SPOILER Andor Ep. 6 Discussion

Wow! That is a great theory and for me it makes the "Climb!" parallel between K2SO and Nemik much more sensible. It also makes sense that Nemik's penchant for repurposing old Imperial tech would tie-in to the reprogramming of K2.

--- Double Post Merged, Oct 24, 2022, Original Post Date: Oct 24, 2022 ---

You're never gonna please all the people all the time. Especially in the Star Wars Universe! I've always thought that as a community, the SW fan base is simultaneously the Greatest and the Absolute Worst.
Andor receiving less 'buzz' surprised me too, but I personally was looking forward to it and have been extremely pleased with it. I disagree that it doesn't 'feel' like Star Wars because there's no Force or Jedi. For me that only makes the Galaxy stronger and more diverse. I believe and hope that the GFFA is big enough for all kinds of stories, and I can't wait to see both established, beloved characters as well as meet new characters/stories.

 

Good point @MBWilson

 

After 7 weeks, I have finally posted my thoughts about Andor. This is roughly the halfway point through Season 1, so I feel I have seen enough of the show to understand the story beats and pacing. Unfortunately, I am not very impressed with either (although I found Episode 6 “The Eye” to be quite enjoyable.) My criticism with Andor has nothing to do with the fact that it is “slow.” I have been begging for 50 minute episodes and I got it. I have been begging for a show that stops to analyze characters, and I got it. And I have begged for a show to feature the planet Coruscant and the senate chambers, and I got it.
So what do I find wrong with Andor?
The show concentrates on the boring stuff and skimps on the important stuff.
For example, episodes 4 and 5 had numerous campfire scenes creating tension about the inevitable heist in my favorite episode 6. However, did we really need to watch people learning to march and learning to determine which arm each character carries a gun, especially since the heist more-or-less went smoothly? Did we need to hear all of Cyril’s mom’s complaints around the breakfast table? Did we need to hear the numerous bullying one-liners from Arvel Skeen if he was just going to be shot unceremoniously at the end of Ep. 6? Personally, I feel like each episode could have lost ten minutes, so the length can match the amount of story it’s carrying. As far as skimping on the important stuff, I find it sad that viewers are watching the origins of the Rebel Alliance through blinders. The aforementioned Coruscant senate scene was cut short. I am not clear what the galaxy at large is thinking or feeling. How many star systems are aligned with Mon Mothma? Where is the peaceful Alderaan in all this? In short, apart from the very-important heist in Ep. 6, I don’t see why any of this show matters. (It would have been meaningful if we have not seen later films demonstrating exactly what the Rebellion has matured into.)
At first I thought I was being overly-critical until I began watching Stranger Things and Rings of Power this month. Both shows have significant flaws in my opinion, but both have stories that “unfold” better than Andor. Both shows feature episodes that reveal more about the next, with little dead weight. The lid to the box opens more and more with each passing episode so viewers can peer inside. Contrastingly, with Andor, the lid is still on the box and we are shaking it wondering what is inside. (Unfortunately, because we’ve all watched Episode IV: A New Hope, we already know what’s inside this box.) Moving forwards, I am hoping Andor offers more drama (not necessarily more action,) more “important stuff,” (yes, politics included,) not just watching people eating blue Coco Puffs or talking about why the empire is bad in the Scottish highlands. This is the same issue I had with the animated Star Wars: Resistance and Star Wars: Rebels- let’s get to something important that drives the “big picture” forwards.
I will comment later on my thoughts about camera work, costumes, and smaller details like that.

 

I don't think that this is supposed to be a big story and that's sorta the thing that separates it from other SW material. The boring stuff may be inane in the Galactic view, but to the individuals and the events being shown, they are significant. Cassian pointing out the left hand/right hand issue showed his attention to the little details and how his mind works. Syril's mom (who I myself find tedious) is clearly building to make more sense of who this character is going to be. Same goes for Mon Mothma's family scenes. As banal as they seem, they are clearly written in to build a backstory.
In the big picture of the Empire vs. The Rebellion most of these characters are going to have little to no impact. We know Cassian Andor and Mon Mothma will be key figures in the Galaxy. What we're seeing here are the stories of people that were key figures in the development of these two heavyweights.
I really want to see an Alderaan story. Bail Organa is one of my all-time favorite characters and he has the potential for a massive amount of character and story development. That being said, I'd be disappointed if he was given more than a name drop in Andor. Maybe a cameo in season 2. As far as Systems aligned with Mothma, she told her banker friend that she was going to share some info that "only three people in the Galaxy know..." If not counting herself, that would be Luthen, Kleya and possibly Bail. She has been leaning towards the rebels since the start of the Empire, but to this point she seems to still be in the shallows, probably mostly a fundraiser.
I think going forward we'll get some big important stuff start to happen, but still surrounded by the the seemingly small unimportant stuff.

 

I'm totally on the board with you.
Bail cannot be a simple cameo. His role in the Rebellion is at least as important as Mon's - we can see this in Rogue One : Bail is part of the Rebellion HeadQuarters, among Dodonna and Draven (and Andor).
Leia may be more of a cameo, a short and quick appearance in the background. But Bail's presence is absolutely needed !!!!!

 

I would love to see more of Bail. It seems that they have set the Andor series to focus on Cassian and Mon. It would be hard not to feature Bail, Dodonna, Draven, Antilles and Ackbar in the later episodes of season 2.

 

If they are in there, then yes. Those things are important and we need to see them. You can judge for yourself if the need to see them enhanced the show as a whole. I don't think that Skeen being shot means that him saying the things he said lose their value. The fact that he said them shows us that ideas, sentiments and principles can be shared by people with different motivations and values.

 

Quckdraw McGraw don't mess around!

Personally, I believed it was the real story but he could have been caught testing the wrong dude for sure I just slightly lean the other way.