Friday, November 01, 2024

The Brilliance of Andor


I consider Andor to be one of the greatest television series ever made.

As I’ve noted previously, Andor is a prequel to the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which in turn serves as an immediate prequel to Star Wars: A New Hope (1977).

Andor stars Diego Luna, reprising his role as Cassian Andor (left) in Rogue One.

Like Rogue One, Andor has a much more grittier look and feel – and far more complex characters – than any other movie or series in the Star Wars franchise. This definitely goes a long way in accounting for my interest in, and appreciation of, both Rogue One and Andor.

The first season of Andor was released on the Disney+ streaming platform in 2022. The second (and final) season is scheduled for release early next year.

In the lead-up to season two, I’ll be sharing a series of posts celebrating Andor. I start this evening with “The Brillance of Andor,” a 25-minute commentary/review of season one by the YouTube channel That0therGeorge.

There are, of course, spoilers. So if you’re yet to watch season one, you may want to do so before watching the following video. And if you have already seen season one, you’re in for a real treat as That0therGeorge does, well, a brilliant job in both recapping and insighfully commenting on Andor. There is, however, one aspect of the video that bothers me, and that’s the occasional insertion of brief snippets from other films totally unrelated to the Stars Wars franchise, like Spiderman and Planet of the Apes. I’m thinking this was done with some kind of comic intent in mind, but for me it doesn’t work at all, and no doubt confuses anyone new to Andor. It’s a minor quibble, however, as overall That0therGeorge’s take on Andor is both well cradted and well worth watching. Enjoy!






For more about Andor at The Wild Reed, see:
The Revolution Will Be Televised
Andor: The Star Wars Franchise’s “First Piece of Universally Excellent Television”

Related Off-site Links:
Everything We Know About Andor Season 2: Release Window, plot, Cast and More – Fran Ruiz (Space, October 16, 2024).
Andor Season 2: Everything We Know – Josh Rosenberg (Esquire, August 12, 2024).
Rumor: Andor Season 2 to Bring Back Andy Serkis as Kino Loy – Ishita Verma (Super Hero Hype, October 28, 2024).
Diego Luna Says Andor Season 2 Turns Rogue One Into a “Different Film” – Dalton Ross (Entertainment Weekly, August 15, 2024).