Why ANDOR is SO IMPORTANT for Star Wars (Video Essay) 

The worst part about Andor is how bitter it makes me when I think Disney squandered the opportunity they had in the sequel trilogy

This show has changed everything that I thought Star Wars could be. And now that I know what Star wars can be, I want nothing short of this world/Galaxy.

I can't tell you how happy I am that 1) Andor exists, 2) it's amazing, 3) people appreciate that it's amazing, and 4) Star Wars doesn't have to be a children's franchise.

I feel like one important thing _Andor_ has done is made the Empire evil again. Like, truly evil, and not just the cackling mustache-twirling evil of leaders like Palpatine or Tarkin, but evil throughout its entire organization. In the decades since the OT, I couldn't help but notice there's been a kind of growing...admiration? appreciation? for the Empire among the fanbase, to the point where it felt like "Rebels vs Imperials" was an apolitical choice akin to "Alliance vs Horde" in World of Warcraft. It required a pasteurization of the Empire's evil that would allow normal people to choose to identify with them, which you can readily see in popular Star Wars media, particularly video games. Ultimately, I feel that _Andor_ is a necessary recalibration of the aesthetic soul of Star Wars, reminding us that evil is evil, no matter how cool it looks

the moment he said "i cant swim" my heart dropped. truly one of the highest peaks of Lucasfilm storytelling

I love the scene when Vel is about to jump down by the dam’s wall. In any other movie she would just jump, shoot the bad guys and save the day but in this show she is notably nervous and hesitates before jumping. I found that way more realistic.

I agree, Andor raises the Sci-Fi bar, Andor is what all the other show runners should be studying carefully. Andor will age extremely well, just like the originals.

The way the Empire increases their prisoner labor force by making it illegal to do anything else feels very real.

For me, someone who only watched the movies growing up but never having a real connection to it, this made me extremely interested in the star wars universe. This is the kind of sci-fi world I'd love to indulge in and watch extremely in depth and layered characters interact and develope. For me,star wars never showed what this universe could be and I'm so thankful Andor exits

Diego Luna is probably the greatest choice to play Andor, especially when it comes to expressing/showing the emotions in this show, that's why he was so loved in Narcos: Mexico as well, his way of playing a messy stressed reckless character is perfect.

That scene where Luthen gets into character in his ship before landing on Coruscant 👌🏻

The thing about Andor that makes it great other than the tremendous writing and acting is it’s both gorgeously and expansively cinematic and yet intimate due to the detailed characters. This is hands down best show of the season and makes me think of The Wire in the quality of its writing.

I love that they utilize the sound of the bell and metal clanging on Ferrix in the opening theme in the final episode to foreshadow the rebellion rising on Ferrix. Stunning

It seems every character matters and has meaning. That’s so refreshing.

there wasn't a single misstep in this entire series. It's just mind-blowing.

Andor felt real, which is a massive accomplishment in and of itself

The actress who played Dera deserves an Emmy. I almost couldn't recognize her in the interview segment-- where she looks very beautiful. The character radiates evil and ugliness. Just a wonderful acting job.

Andor is The Empire Strikes Back of Star Wars series.

Everyone who worked on this show from the set designers, props, costumes, music, editing, cinematography, and especially the writing and acting deserves major kudos for making one of the best TV shows ever made.

Not just best Star Wars, but best TV in a long while. Hope it wins lots of awards to prove concept to Disney how important well written shows can do for their franchise. Thanks for nice essay on this.

It's funny to think disney executives thought so little of Andor, nothing more that another piece of content to fill out the catalog. While they focused their attention on dumbing down mass appeal shows like Mando, Fett and Obi, Andor was allowed the freedom to create something truly unique and thoughtful in the world of star wars.

Andor didn't kill Skeen (sp?) out of altruism to the Rebellion. Skeen's offer of partnership was also an ultimatum: if Andor had said no, he'd simply be putting himself on the kill list, while saying yes would mean he'd become a target for the Rebels. So he correctly ascertained that he had to shoot first. That's also why he immediately decided to leave, and even held whatsername at gunpoint while he did it: the situation had simply become too hot for him, too uncertain, and he wanted to extricate himself immediately.

Luthens monologue at the end of the show is some of the best Star Wars I've ever seen

The bar was so low that they didn’t even have to try hard at all to garner some intrigue but they said eff that and threw the bar in to space. I loved this show.

I was fatigued from all the stuff disney put out. Watching Andor made me realize that I wasn't tired of disney produced shows. I was tired of badly produced disney shows. Just like with marvel movies. The bad ones make me not want to watch it. But if they came like Andor, I could watch this for the rest of my life.

Andor is what many of us knew Star Wars could always be.

The conversation between Cass and Maarva in ep 7 is just gold, one of my fave in the show. But the show is so so good overall! 10/10

If Disney does not build on this and just lean back on their previous mind numbing creation I will be so crushed.

This video essay was so well done and Andor is so damn great. It's without a doubt the best Star Wars we've gotten since Rogue One

Skarsgaards monologue is tantamount to Rutger Hauer's in Blade Runner, or the Dead poet's society, maybe even the St Crispin's Day Speech from Branagh's Henry the V. It is indeed the best speech, monologue in Star Wars and transcends Star Wars. When I heard it, I stopped the video and immediately rewound it. I've watched the series about three times now with different friends and each time I've had friends audibly gasp. For me, it is the highwater mark of the series, and deserves praise. It encapsulates everything the rebels are going through, all they sacrifice. he speaks not only to what he is going through but also what Andor is going through. Basically, it is so good, its ruined just about everything else for me on TV. haha. There is basically B.L.M. and ALM-Before Luthen's Monologue, and After Luthen's Monologue.

The people who made this should get to make all the Star Wars stuff going forward.

After Kenobi & Bobba Fett, I can understand why people are hesitant to watch Andor. Though I hope those same people, take heed of the reviews its been getting by die hard Star Wars fans who took the chance and gave it a go. Its brought the entire SW galaxy to life, and taken story telling to another level. A superb production.

That speech Luthen gave, TOUCHED MY SOUL!! It was RAW!! Great show, great actors and actresses, great writing, great settings…. GREAT EVERYTHING!! ✨☝🏽

I know the episode probably wasn’t out yet when this video came out. but the speech in “Rix Road” is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever heard. It made me cry twice, and I’ve listened to it over and over more times than I can count

Andor has some legendary speeches The lutheran speech to the isb spy The marva speech in rix road And the speech replayed to cassian after the heist by the young guy who was crushed

The Eye event is also a metaphor for a miraculous occurrence that people (including Imperials) can't look away from. The star-shower obviously has everyone on Aldani watching, oblivious to the chase going within. But more importantly, the heist itself was a miracle that caught the ISP's attention, forcing them to crack down even harder like Luthen wanted. It's almost like it's called the Eye to say "look here everyone"

Andor is also the Star Wars media that is the most relatable and relevant to us. The Power relationships and struggles presented therein are ones existing here, now, in the western world.

Stellans monologues are sonme of the best ever. That said, "I cant swim" was so horribly impactfull for its simplicity in deliverance, and what it actually ment. This series is truly epic!

I've never felt such immersion and escapism since 00-10s -- the times when a teenager me discovered Star Wars. OT and PT, novelisations and EU books, KOTOR and TOR -- I was so invested in the universe. So satisfying to experience these emotions again.

Ive watched this show 3 times now and its still an amazing experience

I was impressed by Andor - and I'm a pretty cynical viewer of film & TV after working on those most of my adult life. I pretty much had (mostly) given up after Empire - sure, Return finished the arc, but I'd grown too old for little Teddy bears. I liked Rogue One, so I gave Andor a chance & I'm very happy I did. I've watched a number of videos about Andor, I actually think yours is the best - deserves more views!

I've been watching a few reviews and opinion videos about Andor. Your video essay is the best one so far. Thanks.

My greatest fear about Andor is that Lucasfilm and/or the SW fanbase will learn the wrong lessons from the show, especially in relation to the issues that the Kenobi and Boba Fett shows had. There's going to be a real temptation to look at the two shows and say that "on-location good, Voluma bad," which really isn't the case at all. Boba Fett and Kenobi used the Volume for scenes that it couldn't really handle, and there were a lot of scenes in Andor that they could have used the Volume for quite effectively if they wanted to. The real difference between the shows was in the writing. Kenobi was obviously intended to be a 2 hour movie that was poorly stretched into a miniseries. While stretching a film into a short TV series is possible, it's difficult and requires extensive rewriting to make your story fit the dramatically different run time and structure. Book of Boba Fett seemed to have the same issue. It seems like both projects just tried to fill the gaps of their stories that opened up with the change of format by adding a bunch of shallow fanservice. Boba Fett was particularly bad in that regard. Andor was perfectly constructed from the ground up to fit the episodic structure, so the showrunners didn't have space to put in anything shallow, let alone a bunch of stuff that had no real purpose than to give lore nerds something to point at and say "I know that thing!" Instead, Andor dug down into the revolutionary and anti-authoritarian heart of Star Wars and showed us a story of how normal people who are just trying to get by are forced by systems of opression to become antifa, and how that might not necessarily be a good thing, but it is a necessary thing. Andor shows us that violent resistance to totalitarian oppression is rarely heroic and never glorious, but there are times that there is no other option other than to simply lay down and die. *THAT* is the heart of Star Wars. Lightsabers, aliens, and starships are the fancy packaging: pretty and fun, but not the substance of the thing. The heart of Star Wars is anti-authoritarianism and activism: Empires are oppressive and evil, and good people need to act to stop them.

I like to think that on Hosnian Prime, there were two memorials to "Justice and Freedom". One would have all the names of known members of the old Rebel Alliance who died during the conflict, and another treated as a "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" for all those whose names will never be known, and for all those who died as a consequence of the Empire's tyranny.

Nobody knows it yet, but audiences are getting tired of superheroes and fairytales. It's been a long time coming but people are craving brutal realism in movies, and studios will soon know it. You see it in appreciation for Joker and now Andor. But movies like this will soon dominate the box office, I'm sure of it.

Incredible video, hope this gets the views it deserves.

Brilliantly written, shot, and executed! Cannot wait for season 2.

Your mention of Andor's ruthlessness got me liking and subscribing! Great video

They did use The Volume technology, just in a very limited fashion - the windows in Mon Mothma's apartment were done that way. But as I said, in a very limited fashion, and in a way which makes a lot of sense.

This is, by far, Star Wars at it's best. I'm an OT guy but I love Rogue One because it feels like it's extension of the OT. Andor again captures this and I can't speak highly enough of it.

Very nice analysis, I would only add that Andor shot Skeen not because he believed the money will be in better hands, but because he made a promise and it shows how serious he take his word in such grave situations. Also it was still a move of self preservation, because nobody would believe him that Skeen was scheming as even the first reaction of Vel confirms. So Skeen could ridicule him or even spin this situation around against Andor.

Such a great video showcasing Andor. It was a great series and I cannot wait for season 2 and how it cultivates the heart beat of the rebel alliance.

Very stong Analysis Kirk. Thanks for taking the time to make this video and bring more attention to a ridiculously good television show!

Andor is amazing, it's not just good Star Wars, it's genuinely great TV. Great work on the video essay too, a lovely piece of work

Don't know about the most important, but definitely one of the most well written series. For now. It feels like Walt Disney was on vacation when this tv-serie was produced.

Andor is Star Wars for grown-ups. Well done and great screenplays. Great characters, real people. Rogue One was going in that direction (I liked it a lot). Now this satisfying addition.

Andor is simply some of the best filmmaking in several generations. It's a masterpiece. And we are blessed with dozens of hours of it.

Well done, Kirk! I agree with so much of what you've said here, and I really enjoyed your input on the Escape Pod Aftershows for Andor! Hope to hear you on more episodes in the future :)

It’s the first SW property that made everything before it better. It’s gave the entire saga more weight.

Really good and detailed video man!! Definitely a really good analysis of how good the show is and how under rated it is. Good job!

I’m sure this will be a gem that is better appreciated in time. The costumes were also excellent. Thanks for the video

Andor was astonishingly better than I anticipated

The one great problem with Andor is it's not going to sell toys, merchandise or generate much ROI compared to do much of the other "star wars" so to keep seeing more like it it needs both vocal support from the public but also important behind the scenes support. I think the former exists but I really HOPE the later does more so we get more of its like in the future not just season 2.

Okay I’ve watched a lot of reviews of Andor and I gotta say, yours is by far the best. Really well edited together and excellently written. Amazing job!!!

One of my favourite shows I've seen!

I think word of mouth will garner this show a late following or season two will have a pretty big group waiting for it. Think of a show like Strange Things that got where it got because of word of mouth.

Andor, and The Expanse are by FAR some of the best Sci Fi ever.

Dedra and Cyril (and his ride or die, Linus) are amazing. The whole show is amazing. I love all the characters. Serious Star Wars are the Star Wars for me.

Great analysis!

When I describe this show to someone with some knowledge of Star Wars, I always emphasize that you can feel the tension in the people. Mon Mothma is stifled at every turn due to the Empire. That sadness and tension is something you can feel. There are no lightsabers. There are blasters but the rebels use weapons familiar to our own. There is no laughing or joking around. And Cassian is a dangerous man. He had nothing left to lose.

Andor & Rogue One are only new SW that made OT better. Bravo

This is an excellent essay. Thank you for putting your passion out into the world so eloquently.

Outstanding video. Would love to see more like this. Underrated creator !

Excellent piece, bravo. It's a thoughtful and refreshing dive into a show that deserves such an homage.

u deserve way moreviews and suscribers. This video is one of the best about andor i've seen. congrats.

I like how Dedra and her assisstant had a brilliant relationship with each other filled with both respect and enjoyment

The opposite of Last Jedi: where LJ insulted our Intelligence, Andor is graciously respecting us.

That Tie fighter pass-by brought back a memory from one hiking trip when a fighter plane using bending river valley as radar cover. Otherwise almost silent valley and then "What the f... was that???"

I never thought in a million years that Andor would be the show I have always wanted from Star Wars. But here we are. It’s the show I have long waited for and always got angry over and over that I never got. But Tony and his team in the midst of all the bad writing this franchise has had for a while, came out with something that is a masterclass in writing and shows what Star Wars could be if taken seriously.

very well done vid. ive been meaning to watch this show and youve sold me on it even more. ty.

Excellent job. Cheers!! May the force be with you.

Excellent work, thoughtful essay. Thank you!

Agreed. Andor was thought provoking and sophisticated. Impressive writing / everything.

This was great I just watched the series a few days ago and wouldn’t have due to the disappointment of previous Disney+ series. I agree 100% with everything said in this video. I just rewatched rogue one today and it made that movie feel so much more intricate and lived in as the same elements of the series were there but it had to be condensed in 2 hrs. But it also showed me how much better it was than the last time I watched it.

Couldn't agree more. Best Star Wars ever. I've been so impressed. Thanks for summarizing why I felt this way so well!

Great video, I 100% agree.- Andor is an absolute masterpiece. I hope there will be another season!

Saw's caves on Segra Milo were filmed near me at Winspit Quarry, Dorset. A location also used in classic Doctor Who episodes. Another bit of trivia, Durdle Door, where Jodie Whittaker's doctor regenerated into anoth Tennant Doctor, was filmed a mile or two away from that quarry on the same stretch of beautiful, rugged Dorset coastline (I live here, I'm biased!). So The Doctor is canon in Star Wars, right???

This show somehow makes what the Rebels and Luke pulled off 5000x more significant.I was terrified of the Empire. Imagine making a show that boosts the value of the original trilogy? FYI the 'Empire' being less British sounding and including more strong American accents? Was subtle.

Thank you especially for production details, like The Volume

Andor is the little Star Wars film that grew up. It has been exactly what generations of fans have waited for.

This show is so good and has opened my eyes to what could be possible if those who care guide anything, not just Star Wars. I absolutely love the down to earth, everyday person view of Star Wars. Watching how the Empire's ways effect normal people.

Best breakdown of why this show deserves the praise it's garnered I've heard yet.

Good review, great show. Best Star Wars show made ever.

Andor wowed us as well. It was a breath of fresh air getting a deeper and more mature take on Star Wars. Stepped it right up

To echo what everyone is saying, it doesn't just raise the bar for Star Wars, it raises the bar for ALL future TV storytelling.

A new take on the Star Wars universe - brilliant!!! Best SW series so far!

KEEP GOING ON YOUR REVIEWS!!! WELL DONE

The show understood what makes star wars great is the universe. Yet it still ties into and does not rewrite the stories already told. Good writing amd story telling is what always maters in the end.

Great conclusion to a great video. More quality shows like Andor!

Andor just gets better and better in each rewatch.