureaucracy. And made it only riveting, but profound. Amazing amazing show, my favorite of 2022 by a wide margin.
I'm some one who struggles to express ideas to other people, to hear you put words to my exact thoughts about this show, your video has moved me to tears, thank you.
Simply a masterful articulation of why I fell in love with every scene and every story that Andor shows us. It couldn't have taken any other pace, it's not slow it moves at the perfect speed to show what it wants to you in the way it wants to and it was art of the highest quality while wearing the cape of Star wars.
Andor says, look, listen, remember, understand.
The fight scenes and the conversations have the same care taken with them and they are equally amazing to watch.
Every episode made me feel the way I did when my parents let me skip school and go see a rescreening of the empire strikes back.
This is my Star wars.
(subscribed and will be following your channel with interest)
Much appreciated friend, so glad you liked the review
Glad to have found this by chance. Andor is the Star Wars Disney+ show I actually made a point of recommending the most to my dad, brother, & best friend. It’s a great show for many reasons. Thanks for giving it some proper recognition! 👍
Thank you for stopping by!
Glad i can find a group that really enjoyed this as much as i did..
Saying this as someone who has not enjoyed most of the Star Wars content (aside from R1) that Disney has put out, and had utterly lost hope of ever seeing anything really good from them - Andor is the Star Wars I wanted. Slow, deep, well acted and well written, with simply incredible visuals and sound. Andor himself wasn't a particularly interesting character in R1, and to me at least, he still isn't, but that's partially why he was perfect for this, as using him as a fixed point to let other stories spin off around him worked so incredibly well. Andor is Star Wars for grown ups, and it is superb. As was this analysis, so - subbed!
I get a delicious joy from the frustrated fans that can't idolize and monetize and reify the character of Andor. Andor is like so many of us, unsure of who we are, plagued by motivations and insecurities we have no power over. Andor is a cork floating on an ocean, a 'leaf on the wind' so to speak. As such, he's a needle in the eye of everyone who has written 'protagonists' for Star Wars and in fact for many other things. He's a person and we are him; Not to snuggle up to and feel wonderful, but to recognize aghast, once again in the mirror the horror and inexplicable beauty that confronts us.
I kind of liked the way they handled Andor in R1, he felt like another nameless disposable spook that we've never seen but exist in the background of Star Wars
I think ultimately that's the essence of it, It's SW for grown-ups. People that grew up on the OT, followed its evolution in the EU and love the grit and nuance that was developed thru all those stories. The problem is Disney is trying to reformat the franchise into this bright shiny marketable thing, with no sharp problematic edges and very simplistic storytelling. Great for kids, but as long time fans we are all past that, we want complexity. I think there's room for both takes on Star Wars if Lucasfilm is shrewd about it, but I doubt they will be.
I've been watching analysis videos of Andor since I finished the show. I knew that a simple viewing wasn't enough to understand and internalize what the show was trying to tell me. Your video helped link that gap for me, and put into perspective all the things Andor was about and for. Thank you for this. This analysis is the Andor of Andor analysis videos. You earned yourself a sub.
Im so glad this video resonated with you That was the main goal
I wholeheartedly agree with this comment… and make that 2 subs!
Masterpiece, your essay and Andor. Thinking about Andor is still a visceral experience.
This review was almost as exquisite as the source material itself. I resoundingly agree. Very, very well written review. Thank you.
Indeed, Andor isn't just the best Star Wars thing ever made, but some of the best media ever made. Right up there with Breaking Bad - and, in some ways, even more impressive. You are right that nothing was wasted in the narrative. I never felt disoriented or confused, despite the complexity of the set pieces (Andor and Luthen pursued by the 14-man team on Ferrix being the best example, but the truly remarkable ISB analyst meetings being another). Just about the only weakness I can identify is the Bix character - who, in a lesser show would be a stand-out, but here is somewhat wasted. Although I'm still considering whether this was (yet another) perfectly executed subversion of the "durable protaganist" trope that Andor buries again and again. There's a lot to praise about how they showed good detail in the planning and execution of various operations - the mundane difficulties of just doing things. It felt similar to the care Vince Gilligan takes in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul - where the details are lovingly presented, adding plenty of tension, and it works great.
What this show does is something that we don't get anywhere else - a deep dive into the universe of Star Wars. So often our perspective is myopic and stunted, but this felt luxurious and real. Nowhere did they succeed in this more than with the Empire's inner workings, and in particular Andor's brush with the (mundane) criminal justice system. And it all wove together seemlessly! I am so in awe. I've never seen a piece of art where literally everything was working, working together, and just knocked it out of the park. Everyone involved deserves the highest of praise - may they win all the Emmys!
Luxurious is a fine word for this truly. I felt instantly spoiled and insatiable
When I was watching Andor I was thinking this reminds of something well made from the 70s when the conversations seemed real and they weren't going for formula plots.
I can't stop thinking about Andor and how great it was. That brought me here to this excellent analytical review. Amazing work, my friend.
Andor is the Game of Thrones to Lord of the Rings for lack of a better comparison. The original Star Wars trilogy has that whimsical, child-friendly adventurism we all loved growing up, but Andor has the grounded realism that takes what was once pure fantasy, and satisfies the more mature adult mind, making everything vividly real. There is something so truthful, so honest about Andor, it pictures the Star Wars universe as a real place that I can actually believe exists. It takes a galaxy far far away, and brings it very, very close to home. It is so wonderfully made, so beautifully crafted, it is a miracle it exists at all. I had no idea it was even possible, this show truly awes me. And I cried like a weeping baby at the prison escape scene, it was so powerful, so overwhelmingly inspirational, I don't think it will ever be topped.