ANDOR SEASON 1 REVIEW - The Best Star Wars we've ever gotten (some SPOILERS)

[Music] foreign [Music] is the best thing to come out of Star Wars since the year of 1980. it's invigorating mature approachable intelligent thought-provoking mesmerizing gorgeous haunting inspiring depressing and so unbelievably high quality that it begs the question as to why it took over three decades for us to get a Star Wars that feels wholly original and respectful of the world it inhabits don't believe videos like this people who make videos like this are just emblematic of what's wrong with this community Andor is incredible and almost all of this can be attributed to one thing that Star Wars has lacked for so so very long the incredible writing now is there anything you'd care to tell me before I waste more of my time figuring out what it is you are up to at its core Andor is a series about Redemption and acceptance how far gone can anyone be when they're surrounded by people that love them and want to be a part of something bigger and something grander can you accept the sacrificing of intimate parts of yourself in an effort to transform the world around you for the betterment of people that you'll never meet and who will never know your name is sacrifice truly worth it in the end and how do you make others around you understand or at the very least pretend that you have to cut off small parts of your soul one event at a time in order to upend a tyrannical ruler and or does the unthinkable for Star Wars something that I don't think many of us ever expected to really think about by removing us far from the Jedi the Sith and the force so far removing us that those things for the first time in Star Wars history actually feel mythological you know how they say it is in a New Hope estimate the force the Jedi are extinct their thought has gone out of the universe you my friend all that's left of their religion the Empire has all but Stamped Out the history of the Jedi and relegated it to a thing that is spoken of in Whispers by kooky old men hiding in the desert Whispers that fall on the ears of The Young and the impressionable to be discarded as though the little else than sheer sensationalist nonsense and or does such an effective job at World building and atmosphere that I actually would believe the empire for saying the Jedi no longer exist and I'd possibly even believe them that it never did they're not a core factor of this Rebellion you see it across every frame of the Empire's clean minimalist exterior and stuffy white Interiors they've effectively cleansed the capital cities like Coruscant to be reminiscent of the truth that they want to propagate a truth that is a direct detriment to the lower class and the middle class alike the truth that there are no saviors left to take back the Galaxy there is no force-wielding Ultra powerful Jedi there is only the cleanliness and clinical nature of the Empire we even see this represented in near direct form when the Empire looks on the nomadic people of maldani as primitive and disdainful they almost loathe interaction with them treating them as lesser for little other reason than sheer contempt due to their own perceived superiority they want the modani people to be all but forgotten slowly eradicating their culture through cleverly disguised get-togethers that are masqueraded as respectful while hiding a Sinister motivation to drive them further away from each other until they feel necessitated to leave the planet altogether that in itself is a perfect example of how Andor just really understands Star Wars it gets what the Empire is supposed to be and why we found it so compelling and evil in the first place it was never really about the individual villains working by themselves that made it scary it was the collective whole being made up by calculating and cold bureaucrats with a pen attention for torture and political undermining that made us so afraid for Our Heroes to cross paths with them and oh what Heroes we are given in and or my dear friends they're so fat and satisfied I found a solution that's what happened Cassian himself barely even fits into the moniker of a hero because he's constantly Torn Between the selfish and the selfless whether it's a new band of Rebel saboteurs hell-bent on stealing money from the Empire a lonely man who just wants to feel love and affection a terrifying but soft-hearted and terrified group of prisoners who just want to escape their bondage or even just a lonely Droid who feels neglected and an object of consternation rather than consideration Cassian is the most human feeling and relatable protagonist we've ever seen in Star Wars and yes I'm including the spectacular Clone Wars series and the video games Cassian feels so terrifically natural and depressingly different because he reacts how I think most of us would react in his situations he isn't cool Under Pressure he isn't this super Suave scoundrel the first time we see him he botches up a pretty simple line of questioning that leads to him overreacting and accidentally killing two Imperial contractors on an alien world okay maybe he doesn't always react how we would react when he's confronted with Lutheran's offer to join something bigger than him a rebellion if you will Cassian is kind of horrified at the thought and can only think of how much can go wrong and how he could be caught up in too much violence and too much recognition when stranded on the outlying world with a man intent on betraying him Cassian makes a difficult decision and kills him and then confesses to the leader taking only what he was promised and vowing to never see the Rebellion again and his absolutely phenomenal Arc in the prison sees Cassian slowly becoming more of a leader a man whose natural Charisma and Powerful moral rhetoric wins over the hardened hearts of his peers and subordinates alike like Cassian feels like a real protagonist because he isn't a one-dimensional hero but he also isn't morally gray either he's righteous but realistic hardened but hopeful weary but also in danger of being worn down a man constantly on the edge of a big moral breakthrough that is constantly hamstrung by a universe mired in apathy and disdained for people of his station and upbringing can't imagine it can't imagine what that someone like me would ever get inside their house walk their floors spit in their food take their gear this character Arc alone would be enough to cement and or as a series worth remembering but it's made even more remarkable by the immense amount of careful Nuance poured into the supporting characters of mon mothma and Luther rail as well on the subject of the former this is literally how easy it is to write compelling and fulfilling female characters mon has always been a background character one who sacrifices motivations and personality have been relegated to the brain matter of only the most dedicated expanded universe fans in literary aficionados but here in Andor we see the mon that we never really knew that we wanted a woman who's haunted by decisions that she'll have to make a woman absolutely terrified of the mounting consequences of the dirtier and more dangerous company she has to keep making in order to see through the stages of the Rebellion a woman a person utterly devoted to saving her morality but one who recognizes the naivete of her own perceived interpretations of that morality she makes mistakes she makes costly mistakes ones that require her to make sacrifices she never would have even dreamed she thought herself capable of Performing watching mon becomes steadily browbeaten into moral apathy and haunted interior monologues that play out almost entirely through her facial expressions her eye light and her stature is spectacular to behold you're better off not knowing or perhaps you find my politics if it's strong for your taste do you know how many will starve perhaps we can laugh about it over the third course I found a solution Genevieve O'Reilly deserves a nomination for her role here but while I can't say for certain if she would win considering her competition who should absolutely win is Stellan God's damn Skarsgard is that might interest come with me Lutheran rail is one of the most interesting characters I've seen in a TV series in the last five years let alone a Star Wars series at that he's endlessly charismatic verbally intelligent constantly planning and so dedicated to his cause that his sacrifices and inner turmoil actually caused me to have physical pangs of perceived guilt and empathy for a fictional character now that is good writing Lutheran is solely dedicated to realizing the downfall of the Empire and the uprising of the Rebellion a motivation that he recognizes as most likely useless a decision that will leave him in the footnote of history as an unseen face an unheard voice and an unread name he sacrifices his own peace of mind his own happiness his money his you know what I think I should let him tell you what he sacrificed instead of listening to me what is My Sacrifice I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to make a sunrise that I know I'll Never See so what do I sacrifice everything the monologues in this series oh my God they are so incredibly well done every line every conversation every argument every debate and every Outburst of verbally communicated emotion is mature intelligent and utterly provoking in its delivery and its efficacy that it Rivals the best series currently airing and as I said some of the best in the last five years in general let me reiterate this is the best writing Star Wars has ever seen period but it's also just some of the best writing that TV has seen in quite a few years as it is setup and payoff is terrific character Exposition is thoughtful and natural show don't tell is in every facet of this series plot pacing is spot on and the evolution of character feels natural and engaging all of this writing and character development would be enough to secure and or in the pantheon of well-written TV trauma but it UPS its own seemingly impossible ante by hitting a home run in almost every single Department outside of that with a combination of real locations large hand-built sets period accurate props to Star Wars use of Miniatures terrific costume design and spectacular art Direction and or looks stunning there is one way out right now I need all the heroes I can get he knows none of this he's not to be trusted his head we're going together what are you with it not just in the lighting blocking shock composition and cinematography Department though it does do all of that as well but just from a world perspective this is the prettiest that Star Wars has ever looked and most of it is just from in-camera Shots there's some genuinely incredible eye for cinematic detail in these shots with some of my favorite shots of this year coming out of episodes like the eye or one way out this show looks cinematic I haven't been able to say that since a new hope it's also chock full of incredible performances by A-list tiers of actors who are putting in dividends when it comes to their delivery I think Genevieve O'Reilly is the standout for me mostly for my aforementioned reasons but Skarsgard Luna circus and all of these supporting Imperials especially the characters of Karn and Daedra deserve recognition as they really sell the characters emotions often without even needing to say a single word but when they do speak I think else there was Justice and Beauty in the galaxy and if it just kept going perhaps my deranged belief that there was something better fitted for me in the future it was a dream they fried a hundred men home level two we know that they are making up our sentences don't introduction me on vulnerability you think I haven't thought this through I'd be the first one to form oh my God Tony Gilroy's combined vocabulary and emotional prowess just sings through their vocal cords like a singular spectacular Symphony of spoken sophistry that sends shivers down my spine there are also just real consequences in this show people die important people die developed people die not forgettable and wasted Side characters whose names are only remembered because they're shouted to the audience like we're all children who will forget them by the next scene's transition but in Andor ancillary characters feel nearly as well fleshed out as supporting characters characters who are ultimately disposable in the universe where and or takes place but ones who are utterly indispensable to the main cast and the story of Andor itself even if it's characters that are new to us all you feel their passing these deaths have real tangible weight to them a yoke around the neck of this entire series a dour weight threatening to tear down our heroes with its unforeseen ripples of consequence and conflict I haven't felt that ever in Star Wars not even in the prequels or the original trilogy side character deaths have never really felt impactful sure you know Mace Windu is dead but it doesn't really feel like it weighs down the characters as Anakin turns almost immediately afterwards qui-gon's death in The Phantom Menace is ultimately the Catalyst for Anakin's fulfillment of the prophecy one of the biggest plot points of the entire prequel trilogy yet it's barely mentioned in the following films and even in the titular film itself the very next scene is this Brash bombastic hopeful and colorful scene of a parade there's no weight to these massive repercussive moments yet in just 10 episodes Andor manages to make a small band of rebels a singular prison convict a young daughter of a well-meaning politician and an elderly woman and long-lost love of a main character feels so much more convenient important and impactful than any singular side character in the original trilogy prequel trilogy or sequel Trilogy combined it's really something special to see I could go on and on about everything that Andor does right I could wax poetic about its Myriad of intelligently choreographed fight scene of which there's thankfully not that many it doesn't ever rely on action to keep your interest I could fall on my knees and praise God for giving me the opportunity to live on this Earth at the same time as my man Nicholas Patel delivers the best Star Wars soundtrack in 35 years I could strain the eardrums of everyone watching this video with the unbelievably well done sound mixing of screaming Tie fighters Blaster shots and humdrum party background noise I could fill your eyes with more of the creative cinematography I could do all of that but really the best thing that you can do is show Disney that this is what we've wanted for so long this is what Star Wars is meant to be and the best way to do that is to just watch the series because it is worth every precious second [Music] [Music]

Channel: ScoopHash

Views: 16,906

Keywords: #Andor, #Andorseason1, #AndorFinale, #StarWars, #StarWarsAndor, #Disney, #DisneyPlus

Id: M1ILv9oNcKc

Length: 17min 39sec (1059 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 24 2022