Reviews Series / Andor

Positively Boolean

Andor did not have a lot to offer at first glance. The show took one of the least memorable Star Wars characters from one of my least favourite Star Wars movies, and decided his was the origin story we really needed to spend 12 episodes hearing about. I am currently nine episodes into the show, and I'm delighted to report that my misgivings were for nothing. Andor is excelling all expectations.

For starters Andor marks itself out as something completely different. It is less focused on adventure and daring do, Jedi and Stormtroopers, desert planets and crowd pleaser cameos. Instead we get a slow burning espionage thriller that shows us a whole new side of the Star Wars universe, following a nascent rebellion that is quietly gathering its forces, and a complacent Empire that is only just starting to notice something is wrong. In between them is Andor, a guy on the run who will be extremely valuable to whichever side that can get their hands on him.

Andor is a guy who hates the Empire but is too cynical to find a cause. He's a survivor first and foremost, and with the ubiquitous empire always around him, he never has the luxury to relax. But he is also a deeply cunning individual, and every situation he finds himself in, you can see his brain formulating his next plan to outfox his enemies. He's a thinker, not a fighter.

In fact, all the characters are very clever. We have two-faced politicians who deal to the rebellion under the table, even with every eye on them. We have ghoulish Imperial investigators who are able to trace Andor and the rebellion with startling efficiency. We have rebel leaders who are constantly second guessing their allies, ever suspicious of a double-cross. I was finding the series a little slow at first, but by the time I was six or so in, I have become completely hooked on this wonderfully detailed, gripping, tense drama.

The most intriguing character is the Empire itself. Rather than resort to the same old white helmets and killer Sith lords, Andor presents the Empire through Kafkaesque bureaucrats, thuggish security guards, cruel prison officials and pencil pushing busy bodies. For once, the Empire actually feels like something that could really exist, and we finally get to understand how ordinary people let themselves get swept up into its cruel hierarchy. We understand how they can convince themselves that they are fighting for justice, even as they crush people beneath them. We can even feel some pang of sympathy for these guys. Taking the helmets off of the Empire finally lets us see the humans underneath.

In many ways, Andor feels like what I wanted Rogue One to be. It makes far better use of its mundane, down to earth perspective, telling something that feels like its own story in service of itself, rather than a fan fic filler piece in service of the rest of the franchise.