Star Wars: Andor

[Grindspine]

This one started out as a pretty slow burn.  However, the writing gained momentum and smoldered the tension at a consistent build throughout.

There were no Jedi, no force users, and there was only one droid really featured in the earlier episodes. This was a departure from the regular Star Wars formula. This one was more gritty and more dramatic than most Star Wars releases.

The acting was top notch. The cinematography was immersive. I thoroughly enjoyed this series!

I have to restate; the acting was phenomenal. There were no bad actors and no poorly acted scenes throughout. This was one of the most solid things I have seen in a while.

[BLUEVOODU]

@Grindspine - it was rough at 1st... or maybe dark is the better term.  I found Andor interesting... but still have to catch up.  I Think I'm at the point where you state that it's getting better.

Once I catch up a bit more (at Episode 3), a better review can be performed.  This series was of interest... as it delves into Cassian.  This character was of much intrigue after Rogue One.  It's great to see Disney+ expanding on that character.

[Grindspine]

Tales of the Jedi was just released too, which is a nice companion piece to The Clone Wars series.  That series is short enough to binge in one evening, but has nice backstories for Count Dooku and Ahsoka Tano.  Disney is really doing a great job of world building and filling in all of the little gaps!

[BLUEVOODU]

Andor - after about the 3rd episode... it really started getting better IMO.    It's still a bit dark, but definitely digging it a lot more.

Anyone else still watching?  Getting into it?

[Grindspine]

So, after episode 6, Renee and I thought that was the complete series. I started seeing a bunch of reviews, as if the show was still happening. So, Renee and I just finished the second half of the season...

That show cultivated drama more effectively than anything I have seen. It was serious tension with a palpable, real-world feel, though it was still set in the Star Wars Empire era galaxy.

I am floored by how good that series was.

Also, at the end of the last episode, there is an end credits scene.

[BLUEVOODU]

man... this is pretty cool. I Think we have an episode or 2 left.  The series really started off a bit harsh... but progressed quite well.  I'll post a bit more once we finish the last episodes.

[BLUEVOODU]

The ending was definitely interesting.   Luthen Rael is a great character, but it was really hard to understand what he was doing.  I get he played both sides a bit, but letting certain events happen... didn't necessarily seem like the Rebellion way.  Though, I also may have misunderstood a few things.

It was also cool to see Saw Gerrera...  his character from Rogue One was interesting.  Though, I was a bit confused by Luthen and Saw's interaction just before said certain events.

Also - the post scenes credit... pretty cool.  Hopefully more to come!  It's cool to see Disney expanding the universe.

[Grindspine]

I liked that Andor, as a series, was a bit more relatable. It is cool to see Jedi and Sith, but it is more difficult to relate.

Also, in opposition to the prequel trilogy, this series had real backgrounds and real sets. They did not add CGI every other scene. It seemed like a more tangible, relatable world, but still had the epic feel of a galactic scope.

It also has the looming dread of knowing what is to come with what the empire is building.

[targetrasp]

The first several episodes didn't do much at all to reel me in, I think I stopped somewhere in the middle of the second episode and didn't come back for a long time. I started seeing all these raving reviews and decided to give it another shot. So glad I did.

It's gritty and gray. The rebel side isn't portrayed as the end all be all good guys; it's dirty, it's layered, and it's not the cohesive unit you see in the earlier films. Conversly, the empire isn't shown as the overwhelming monster either. There's some compassion... This I love.

What drives me insane is that stupid Syril character. People absolutely rave about this guy and the character, and I just don't get it. The gung-ho bootlicker company man lives with his mother, insecure yet overconfident... just completely irritates me. His counterpart in the show is equally annoying.

In a series that has such relatable elements, the hard decisions, emotion, mistakes, suffering, sadness, complicated relationships, selfishness, etc. These clowns just don't bring anything I can relate to or care about to the narrative.

[Grindspine]

Yeah, that guy and his mom suck.. but I think that's the point. They are setting him up to be a creep. He's an overachiever who listens to no one. He's a zealot. He is just generally distasteful. His mother is annoying and overbearing. He ends up being almost stalker-ish at points. They are crafting him as a creep to the highest degree. He's not "evil" in the traditional sense, but they are creating a character who is believable.

Yeah, this show is dramatic on a level that I never expected from Star Wars or Disney.

[BLUEVOODU]

man... idk... I thought it portrayed the Empire as being even more of a monster and painting a more detailed picture of how awful they are.  IE the Jail episodes... taking over the town of Ferrix.  It painted a pretty good picture of oppression, manipulation, brutality...etc.

[mastermario]

The series was good overally but soooooo sloowwwww. I think they lost a lot of people watching with how slow it moved. I didn't hate the plot but I didn't like the pacing. That said, I enjoy seeing something new outside of the standard Skywalker saga that shows that there is so much more in that universe going on than Jedi versus Sith. I'll take any live-action Star Wars, even if it's a little slow, over no Star Wars.

There were a lot of underlying things going on as well, particularly with Mon Mothma, that I didn't really pick up on until having watched some YouTube summaries of it.