If, like me, you grew up with the unique Star Wars films as a child then you’ll love Andor. It’s the backstory of Cassian Andor, a Rebel Alliance intelligence officer we first met within the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story movie, and his 5 12 months journey from scavenger and thief to passionate revolutionary that leads as much as the occasions of the movie. In a approach, his journey parallels Han Solo’s transformation from smuggler to General within the Rebel Alliance.
Unlike different current choices from the Disney Star Wars universe, like Skeleton Crew and The Acolyte, which whereas enjoyable are actually made for youths, Andor is a Star Wars TV present that’s aimed squarely on the Gen X viewers who have been there for the unique Star Wars trilogy.
Andor season 2 is about to launch on Disney+ on April 22 within the US and April 23 for these within the UK and Australia. Not positive if the brand new Star Wars Disney Plus present is for you? Here are three good explanation why you received’t wish to miss it.
1. It captures the magic of the unique Star Wars
It’s arduous to clarify what it was prefer to see the unique Star Wars in a cinema as a baby. From the opening shot displaying a completely large Star Destroyer chasing down a Rebel Alliance vessel you have been transported to a different universe. Everything about Star Wars was plausible, from the grisly approach a lightsaber may minimize by way of flesh to the always malfunctioning droids. I’d by no means seen something prefer it earlier than and I didn’t need it to finish.
Looking again, and with the good thing about hindsight, I feel the Ewoks in Episode VI – Return of the Jedi have been a foreshadowing of the best way issues have been going to go additional down the road with Star Wars franchise, however I wasn’t emotionally ready for the chasm of despair (Darth Maul apart) that the George Lucas’ Episode I, II and III movies have been going to create in my soul.
Sure, I can settle for that they have been made for youngsters who have been the identical age as I used to be after I watched the unique trilogy, however they have been very totally different movies and the truth that George Lucas himself had fortunately gone down the route of CGI-laden slop with zero emotional connection to the characters simply made all of it the more serious.
2. It’s a part of the Rogue One universe, among the best Star Wars films ever made
Watch On
When the third trilogy of movies kicked off with Episode VII – The Force Awakens, I used to be once more. It had promise. It laid the groundwork for some attention-grabbing plot developments and the characters have been intriguing. Then, Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One appeared out of nowhere filling within the story earlier than A New Hope began, and it had that very same thrill and pleasure that the unique Star Wars films had given me as a child. Things have been trying up once more.
Sadly, Episode VIII – The Last Jedi and Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker appeared completely pointless and directionless, casually throwing away good story strains and demoting key characters to mere bit elements, destroying my religion within the Star Wars universe.
Until, that’s, Andor, one of many way-too-many Star Wars spin-off exhibits that Disney had invested in, appeared in 2022 and adjusted every little thing. I didn’t actually know something about Andor after I began watching it, however I used to be immediately hooked.
In a approach every Star Wars TV present or film has its personal universe. Andor exists within the severe Star Wars universe of Rogue One. It’s not made for youths and it tackles the large problems with life. We get to revisit the characters we met in Rogue One and discover out precisely how they received there, what occasions formed their lives, and what sacrifices they needed to make alongside the best way.
It’s intellectual, however in a great way
It’s been famous that the primary season of Andor was a Marxist allegory. It follows a bunch of characters coping with an oppressive regime (the Empire) and we are able to watch how a revolution by the proletariat begins, however you don’t want a level in politics to understand the present. What issues is how nicely it’s made.
Series certainly one of Andor apparently value Disney a staggering $271.6 million, which was all cash nicely spent for those who ask me. It appears superb, the appearing is first charge, the plot is gritty, and the characters are plausible. While it strikes at a slower tempo than the trendy world typically calls for and expects, Andor delivers the sort of emotional punch that you simply solely get from gradual burn introductions to completely fleshed-out characters that you simply actually care about.
As a lot as I cherished the unique Star Wars movies, the idea of the sunshine aspect of the drive vs the darkish aspect that underpinned the entire trilogy was laughably simplistic. In Andor you’re requested to inhabit a world of complexity the place nothing is actually black and white. Good folks have to often do dangerous issues and dangerous folks can nonetheless have redeeming options.
If you want additional persuading to affix the resistance and struggle the empire, the primary season of Andor has a 96% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 87% viewers rating, and for those who haven’t seen it then there’s nonetheless time to look at it earlier than season two drops.
