Five days from now will mark the 48th anniversary of the release of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Because I was 5 years old when the movie was released, I am lucky enough to say that I have been a Star Wars fanatic from the very beginning. It has been a huge part of my life at every milestone. It started with being the most influential part of my childhood and then grew into something I have been able to share with my own children.
As an old-man Star Wars fan, I will always say the original trilogy is the best content that has ever been produced in the Star Wars Universe. After accepting that irrefutable fact, there is a ton of competition for the top of the next tier. Is it one of the amazing animated shows that have been released since 2003? Is it the prequels? Ummm no. Hell no! Is it one of the live action shows? Is it one of the sequels? Well since only The Force Awakens is one I will watch again, that field is pretty narrow. For a while the scene where Rey exclaims, "The garbage will do" and the camera pans to Millennium Falcon held the title in my heart as best content since the originals.
But we now have a new winner. I can say with utter confidence, that as an avid Star Wars fan for nearly 48 years, Andor is the finest content since the original trilogy. Moreover, it is simply one of the most incredibly war shows I have ever seen.
That is what makes Andor so special. It did not need the crutch of being in the Star Wars universe. It was simply an amazing showing with incredibly writing, sensational acting, and impressive special effects. The show was pretty much perfect. I say "pretty much" because there was one flaw: it ended too soon. I want to see far more of these characters and this story.
This season spanned the four years leading up to the Battle of Yavin where the first Death Star was destroyed. Each year consisted of three episodes that were all released on the same day. So essentially we got a new movie every Tuesday for a month. The characters were so interesting and the plot so intriguing that I wish there had been 12 episodes covering each of those years. This would have meant I could have enjoyed the show for 3 more years. But sadly the creators did not want to be locked into a story that long.
This is truly a pity because it meant three of my favorite Star Wars characters of all time did not get to have their full story told. Bix, played by Adria Arjona, never gets to spread her wings are really show what she can do. Vel Sartha, played by Fey Marsay, will never get to avenge her love. Finally, Kleya Marki, played by Elizabeth Dulau will not get to become the leader she is obviously destined to be. When the show started, I felt Bix would quickly join the pantheon of Star Wars heroes. She had an awesome, tough backstory and showed off some fighting skills... plus she was so hit that I thought she may have actually have been from Banshee Pennsylvania. But it turns of that Kleya was the true hidden gem of this show. In season one she was an assistant with very little screen-time. But in the second season, it was obvious how essential she was for the Rebellion. And she was deadly, so deadly.
"Excuse me, which way to Banshee Pennsylvania?"
Although I love everything about the show, I still feel I lost out on seeing the full arc of some incredible characters. If Disney is smart, there will be a spinoff centered around Bix, Vel and Kleya ASAP.
Using my new standard of viewing time vs time looking at my phone, Andor score a perfect 100%. I never had the urge to look at my phone during any of the 24 episodes. I am also confident I will not look at it when I watch it a second time this summer.
Not only was this show a perfect war/spy/uprising story, it actually made the movie Rogue One even better. And that is saying alot since it was incredible already.
If you are a Star Wars fan and you have not seen Andor yet, stop wasting your time and watch it now. Actually, if you are a fan of any stories about any war, do yourself a favor and watch this immediately. Granted it is a slow burn and more about intrigue and politics that action, but damn the intrigue and politics is fascinating.
Did you like this show? What is your favorite war story?