I have to disagree about Bix. She was instrumental in getting Luthen connected with Cassian, helped took care of Maarva, and risked her life trying to find Cassian, which she eventually paid for by getting tortured. But even then, she didn’t give anything up, at least not that we know of. Bix’s relationship with Tim might not have been ideal. But given that Andor was always away, she has to think about her own future and about settling down. Relationships can be complex and love isn’t the only variable.
Like all the other characters, Bix was real - down to the boy toy she wasn’t really all in with and her confused sense of pity and duty towards Andor. It was meaningful that Andor saved her because he didn’t have that sort of relationship with anybody else. Not to mention that he owed her one (or two).
I thought Bix was just okay, but there's a lot of potential for season 2. It will be interesting to see whether her reaction to the torture will be to run as far away as a spaceship can carry her, or to go all in on burning the Empire down. I'm hoping for the latter.
@@caprisanh2845 I wouldn’t mind if Andor left Bix and all his friends behind on season 2. He inspired them to rise up, and he rescued them and got them out, all in the course of discovering his own path. His work/their arc is done. Andor’s on to bigger things.
It’s a slow burn, worth every minute. Pays off in spades. Fantastic cinematography & framing. I liked Bix, though, she was legit and relatable. We’ve all had that person we kept loving & going on a limb for despite our better judgement...for her that was Andor and she sacrificed greatly for it.
As a Marxist it made the show even better, it's so damn good and deals with that struggle so exceptionally well, you can also tell where the inspirations came from quite easily whilst non-leftists won't have a clue.
I love your style, including the cursing. Keep it up. I didn't want Karn to necessarily catch Andor, I just wanted him to move into a shared apartment few dozen levels down, don't know why he put up with her that long. I also can't wait to see what happens between him and Meero.
@@fundhund62 Gilroy doesn't care for Star wars. He doesn't feel the pressure that most others would like faveeau. Gilroy didn't write star wars, he wrote characters and then surrounded himself with people to make it star wars.
@@Aidscapade71 If that's what he tried he failed miserably. The characters are as unlikeable as they get, and Andor as a whole is as far removed from what George Lucas did as night is from day. In many ways, it's actually the exact opposite 🙈
@@fundhund62 In most cases likeable means charismatic and not all main characters need to be charismatic! They need to be interesting and have complex motivations, not snarky disney humour and "cool" oneliners.
Bro, whatever you're doing, film/SW-analyzing, KEEP IT UP. I'm in a caprisanh deep dive and LOVING it. So grateful you're producing such great commentary content. Seems like you're producing really thoughtful art (what you KEEP criticizing some other SW content for). Your humor doesn't hurt either. Can't wait for more, brother! Take your time!
The best content Disney has generated using the Star Wars IP to date. The slow burn isn't slow at all as long as you're genuinely devoting your time to watching the media, and consuming its content with an effort to understand what story they're trying to tell. It's about Cassian, sure, but behind the scenes we have side plots going on simultaneously because, yknow, at large there's the events of the entire Galactic Civil War that we saw in Rogue One and the original trilogy *on the very close horizon* to whats going on with Mon Mothma in the political sphere, the Empire and their agents, and Luthen playing a huge role in financially funding their conflict while keeping it on the down-low. the fact that Cassian gets wrapped up in basically all of it feels unreal to see play out, especially after his lackluster role in-universe in Rogue One. Andor puts it all, unironically all of it, into perspective that nothing else could've done better. Rogue One did the same exact thing for the months leading up to Episode IV, and im glad we got another well executed + well produced window into around the same timeline.
Not to shit on Mandalorian or anything (I know it's a different style, not everything needs to be like Andor etc.) but the most ridiculous thing I find is: They hired an actor of the highest caliber, Pedro Pascal, and buried him under a helmet all the time. I'm pretty sure it's not even him in most scenes, he's probably just dubbing his lines. Disney was probably like "**ck the acting and dialogues, just make sure people like shiny armors, laser guns and characterless stuffed toys."
Wow, this dude really hates Bix... Sure, she was lying to Timm, but she *was* running a criminal enterprise (funneling black market parts to the nascent Rebellion) and had ties to Luthen. It makes perfect sense that she would want to keep Timm-With-Two-M's out of the loop -- he clearly doesn't know about her off-the-books deals -- but that comes back to bite them all on the ass when he drops the dime on Cassian out of jealousy. And then she spent the better part of a day looking at his cooling corpse on the stairs.
This is also the first time in Star Wars I ever heard somebody say, "Oh my god" - even though we did get a strange reference with Han in episode 5 when he said, "Then I'll see you in hell!" After he went out into the Blizzard to find Luke.
I wasn't going to watch Andor because of how shit all the other Disney Star Wars stuff has been. But then everyone was like, "yada yada so good," I finally gave it a chance. I am SO glad I did. Stellan Skarsgård's Luthen Rael and Genevieve O'Reilly's Mon Mothma alone were worth the price of admission. Damn. SO GOOD! It was great finally getting to see some good Mon Mothma stuff, too.
The Mandalorian is epic. It taps into new mythology and a lone ranger version of the hero’s journey. The character has incorruptible ethics from the start, so his struggle is not with himself but the universe he inhabits. Faced with corruption, betrayal, oppression and uncertainty, he remains steadfast and strong. He is generous with those who are kind, and uncompromising with those who are cruel. He fosters friendships through reciprocity. Din Djarin shows au audience who live in a cost/benefit world the meaning of honour and the strength of religious conviction. Tenderness contrasts with strength in a vibrant palette of backdrops. It is the perfect escapism. Andor is entertaining, and creates strong characters with expert world building. Yet, this realism is too familiar. People have boring jobs, and worry about business. The main character pursues money, and the rebellion is worrying about finance. This isn’t just gritty, it is a glorification of everyday lives, while indulging in anti-elitism. This moral valourization of ‘regular’ people is counter productive. There is no doubt they have humanity with complex emotions, but that doesn’t make them remarkable. Romanticizing the the working class while trivializing the elite might seem subversive, but it tells us very little about how power works. Other than broad, generic and one-dimensional ‘freedom’, we do not learn about the ideas held by those making consequential choices. There is no myth making in which to escape the drudgery of regular life. The moral sentiment is self centred and provincial, the people care about their town but strive for no spiritual or transcendental ideals. And the impulse throughout is to burn everything down - rather than to rebuild, restore or reinvigorate the existing democracy. They’ve given up, and only want to expel the undeniably fascist political order, presumably to restore the unremarkable past without any vision for the future. This reminds me too much of the world we already inhabit and the misguided spirit of our age.
I've always believed that Star Wars is such a rich universe that even if you removed the fantasy elements it could very much stand on its own. Andor is further proof of this. Trully peak Star Wars
When Rouge One came out, I never expected it to be the best movie in the Star Wars universe besides the original trilogy, but it turned out to be just that. I really hope that Andor season two is too far into production that it can't be messed up.
Great video on Andor just have to say gorge Lucuas wanted Star Wars to be able for kids to see to. Of course Star Wars can have dark Themes but it shouldn’t go in to a rated r route
I've watched all star wars in theaters, and love the lore. IMO KOTOR is peak but cinematically, hands down Andor & Rogue One is top. Reasoning is the nuance and relationship we have to the characters to then just die in WAR... it's real. That's why GOT did so well, similar dynamics, great dialogue, complex characters. Star Wars is great but it always reminded me of being a kid and playing pretend and never actually getting shot by your friend. You grow up and realize life is way crazier than childhood. This does that
I. Loved. Andor. Without exception. Even Karn's mother. She was just so hilariously savage and toxic that her every scene was a treat. Disney and Lucasfilm take note: not everything needs to be jedi and mandalorians. I love the Force stuff (except the insistence that prequel era jedi are heroes because they're not. Fight me.) and I love mandalorian stuff! But back in Legends, the old EU, my favorite character was Wedge Antilles and I loved the X-wing books because they were about the Star Wars setting not just the Skywalkers. Sure, give us flashy laser swords, space wizards, and badass warriors in badass armor but we also need to see the ordinary people trying to get by, the criminals pulling heists, and the desperate struggling against a regime they can't hope to defeat. Give us all of Star Wars, not just the flashy bits.
I dunno if I'd call Andor "Star Wars perfection", but it's pretty damn good Star Wars. It's got some great action scenes, and great production values, but man, the best thing about it is the ACTING. All of the main cast are on their A-games here, and if the Academy weren't blatantly prejudiced against genre content, there'd be at least two or three acting nominations for this show, starting with Best Supporting Actor for both Stellan Skarsgård and Andy Serkis, and Best Actress or Supporting Actress for both Genevieve O'Reilly and Denise Gough. I mean, the whole frakkin' cast is awesome, but those are the ones whose performances stood out for me above all the others. And for the love of the Force, I hope they bring back Andy Serkis' Kino next season! Maybe he can't swim, but with a little bit of ingenuity they could create a floatation device for him out of clothing - US military are taught how to make floatation devices from their trousers in basic training, so there's no reason why someone in the Star Wars universe couldn't know the technique and use it to get to shore, and even show the technique to Kino. I want to see that guy in a Rebel Alliance uniform by the end of Season 2.
Gonna re-watch this after I finish re-watching Daredevil... the only complaint I ever heard was it moved slow, but I'll take long episodes with world/character building over short stories that jump all over the place and have no stakes
ANDOR is the only Star Wars tv show that feels like a movie instead of a tv show. It’s quality in production and story surpasses every other show (so far). I waited till everything was available and watched it over a weekend. Yeah, that’s binging and in this case for the better. Mando is fine to watch just one episode per week…
I adore this show, can't wait for more episodes, and agree that it's embarrassing they did so little with the chick i can't name. But they set ir up like she'll be back, maybe they'll improve that part. And yourr video is totally being shared because it's really good.
They used real locations, unlike all the other shows as they use the new screens they made, you can definitely feel the difference, love this show, can't wait for season 2 and seeing naboo again
You're correct about everything except one thing. Luthen's speech is not as good as Yodas, its as good as Roy Batty in Blade Runner, or anything Ripley says in Aliens, or anything Hudson says for that matter. It's almost Shakespearian, and I want to know who wrote it, and to start going to their masterclass on how to write awesome Star Wars monologues.
I just re watched Rouge One on the weekend for the first time after finishing Andor. it made Rouge one even better. which is fantastic. Rouge one was already pretty great, arguably the best Disney star wars movie they made. I would make a argument that force awakens re kindled a lot of love for star wars... it introduced a GREAT cast (which the later 2 movies totally do nothing with) and it setup a interesting story to be told... its just a shame the following 2 movies totally drag star wars into the dirt. Rise of skywalker is BY FAR the worst star wars movie ever made. its not even a competition in my mind. BUT yea... Andor and rouge one and the Mandalorian are all proving that live action star wars is still something that can be great and I cant wait to see more of it.
Holy hell, can people stop with the prequels politics being too complicated? A censure motion is one of the EASIEST things to understand in modern democracies. I have the wiki page right in front of my eyes, just to make sure it also exist in the US. If you have the right to vote, at least try to understand the basics of what your role is. They're just voting for a Censure motion because of Valorum's inaction during a time of crisis. That's it. In what way is it difficult to understand for a grown adult??? And even as a 12 years old kid, you can understand that the guy in charge is being voted out. Otherwise, good video.
I have watched it 8 times already!!! Hired a British writer who knows how the Empire actually ran. Although I thought it was funny that you just sacrifice 30 men and made a big deal out of it. This is war we are talking about.
"I think this has a coloration with a modern tiny attention spans and our need to be entertained immediately" This. This exactly. I asked in one thread "Is Andor boring or do be have short attention spans?" and the majority replied with boring.
It was incredible. An odd aspect that I loved was that there was no comic relief character. There were humorous bits, but there was no goofy character or droid just there to plug in “wow! This sure is a crazy situation we’re in!” style observational humor. Every character was capable in their own way and not a line of dialogue felt wasted. Every line either added to our understanding of the character, the world, or the events of the plot. Just fucking brilliant all around.
One thing I should note about the military is you will often meet the goofiest people there, I used to think it was un realistic in movies before I joined
“Andor tastes delicious” listen I feel that 😂 the production value and writing was movie level and it was amazing, I did a video essay basically talking about the same things you did lol. I really hope Disney does more Star Wars like this, and you should def do more video essays!! You’re very concise and entertaining 👌
Impressed that the writers didn't use ths Empire to kill Maarva - she dies from illness/old age. Kudos to them for not taking the cheap and cheesy subplot to progress Andors hatred of the Empire...Also, Bix could be Andor's substitute for his sister, a redemption arc perhaps? Love this show. This and Rogue One are my Star Wars favourites now. More of this, please...
Lets hope its not. Lets hope this is the beginning. Not even the beginning of the peak. But it is, perhaps, the end of the suckage Disney has been putting out so far..
@@ryanexsus Lightsabers and pew pew was not the essence of starwars you simpelton. Star Trek and Stargate also has that. Star Wars is the story. And Andor is the star wars story.
@@pqsnet Don't get me wrong I loved the show, but if you removed the droids it could be any other sci fi universe. "The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force." I'm personally waiting on Ahsoka and Mandalorian Season 3.
@@ryanexsus Well, i can agree, but then again, at the time of Battle of Yavin there wasnt a lot of jedis really, and the force was not present everywhere. The OT wasnt centered around the force either.
Happy I'm not the only one that picked up on how "cheap" Obi Wan looked. I don't know why, maybe it was the sets or camera movements or the lighting, but everything felt so cheap and fake. Andor looked LIVED IN and real.
Very good reason: because Andor IS real. A lot of the show, in a divergence from the others, was filmed in real locations. The garrison on Aldhani is a real dam in Scotland, and all of those surrounding highlands are real, just to name one example. The show didn't use The Volume to film everything, which is why all the others shows have that samey, unreal look to them. Plus, Andor has a larger budget than any of the other shows, and I can happily say that it really shows.
Great review (apart from the Bix-hate!😂) Everything about this show was elite. In front and behind the camera, it has the high ground. Can’t wait for S2!
@Kayla Ramirez Bix reminded me a lot of some people I’ve met. Like her or hate her, she’s very real and her little love triangle with Andor and Timm honestly made me laugh at some points, because I was like, “Yeah, I’ve been there.” Which I think makes her a great character. People are tripping.
I hope with this show and its success it could potentially cause a paradigm shift where Disney will start to allow more "room" for this kind of mature plot (possibly bringing a much mature audience into the StarWars universe, generating much more money). At the moment, it seems it was indeed a success, and I hope season 2 will also be great. Crossing my fingers for more dark tone series and movies like these
Yes, Andor is with The Mandalorian and Rogue One, The best Disney have put out. Andor is, what Disney Star Wars should have been. An Stand Alone expansion of the already established universe, with new characters, new worlds connected to the Original films, adding to the Saga, and do so with a good script over fancy light-sabers, star ship battles and hords of storm troopers. Andor is the perfect example.
Most important of all.. It didnt reinterpret, reinvent, lift up certain characters by trampeling on others or break the established rules or lore of the Star Wars universe... It made it more complete.
Actually Andor is way better than the Mandalorian, which was kind of good season 1 but got worse season 2 imho. I look forward for Andor S2 much more than Mandalorian S3.
@@s.d.d.6063 I haven't watched Andor fully so I wouldn't know how good it is in its entirety, but saying Mando "was kind of good" for season 1 is just wrong lmfao. Mando S1 is peak Disney SW and I know plenty of people that would agree with me (ppl who have watched Andor ofc). Mando did fall off S2 and then completely fell off S3 but downplaying Mando S1 to uphold Andor is just wrong. If you wanna say Mando INCLUDING S3 is below Andor then fair, but Mando S1 is better than Andor in many/most people's eyes. Not to mention the reasoning behind the drop off in Mando was the obvious budget difference between the seasons and how S1 had much more in comparison to the successors. I'm willing to bet S2 of Andor is going to have a dropoff in budget and drop off in quality because of it.
I love the in-depth characterization in this show. A striking example is Luthen. He is a great mediator. He doesn't mince words leading to explosive confrontations with others, but he also knows how to keep them close. Notice when he shouts "LOOK AT ME!" when speaking with Vel, but then goes back to a conciliatory tone "you wanted to lead, this is how it's going to be". With Lonnie, he goes from "Your contribution to rebellion is epic..." to "What do I sacrifice? EVERYTHING!" to "You'll stay with me Lonnie. I need all the heroes I can get.". His scenes with Saw and Mon also unfold in the same way. There are distinct behavioral traits visible also in other minor characters, e.g. Major Partagaz. And I appreciated that a lot about this show. Good job, writers!
Dude, Bix didn’t give up Luthen OR Cassian to the Empire even though she herself was given to them. She was also helping the Rebellion early on before many others. This should speak volumes and your hate for her is kind of unfounded. But thanks for the video!
Bix gave up every single piece of information she had. She sold them out wholesale. And the only reason she was still kept alive afterwards was that she was the only person who the empire has on had that had any interactions with Luthen. Furthermore - the only reason we still are OK with her is that her selling out Andor didn't mean jack shit and she didn't have enough information on Luthen to actually betray him.
@@robhughes8198 Remeber who's asking the questions. They don't give a flying fuck about the security issues of the location they're stationed in. They care about Andor, Luthen and all contraband deals. There are several dialogue lines that clearly state what information was gathered - the security of the hotel is not included, because it was of no interest to the bureau.
Best Star Wars since Empire - honestly, I'm beginning to think it's the best SW ever. Love Lucas for creating the SW Universe, but let's be honest, he was never a great writer. Tony Gilroy has made a SW property that actually makes PAST SW better - because now we understand WHY so many were willing to die to bring down the Empire - we understand the COST of the Empire & the cost of bringing it down - not the cost to a Skywalker or a Solo; the cost to ordinary people. Also, huge props to Tony Gilroy who foisted a show about Marxist revolutionary theory on one of the most savagely capitalist companies in the world.
I was kind of in disbelief when I watched it, how did they even let him go through with it haha "the capitalists will sell us the rope with which to hang them" comes to mind.
Yes much better than the Mandalorian. In fact I think it’s the best Star Wars ever. And I am an 80s kid. Andor is up there with some of my favorite shows of all time already.
I dont't think we can compare Andor to Mando. Andor like you said, is such a truly amazing show and a breath of fresh air for mature viewers. I will be watching it again!!
ANDOR is a must watch, it helped me to reflect upon how the world of every day people may look one day IRL in the grip of a totalitarian power, it is a fascinating writing and amazing acting beautifully set in the context of Star Wars. It reminds us about the most fundamental theme of this saga, the war with pure, overwhelming evil we all have to face one day. Lets better be ready for it ! :)
I enjoyed Andor much more than Rogue One. I can't wait for the second season. Absolutely brilliant. I also really enjoyed The Mandalorian so couldn't compare as they're so different.
Agree with everything said here. It was excellent. And right, finally, really "real". But disagree with Bix too. I liked her character and we will see it in Season II. God, when will that happen? That is the only disappointment for me. Can't wait 2 years.
All the other star wars shows using the Volume feel like "low-effort"-Star Wars compared to the production quality of Andor. The filming also took as long as Kenobi, Boba Fett, and one mando season combined. There is a gigantic gap in terms of production, writing, EVERYTHING.
Best Star Wars production since Empire. For all the reasons you mentioned, but with another major reason: I cared. Tell me a story and make me care. It's so basic. Star Wars is a world and a genre. It isn't a story. I think the past productions (Mandalorian aside) rely to heavily on the genre and world to replace good storytelling. Andor made me care the characters in a way I haven't in so many years. That is just great storytelling.
I think you cant really compare Andor and The Mandalorian, because each absurdly excels in what aimed to achieve and they aimed at vastly different things. Mando is a loveletter to japanese samurai movies and western spaghettis, which inspired a lot of star wars and focused on a story about types of characters we never knew existed in the galaxy. Andor focuses on the other side of SW, the actual “Wars”, real politics, real sacrifices done by many revolutions in our world. So for me, while Mando focused on the “Star” part, Andor focused on the “Wars” part.
