I know I said I would ease up on writing so much about TV shows, but this is one show I just can’t ignore. There are very few TV shows that have a lasting impact on me upon completion. Station Eleven was one of those shows. It’s been six months and I often find myself randomly thinking about a particular line or scene that really moved me. Now that the show has officially ended, Andor will be joining the ranks of those other shows that I’ll continue to think about long after it’s over.
First, let me just say that Star Wars is my favorite franchise. I was introduced to it at a very young age and have been enamored by it ever since. Sure, there have been some missteps along the way, but that has never taken away my love for the Star Wars universe. However, Andor is truly the first great piece of storytelling in Star Wars since the streaming era began. It’s dark, gritty, and filled with suspense. The tone is far more serious than anything they’ve ever done and they did it perfectly.
I’m not going to go into detail about the acting, writing, cinematography, production design, etc. because it’s all perfect. No notes. Let’s move on.
While we’ve seen stories about the rebellion plenty of times in the past with the animated show Star Wars: Rebels and, of course, the original trilogy, Andor takes the story of the rebellion and shows us a side of it we’ve never seen before. The entire series is dripping with espionage and intrigue. It was basically a spy thriller (and I love spy thrillers) set in the Star Wars universe and that, to me, was one of the most exciting aspects of the show. Seeing these characters infiltrating the Empire to help further the rebel cause, slowly uncovering their plans about the Death Star. No one trusts each other, including a lot of members of the rebellion. Instead of focusing on epic space battles or big shootouts, we get to see the inner workings of the rebellion, but also the Empire.
There’s a good amount of time spent in the show seeing how the inner workings of the Empire continue to increase their hold on the galaxy, and the lengths they’ll go to in order to maintain that hold. We also get a large amount of focus on a few characters in the Empire, and how easily someone can fall under the control of a fascist dictatorship without realizing the pain they are causing. This holds especially true for Dedra (Denise Gough, who was brilliant).
I think what I loved most about Andor is that it’s a much more grounded story, focusing on the people in the galaxy rather than the heroes we all know and love. I’ve always been curious to see what life is like for the average person living in the Star Wars galaxy, especially under the control of the Empire. How did they live their lives during that period? Do they try to keep their head low to avoid risking their lives? Or do they perform small acts of rebellion to fight the Empire in their own way? It’s fascinating seeing something like that on the screen.
This show came at the perfect time in our society, showcasing the effects Fascism has on every day people. It does a brilliant job of mirroring the struggles we currently face, acting as a warning that this is where we’re headed if the people sit around and do nothing. We see how easily that something like this, if ignored, could someday happen to us. It’s already happened before. Andor is a reminder that we can’t keep repeating the past.
Again, I love all of Star Wars. But I think this show proves that the franchise has potential with exploring different genres set in that universe. Andor proves it can be done. Another recent example of another Star Wars show that plays with different styles of storytelling was Skeleton Crew. I won’t go into detail but if you’ve watched it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s the first piece of Star Wars where the children are the main characters and the action revolves around them. It felt like a classic 1980’s movie reminiscent of films such as Stand By Me and The Goonies. A coming-of-age tale set in the Star Wars universe.
The entire galaxy is chock full of stories to pull from. We don’t always have to go back to the characters we know and love to enjoy Star Wars. As a big fan of the franchise, I hope that they continue to bring us stories that are unique, something that brings us to a different part of the galaxy. Introduce new characters and story lines for us to fall in love with. Give us a new Jedi story that makes us excited about seeing the mystical sides of Star Wars again. George Lucas has always said that Star Wars is for everyone, whether you’re a kid or an old ass adult such as myself. Tell different stories across different genres for different audiences. If it’s good, they’ll keep coming back. But continuing to stay in the comforts of stories we’ve already heard or visit characters we’ve already seen is just going to make the franchise stale.
I want this franchise to continue, even if it means we won’t get any good Star Wars stories until after I’m dead. As Luthen Rael says in season 1 of Andor, “I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see.”
Both seasons of Andor are now streaming on Disney+. I highly recommend it.
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