Andor (2022) TV Series Review — A Masterclass in Star Wars Storytelling
“Power doesn’t panic.”
As a fan of Star Wars since childhood, it was painful to lose that love after experiencing the nonsense Disney has been churning out over the years. Granted, I was in the camp of those who bought into the hype when Disney acquired the IP, foolishly hoping that with massive resources at their disposal, they’d be able to provide high-quality experiences in a myriad of creative outings. After the failures of main-line films due to them altogether dropping the ball when it comes to writing and continuing on that pattern with most of their Live-Action Disney+ series, I was apathetic and pretty much gave up, with the last two outings in the form of The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi — two projects that should have been an easy hit out of the park — being abysmally written and haphazardly produced furthering the trend of milking nostalgia for every single drop cementing that apathetic sentiment. In retrospect, the only outings from Disney Star Wars that have stood the test of time without rose-tinted glasses and being removed from the hype machine are Rogue One and, to a lesser extent, The Mandalorian; the former fulfilling a personal wish of mine of having a gritty rebellion tale in the vein of Halo: Reach and the latter being a simplistic entertaining western-style tale of a bounty hunter. Yet, even those two have their faults with The Mandalorian, in particular, relying far too much on dangling keychains in Season 2 and having muddled world-building.
So imagine my state of disbelief when I hesitantly gave Andor a try after reading praise about it related to its writing and tone, as well as the fact that it’s tied to Rogue One and is helmed by Tony Gilroy — someone with proper writing credits under his belt — and it turns out to not only be the best thing Disney Star Wars has put out by a significant margin but some of the best Star Wars material all around. Man, what kind of timeline am I living in? I’m flabbergasted that this prequel series to a prequel spin-off about a secondary lead received such a high-quality filmmaking treatment that it hammered the cemented apathy for the franchise and shattered it effortlessly.
Andor focuses on the character Cassian Andor from Rogue One and details the beginnings of the rebellion in the Star Wars universe and does so in such a strong storytelling manner that it not only ticks my need for quality Star Wars entertainment but for fictional rebellion in general. It also spends a considerable amount of time on the Empire's side too with resounding success depicting them as competent and ruthless but with unchecked hubris that will eventually lead to their downfall while simultaneously populated by people who are actual characters.
From the first scene, something felt different and the series kept on cranking it up episode after episode. The story is divided into several chunks each building on the last with meticulous weaving of plot threads and characterization and a consistent sense of desperation as the characters are faced with oppression under the Empire. That tension and despair rack up and up until it pops in a magnificent manner and this season does that several times successfully. I was in awe of how much I enjoyed every episode comprised mostly of dialogue. The rebellion and the Empire plotlines both worked in tandem to deliver a captivating experience.
One of my major complaints with Disney Star Wars has been that the Empire (or the First Order) never truly felt like a legitimate threat because it was often too stupid and riddled with cheap humour. Not in Andor; the fascist regime had a proper weight to it that circled back to the feeling of insurmountable odds for the rebellion side. On the opposite end, I have an affinity for rebellions in storytelling and Andor delivers on that superbly by showing the initial sparks that lead to a full flame and how both everyday citizens and people in positions of power are waking up and actively sacrificing for the cause. Even in general, this was some of the best rebellion storylines I’ve experienced in a long time and had my blood pumping on numerous occasions.
The investment was further made possible by amazing performances from all of the cast. It didn’t matter whether the character had a few lines or was amongst one of the main lineups, the actors and actresses were delivering it at full steam. My favourites are Stellan Skarsgard (Luthen) as the man behind the curtains pulling all the strings exuding a combined aura of cold and calculated, authority from experience, and just plain badassery with the best monologue in all of Star Wars; Genevieve O’Reilly reprising her role as Mon Mothma for her best performance yet as a Senator stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea — understated and complex; Denise Gough as the Imperial Security Bureau officer Dedra Meera going an extra step for her Imperial cause that you love to hate soon enough; Fiona Shaw (Aunt Petunia from HP of all people) as the mother of Cassian and a beloved member of the community almost bringing me to tears; Deigo Luna, Cassian Andor himself, conveying so much with his eyes alone with bursts if energetic moments and making him one of my favourites lead characters in Star Wars — just awesome; B2EMO voiced by Dave Chapman, one of the best droids now despite limited screentime.
Couple the all-around strong performances with consistently strong writing and characterization and I cared deeply about the characters even if they were present only for a couple of episodes. The writing was also solid in the world-building department where the universe actually felt vast with various elements and mythos in it. It also speaks for the quality, effort and care for this story that a new location to the franchise — Ferrix — managed to be fleshed out, lived in, have a proper culture and community, and feel REAL so much more than a classic place like Tattooine that has been milked to death in various previous Disney Star Wars outings and never coming close to this level.
To supplement the story and characters, Andor is also an audiovisual treat. Not only are there a lot of practical effects mixed effortlessly with CGI, but the series also boasts some of the most stunning scenes in all of Star Wars (The Eye from Episode 6, for example). The cinematography is relatively creative and gorgeous with a lot of grittiness or rawness associated with relevant locations as well as getting cleaned up and sterile in other applicable areas (kinda like Rogue One).
To wrap it all up in a proper package, the series’ soundtrack is wonderful. Composed by Nicholas Britell, it’s as impressive as it is different from the usual type of scores you’d see in Star Wars media. Varied and creative with emotional tunes that’ll plug at your heartstrings to triumphant tracks that’ll make you want to charge at the Empire to electro, synth, drums and hi-hats elements coming out of the left field and yet aptly fitting and carrying on the trend of this series not following the norm.
It saddens me to know the viewership for this series was low but it gladdens me to see the praise it did receive from the majority of the audience that did watch it. I’m ecstatic that it has been renewed for a second season and if the chad team in charge of this project with Tony Gilroy at the helm can deliver a similar quality experience, this entire arc ending with Rogue One could be that addition to Star Wars under Disney that will make the acquisition worth it.
So, all in all, Andor is not only the best Disney Star Wars content, not only some of the best Star Wars content (including the OG trilogy) in general, it’s a straight-up great TV series. I adored it and because it is in a fictional Universe I love, the experience was further elevated and I was in bliss. Objectively strong, subjectively outstanding, and relatively excellent, I’m giving the first Season of Andor a 9/10 (might bump it up to a 10 upon rewatch).
