Andor — Has Disney Screwed Up Another Star Wars Show?
Whenever word of mouth spreads about a new streaming show, people tend to ask not how many episodes are in the season, but how many episodes you have watch before the show picks up and gets good. In the case of Andor, the lastest addition to the Disney Plus Star Wars TV universe, the number is three. The show spends quite a bit of time in setup. But let’s see how the show shapes up over the first four episodes shall we?
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The first two episodes spent quite a bit of time with setup. We see the main character of Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, killing and escaping some quasi fascist corporate police who were randomly hassling him. He also has some valuable stolen contraband he wants to sell so he can get off this planet. When we see him in Rogue One, he’s a capable rebel leader and a top intelligence agent for the Rebel Alliance as they attack the Death Star, but in this prequel series, he starts off as a hustler and you can’t really tell what his motivations are aside from searching for his sister.
Through some flashbacks, we see his childhood back on his home planet of Kenari and these scenes will be used for giving us background on his motivations and origins. In the first couple episodes, this series felt a bit more like Blade Runner rather than Star Wars. By the third episode, we’re introduced to the wider universe with scenes occurring on Coruscant, the capital of the galaxy. Here we’re shown the more bureaucratic side of life under the rule of the Empire.
As Andor begins, it’s five years prior to the events of Rogue One and Cassian makes the mistake of leaving his home planet of Ferrix to visit Morlana One, a corporatized hell hole on which he ends up becoming a wanted man and can’t keep staying under the political radar any longer. We familiarize ourselves with Cassian, the lone hustler whose ducking and diving frustrate his adoptive mother, Maarva played by Fiona Shaw, faithful robot companion B2EMO and Cassian’s love interest, the headstrong mechanic Bix Caleen, played by Adria Arjona.
By the third episode, Andor finally becomes the gritty, kinetic spy thriller it’s been advertised as. The first two episodes are slow because they engage in nuanced and thoughtful world building. It’s great when writers take their time in building the setting because it creates the mood for the rest of the story. Thankfully, someone at Disney has their heads screwed on right, because so far Andor has the setting, the characters, and the plot correctly built. I’m honestly pleasantly surprised!
The showrunner Tony Gilroy, best known for scripting the Jason Bourne movies, which makes Andor’s initial sluggishness a surprise, has expressed the intention not to burden Andor with fan service, basically the references and backstory gap plugs that genre experts like to sift through. The comforting nostalgia of the most recent Star Wars series, Kenobi, has been replaced with something gnarlier and grittier, hence the Blade Runner vibes. Those first two episodes are almost all atmosphere, and they evoke a convincingly shadowy dystopia of life under the rule of the Empire.
Andor also does uphold one beloved tradition of the franchise, which is to cast sturdy British character actors in slyly funny supporting roles. There’s Ron Cook as the chatty guy on the local bus, Gary Beadle as an authority fearing bandit, and Kieran O’Brien as a grumpy scrapyard proprietor. After having his stock rise in the wake of the excellent show Chernobyl, Alex Ferns takes on his role as a bustling soldier, concerned that the plebs are about to revolt pretty great.
The best part of the show, so far, was Rupert Vansittart who plays the epitome of a cynical senior management type. He’s the guy who is high up in Morlana One security, a Pinkerton type of quasi military corporate force, telling an underling that pursuing Cassian isn’t worth the hassle. But the underling, Syril Karn, played by Kyle Soller, sees this case as his chance to ascend to the rank he believes he deserves. How very anti-millennial of him! Actually doing his job, and doing his job well, in order to get promoted? Is Disney trying to provide actual, adult education in one of its shows? Color me shocked!
Soller is perfect in the role of a seething, inadequate soldier that a fascist movement needs plenty of if it’s not to become understaffed. Star Wars is always about the ragtag rebels getting one over on one of these pitiless authoritarians. But Andor promises to be more direct, and perhaps more timely than most franchise stories in its portrayal of oppressed people being pushed too far.
Admittedly, the show doesn’t really get going until the arrival of Stellan Skarsgard as Luthen Rael, a charismatic visionary, and shadowy player. Those early scenes, sketch out the rifts among the ordinary people living under the Empire. While others on Ferrix fold and betray their loved ones, Bix and wily old activist Maarva are solid comrades, holding the line at home. Andor’s nuanced take extends to more general things too, such as the explicit portrayal of rampant commercialism as a key component of the force that is about reach a tipping point. Much like here on Earth.
The production of Andor harkens back to the Star Wars of old. Gone are the huge set pieces and overuse of CGI. Perhaps the producers realized that you don’t need to have huge expansive set pieces to have a good Star Wars experience. According to reports, it was the first live action Star Wars series to not make use of the StageCraft digital background technology which helps the viewing experience look much more realistic and believable rather than laden with heavy CGI that we get so much of lately.
Through its first two episodes, Andor is a slow burn and takes its time setting everything up. Although there is something to be said of exposition efficiency. Despite being careful in setting up the world, the show is a bit inefficient. Every scene takes four minutes to say something that could have been wrapped up in two minutes. Even the opening credits where ANDOR fades up in the cool Star Wars font takes up 35 seconds. But that’s a minor gripe.
Overall, Andor has been the best Star Wars show thus far. Carefully crafted narrative, well developed characters with mature personalities and clear intentions, nuanced setting construction, all make Andor quite the show to watch. Once the blasters come out in the third episode, the plot ramps up and the stakes get higher. The fourth episode sets up the rest of the series for an explosively fun time. I’d recommend continuing to watch this show as more is to be revealed about one of the best characters in the Star Wars universe.
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