Elliot Kessler

“Andor” was released last night, and this show wowed me. I was not very excited about this show leading up to its release. I was looking forward to it, mostly because I’m a huge “Star Wars” fan, and we haven’t had anything released since “Kenobi.” I mean, Marvel fans have had “Hawkeye,” “Moonknight,” and “She-Hulk” with pretty short times between releases, not to mention the three new movies that came out at those times as well. I have been waiting for new “Star Wars” content that is fresh and interesting, and “Andor” delivers in a big way. I had heard it would be good, but I was unprepared for what we got.

I had heard that this show would be darker than any other “Star Wars” movie or show we’d had before, and they were right. The beginning of the first episode feels more akin to “Blade Runner: 2049” than it does to “Star Wars.” That doesn’t mean this show is super dark. It is still good for families to watch together. But this show does not hold back. There’s one scene near the beginning where two security employees fight with Andor, and one of them slips in the rain and is killed. The other employee grieves over his friend, but since he saw everything that happened, Andor shoots him in cold blood. I was not expecting it, but it immediately set up the tone for the show, displaying the darkness in this story.

The first episode was very interesting and set up a lot of the story that it looks like we will follow moving forward. However, the whole episode feels like a day-in-a-life scene, and I did not realize that Andor killing the two corporate employees was the inciting incident for the show. I thought that was supposed to show Andor’s regular day. Only when we see the Morlana One Corporate Authority (catchy, I know) investigate the murders and Syril Karn decides to go after Andor did I realize that it was the inciting incident. The scenes of Andor after the murders were the day-in-a-life scenes, which is a very strange way of structuring things and makes the ending to the episode feel out of place. The episode should have been restructured, so we see Andor going about his everyday life, and then he goes to Morlana One and kills the employees. It should have been an hour long to capture all of that, but it’s still a pretty fun start, and we get all the moving pieces set up for us. Even Stellan Skarsgard’s character, Luthen Rael, is set up in the first episode even though he doesn’t appear until the second one. It’s played out very well and gives the audience all the exposition they need to get started.

The second episode is still some setup, but because we already had most of the setup in the first episode, they get the story moving, pushing the action along. It gives the episode life and excitement while letting us spend time with the characters and get to know them. Speaking of which, the characters in this show are fantastic. They are fleshed-out, human, interesting characters, some with mysterious backstories that I’m excited to learn more about, others with exciting story potential that I cannot wait to explore. Cassian Andor is interesting, and the good news is that the title character is the main character for once! (Looking at you, “Kenobi.”) Andor’s morality is very interesting, and I can’t wait to learn more about his backstory. I thought we knew everything there was to know about him in “Rogue One,” but no. There’s so much more to him. Right now, he looks like a scared man way in over his head, looking for a way out, and it’ll be interesting watching him transform into the strong, confident, and flawed man we see at the beginning of “Rogue One,” who will kill his friends to squeeze himself out of situations. I liked Andor before, and I like him even more now.

The third episode was great, finishing the setup and sending the characters on their journey for the rest of the series. Luthen Rael is fantastic. I love Stellan Skarsgard; he fits into “Star Wars” very well. His character has this calm persona about him and looks pretty confident, relaxed, and experienced. I’m curious about what experiences led him to become who he is, but I hope it stays hidden, adding more mystery to this already intriguing character. The escape sequence with him and Andor was fun, exciting, and looked incredible. The death of Perrin, Bix Caleen’s partner, was a shock and adds to Bix’s story. Bix is a fearless, mysterious character that we don’t know much about, but it seems she knows Andor very well. She’s tough, but seeing her grieve for Perrin showed how much she cared for him. It was a great scene that was executed well. The climax of the episode was incredible. The speeder being used as both a distraction and a weapon by Rael and Andor was fantastic and shows Andor’s resourcefulness. The Corporate Authority employees getting killed from the speeder blowing up shows that neither Andor nor Rael are scared to take lives to get what they want, but Syril Karn’s reaction to the deaths made them stand out. We’ve seen some shock and trauma in “Star Wars” before, such as when Finn watches his friends die and is ordered to execute innocent villagers. But we’ve never seen it done so well before. Karn doesn’t simply drop his blaster, find a ship and say, “Forget it, I’m joining the other side.” He genuinely believes what he’s doing is right, and I don’t think the deaths of those employees will change anything. If anything, it will send Karn on a vengeful mission to take down Andor and Rael, and that’s a much more interesting motivation for a villain than “I want to blow up a planet.” This guy doesn’t care about taking over the galaxy and is not evil. He’s simply fighting for what he thinks is right, and when some guys show up and kill his friends, he is not happy about that.

“Andor” is shaping to be an incredible show, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. We’re at a point where the only show I’m waiting each week for is “Rings of Power,” so there hasn’t been much good in the entertainment industry recently. I’m glad we have a good, well-written, well-acted, incredible-looking show to watch each week. It’s a fresh, exciting take on a franchise 45 years old, bringing a new spin on things and a darker tone.

I look forward to seeing where these characters go next. After episode three, anything can happen, and I cannot wait to see it.

Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day.