Andoris so bold and fresh that every episode comes with a fair amount of shock when that familiar Star Wars logo pops up. Where most of the modern franchise’s output has followed the typical structure established in the 70s, the tale of Cassian Andor is the perfect escalation and new direction.
When it was announced,Andorsounded like a weird pitch. A full series of premium streaming TV with a respectable cast and a hefty budget based entirely around the deuteragonist of a moderately well-received prequel from six years ago was an odd choice. Fans are both happy and lucky to see this risk pay off.
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Andoris the third live-actionStar Wars series to drop on Disney Plus. It has been immensely well-received in its early episodes, and it has earned that reception. One of the most dynamic aspects of the series is the pure sincere anger that seems to fuel its driving narrative. It’s a spy thriller that revolves around desperate Rebels trying to wound the impossibly large beast that is the Empire. It’s all about backroom dealings, secretive guerilla warfare, and impassioned people putting their lives on the line for their freedom. There’s no mention of Jedi or The Force. There are no robed magic-wielding superheroes to come and save the day. There are only desperate and furious people doing everything they can to defeat an oppressive state.Andor, the show and the character, is angry, and that’s part of what makes it so powerful.
When genre media talks about being dark, it usually means that any sense of joy is sapped away or that the typical restrictions on blood, sex, and swearing are lifted. Nothing is safe froma “dark and gritty” versionthese days. It’s been a go-to topic for parody for years. Fans often cry out for dark and gritty material. Anything with any fun, color, levity, or humor will undergo harsher criticism than its grim and gory peers. Often this is a result of audiences wanting their favorite franchise to age with them. This is why teen sidekicks have fallen out of favor in comic book movies, and why mankind hasn’t seen a properSuperman movie in decades. Star Wars is not free from this issue, but, oddly enough, going into the new darker territory is a solution to its tonal issues.
Star Wars is, in many ways, a modern fairy tale. The series never got close to hard science fiction, it was always a trailblazer in the realm of science fantasy. It took the elements of magic and whimsy from the typical realm of wizards and warriors and put them into a space-faring galaxy. It’s always been a pure and honest story of good vanquishing evil. The prophesied hero and his legendary bloodline mustuse the glowing swordand his magic powers to defeat the forces of evil, but all in space. Modern iterations of the format have used almost all those old tricks. The sequel trilogy turned out to be more of the same, the same blessed family heritage raises a hero to defeat the same evil. When the franchise tried to deviate, break the mold, and try something new withThe Last Jedi, the fanbase snapped under the weight of the slightest creativity. As a result, the sequel ran back to its safe place. This turned any new direction attempted in the sequel trilogy into a half-measure. The same fairy tale with a lame attempt to draw in the edgy crowd thrown in.Andordoesn’t do half-measures.
There’s no element of fantasy inAndor. In fact, it’s so richly grounded in the modern real world that it can be genuinely harrowing to watch. Where most Star Wars films are King Arthur with lasers,Andoris ripped from the headlines political violence with lasers.The Empire soldiers aren’tportrayed as bumbling goons, they’re the violent agents of state power. The Rebels aren’t pure moral beacons, they’re terrorists doing what they have to do to survive. This isn’t just a dark take on Star Wars, it’s a mature and brutally honest take on the concepts that the franchise has been playing with since the beginning.Andormakes the bold choice to take a look at the world it’s being released into and fit a Star Wars narrative to the modern day.
Andormight be a fluke. Disney may have no intention of using the format that is currently making the show great ever again. The company has a history of stopping its strategy on a dime and charging ahead in a new direction after the slightest unexpected success or failure. It’s also not clear whetherthe tone ofAndoris at all favorable for any other project in the franchise. What is clear is thatAndoris one of the best pieces of the Star Wars franchise in decades and a breath of fresh air that could change things forever. Disney could learn many lessons from this show’s success, but fans will have to wait and see what they take away.
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