Jussi
Registered User
How about you thank me for posting it on Saturday already?
Online Series: Star Wars Andor on D+
- Thread starter beowulf
- Start date
How about you thank me for posting it on Saturday already?
RobBrown4PM
Pringles?
- Oct 12, 2009
- 8,888
- 2,896
So, we're all in agreeance that in Dedra and Syril's 'relationship', whatever amounts to physical affection is either the greatest experience ever, or an exercise in futility?
Syril only has one mommy...and it's not the woman who gave birth to him.
Hivemind
We're Touched
This is quite the bizarre take, to say the least.
Aldhani is the plot element that ties all the different characters together and sets the entire second half of the series in motion.
The Aldhani heist is what cranks the Imperial and ISB reaction up several notches (just as Luthen anticipated), leading to the "Public Order Re-sentencing Directive," which is then used as the justification for Andor's random arrest and the never-ending detention periods on Narkina 5. That lack of exit on Narkina 5 is what leads to the eventual riot/escape plan.
Aldhani also serves as inspiration for Marva, what sparks her to stay on Ferrix and subsequently record her own eulogy speech that would lead to the riots on Ferrix in the season finale. Not to mention the reason for the further Imperial crackdown is occuring on Ferrix is because, well, Andor (and his potential connection to Aldhani) giving Dedra's theory credence and leading to her involvement on the planet. After all, it's Dedra's command that leads to the arrest and subsequent murder of Salmaan Paak, leading to his son making the pipe bomb.
Aside of Mon Mothma's storyline, essentially all the plot points in the second half of the season tie back to the Aldhani heist. It's the instigating moment.
Beyond the plot consequence, Aldhani also serves as a method for communicating much about the rebellion, it's current state in the galaxy, the various values and beliefs of those who are attracted to the rebellion, and a window into the historical parallels that the writers are drawing upon as influences. The Aldhani crew is literally a rag tag band of different types of rebellious origin stories. The disaffected Imperial officer (Lt Gorn), the survivor of Imperial violence (Cinta), the manifesto-writing idealist and political theoriest (Nemik), the member of priveleged society who turned revolutionary (Vel), the Imperial deserter (Tamaryn), and the outcast/criminals (Skeen, Andor). This group, and their interactions across the Aldhani arc, show that the Rebellion (like many real world revolutionary movements) aren't tied together with a common purpose or ideal, but are rather bonded together by having a common enemy (the Empire), a theme that is later reinforced by the conversations between Luthen and Saw.
Further still, Aldhani serves as a historical lens into the real world analogies the writers are making. It's a direct example of the, well, imperialism and colonial oppression of the Empire. It has a native people who are being forcibly resettled, and the cultural customs erased. They even have a line in there about using alcohol to distract them (I wonder if that was ever a technique used in the real world
). The heist itself draws parallels to revolutionary groups funding their efforts via robbery, including notable examples of the Bolsheviks robbing the Tiflis bank in 1907 and the Omri bank robbery in 1932. Aldhani is the lynchpin on which the rest of the season rests. Claiming it had "little to do with anything" is one of the strangest takes on Andor I have ever seen.
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Jussi
Registered User
I feel like the word "pegging" could be involved...
Hivemind
We're Touched
Well that was certainly a big upswing in quality
One thing that's always rubbed me the wrong way about most Disney+ Star Wars shows is the sets. They almost look good but there's something cheap about the material they use where it can very much feel like like a c-tier production. The first couple seasons of the Mandalorian went for what we've all identified as a spaghetti western vibe so the cheaper looking sets were almost endearing in a way. Book of Boba Fett had some particularly cheap looking sets. The Acolyte had a blend of great looking sets and some inauthentic looking ones (the Jedi Temple in particular did not look good in any scene). Kenobi had more good looking sets than bad but there were just enough to be immersion breaking. Ashoka was probably the closest to Andor in achieving high set quality. But outside some areas of Ferrix, this show hasn't cut any corners with their sets or building design and it really helps expand the galaxy with diverse looking locales, even seeing a less pristine soviet-bloc-esque corner of Coruscant opens that world up to a deeper immersion. I think set design is an underrated necessity for Star Wars because to be transported to a galaxy far far away you really have to be tricked into believing that the world you're looking at is real. And Andor is doing fantastic work in this regard.
There are still times where the script tries to be a bit too deep and reliant on information we as the audience either have to recall minute details from Season 1 or just accept completely invented background threads with no foundation or development. What I mean, the best example I have is a lot of the dialogue scenes with Mon Mothma contain vital glimpses into the post fall of the Republic galactic politics under the Palpatine regime, but they are intercut with so many references to things like trade deals, political agreements/gossip, etc. much of which has no reference to anything we've seen or will see that sometimes it feels like a chore to parse through what information given to the viewer is relevant to the story or what might be. I think that's really my only gripe with the show as a whole. In injecting serious maturity into Star Wars, sometimes Gilroy bogs the show with too much extraneous information. But even if it's all meaningless to the wider narrative, that information still lends to a credible backdrop of a functioning and complicated political atmosphere in this corner of the Star Wars narrative universe so I'll give it points for that at least.
Beyond that I really loved how these episodes, with so little action, did so much legwork to advance this growing state of unease and tension serving as the political backdrop that eventually sparks the formation of the Rebellion in earnest. I think it's so cool how Gilroy is not just bluntly exposing the viewer to a 1984-esque state of fascist party control where everyone's freedoms are snuffed out to total subjugation. The Galaxy here is, for lack of a better term, under the thumb of the Empire and subject to its control. But the Empire's grasp is not total and there are some degree of freedoms still intact. You see that the Empire's exploitation of Ghorman is not as simple as just marching in a legion of Stormtroopers and bending the planet to their will within a week. It's more delicate than that and requires time and resources. The membership of the Imperial Senate may still have to bow to Palpatine's whims as the final authority but it seems that the Senate still maintains functionality as a governing body. It's a sham government given how the Senators will kowtow to whatever Palpatine wants if he takes enough interest, but it does lend itself to the idea that Palpatine really can't concern himself with every little detail and the Senate serves at his convenience.
I loved the Cassian-Bix story in these episodes. In the grand scheme of things, Bix's struggles with trauma and regret aren't, say, exciting but it's still a strong series of storylines with a satisfying pay off that gets down to real emotional weight that you rarely see in Star Wars. The last time we saw it was the prison break arc from Season 1. And it's all led off with a brutal conversation between the pair about how in giving their lives up for the cause, Cassian and Bix have no guarantees that they will walk away with a happy ending. It's an echo of Luthen's outstanding monologue from season 1 "I burn my life to make a sunrise I know I'll never see." These are two characters who are devoting what's left of their lives to bring down the tyranny of the Empire and as much as they both would love to live happily ever after with each other, they're knowingly willing to sacrifice that for the greater good. We know how it ends for Andor, but it seems rather apparent that Bix will likely die at some point this season. And even though that seems predictable now, I don't particularly mind. The idea that Andor soldiers on into his eventual demise in Rogue One becomes that much more layered knowing what he had and what he treasured and what he lost in sacrifice for the cause. And it hurts that much more knowing how desperate he was in this arc to want to protect and defend Bix. It's not exactly untread narrative territory, but it's so rich for something like Star Wars and I really appreciated it. And it's a perfect capstone for the wider sense that the dialogue and acting generates character interaction that is legitimately 95% stronger and more believable than the rest of the pantheon of star wars content.
This is a special gem in the wider saga of this entertainment property. I can't wait for the remaining two arcs. This show is not at the bar of perfection for prestige TV at large but for a Star Wars project, it might as well be. I struggle to think how this can be topped from a pure quality perspective. Disney unquestionably has a winner with this one. Just a shame the viewership numbers don't reflect it. I think in the grand scheme of things, people will look back and say that Empire Strikes Back and Andor were the best things to come out of Star Wars.
There are still times where the script tries to be a bit too deep and reliant on information we as the audience either have to recall minute details from Season 1 or just accept completely invented background threads with no foundation or development. What I mean, the best example I have is a lot of the dialogue scenes with Mon Mothma contain vital glimpses into the post fall of the Republic galactic politics under the Palpatine regime, but they are intercut with so many references to things like trade deals, political agreements/gossip, etc. much of which has no reference to anything we've seen or will see that sometimes it feels like a chore to parse through what information given to the viewer is relevant to the story or what might be. I think that's really my only gripe with the show as a whole. In injecting serious maturity into Star Wars, sometimes Gilroy bogs the show with too much extraneous information. But even if it's all meaningless to the wider narrative, that information still lends to a credible backdrop of a functioning and complicated political atmosphere in this corner of the Star Wars narrative universe so I'll give it points for that at least.
Beyond that I really loved how these episodes, with so little action, did so much legwork to advance this growing state of unease and tension serving as the political backdrop that eventually sparks the formation of the Rebellion in earnest. I think it's so cool how Gilroy is not just bluntly exposing the viewer to a 1984-esque state of fascist party control where everyone's freedoms are snuffed out to total subjugation. The Galaxy here is, for lack of a better term, under the thumb of the Empire and subject to its control. But the Empire's grasp is not total and there are some degree of freedoms still intact. You see that the Empire's exploitation of Ghorman is not as simple as just marching in a legion of Stormtroopers and bending the planet to their will within a week. It's more delicate than that and requires time and resources. The membership of the Imperial Senate may still have to bow to Palpatine's whims as the final authority but it seems that the Senate still maintains functionality as a governing body. It's a sham government given how the Senators will kowtow to whatever Palpatine wants if he takes enough interest, but it does lend itself to the idea that Palpatine really can't concern himself with every little detail and the Senate serves at his convenience.
I loved the Cassian-Bix story in these episodes. In the grand scheme of things, Bix's struggles with trauma and regret aren't, say, exciting but it's still a strong series of storylines with a satisfying pay off that gets down to real emotional weight that you rarely see in Star Wars. The last time we saw it was the prison break arc from Season 1. And it's all led off with a brutal conversation between the pair about how in giving their lives up for the cause, Cassian and Bix have no guarantees that they will walk away with a happy ending. It's an echo of Luthen's outstanding monologue from season 1 "I burn my life to make a sunrise I know I'll never see." These are two characters who are devoting what's left of their lives to bring down the tyranny of the Empire and as much as they both would love to live happily ever after with each other, they're knowingly willing to sacrifice that for the greater good. We know how it ends for Andor, but it seems rather apparent that Bix will likely die at some point this season. And even though that seems predictable now, I don't particularly mind. The idea that Andor soldiers on into his eventual demise in Rogue One becomes that much more layered knowing what he had and what he treasured and what he lost in sacrifice for the cause. And it hurts that much more knowing how desperate he was in this arc to want to protect and defend Bix. It's not exactly untread narrative territory, but it's so rich for something like Star Wars and I really appreciated it. And it's a perfect capstone for the wider sense that the dialogue and acting generates character interaction that is legitimately 95% stronger and more believable than the rest of the pantheon of star wars content.
This is a special gem in the wider saga of this entertainment property. I can't wait for the remaining two arcs. This show is not at the bar of perfection for prestige TV at large but for a Star Wars project, it might as well be. I struggle to think how this can be topped from a pure quality perspective. Disney unquestionably has a winner with this one. Just a shame the viewership numbers don't reflect it. I think in the grand scheme of things, people will look back and say that Empire Strikes Back and Andor were the best things to come out of Star Wars.
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kingsfan28
Its A Kingspiracy !
Episode 6...WOW!
When Cassian confronts Luthen in his shop and asks him to help him fix this, wasn't expecting the fix being Bix getting revenge on Gorsh , and then destroying the newly built "interigation" suite ordered by the Emperor specifically for the doctor. The last shot of the viewing area with Grosh in the background as the camera pulls back was quite satisfying.
Very Stable Genius
#WeLostOurKarlssons
matt trick
Registered User
- Jun 12, 2007
- 9,939
- 3,136
Hivemind
We're Touched
Agreed. One of the few blunders in the S2 Arc 2 is the writers handling of her. She's barely even her own character, and is just thrown back into things to advance Vel's character development and plotlineCintaWhat a waste
