Andor Season 1 Episode 1-3 Review
A couple of days ago, Andor started streaming on Disney+ where it debuted its first three episodes. I finally got around to watching them. So how is the show so far? Is this the show that can give Star Wars fans a new hope? Or is this another disappointment? Let’s get started!
The Good
And what I thought worked best about these first three episodes is that it’s really something new and different for the world of Star Wars. And was a really nice change of pace after how blah and lazy both The Book of Boba Fett and Kenobi were. The Book of Boba Fett was especially memorable because of The Mandalorian episode and the episode in which Luke Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Cad Bane all appeared. They wrote a way to straight forward a plot so they can have all of these cameos. Andor is not that, this is not a show that is going to be relying on cameos. The showrunner is Tony Gilroy who wrote the original Jason Bourne trilogy with Matt Damon. And he was told by Star Wars to avoid cameos and fan service with all the cast, and I think in the long run this show will benefit from that. And these episodes as a whole felt more complex and layered. And another thing to add to that is that it’s just something different, this is the darkest project that Star Wars has done and it’s more of a spy thriller then an action show. The other shows and movies have relied more on action, this isn’t one of them.
And I would also say that on a technical level, this is probably the best looking Star Wars show. Where it’s the largest in scale, and it just looks really cool. The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Kenobi all used this stage craft technology that was all of the actors standing on a stage with this big screen behind them. This one they were on real sets, and you can just feel that all through-out the show. It might not also help that the two previous shows had pretty generic Star Wars looking planets and locations. But this one is a much more wasteland looking area, and I think it just looks better. So I hope with Ahsoka and The Acolyte they use this style of production rather than fancy technology.
Another nice touch here is that it’s just the most mundane Star Wars shows. What I mean by this is that you have people on trains or around town just talking about life, and world views. And it’s not the type of conversions that you normally hear being talked about in Star Wars. And they were just nice touches sprinkled through-out these first three episodes that I thought really worked and it just made things more interesting to me.
And another positive for the show is that the cast here is all really really good. In the lead is Diego Luna as Andor and he’s just as solid as ever. He can play the lead character really well, he does have nice screen presents about him that is good for this type of show. And so far I would say that Diego Luna is better in this show then he was in Rogue One. Maybe it’s because he’s a more established actor or just he knows the character a bit more, so therefore he’s better at it. He’s also partnered up really well with Stellen Skarsgard as this mysterious new boss for Andor and I thought he was great in the show. He’s probably the character so far that I’m the most interested in seeing where they take him. Because they set up some interesting mysteries with him, that when done right could be very interesting. And the underdog here of the story is Fiona Shaw as Andor’s mother was a great character, I really liked how she was used in the show. And once again very curious to see where they take her character.
Finally, Tony Gilroy is the right person to be the showrunner for this type of show. Like I said before he directed The Bourne Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum and as those are some of the best spy thrillers out there, he’s the perfect guy to be in charge of this show. He knows how to build suspense and intrigue very well and keep those mysterious through-out the entire show.
The Bad:
And the big thing here is that there is this weird love triangle that felt out of place. Maybe once we see the entire show it’ll make more sense. And it’s weird because it’s between Andor, his ex-girlfriend, and her new boyfriend. But Andor is not really in love with her, but they do have a complicated relationship. And the way it was presented and portrayed through-out these episodes just didn’t work for me, and when it would focus on the ex-girlfriend and the new boyfriend it really didn’t work for me and was the least interesting stuff about these episodes.
Another thing is that I’m not sure what I think about Kyle Soller, the leading commander of the group out to get Andor. He has a lot of rage in him, and there could be an interesting character in there with the information that has been presented so far. And beyond that, I’m not sure what I think about the performance. I can't decide if he’s trying too hard to be mad and angry or not. So I think I really need to see where they go with him before I can make a final decision.
Final Thoughts: When they first announced this show I was pretty skeptical and confused as to why they were taking a forgettable Rogue One character and giving him his own show. But the trailer started to win me over, and I liked these first three episodes. I thought they were something new and different and did a great job of setting all of the pieces up to go in the later episodes. So I’m invested in this, and curious to see where they take things.
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