A great thing about Andor is there are relatively few references to other bits of Star Wars lore in, and on the the rare occasions there are, the show doesn't require you to know them. And yet at the same time the show is so very much Star Wars, chock-full of easter eggs and throwbacks.
Well now we've seen the true power of the Empire. Its ability to find zealots that are not Sith Lords, to do evil things, enjoy it, and justify it in the name of the noble pursuit of Peace and Order.
Spoiler!
We've really misread Dedra in this series. Up to this episode we saw a ambitious and competent ISB agent on the hunt for the Rebels. We saw her show care for her subordinate, and we thought, that she might be a good example of a good person in the Empire. But what we saw in this episode, is that she is brutal efficient and sadistic and ice cold. Her chilling fishing analogy before setting the smiling happy sadistic doctor was quite possibly the best piece of dialogue in the show.
The mercy killing of the old man by a fellow prisoner medtech showed that the Empire really doesn't care. On top of that the fact that you never finish your sentence, you just go to a different prison, followed by the power failure and the news that the Empire ruthlessly fried 100 prisoners to quell a riot because as Andor bitterly stated, "We're cheaper then droids".
At the same time Mon makes another idealistic speech and is heckled mercilessly by an Imperial Senate that's a combination of not caring anymore, and staffed by brutal Imperial supporters.
Even the fear in Mon's eyes over the missing 400k and the realization that she's going to need the help of a brutal thug to keep the Empires eyes off of her activities.
The blank and broken Bix scene was really well done.
Mon's husband is just unlikeable.
I was thinking that we might at some point see Grand Moff Tarkin in this thing as the primary enemy.
Seeing the last place team in the factory broken and willingly stepping into the box to be tortured for their failures, was a wow scene.
We're really not even at the height of the Empire, which will come several years later.
Ok a couple of other things. The people doing the costume designs has done a amazing job, especially with Mon.
The use of music was incredibly good and when the music went away it really upped the feeling of dread.
Andor is showing us just how evil the Empire actually is, and the kind of people that enjoy working for it. It isn't telling us the Empire is evil or that things are this way because of the Dark Side, it is showing us just what the Empire does to people on the daily basis.
Likewise, the Rebellion is not a pretty, glamorous business. It is painful, ugly, and messy and a lot of people will die even when things go well.
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Man, really great show so far. Hopefully they finish strong.
if they do this show is going to throw a wrench into my generally condescending attitude toward Disney star wars as a whole . I mean mando is alright but if they are boasting a show of this caliber I'll have to eat some crow .. this has been such a fantastic addition to the canon . it's not disney-fied like some of their other entries either, which was a big criticism of mine . the world of andor is brutal and cut throat and well... real . maybe too real..
Andor is showing us just how evil the Empire actually is, and the kind of people that enjoy working for it. It isn't telling us the Empire is evil or that things are this way because of the Dark Side, it is showing us just what the Empire does to people on the daily basis.
Likewise, the Rebellion is not a pretty, glamorous business. It is painful, ugly, and messy and a lot of people will die even when things go well.
There were probably only a small handful of people that knew that the Emperor was a Sith Lord. Most people in a GFFA probably had never heard of a Sith Lord.
Let be honest, most of the people running the Empire and most of the civilians had lived through the horrors of the Clone Wars, so were willing to pay any price and use any method to ensure that nothing like that happened again.
Palpatine to most people in the core was probably seen as a hero, he ended the Clone Wars, he was trying to bring order, and stability to a galaxy by unifying it all, and they were probably convinced that he could not be corrupted. Oh and look what the Jedi did to him, they try to over throw a democratically elected government to probably install a religious based government, and attacked an old man and left him scarred and deformed.
Make no mistake about it, the brutality emanates from Papatine's office. However you never see him taking direct action himself. Its people like Tarkin and others that did the nasty work.
Also I doubt that most of the Imperial Officers and ISB officers saw themselves as evil. They saw themselves as guardians of a harsh galaxy with a threat of another separatist movement rising and creating another War without End.
When Lucas created the concept of the Empire, it was a pretty 2 dimensional thing. But thanks to Andor we are getting a fleshed out Empire which is a combination of Nazi Germany, and 1984.
And yeah, the Rebels really aren't much better. Saw's group were willing to flat out increase civilian casualties and other Reb's were ok ith the suffering of innocents. And look what happened when that group of rebels transitioned to governing the Galaxy.
Palpatine predicted it, that corruption, and slavery and the outer rim being ignored returned.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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So one of the complaints that I read this weekend (That was weird) was the lack of aliens in the prison. I mean the Empire was xenophobic, they exterminated the Geonosians, and talked bout the extermination of another species that resisted.
So the answer is pretty simple. For the most part unless your a species with a lot of worth like the Wookies as Slaves, they simply wipe them out.
The more complex answer is that these prisons are budget sensitive, the human aspect costs less then building and using droids. So where's the best way to save costs? The food.
I hear that they use Mon Calamari past for the flavored past, and Jawa past for the un flavored.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Broader question.
I had pretty much given up Star Wars for dead, until I ventured in to the Madalorian and everything Favreau is doing. It's the only decent Star Wars stuff I've seen.
I'm now watching Obi-Wan and it's OK but not as good as his stuff. But I'll probably move on to Andor.
But I've never watched the new sequels (well i watched the first one and that was it) or either the Rogue or Solo movies. Should I? is it worth it?
Broader question.
I had pretty much given up Star Wars for dead, until I ventured in to the Madalorian and everything Favreau is doing. It's the only decent Star Wars stuff I've seen.
I'm now watching Obi-Wan and it's OK but not as good as his stuff. But I'll probably move on to Andor.
But I've never watched the new sequels (well i watched the first one and that was it) or either the Rogue or Solo movies. Should I? is it worth it?
Rogue One is great.
Do not watch the new trilogy, it sucks and will ruin you.
I liked Solo, but it was unnecessary and not for everyone.
Andor is the best.
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Originally Posted by Poe969
It's the Law of E=NG. If there was an Edmonton on Mars, it would stink like Uranus.
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Broader question.
I had pretty much given up Star Wars for dead, until I ventured in to the Madalorian and everything Favreau is doing. It's the only decent Star Wars stuff I've seen.
I'm now watching Obi-Wan and it's OK but not as good as his stuff. But I'll probably move on to Andor.
But I've never watched the new sequels (well i watched the first one and that was it) or either the Rogue or Solo movies. Should I? is it worth it?
watch Andor because it is great TV . depending on what does it for you you might like it more than Mando even
I would say watch this season through and then go check out rogue one as the series and film share some characters and story lines
Solo is truly a one off , befitting of the title and you'll either like it or you won't . it's much more fun than serious . passing on it won't affect your viewing experience of anything else
skip the sequel trilogy . skip skip skip .. i wish i could erase it from my mind
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Broader question.
I had pretty much given up Star Wars for dead, until I ventured in to the Madalorian and everything Favreau is doing. It's the only decent Star Wars stuff I've seen.
I'm now watching Obi-Wan and it's OK but not as good as his stuff. But I'll probably move on to Andor.
But I've never watched the new sequels (well i watched the first one and that was it) or either the Rogue or Solo movies. Should I? is it worth it?
Sequels, there were no sequels, Star Wars ended on Endor, with the destruction of the Death Star 2, the death of Palpatine and Anakin fulfilling his destiny.
Rogue one and Solo fall within this time line, and have nothing to do with these non existent sequels that you are talking about Comrade.
Leia and Han never had a kid named Ben.
Palpatine was completely dead and the Sith were destroyed.
It was a good way to end the GFFA story line. I mean Mandalorian was part of this storyline too. What happened shortly after the fall, but the Empire was dead man, dead.
Spoiler!
Personal opinion. But the Sequel Trilogy really isn't a good watch, I mean the actors tried hard to make it watchable, but the story and script were awful, thought it was a nicely shot pile of poop.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
I'd recommend watching Obi-Wan too. It really meanders for the middle episodes, but the ending makes it all worth it. Not on the same level as Andor or Mando, but solid TV.
My list is:
Andor
Mando (season 1 and 2)
Rogue 1
In any order for the above 3, depending on taste.
Obi-Wan
Then if you absolutely need more content, Boba Fett....then the Force Awakens....I would avoid anything else.
I'd recommend watching Obi-Wan too. It really meanders for the middle episodes, but the ending makes it all worth it. Not on the same level as Andor or Mando, but solid TV.
My list is:
Andor
Mando (season 1 and 2)
Rogue 1
In any order for the above 3, depending on taste.
Obi-Wan
Then if you absolutely need more content, Boba Fett....then the Force Awakens....I would avoid anything else.
solo won't wreck a star wars fan .. unless they really really care about authentic harrison ford-isms
must see for old fans just starting disney content:
-andor
-rogue 1
-mandalorian + book of boba fett episodes 5-6
-obi wan kenobi (for the last episode mainly)
take it or leave it:
-solo
-the force awakens
-book of boba fett
restricted zone (just dont)
-the last jedi
-rise of skywalker
solo won't wreck a star wars fan .. unless they really really care about authentic harrison ford-isms
must see for old fans just starting disney content:
-andor
-rogue 1
-mandalorian + book of boba fett episodes 5-6
-obi wan kenobi (for the last episode mainly)
take it or leave it:
-solo
-the force awakens
-book of boba fett
restricted zone (just dont)
-the last jedi
-rise of skywalker
My views on Solo will always be tainted by the fact it seemed like a cash grab following the "success" of the TLJ. I was in such a foul star wars state of mind that maybe I'm not giving it a fair chance. I'll try to rewatch it....in like 3 years maybe.
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To me, The Last Jedi rules. But as well-made as I think it is it suffers from being a Star Wars movie about Star Wars. A clever (for me) deconstruction of Star Wars, but about Star Wars none the less. I really think Andor puts it shame as like it's not ABOUT Star Wars which I think most of the other Disney era stuff is.
I really liked the first season of Mando but I think the second season suffered as ever third episode was seeding a new series.
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