So a bunch of people in the comments and a couple friends have reached out to me to let me know that I missed a trick by not consulting with some indigenous people about the whole unsubtitled Kenari take. From what I've been told it's very representative of many peoples indigenous experience of losing their language due to colonization. It's quite possible that an adult Cassian may no longer remember the language of Kenari at all so by forcing the audience to feel that separation and alienation it gives us a taste of what a young Kassa may have experienced, especially after he was brought to Ferrix. My friend told me I was almost there but he could tell I hadn't consulted with any native folk and he was right. It didn't occur to me to check with folk outside of my Latine sensitivity readers. I appreciate all the people who've written thoughtful comments about this. I will try to do better in the future.
A similar theme of genocide and colonialism is brought up later when Luthan is selling an artifact with writings in a forgotten language. I think it was a very deliberate choice.
I commented under another comment earlier, but that’s precisely the take I had on those scenes. Taking someones language is a core tactic in the colonization playbook, it was used all over the world with indigenous children forcibly taken from their families, but it was also used in the efforts to eradicate the Welsh, Gaelic and Québécois French. There is also an immigrant perspective here.. I know it’s common for 2nd generation immigrants or children brought to a new country at a young age to feel a sense of alienation from their culture because they do not speak the language. You shouldn’t be to hard on yourself though, as I’ve yet to see a single take on the internet pick up on that. I’d love to see a video essay ideally from an indigenous or immigrant perspective covering this however.
@@xenophonBC It sounds like you didn't really understand the video at all if you're just gonna sit here and tell people to relax instead of listening to them
I was about to come to the comments to write something like "yeah, that was the intention" akin to other comments that I just read, but I found this. So instead, I liked this comment and left a pretty different one myself.
One thing I want to point out about the ship fight: besides being cool, its brilliant storytelling. Luthen’s whole ideology is “we push the Empire to tighten their grip, more and more, until it gets too tight and it snaps back”. In that scene, he gets to demonstrate it: little annoyances cause the Imperial Captain to up the tractor beam, until Luthen makes a seemingly incompetent escape attempt (an act of outright rebellion) at which point the beam (repression) is turned up to maximum. At this point, Luthen unleashes the chaff: a cloud of otherwise insignificant little things that, due to the strength of the beam (repression) overwhelm the Imperial ship. It’s an uprising. It’s his entire ideology demonstrated in a single scene. And it’s perfect.
My gawd, you are absolutely spot on. I knew there had to be a reason that scene was so powerful, not just because it was shiny and cool and "starwarsy." Stunning work, and I can't wait to tell someone else what you found.
Here's the thing, I think that learning Cassian helped make the Death Star isnt sad, but almost hopeful because he halted production! Him stoping the prison, getting all 5000 people out halting the prison and getting it out of power for months helped halt production. Maybe it was only for a bit, maybe they stopped a few more pieces but it mattered, because how close where they to getting the death star plans? By seconds. Every second mattered, and every rebel helped buy a precious few seconds for a farm boy to make the shot.
yeah when I was watching I was really hoping that it was parts for the death star (same reasons as you). my pessimistic side was half expecting that we'd find out the other half of the prison was just disassembling the parts and the whole thing was pointless labour
Part of me would have appreciated if the items were something banal like turbolaser power packs or whatever. But it's vastly more narratively satisfying that it was some key part of the Death Star. Reality isn't generally narratively satisfying so the first would have been a nice subversion. But the latter makes a more impactful story. Kinda like is Luthen and Kleya were just ordinary people managing to build the foundation of a rebellion. As opposed to if they turn out to be a fallen jedi and padawan that survived Order 66 and are now using the dark side to defeat the empire.
@@j.f.fisher5318 I do think it works in the specific context of the prison, and the repeated lines 'I'd rather die trying to escape than giving them what they want'. In this case giving the fascists what they want is helping to build the literal, physical representation of everything the Empire wants to be. When you keep your head down and just do what you're told, you become a tiny part in a horrific machine.
In the grand scheme of things, and when you consider how absolutely tight the victory at the end of Rogue One was... Cassian indirectly buying just one or two seconds before the Death Star's activation is basically a double down on how pivotal he was to the rebellion. But it also reinforces the thought that he was not in it alone. Had it been not for his prison mates, for his allies and for all the people that fought by him on each battle, he wouldn't have achieved shit.
I 100% understand the stance that having no subtitles for Cassian's native language was alienating. Personally, the effect that I got from it wasn't alienation from Cassian and the other kids. For me, not having subtitles for those bits made me key in even more to the acting and the emotionality of the kids, which I think made me empathize more. The emotions and experiences didn't need to be translated to be understood because they are universally understandable. We know what happened here--we don't need to be told. The other thing it did for me is really underscore that Cassian is a survivor of a genocide--that we don't get to see any subtitles for his native language because a translation _cannot be made._ That this is a permanently lost language because of what the Empire did to Kenari. I can understand and respect alternate perspectives on this, but when I watched it I remember explicitly thinking that it was a pretty deep-cutting, ballsy decision to not have subtitles for those scenes.
My precise thoughts. Why is a certain level of alienation bad anyway? It's showing us what loss is. That some things are really gone. That people will never truly understand. Quite genius in my opinion
This is precisely how I felt about it. Every detail of setting and costume and facial expression is important. The language separates us, but it lets us focus on our shared humanity. That matters.
I completely agree, I also think that the language reminds us that we are an outsider. It reminds us that we do not have permission to be viewing what is an act of shared trauma from cultural genocide. I definitely think not having the subtitles was a very very good choice.
@The Mediocre Master ok, here's an interesting thing I've realised that not many people have actually talked about. While yes, the flashbacks in chapters 1-3 are set during the time of the republic. They also speak in present day about Kenari being destroyed in a mining disaster. And maarva specifically says in relation to Cassian's search for his sister that there were no survivors on Kenari implying that either the Republic or potentially Empire had done something there after the flashbacks as well. So like the flashbacks are sandwiched between normal mining and potentially mining disaster? It's not really clear about that but that's not really the important thing the show is talking about anyway. Although I'd love to see more about Kenari. Without a doubt. But at the very least it's clear that something has happened to Kenari for the group we see Kassa with to not have any adults and parents with them.
It broke my heart when they all finally get to freedom and he goes “I can’t swim”… You realize in that moment that he knew he wasn’t ever leaving, but he fought for them all anyway. That visceral feeling (multiple times throughout) of sacrificing for the greater good was so goddamned potent.
Honestly I was kind of baffled by the decision to not show the prisoners swimming to shore and helping those who couldn't swim. Seems weird that they just cut away and have Cassian and the other dude running along a beach and later be all, "wonder if anyone else survived!" Like weren't you all swimming away together?
@@JordanSullivanadventures they're on a planet everyone probably tried swimming in different directions so Melshi and Cassian wouldn't know how many people survived and neither do we which is the point of them not showing them swimming away.
i mean they all basically died trying to swim away anyway with basically only the two men left. I got more of a "we will die anyway, might as well die on or terms or by taking out this whole base's production while we do it" than a sacrificial thing
One line that is understandably buried in an ocean of other amazing moments is when Cass comes to get Maarva and she explains how the empire has taken over everywhere. Cass: "Well, we'll find a place they haven't ruined yet." Maarva: "Why? I'm already there. That place is in my head. They can build as many barracks as they like, they'll never find me." That line absolutely cut to the core of me. The utter heart of rebellion burning inside to be surrounded by fascist occupying forces and stubbornly stay free. She refused to let them subdue her. They could put 30 deathstars in the sky above Ferix and never make this woman believe she wasn't free. I loved her for that if nothing else.
It reminds me of the lyrics to the Firefly theme song: Take my love, take my land Take me where I cannot stand I don't care, I'm still free You can't take the sky from me
As a Lakota 60’s scoop survivor who left my “adoptive”/scoop home at 15 to join the Indigenous occupations in canada in the 1990’s Andor was the most relatable thing I’ve ever watched in my life. That there was no subtitles actually made me cry.
A lot of other posters have suggested Kenari is not a generic language but specifically a lost language that we cannot learn because Andor has forgotten it, and I'm sure this can't be an accident since this theme of language and loss is a huge theme throughout the show in general. In addition to the upfront loss of language, the only other place we see Cassian being told about the Kenari is a brothel - the entire idea of the Kenari has been reduced to an exotic, upmarket fetish. One of Luthen's artifacts he shows off ,all of which are otherwise given pretty clear implied meaning, one is a tablet that can't be understood because the language has been lost. With the Empire torturer, an entire species has been utterly eradicated EXCEPT their language, but it is in this case their cries of pain, distorted and mutilated to serve the preferences of the Empire. In the absurdist trial sequence, the ability to control what language means is the main source of power of the Empire judge. In prison, the ability to conceal their intent through language is what keeps the prisoners from rebelling, and losing that control leads to revolt. Fascist genocide may end with camps and crematoria, but it starts with the will to power, deciding that you can control reality through the control of language.
I mean, why do you think fascists nowadays want to ban discussion of certain topics in schools (such as talking about pretty much any form of systemic oppression, they also don't want you to talk about LGBT+ people or critical race theory or anything like that)? They think that, through controlling language, they can control reality and thus erase groups of people they don't like, or at least force them to hide themselves away, as well as ideas they don't like.
I really do just love how, with a *tiny* few changes and a change in perspective, Syril would be the good guy in a different piece of media. He could easily be slipped into a different show, and be the Hero Cop that won’t listen to his corrupt bosses. He is so dedicated to The Truth that he will face professional consequences, and then go out of his way to continue fighting to solve the case. The issue is that he’s doing this for a completely evil cause. And yeah he’s also quite creepy, and so on, but the base level of his character when written out is effectively that of a hero protagonist cop. Note that last word. Cop. I very much read Syril both as a commentary on how fascists operate and internalise what they do, but also a commentary on *other* media. It’s saying “hey aren’t all these hero cops in other shows and movies just one bad government away from willingly being the Gestapo?” And that is fucking great.
Yeah, I personally read Cyril as more of a sympathetic character, someone with very clear social anxiety from his awful upbringing making him come off as creepy, who's strong internal sense of justice is abused by the fascist machine. A demonstration of how fascist regimes can use 'good' people as tools to do awful things. Funnily enough, I believe there would've been an equal chance of him becoming a rebel under ever so slightly different circumstances.
He's the Ordinary Man of 1920s Europe. He wants order, and peace, and community cooperation. Fraternity and equality. He's so desperate to belong somewhere, and so proud of his uniform, he doesn't stop to consider the morality of where he belongs and who gave him that uniformity. And yes, I capitalized that phrase as an allusion.
After watching Syril become stripped of his individuality I now have a desire for a Star Wars buddy cop film with cops similar to Syril and Mosk who are catching “the bad guy” (ignore that fact it’s a rebel) then either defect from the empire after seeing how corrupt their justice system is or just accept it and they’re just pussies. And it’ll be more on brand since I’m still waiting for a Star Wars horror movie that will never happen
In a show full of richly written characters Syril is among my utmost favorites, and it's because of Kyle Sollers brilliant performance. Nonverbally, the guy's expressing more than many others do through a movie's worth of dialogue.
I am so glad you mentioned the Medic. I’m an EMT working on becoming a Paramedic and the way they call him a ‘Med tech’ immediately hit home. His interaction with Olaf felt so real and disturbing to me, down to calling him brother. I understood so well why he didn’t want his name and his desperation in ‘I can’t help him. I can’t help anyone’ has stuck with me ever since.
Something I really love is that Sergeant Mosk goes from gung ho, “First Line of Defense of the Empire” rent a cop, to understanding what that actually means. He sees what the Empire does to bring “order” on Ferrix during the riots. And you just see him drinking on some steps, just thinking what he witnessed. And this is the last we will see of him. His actor confirmed on Twitter he was not asked back to film in season 2
Damn. I was looking forward to more of the character and the performance. I didn’t read his drinking alone as facing doubts about which side he was on, I just saw it as him stuck looking for Syril.
I'm ok with that being the last we see. Not everyone will become a rebel, some will see the horrors and just go about their days, believing that there's nothing left to do. Especially if you once believed in a cause committing those horrors
I was always a bit confused what we were supposed to see in that last shot of him, is he just depressed being abandoned by Syril his one imperial superior officer, a symbol he would follow into death and glory, now abandoning him for someone more powerful. I love how simple it is, that the soldiers faced with doing war crimes for their government do it and only afterwards drown their sorrows in drink.
57:23 Let me tell you, when Marva says "that's just love", my entire heart just exploded and honestly i don't think I've emotionally recovered from that scene
This show really is the best because almost every scene has an impact on someone. Everyone has their favorite/most touching scene and usually for projects it's either 1 or 2 moments that everyone talks about but the diversity in which scene touched who is just *chefs kiss*
It took me several viewings to realize this, but I'm pretty sure the reason Cassian starts attacking the machinery is because he sees the facepaint he put on in imitation of the nameless child leader who stood up for his right to come on the "mission" in an earlier scene, and is suddenly overwhelmed about her death and this series of events that led to it.
For all the praise this show gets I still think it’s underrated. It’s so good like seriously how was this made in this era of not only Star Wars but tv and movies as a whole? It’s a true triumph and I still think it deserves wayyyy more love.
And I would add that part of its strength is that it isn't really what you would call a classic "Star Wars show" like The Clone Wars or Rebels - instead, Andor is a political drama, prison film, heist thriller, or dystopian film all set in the Star Wars universe.
The show also inverts the meaning of Jynn saying “it’s not so bad if you don’t look up”. There are a few lines about the importance of looking down. Including Clem’s “They don’t look down to where they should”.
“If you are ignoring a system that’s killing people; if you’re doing nothing but standing around saying shit’s fucked without trying to find an umbrella, then you’re part of the problem!” I wanted to give 10,000 likes to this statement. This vid was amazing! Thanks so much for the heart and soul you put into it!!
Even if you act to just care for those closest to you, any act against opression is part of a bigger rebellion. We don't all need to be strategic heroes and political intriguists like Mothma and Luthen. We can also be like Brasso or the Tower Bell Dude (best superhero name ever): we can act against nowadays opression by just caring about the ones close to us and drawing a line in the sand. An anvil tower nobody can step upon. An old-lady-turned-brick that nobody can disrespect in our presence. In the grand scheme of this, they haven't really made an impact on the rebellion... but hell if their attitude and the attitude of countless others like them hasn't helped put down the Empire. We can all learn a lesson from these secondary characters.
I just kept expecting them to reveal Cassians sister. That she somehow got off the planet and its someone we knew all alone. It cuts so deep when Marva tells him to stop looking for her. She's gone.
It’s still weird to me that Maarva tells Cassian that there were no other survivors, but the brothel madame in episode 1 is familiar with Kenari, and seems to remember employing a girl from there, and can guess by looking at Cassian that he is looking for someone with dark features like himself, so she knows what people from Kenari look like. That all seems like a promising lead. Makes me wonder if searching for the sister was meant to be a major plot point and the writers abandoned it because it didn’t fit with the direction the show was taking. I wish we could have gotten a first episode that shows Cassian nicking the Starpath unit instead of looking for his sister, since that’s the plot point we could actually use some backstory on.
This is definitely the good kind of subverting expectations. It's realistic but still carries thematic weight. It goes against popular story tropes but without being empty and meaningless...like when characters just...forget about major antagonists they were talking about a few scenes ago...
What about Dedra being the sister? Doesn't her supervisor say something to her about having to be the best compared to her colleagues? Never got what that meant...is she the empire's 'reformed indigenous person' that now serves loyally?
this show is right up there with hunger games for me in terms of art that has reshaped how i experience the world. i cannot think about cassian’s arc without getting emotional. and it has an added effect thanks to luna’s casting. It’s just indescribable how it feels to see someone who looks like me and speaks like my father and family members leading a show about the necessity for resistance in the face of oppression. thank you for this video! i’m having all the feelings 🥹
I literally rewatched the entirety of Hunger Games just because I cannot wait to get my fix for Andor with S2. The parallels between Cassian and Katniss of the process from being a lumpen (lower class people who have no interest for the revolutionary cause) to being a revolutionary is astounding.
@@fish_birbtheir arcs are very similar when you think about it - belongs to an oppressed group and doesn’t really care enough to do something about it (Living outside of the capitol, living on a poor planet like Ferrix) - gets roped into a fight by forces they cannot control (The 74th Hunger Games, the heist at Aldani) - still don’t want anything to do with revolutionary efforts (Opening chapters of Catching Fire, Cassian’s time on Niamos) - get abused physically and mentally by the system that exploited them (The Quartel Quell, Narkina 5) -become radicalized individuals that will do anything to see the system crash and burn (Mockingjay, Rogue One)
I am so happy you talked about the messiness of Maarva's character as Andor's foster mom, and how she literally ripped him away from his family. I was really surprised by how many fans wanted to unambiguously see her motivations as completely justified, or want to see her as a perfect mother. I understand why, and there's nothing wrong with wanting that, but I do wonder if part of that is because of the dearth of actual mainstream stories with foster children where that experience is represented well. As a former foster child who had to be forcibly separated from quite a few families, the way they portrayed her and Andor's own relationship with her actually really spoke to me. Granted, I was not at all in any of the situations you rightfully connected to with indigenous people being stolen, so I can't speak to that. But for me, there was an underlying anger Cassian had throughout the show. Yes towards the empire, but I think you could and should read it as unresolved anger towards his foster parents too, even if he loved them. I don't believe the show wanted us to view Maarva's character as unambiguously good, at least not in Andor's life. I realized this show was going to be something special because of that incredible scene at the end of episode 3, where we're inter-cutting between young Andor and Adult Andor. There's A LOT happening there. I don't believe that scene was there just to connect us to two points to Cassian's life where his world and trajectory completely changed. I think young Andor's uncomprehending face and his wonder cut to Maarva smiling at him cut to Adult Cassian's face is an incredible way to communicate how he actually felt about the way Maarva took him from his family and his home. LOOK AT HIS EXPRESSION. That scene explicitly compares Luthen with Maarva, which, is definitely a specific creative decision. Yes, Luthen is a lot more suspicious, and yes, they are also meant to be compared in terms of different figures fighting against the empire, but I also interpreted that scene as Andor HIMSELF remembering his childhood and the last time this happened, being transported to that moment himself. The way that scene plays out is framed like a memory . Cassian remembers the first real moment where he becomes part of Maarva's family, and THAT'S the expression on his face when he remembers it? I think Cassian has lived out the full consequences that moment in his childhood, and it plays a role in why he's so mistrustful. People with the best intentions--people who are fighting against the same enemy you are--can still hurt you. I was not expecting this level of nuance in a foster child narrative, and I personally was really happy to see it, even if it was a very small slice. I love that in this interpretation, we have a main character who was a foster child, whose identity as a foster child actually had representations in the way it was portrayed--to me, the ramifications of being a foster child played a role in his relationships with other people, with a community that he felt slightly outside of, with his own family. I really liked that he was a foster child who loved his foster parents, and was still angry at them when he remembered the moment he had to live with them. I love that, and I also wish this part of the show was talked about more.
I find the reading of hertaking andor interesting, I didn't see this at all like the stolen generation etc. Maarvas split second decision was based on what the Empire would do when they arrived, and her inability to communicate with the boy the danger. Wonder what season 2 will bring concerning this.
My grandmother is a survivor of the Indian Boarding School System. When she was a child, her grandmother (someone who avoided being sent to boarding school, by literally being hidden in the basement) broke into panic everytime school teachers and other white agents of the state came to inquire "Why aren't your children in school?" Because my great-great grandmother, witnessed her siblings, her cousins and many other children get seized by white indian agents, by white nuns, by white soldiers. To take them to boarding school OR If they were half white, pale skinned or "pretty". Were taken completely and utterly away from their families, never to be seen again. She had no idea where many of those children went, because many died. She fought hard to keep my grandmother home, but after she passed away. My grandmother was finally sent and she endured a brutality that turned her into a woman who could have axed Palpatine with little issue. She was something to behold... But only because of the things those people done to her. Removing her from her home, destroying her language (which she vowed to remember when everyone around her forgot, and BOY did she REMEMBER) and so on. Maarva's motivations are familiar and it hurts to see her genuine love for Cassian. Because there's been so many Native people who come back from being adopted out, who cry. Because their adopted parents LOVE THEM. But they were still taken away, they were still stripped of relationships to their culture. They're still lost
It's fascinating and could use it's own deep dive, but there's one tangential point to it: Kenari is largely thought to now be extinct. From what we hear, and to some degree are shown, it's *probably* true. That being said, we don't have that certainty. Perhaps andor really is the last living Kenari, or perhaps that group of children found a way to survive. If the first is true, then perhaps Maarva was Right to do so. But if it turns out others did survive, then she partook in cultural genocide (even if her intentions were good). I suspect we won't get an answer, because while getting an answer is very Disney, it doesn't necessarily match the tone of the show. After all, it's shown that adults for some reason are highly targeted by the dangerous chemical in the air, so it may be the children cant make it to adulthood. No clue On the point of there not being subtitles during times which the Kenari kids speak--I think it's a great choice, even/especially as someone who is HoH. It's a loud statement that This Language Is Extinct, the specifics are lost. To some degree this happens with other life forms in the series, like chewwie rarely if ever getting specific translations and not just what Han says he's saying, or Basic Droid speak being largely left untranslated--but part of that is that there is someone they communicate with that translated it for us.
It definitely wasn't a clear cut good thing she did there, but she had little time to think it through and knew that the Republic was coming to take their stuff back and would likely kill him if he stayed there. Later Kenari would become unhabitable thanks to a mining disaster and all humans on the planet died
Man, I can just not get enough of Andor video Essays. If you enjoy podcasts I very highly recommend "A More Civilized Age" and their breakdown of Andor, (they also went through all of clone wars and in-depthly discussed it as well). They even talk about how the reason the citizens of Ferix are banging on that metal is because it's a neighborhood alarm system reminiscent of what Irish citizens did during "The Troubles" when British forces would be seen in their neighborhood.
Thats fantastic, ive seen ppl nitpick the metal banging way too much for no reason and guess what they were wrong again to doubt the writers. This show isn’t perfect (to some), but man the details are so fantastic. It makes me happy seeing youtube fill up with Andor video essays all over, good that love for it is staying alive and hopefully growing
it also reminds me of a common way people from latin america protest! on the streets, whole communities bang pots and pans in unison while they march, it’s known as“Cacerolazos”.
@@GuineaPigEveryday I swear so many nitpicks of this show are just from people unaware of historical context lmao. I'm Irish and it never occurred to me that people would not immediately understand what the metal banging was about, either from knowledge or just rolling with the implication, until I read your comment
Scary but also pathetic and inept. It is made up of horrible people who are dysfunctional, they aren't cool, in many ways they kinda just suck. But they're given power in a horrible all encompassing system where their actions result in horrible deaths.
@@dayalasingh5853i don’t think inept is accurate. the empire is portrayed as painfully adept in andor, compared to pretty much every other portrayal of the empire, especially in disney’s star wars. the show excellently shows how the empire slowly but surely usurped power from all those underneath it.
Keeno struck me as someone who was always looking out for his crew. As long as he thought there was the slightest chance that simply serving their time would be enough to get them out alive, he was going along to keep his fellow inmates alive. The instant, the *instant* he realised that there is, well, only one way out, he commits to the revolt. Strong performance in a show full of strong performances.
Andor made me nostalgic for something I've never had: The fierce sense of community the people of Ferrix have. I've always just felt so isolated from the places I live in, having been renting my entire adult life it never seems worth it to build bonds with neighbours who I could be forced to move away from at any time. The people of Ferrix have each others backs in a way I wish I could experience.
It's never too late to start where ever you are in your life. Being in community takes work, sometimes a lot of work, hard work. But you have one advantage. You already feel it's worth it.
41:26 "And he was a main character." I can't even describe the way I reacted to that. I really don't get emotional easy, but that kind of reaction to simple representation really got to me. The way that post was written and how the dad reacted was so fantastic.
I'm Irish, and growing up in the 80s you basically saw two Irish stereotypes in American media: the drunkard and if a show or movie was feeling brave and topical, the terrorist. We had to put up with bullshit like Ryan's Daughter and Darby O'Gill. You only saw nuanced and realistic Irish characters in Irish media, and occasionally British stuff, but that was it. The addition and development of the occasional Irish character like Chief O'Brien in Star Trek was massive for me as a teenager because we all loved Colm Meany after The Commitments and it was awesome to see him play an Irish character who was genuinely Irish. He liked to drink, but he wasn't a drunk. He was proud of his work, both educated and working class at the same time, he was proud of his heritage that included the labour movement - the Irish independence movement of the early 20th century was intrinsically linked to the unions. It's so frustrating when, say Carl Benjamin makes fun of Riz Ahmed who mentioned being excited about seeing people like him on TV as a kid during the Rogue One press junket, when everyone on TV looked like Benjamin. He never had to contend with almost everyone on TV looking like him, but the ones who acted like him were there for comedy, or an ongoing conflict was being mined inexpertly for drama. 30 years later the Irish stereotypes have faded and there's far more varied, if still rare characters in non-Irish media. Everyone deserves that and it shouldn't be a fight or a struggle, it should just be the default. Oh, and before I forget, there are so many great Irish actors in Andor playing a wide variety of characters! Maarva, Dedra and Mon Mothma are all played by Irish actors. Maarva's arc has an incredible resonance because so much of what happens on Ferrix is steeped in things that happened in Northern Ireland. Maarva's funeral is basically an IRA funeral including the anti-occupation invective, the bashing of scrap to alert people to the arrival of security forces... It's all stuff I saw on TV or in documentaries.
As a person who consumed English media with subtitles most of my life, I think having Cassian's native language 'mysterious' was a mirror of what I was experiencing as a child. I really appreciate that I felt reflected on those scenarios; finally, these people who lived their whole life catered to by the majority of the world were feeling what I felt: alienated and just a secondary audience. ngl I really hoped it won't be addressed because the children's reactions were enough language as it was. I mean, come on, western media sees silent movies as highbrow art recently so what are bits of scenes like that?
It's more like. From an Indigenous perspective, our Languages being stated as "Mysterious", "Unknown Language" or the funniest thing ever on Turtle Island; "FOREIGN LANGUAGE" IS a literal reminder. That our Languages are still seen as insignificant, unsuited for Western audiences to sit and think about. Because there was a concerted effort to stamp out each and every language spoken in the America's that were Indigenous in origin. It's why a huge swathe of Indigenous people across north and south america, wind up speaking more than a single language. English as an example. I grew up speaking Omaha and Lakota only as a child, but once I entered broader American society, I had to stop. Because ENGLISH, ENGLISH, ENGLISH. SPEAK ENGLISH YOU IMMIGRANT
At 01:50:27 I believe they switch hats not for funzies, but as a practical way to recognise each other in the upcoming chaos. It is easier to identify your hat in a crowd than your buddies’.
100% 😢 but also what a great scene. As a former air traffic controller I heard many stories of planes crashing after takeoff because loads werent secure. This was on a rail at the time, but it shows that in the heat of the moment they didnt have time to calculate the necessary thrust as they had discussed the episode prior. So much detail in this script.
Worth noting that Cinta didn't leave the heist "cool as a cucumber." She was crying and looked like she was trying really hard to hold back her emotions. She most likely killed the family so there wasn't any witnesses. She might even justify this because of her own anger about the empire killing her entire family. Thank you for the amazing video!
Agreed, I think she left no witnesses too. I'm hoping next season's story has Cinta joining Saw's 'fanatics', while Vel joins Mon's rebels and their differences in acceptable tactics and priorities conflict with their relationship. They're such good characters to build on.
What i see missing from a lot of the andor analysis is that cassian lost his parents in a REPUBLIC mining disaster. It was a republic corporation that colonized the planet, caused massive environmental damage, left thousands of orphans. the seeds for both empire and cassian's dispossession were in the ravenous economic system of the republic, much like the turmoil and despair that leads to fascism comes from industrialization - class struggles, lumpenbourgoise coconspirators, and the acquiescence of elites
A little detail I always found very perfectly telling about the disgustingly efficient Prison System of Narkina 5 is the mere fact that SHOES determine which class you belong to. You know. Just like in real life.
I just watched this over on Nebula. It was fantastic as usual. Also thanks for the Mrs Harris Goes to Paris recommendation. My dad died a few months ago and my mom has, understandably, been sad (as have we all). I have found that watching silly or heartwarming shows and movies with her in the evenings really seems to help. We watched Mrs Harris last weekend and she loved it so thank you
Luna having to ask for people to stop giving him Jabba merch has the same vibe as me begging my parents to get me anything other than Grogu merch after that was all the presents I got for over a year.
Andor didn't help create that which will kill him. He helped to destroy that which he was forced to build. In a fascist society, everyone, willingly or not, is working for an ultimate evil. Doesn't mean you can't take your chance at stopping that work, and then help bring down whatever they forced you to create. Also, wait some people thought the first three episodes were boring? The first time through I was honestly worried about the change of setting because I just fell completely in love with Ferrix as a setting as its tone. Luckily I was wrong and the rest of the show only keep getting better, but I was so into that place!
I'm genuinely impressed and happy that you used Latine instead of Latinx. It's great that you support the use of the word that many latinamericans are increasingly using to describe themselves.
I thought I was mishearing her the first few times she said it, and it's the first time I've heard someone use the term. Is "Latine" the preferred gender neutral term, as opposed to "Latino" and "Latina?"
@@eldorados_lost_searcher Yep. I've been using it for a while now. Way easier and intuitive to gender neutralize words with than whatever the fuck latinx is supposed to be lol.
As a pedantic English speaker who took a couple years of Spanish, I never liked the word "Latinx". It just felt like an unholy mashing of a Spanish word with an English letter that didn't at all fit the forms of Spanish words. Latine sounds infinitely better and I am glad that Latin Americans are taking up and spreading the use of that word.
from a native perspective, the kenari flashbacks are definitely something. but i don't think maarva is a white savior-she didn't go native/dances with wolves/avatar and teach the locals how to fight the government. she's not even a stand-in for fostering out native kids, there just aren't enough parallels there. yes, she definitely kidnapped kassa, but she was definitely not participating in any government-sanctioned buy-in system to take kids away from their families. and based on what we've heard about kenari, there was nothing left, or soon to be nothing left. so when looking at maarva's actions, we're not really talking about residential schools or displacement or genocide. that would be on the republic/empire and whatever actions they took leading up to the mining accident and whatever they did with the kids afterwards. for maarva, the closest parallel i can think of would be pulling a kid out of wounded knee just before everyone is killed. she and clem can't stop the entire atrocity on their own, but they can at least save one person.
I actually found the fact that there's no subs for the Kenari to be more effective, as the way they communicate to each other is perfectly understandable even though you don't know what exactly they're saying to each other. Like it forces you into a sense of understanding with them instead of treating them like people you'd need a translator to understand. You are able to understand them fully, though the natural way they communicate alone, with no outside help. Just my two cents anyway, either take away is valid I think. Edit: just noticed someone made a point very similar to mine and I have to agree
That's valid - I had no problem with that either Unless it's a very detailed discussion about philosophy and the meaning of life, then well-acted facial and vocal expressions will do. They were well-acted facial and vocal expressions - there was no doubt about what was going on.
This was my take as well. It's just natural understanding based on the context of their situation. Feel subtitles weren't necessary. But also, the whole lost language due to colonization isn't something I considered, which probably makes even more sense. Either way, I think it's clever. It's just good storytelling that already has everything it needs without subtitles
syril is honestly one of my favorite characters ever made. he’s not a great man by any stretch of the word, but he’s driven by a twisted sort of honor instilled into him by the empire. his relationship with his mother is so devastatingly toxic but so enthralling. he’s prideful and insecure and driven, but he’s such a painfully human character. i want so bad for him to find the acceptance and purpose he so desperately seeks in the rebellion, but i know he is so strongly rooted in law and order, that there’s no way he would.
It's wild that B2's voice actor was just, the guy. The stutter and delivery are like, masterful acting. The way he got me to cry over a box on wheels who just wanted his marva.
2:00:03 I had forgotten how powerful this moment between Maarva and Cassian is. Had a good cry because of parallels with my own family. Thank you for making such a thoughtful video!
Thank you for making me happy cry. I love this show so, so much. In your Rogue One video you described it as "radical optimism" and I think about that a lot. Our society is so conditioned on irony and disaffectation that even suggesting we try, at anything, is embarassing, "Cringe," or silly. We need media like this to shatter that. Also, this show does so much work in humanising every single person who dies and I think it's special. No victory without sacrifice and loss, but that loss doesn;t need to be cheap action. Just the way the camera lingers in scenes like the funeral riot. Beautiful
This essay speaks to me in many ways that aches in my bones: I am American indigenous, and have spent the last year fighting against fascists, clawing meter by meter to liberate people I have never met across the world from home, shoulder to shoulder beside every stripe of person, for a sunrise I might never see. But there is only one way out
Fantastic video, love how you included so many voices of creators behind the show and of latine actors expressing issues they have with the industry. As well as your own perspective that makes some events and character moments hit even harder. Also, glad to be a fun little bit of such a great video
Honestly I hope that Space Karen and White Knight don't die on screen. The joy that comes from their deaths is far more than they ever deserve. I want them to live a long, unfulfilling life together. But then again who knows They could end up stationed on the Death Star
I personally think they’re both compelling characters. I wanna see where they end up at the end of their journeys. Will Syril be swept up by the empire but realize this isn’t what he signed up for? Will Dedra’s power hungry endeavors make her realize the truth or have her double down on her ways? That’s complexity, I know people these days can’t accept flaws, but you need them in characters to be interesting
@@davemac9563 Oh no doubt they're interesting characters. I just don't want a facist to die at the hands of the oppressed, at least in this case. If they die, it's because of the people they put their trust and faith into.
I choose to believe Keno made it. "If you see your brother standing confused, help them." That was part of his instructions to the inmates. I believe someone helped him to shore, or, absolute worst case, helped him jump to a better place than this.
Out of every video I have anticipated about Andor, THIS was the one I've waited for. The empathetic touch and deep insight you have onto these characters never ceases to disappoint! And as expected, I felt loads and learned loads. Thank you for another fantastic analysis!
48:28 now I love Star Wars, from the films to the TV shows to the books. And I love getting into the nitty-gritty lore. And yeah A lot of the lore is just filler for the world and has no Real need for it, but! Having The canonical name for a style of music being JIZZ?! JIZZ! was perhaps the greatest thing that’s ever come out of Star Wars
1:58:36 the best thing about this scene to me is how she kills him. She acts all intimidated luring him into a dark building and just absolutely shanks him. The way he is so overconfident during a riot thinking he is above harm, once again plays into the whole self satisfaction the empire has with itself.
i really recommend the like 12+ hours of podcasting A More Civilized Age did on Andor - they are a Clone Wars podcast but did an Andor break for it and if you would like EVEN MORE andor commentary content (like me, i love people talking eloquently and keysmashingly about a thing that is just THAT good, that is why I'm here) go there. they're good people. (make sure u got the right podcast tho there's another SW podcast with civilized in the name that rants about how woke SW is these days and believe me when i say that is the opposite of AMCA's vibe)
Everyone in this show is a capital A "Actor" and gives their part EVERYTHING they have. It's not just Skaarsgard spouting those Shakespearean monologues or Shaw delivering her final words to Ferrix via Beemo, but it's the little things they think about, the things they _do_ when they aren't speaking, like Bix reaching for Timm, or Brasso openly relieved and throwing his arms around Cassian in a tight hug when he comes home to Ferrix at the end...not one of those quick bro hugs with a pat on the back, but a full on embrace, pulling him in and holding on tight for a long moment while Cass gets his first chance to grieve, and the way no one gets to see what Mon Mothma is TRULY thinking or feeling, except for us, and only when she is completely alone. And of course the look on Sirkus's face when we get to the end of the prison break and he says those fateful three words...idk how anyone could watch this show and NOT be drawn completely in.
I think you’re my favorite video essayist. Your enthusiasm and passion for the media you discuss is so palpable and I love hearing franchises discussed by an essayist who cares so much. I loved Andor (honestly probably my top show of 2022) and this video discussed a lot of themes and behind the scenes stuff I hadn’t realized. I cried through that interview with Huerta at 41:46. The representation matters so much, and I know everyone knows that, but that just strikes such a chord. That interview particularly, putting it into words like that. Seeing people like me on screen and CELEBRATED all over pop culture would’ve meant so much to me as a child who hated myself so much for not being pale and blonde, for being unable to slip into a skin and name more easily accepted. (And like, to be clear, joke’s now on me, because being an adult writer and artist who rarely works outside means I am now pale therefore in the exact opposite position child-me was in.) I’m so happy for everyone who’s seeing themselves now, and I’m happy for myself as well, but that happiness is always accompanied by a bit of grief for my childhood self who should not have had to navigate the world as precariously as I did. I shouldn’t have had to make those choices. Man, all I can do now is pay it forward and try and make it easier for kids who still don’t get to see themselves represented on screen like they should be. It’s just an interesting time to be in, when things are changing so much (and yet so slowly) but also while we’re all recognizing the damage that the years previous have done to older generations.
This *fantastic* video sparked a very raw and vulnerable and compassionate conversation with my father. As a latina, this means so much to me. I want to just say that, your videos are art. That they really hit a chord. You have an impact. This is important. Thank you. Ps: this video absolutley wrecked my sh!t and i haven't stoped crying yet. I love it.
Excellent video, as usual. I, too, screamed at the screen when Serkis said, "Never more than twelve." I was losing my mind for a week, that line kept rattling around inside my head. I wanted to scream about it to everyone I knew, but no one was watching, and I didn't want to spoil it! So glad I wasn't the only one :-D
So I thought I'd listen to an insightful star wars video while deep cleaning the apartment, and this happened. While I learned much about the horrors of Auschwitz at school and even visited a c. camp to drive home the lesson, the bit you quoted from the survivor's book was new to me. I've been once again shook to my core, randomly crying all day and renewed in my conviction to fight fascism in this world until the very end. I can't bring myself to be thankful for learning this, but maybe it was necessary I did.
If you are interested to learn more I would direct you to my video about the film The Grey Zone. There is so much history that is not often discussed about the Holocaust. I learned a lot in the process of making it
I had to rewind and watch that ship get wasted by Luthen. It was incredible. I have a feeling Cass won't find B and Bix. 😟 That last bit. Goosebumps! 🔥
I honestly teared up at a few parts of your video because of how much hearing you talk about powerful moments amplified their emotions. This show is not just the greatest piece of Star Wars media to exist, it's possibly one of the greatest shows to exist. I fucking cheered when the people of Ferrix attacked the empire. That moment of catharsis will stick with me in the times when I need the strength to do what must be done to change our world.
I have never wanted to fight society's injustices more or even to jump through the screen and fight the empire more than when I heard Maarva's speech. That was POWERFUL. So was the whole show.
@@benjaminroe311ify it makes me want to fight the injustices in this world just as hard. Andor isn't just about the fictional oppression of the people of the galaxy, it's a commentary on how our modern day oppresses us
Initially I thought, 'oh I'll watch this because I have no intention of viewing Andor', I've had to stop ten minutes in because I now absolutely have to see Andor.
Glad I took work off today! Hyped! Edit after watching: Great vid! Though I would largely disagree with the idea that Cassian needs to find his sister. The fact that the plot of him wanting to find his sister is dropped almost immediately seems very purposeful. Cassian may dream of an easy world where he can find and save his sister, but the simple fact is that she’s just another name on the long list of people that have died and disappeared under the fist of the empire. She can’t be found or saved by Cassian. What Cassian can do, is save those like his sister from the empire.
*Me, seeing that Ladyknightthebrave has uploaded a new video:* "Ah, good the Catharsis has arrived. May the tears cleanse the soul and mind with their passing."
I actually liked how vel and cinta never kissed- it was more subtle and showed the distance in the relationship (how they were never able to open up due to their profession)
TBH I don't think the Orange and White is a choice by the rebellion- it's high-visibility, which is pragmatic for prison uniforms, and for rescue after an ejection on a flight-suit.
2:02:35 Cassian Andor’s brick needs to blow-up on Alderan. I cannot think of anyone else who might have known who he was or where he was besides Organa. And when all those voices were suddenly silenced, it needs to hurt. People need to remember why Kylo Ren is a bad person who idolized awful people like Anakin Skywalker and Sheev Palpatine.
I'd be surprised if nobody else noticed this, but just to add to the Narkina-5/concentration camp metaphor - the text never uses these exact words, but the narrative created by those prisons is *work will set you free*
I already mentioned this in the chat during the premiere, but, while I know it wasn't done out of malice, I'd still like it known that the term "mestizo" can be seen as a slur. As a person who would be described with that word, when I heard it I instantly recoiled a bit. I asked my dad about it (he's where I get my Mayan/Spanish heritage) and he hadn't ever heard the word. But looking further into the history (and what I remember from studies during school) the term "mestizo" was the difference between having rights and being treated like dirt. In some places, ppl use it frequently and just as any other adjective, but that's usually in the context of a Latinx person saying to another Latinx person. Even in that context, it can be seen as impolite It sort of has the same energy as a close friend making fun of ur sibling after u did, or a friend of a friend making fun of you when you don't know them that well. From what I remember, the word was used as a way to discriminate against ppl who were partially native in order to keep "Spanish purity". Basically, when the Spanish invaded places like Central America, they would spend some time taking resources and just getting as many Spanish people there as possible. Then, they would casually start (k-wording) natives. Anyone who was partially native (ie. Native/Spanish) they were given less rights, bc they were seen as too Spanish to outright (k-word), but not Spanish enough to be respected. So, words like "mestizo" (and another m word that I can't personally reclaim) were used as a way to differentiate them as a ppl. So they could better hate them. So, overall, not a great word to use in general. But especially not good if ur not part of any of the groups (Spanish, Native, or a mix). Once again, I know it wasn't done out of malice or anything, but I just wanted everyone to be on the same page here. Much love
Rogue One came out back when I was 13 years old. From a young age I have always been the biggest Star Wars fan, and seeing a Mexican in a leading role in a Star Wars movie was such hype for me back in the day. To this day I'll joke that Rogue One made Mexicans canon in Star Wars.
I’ve only recently discovered your channel but all the videos I’ve seen so far have had such interesting insights and purpose behind them. You’re never just talking about the show, but about real life as well and you do it in such a compelling and thoughtful way. All of this to say, wonderful work and thank you for sharing with all of us ✨
Andor doesn't kill the other guard "in a fit of panic". It was a decision he took his time reaching (it's just compressed by necessity), weighing his options, and choosing the only proper one in his case.
Also, I think it’s fantastic Luna was able to use his real accent and be a Mexican dude in Star Wars. I want yellow and orange rodians and different colored humans.
Have only just finished watching Andor and knew immediately I needed to see if there was a @Ladyknightthebrave video about it. Such a great show, and a typically thoughtful and enlightening analysis piece. Am really embarrassed to admit I didn't know about the post-credits scene in the final episode until I watched this, so I've just gone back to re-watch that!
As an outsider, so my perception my be warped, I find all of American society horrifying beyond belief. The prison slavery complex is not a distortion, it's the system working as intended. I don't think your prisons are especially especially horrifying, I think they're especially revealing.
To me, when Any Circus as Kino Loy says "I can't swim" the second time... I think he has just a bit of a smile on his face. It's the smile of someone who is going out in a blaze of glory, but as a *free* man. No matter what happens next, he did not die as a prisoner of the empire. One. Way. Out.
