So here we are again with was use to be one of my favorite Star Wars TV series, one that I was already watching before my break but still wanted to write about, after Mandalorian I got into Andor Season 1 and was nuts although diving back into Season 2 was not the same, honestly I'm feeling pretty conflicted about these opening episodes. I don't wanna be that guy who shits all over everything Disney does but there's something about this show that just doesn't sit right with me for the most part, specially this three episode release format, this episodes really highlighted some of those issues. The whole thing kicks off one year after the events of season one, which is a solid choice timing wise but man, the execution feels like it's trying too hard to be prestige television instead of, you know, actual Star Wars. The production values are insane it is still there similar to The Acolyte but even a great looking show can still be very average, the acting from the main actors like Diego Luna and Denise Gough is still there and there's clearly a lot of love and effort put into every frame that looks so beautiful, but it still doesnt feel like its happening in a galaxy far far away, there is missing that strange Star Wars world touch, they do travel from planet to planet but its very center like its just another planet Earth with regular people. The show has this weird habit of making everything feel so grounded and realistic that it loses that magical Star Wars feeling, which is ironic considering this is supposed to be building up to Rogue One, a movie that actually felt like it belonged in this universe. Maybe I'm being too harsh, maybe I'm just nostalgic for the days when Star Wars felt more fantastical and this is coming from a person who is not a hard core fan, most of the recent Star Wars tv series have been heavily criticize for this matter, but these episodes left me with a void wondering if season two is at the same level of how the show started.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9253284/
- Platform: Disney+
The opening sequence with Cassian infiltrating that Imperial facility to steal the prototype TIE fighter should've been exciting as hell and in some ways it was, but it also perfectly encapsulates what bothers me about this show, it still felt too simple or is it that the first season set the bar too high? for example when they stole all the money on season one. Watching him fumble around with the controls and basically crash his way out of there was pretty funny and the whole sequence looked gorgeous but where were the aliens, where was that lived in universe feeling that made the original trilogy so special. Instead we get this very human facility that could've been any generic sci fi show and that's a problem that runs throughout these episodes, its all human interaction and politics everywhere. The tech helping him escape, Niya was a ok ish character that I felt short and could had more screen time but again just another human in a universe that is supposed to be very heavy with diverse alien life and her whole deal felt more like a war movie than Star Wars. Then we jump to his friends from Ferrix who are now hiding out on this farming planet and while the storyline with Bix dealing with trauma from her torture was handled well, the whole setup felt like it could've been ripped from any number of Earth based dramas about migrant workers. The Imperial lieutenant being a creepy asshole was effective but predictable and when Braso gets killed at the end, it should've hit harder than it did, but the whole thing felt so divorced from the Star Wars universe that I couldn't fully invest in it emotionally.
Meanwhile, Mon Mothma's wedding storyline on Chandrila was probably the strongest part of these episodes but even that had issues that bugged the shit out of me, it truly felt boring and make me dizzy at tiems. Genevieve O'Reilly continues to be fantastic in her role and specially from the political and personal pressures of funding the rebellion while dealing with family drama. The wedding ceremony itself was beautifully shot and the cultural details they added felt realistic including Luthen weading gift, even if they were maybe a bit too Earth like for my taste but at least it felt like they were building something unique you cant go mad on a weading scenes. Her daughter Lita being excited about the arranged marriage was a nice twist and the tension with her childhood friend Tay threatening to expose her rebel activities added real stakes to those moments. The whole sequence where she is dancing drunk at the reception while Cinta is presumably about to murder Tay was brilliantly created and showed the show at its best a true peak moment, balancing personal drama with larger political conspiracy implicatins. But again, felt like any other weeding in a political thriller drama, where was that sense of otherness that makes Star Wars special and why did everything feel so much like a period drama set on Earth rather than another far away planet??.
The Empire stuff with Dedra and Krennic discussing the Gorman situation was solid political intrigue but it highlighted another issue I have with this show, which is how it treats the Empire like a modern corporation rather than a space fascist regime. Ben Mendelsohn is always great as Krennic and the whole presentation about Gorman with the cheesy tourism video was darkly funny but it felt more like a satire of modern corporate than something that belonged in the Star Wars universe. Dedra's relationship with Syril continues to be deeply weird and uncomfortable although as the show progress she starts to feel deeply interested on him and we start to watch Syril evolve as a key asset and grows up with the expectations of him setting up the trap for the local revels, which I think is intentional but their dinner scene with his mother was more cringe comedy than anything else and while it was well acted, it felt very bizzare. The whole subplot about the Empire wanting to destabilize Gorman to mine it for resources was interesting from a political aspect but didnt feel like the classic empire that takes things by hand and fist without asking for permission, it felt like something out of a modern thriller rather than Star Wars and the lack of any fantastical elements made it feel disconnected from the larger universe. Even the Death Star references which should have been exciting to at some point potentially watch it at least in paper but we never did so it felt more like the show was checking boxes rather than building excitement. The bureaucratic nature of the Empire's evil was well developed but it lacked the mythic quality that made Darth Vader and the Emperor so compelling in the original movies.
I don't wanna completely trash these episodes because there is clearly a lot of talent involved and the show is trying to do something different with the Star Wars formula but I have to express that it's lost touch with what makes the first season so special traveling from one planet to another and Cassian been on constant danger. The production design is incredible, the performances are solid across the board and you can tell it is true star was base on customs and backdrops like its not fake but it all feels so grounded and realistic that it loses that sense of wonder and adventure that drew me to Star Wars TV series the first place, I still remember that scene where Din Djarin puls the darksaber and fights the blacksmith risking to fall from the ship and for some mystic reason he couldn't held it straight, that magic is whats missing from Andor this time around. Maybe that's the point, maybe the show is trying to show the unglamorous reality behind the rebellion we see in the original trilogy but there's gotta be a way to do that without making everything feel so damn earthly. The lack of aliens is particularly something that you will notice during the three episodes because it makes the universe feel smaller and less diverse than it should be and the constant references to Earth like traditions and concepts and institutions make it hard to belief you are not around humans, I'm hoping things pick up in the pace during the next batch of episodes, I'm not a fan of three or what ever amount of episodes they want to release at once, Im old school with the one episode a week even better if they keep increasing its lenght thats my favorite type of release but I'll definitely keep watching because even flawed Star Wars is usually better than most other sci fi on television, not gonna lie I did like certain episodes of The Acolyte even though everyone kept saying it was trash but the hole lightsaber fights were very dope, but these opening episodes left me feeling more disappointed than excited about where the season is heading, this is a show with great potential and I know its over but its one I didnt want to miss out, now that is been some time since its release its easier to stay away from mayor spoilers on the interet so after all I had a good time, three hours of Star Wars is very cool although again not my favorite way to release a series.
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