I'd say it is the best mature star wars piece of media ever made. Because I (today still, but especially my younger self) do love me some good lightsaber fights or large scale space battles, which we didn't get here. Andor not including those is for the better, but I wouldn't want to completely go without them either.
Andor is a documentary about radicalization, resistance movements, and fascism set in the Star wars universe. It is VERY true to life and based on real revolutions.
It did an excellent job showcasing real politics and social dynamics. Tons of characters and they all had depth.
The first season is very good, the second season is, IMO, some of the best political drama ever produced. It's also highly entertaining.
It was good at all levels - not only did the characters had real human depth as did the story, but it even had details like creating a Gorman language and an actual detailed Gorman fashion, so the Production quality matched the quality of the Script, Direction and Acting.
It's unsurprising that some (maybe many) think this is the best Star Wars ever, at least adult Star Wars.
I saw Rogue One again just after the last episode of Season 2 and whilst they're almost seamslessly linked, you can absolutelly notice the change of pace and story telling style from one to the other: you go from a story of people in the Rebellion to an Action rollercoaster with an almost symbolic bit of background story.
Mind you, both are a pleasure to watch in their own ways, though Rogue One is mainly "chewing gum for the brain" as entertainment goes whilst Andor is a far grander meal.
I just introduced my parents to it. My dad especially is really not in to fantasy media, but he's absolutely hooked on it. They're 6 episodes into season 1. It took until about the 3rd, maybe 4th episode to really get into the swing of things, but after that it's easily the best live action Star Wars has ever been.
Fwiw personally I thought Rogue One was extremely overrated. I didn't particularly care for any of the characters, and I thought some (especially the bizarre "I am one with the Force, the Force is with me" guy) were actively grating. IMO for a lot of the broader public, Rogue One's popular reception rests entirely on the awesome final sequence with Vader, and to a lesser extent on some of the great action leading up to that.
Agreed. Rogue One was basically redeemed with that final act, basically right when it became clear to everyone that no one was getting off that planet alive. But everything leading up to it (aside from the opening) was basically just okay in retrospect, and I found myself rolling my eyes a bit at some of the memberberry cameos like R2 and C3PO just having a random conversation, or bumping into the guy with the weird face from the Tatooine cantina. And uncanny CGI Tarkin, which I remember thinking was fine when I first saw it but now just really sticks out a bit.
Surprisingly, other than the mere presence of some core characters, Andor didn't rely on nostalgia bait at all and I think that really worked to its benefit.
I think this series can be really good for people that don't know Star Wars, too. Anyone that enjoys spy thrillers and political intrigue should really get on well with it.
I guess I'm the only one disappointed by season 2? I feel like they could have cut half of it and told the same story. Nothing even came close to the powerful messaging of the season 1 prison arc.
spoiler
K2SO felt shoehorned in, the love plot felt super gross considering Cassian's last act in Rogue One is to make out with some other chick, the whole bit with Saw was inconsequential nonsense (so was the ep where Cassian was captured by those gangs in the forest), they pulled a "bury your gays" trope... plus a lot of the pacing just felt wack.
It wasn't the worst or anything, but it was a pretty weak follow up to that great first season.
Oh, I didn't see the relationship in Rogue One as a love story. By the end, they just hold each other before the inevitable - I see no romance there. I can see how someone might find something there if they wanted to though.
Huh, I misremembered that last scene as a kiss, but I checked and I guess they do just hug. So at least that part isn't so bad. I think the rest of my problems with the season are still legit though
The only scenes i felt were shoehorned in or removed me from the plot were the ones with the force healer. They weren't needed at all. Worse, they possibly remove some value from Cass' character by implying he's on a divine "messenger" quest instead of acting on his own agency.
Rest of the series was perfect.
Also check out the ICCH Reviews. Commentary from war and uprising journalists.
I typically hate the force mumbo jumbo aspect of star wars but I thought the force healer bit was way more nuanced take about the force than other examples in recent films. My interpretation is that he saw his own death, and still chose it anyway. So he still had a lot of agency rather than just being a pawn of fate.
On the pacing: I dont mind "slow" episodes if it takes time to set mood and ambiance in such a superb way Andor does.
Could also have something to do with Genevieve O'Reilly playing Mon Mothma ...
There was such well constructed tension in every slow scene. If you were getting bored you would have to have missed some plot, be traumatized, or not be particularly invested in the series on other grounds.
Both the forest and the late added character were there to give opportunities to shake things up/lighten the mood. This was a grim, grim season and you've gotta have some of that in an 11-hour runtime.
I agree on Saw's part; felt like something they had to get through to complete the series' connection to Rogue One. I did love the season other than that, though. "Who Are You" is one of the best episodes of TV I've ever seen.
I think the Saw parts fit in decently. It adds another flavor of resistance to the mix.
We get the rebellion, which is an organized military like effort, we get luthen who as a spy master pulls strings in the shadows, Mon mothma straddling the line between being in a privileged public position and helping the rebellion, on ghorman we get a more amateurish resistance, Cassian is more of an individualist who finds his own path between the different factions, and with Saw we get a guerrilla like extremist faction
Had the same experience but pushed through. It's worth the slow burn. Many early season scenes are horrid and worse than the first season early scenes. But the ending is just as good. It makes sense when you know that it is 4 seasons into one because production takes way too long.
I've fallen asleep during every episode. This does not happen with other shows, except for one or two really slow episodes of Severance. I have no idea what the problem is.
Skip to the last half of the season. And if you decide you want to know how they go to where they are, go back and finish the first half. Honestly, with original trilogy coming out first, then Rogue One, then the Andor seasons, it's probably the traditional way to watch! :)
Some of it is clunky, but in the adorable way that the star wars universe is. It's a good show, with good story arcs, good acting, good world building, but it can be predictable at times and rest in tropes rather than characters.
It's certainly worth watching and is an adult show, not a Disney show.
Emphasising that nobody should carry a gun, but wait, someone did and something happened because of it is clunky and nothing to do with rogue one.
One of the good parts about rogue one is that it had an established ending too, but still told a good story, well. Andor is doing the same for the most part.