General Andor Series Discussion

The Wookie.

 

So much for this being a series about Cassian Andor.

 

I tend to think that a kid that doesn't already understand the concept of a brothel will just breeze past it like it was any other bar scene though a more boring one than ever before.

Kids this is too old for will almost all self select to tap out because of the space between spectacles and action and it being so dialog and intrigue driven.

 

Hot take time. The Imperial twits depicted in this show as quarrelling and working against each other have still done more investigating into Cassian killing two cops in self defence and in his stolen Maguffin than the entire Jedi order did investigating the influence of the Sith in the Senate and uncovering the plot against them in the whole prequel trilogy period.

What exactly is Mon Mothma? What's her official title/position? She's doesn't seem to be a senator or delegate from a system. Has it been explained in the show?

 

Mon Mothma was the Senator of Chandrila from 32 BBY up until 2BBY -- first a senator of the Republic and then an Imperial Senator -- and she is definitelly a senator during the Andor show. Her home is therefore likely to be some sort of Chandrila representative's official recidence on Coruscant, and her husband, Perrin Fertha, is described as her consort.

 

Would be nice to see her have a more tangible connection with the people she serves for as senator. Who she is presumably doing this for. If not for the whole galaxy. Perhaps the relative disparity between her idealism and actual experience of who the oppressed, and the people that do the dirty work in the rebellion(s), truly are will feature later on. At present she has Luthen as a buffer between herself and the cells and operatives. But that may change.

 

The good thing is the trailers almost shows scenes from first 6 episodes.
Just new Coruscant shots, first planet problems, storm and deathtroopers, Saw Guerrera base and a brief of ships fighting.
I think this second part will have a lot of Mothma and a lot more of Empire from inside.
How exciting is this!

 

Do you think you could recommend Andor to someone who does not and would not watch a Star Wars thing?

It'll be easier to judge when the first series is complete. But to me it's like a BBC Drama serial set in the GFFA, like Secret Army or Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. And more recent ones like Line Of Duty (although I find LOD to be pretty silly compared with Andor to be honest)

 

It depends on what they actually likes to watch, of course, and whether they hate SW enough that any SW content, regardless of type and quality, is reflexively awful to them. But Andor might definitely be worth a try?

 

Yeah, I'm thinking of people for whom "It's Star Wars" is not an enticement. Rather than "...but Star Wars sucks, or so I've heard".

 

Beware the net!
Just swallowed a spoiler from Andor after episode 7.
A second image directly appeared first in my Instagram feed...

Hope you don't see it.

 

I think that disparity is actually an indication of how the Senate has become ineffective since the Empire seized control. Mon is definitely an idealist, and truly believes in her causes. She would absolutely prefer to work through legislative process, but that has been decimated by the Empire. She's still trying to make it work, as we see with her taking up the plight of the Ghormans and their closed-off shipping lanes. Based on her post-Aldhani conversation with Luthen, it's clear that she is not yet as committed to full-fledged rebellion, and probably doesn't even know the extent of activity across the Galaxy. She's merely a financial supporter at this point and her idealism has her wrongly thinking that the Empire can be defeated through well-funded diplomacy.

 

I think Andor and Rogue One are excellent "gateway drugs" for un-Star Wars people. When Rogue One came out, I went to see it with someone who had never really watched ANY Star Wars movies, and they totally got it and appreciated it as a standalone story simply by being told what happens next re: Death Star go Boom! Lilewise, I turned a family member onto Andor because they recognized Diego Luna and they were wary of watching a series they may not understand. No issues at all and in fact they have now watched Rogue One and they are planning to watch the OT from the standpoint of a sequel to R1! Andor absolutely can stand alone, but chances are it's gonna lead to a wider more diverse audience for the entire universe.

 

I think many of us were originally quite excited to see so many recognisable items in Luthen’s shop, even if in the form of Easter eggs. One thing I’m wondering about is, considering how so many items there are related to the Jedi and even the Sith, even if replicas, would Palpatine be ok with those items being on display and so readily available in a shop right under his nose? He may of course not be aware of the existence of Luthen’s shop but to have so many Force lore items in one place seems a bit dangerous.

 

This series is REALLY GOOD and continuing to get better.

So, its a bit of a mystery to me why it hasn't gotten the hype that some of the other new shows have. It may well be that this will be a series that will 'grow with age' and be more respected and acclaimed years from now than it is garnering right now.

I've rewatched the scene in this past week's episode between Luthen and Saw a number of times now and continue to be blown away by it. It's a Master Class in Acting by two incredible actors: Stellan Skarsgard and Forest Whitaker.

 

Stellan Skarsgård has been nothing short of amazing in every "American" movie I've seen him in: Hunt for Red October, Good Will Hunting, Ronin. I don't know enough about his European work to offer an opinion. Forest Whitaker has been amazing in nearly all roles he's taken, even in bad movies (like Battlefield Earth haha). The work he did to prepare for roles in "Bird" and "The Last King of Scotland" speak to how he immerses himself in roles.

It's worth noting that Skarsgård is in his early 70s and Whitaker is in his early 60s. These gentleman have been honing their craft for a long, long, time.

 

I feel like the lackluster response to the series is based on two different assumptions- many of the SW fan base have been dissuaded by the reviews that there isn't any "typical" SW devices: no Jedi, lightsabers, the scarcity of alien creatures... The lack of "fan service" that a lot of franchise faithful have always found comfort in. On the other side of the coin, non-SW viewers who would be drawn to a Tony Gilroy helmed political/spy thriller may have seen this as a SW story that they wouldn't understand because of backstory and tie-ins to a massive universe.

Hopefully, continued critical acclaim will encourage more viewers from both sides to give Andor a chance and see the broad appeal.

--- Double Post Merged, Nov 2, 2022, Original Post Date: Nov 2, 2022 ---

Skarsgård has been phenomenal. Honestly, the Luthen Rael character was one that I was skeptical of going into the series. I kept thinking, how could this guy be so important to the Rebellion, yet we've never known of him until now? It's part of the ingenious writing that his identity and secrecy are essential to the success of his work building toward the Alliance that will eventually destroy the Empire. The very fact he isn't known is the only reason he's able to survive. His character and backstory definitely has the most potential for a spin-off or origin story.

 

I've never had a positive opinion of Star Wars Theory and other YT content mills, their negative feedback has forced me to abandon their content altogether. I understand and respect that there are entire silos of fans who are in it for the Jedi and aliens. I make it clear to everyone I promote the show to, that it is a "spy thriller set in the SW universe". It's not the show for you if you're looking for merchandise ideas or lightsaber porn.

I am equally optimistic.

I agree that there's far more to this character than what we've seen or what could be reasonably accommodated in a 10-minute flashback. Depending on how his arc ends (he's never heard from again in the SW universe from what I've seen and read) it would be worthy of an origin story or series. Disney is definitely rolling the dice on this format and this "type" of story. If successful, there's a lot of built-in job security for Gilroy & Co.