Also, with a vast huge history of the Star Wars universe I am just getting a little tired of Disney deciding that this time in history is the only one that they will make content for. It is like when I was young and the history channel was nothing but WWII.
K=2SO is one of my favorite Star Wars characters ever. Its too bad that he won't be in the first season of Andor, but the director hinted that he might be in the second.
Watch it man, it's good. It's basically like ... ALL characterization and motivations. Like almost everything these days, it was a bit of a slow burn, but it picks up steam and just goes. It's not just the motivations of Andor himself, but also (and more importantly) the motivations of the disparate Rebellion as the Empire tightens its grip. It is both bleak and hopeful in turn, has a number of good twists and "whoa" moments, and is littered with just crazy tension and build up. It also deviates a lot from the movie in fan service. It's more interested in developing the world and showing different environments than it is in shoehorning references to the OT. It's interesting to jump between Coruscant elites to tropical paradises to stark prisons and dirty blue collar worlds and cities. The action isn't super impressive or drawn out (it's TV, not movies), though there are some solid set piece scenes. It also doesn't usually try to justify dumb or nonsensical stuff the way the Kenobi show did. It really tries to focus on the characters and their evolutions. The sacrifices they are forced to consider and make, the worth to the rebellion vs self. It all felt very poignant.
I agree 100%. The other Disney+ Star Wars shows have varied degrees of success relating to other Star Wars properties. I enjoyed all, but liked Kenobi more than Mando and BOBF, which are mostly good for popcorn entertainment. Both could have been 8 episode seasons and been better. I liked Kenobi because it tried to answer questions a lot of fans had and also because Ewan McGregor is an underrated actor who held the show up. I really liked Vader in the show, but none of the Inquisitors held my interest and while Leia was a sweetheart, she was a pain in the *ss for the entire series. Andor, on the other hand, is a great show, regardless of network or genre. Every single performance is fantastic. Perfectly written, brilliantly acted, it adds foundation to the original trilogy that's been lacking. It's the first Star Wars show with common people and realistic motivations. I'll watch the final episode in an hour or so and hope they stick the landing.
IMO they do while leaving it very open for a second season. Don't expect everything to be wrapped in a tidy bow, but it's good. Also, they Spoiler: payoff the prison work. It wasn't random widgets. It does feel more like "real people in space" than probably most any other SW show or franchise where "real folks" (both good and bad) are generally just the background characters to Jedi, Mandalorians or weird techno space biker gangs.
It changes the universe because it's the first SW property that's not primarily populated by archetypical characters. Every one of the characters we're familiar with from the OT is painted in broad strokes. They were depicted morally in black and white for the most part, with Han and Lando (and perhaps, Dooku) being the only characters who were written in shades of gray.* Don't get me wrong: I'm down for it, especially in the original trilogy. But it was the nuance of family dynamics that took the original trilogy from high flying space fantasy to compelling entertainment. Vader was Luke's father? GTFOOH. Leia is Luke's sister? WTF? Ben's story about Vader murdering Anakin was full of ****? Really?! Didn't see any of these coming. But this show is basically about the people plugging in the tech on the Death Star in the background. Boring everyday folks with average lives. I always wondered about the thousands of people that were conscripted to work on that space station before Luke blew them all to hell and now, we get to meet some of them. *Dave Filoni understood this and used the animated shows to not only flesh out the universe, but introduce a lot more of the personal conflict that made Luke a great character. Well, before Rian Johnson ruined him.
Loved the finale. Totally stuck the landing, which is rare for the Disney+ Star Wars and MCEU properties. If this was "Star Wars for grownups", as it's been described, I'd love to see a lot more of it. The writing was superb from the first episode to the last. I'm trying to recall a Star Wars film or series that honestly displayed emotions other than rage, elation or regret, and although I know they exist, I'm unable to recall anything close to this.
