The Poetry, Power, and Philosophy of Andor's Monologues

one person talking uninterrupted unhurried pausing thinking deliberate that's hardly the most intriguing of ideas in our fast-paced attention deficient world but from time to time we find ourselves engaged by the slow thoughtful speech of a character not because they are grabbing our attention with a flurry of algorithmically desirable words but rather because they demand our attention to the words they speak because they actually have something worth saying among all the things that set Andor apart perhaps none stand out quite so much as the not one not two but five excellent monologues these speeches are simply some of the best writing I've had the pleasure of listening to in the modern era and today I'll break down just why that is it all comes down to three PS philosophy power and poetry actually there's one more P privacy thanks to ARA the sponsor of this video as someone who spends far too much time on online and whose face has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people I'm so 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tools already but not having Aura is like locking the front door and leaving the back door wide open Aura is always on doing the hard work of keeping me safe and keeping my data private so I don't have to spend time and energy worrying about my Online safety and privacy and can instead focus on other tasks I value my privacy and I value yours you can go to https.com Samwise to start your twoe free trial link is of course in the description and thank you to Aura for sponsoring this video to which we now return what exactly is poetry what does it mean for language to be poetic I'm sure there are dozens of different definitions but for this video we're sticking with this one poetic language is the fullest possible language poets pack the absolute maximum of meaning in every sense of the word into every part of the poem andor's monologues are by this definition downright poetic not a word is wasted every syllable has meaning the speeches are concise lasting only a few minutes at the most and yet they convey so much in that time in only 166 words luthan lays out his entire personal philosophy which we will unpack in short order neic's Manifesto is six words shorter and yet it manages to convey clear ideas about freedom and tyranny hope and despair kinol ly's monologue from the prison control room is a whopping 280 words by comparison and it displays the incredible growth of his character reflecting the themes will later find espoused in the words of nek and Marva whose brief yet rousing speech portrays the entire history of a generation and provides the motivation to ensure the mistakes of their past do not persist into the future however being succinct and having a point does not make language poetic you could very easily have had Marva say something like we didn't realize how bad the empire was but now we do so let's fight them or luthan could say I have to do terrible things but it's for a good cause so why do them anyway even at Great personal cost those are accurate summaries of their speeches but they're hardly poetic sentences because they lack one simple thing creativity poetic language needs to be creative inventive and most often it accomplishes this by being figurative the author finds an indirect impactful and imaginative way to get across their point the most poetic of these speeches is of course luthan's monologue about his own state of mind if you're being reductive you would simply call this stellen Skarsgard reading off his character sheet and while yes Luan is talking about himself and how he views himself it's hardly so simple lines like I share my dreams with ghosts I made my mind a sunless Bas are so much more intriguing to hear than I hate what I've become because they took more imagination to write and such creativity is a huge part of what makes stories like Star Wars so impactful and what makes poetry poetry but of course Luan is not alone in his poetic speech there is a Darkness reaching like rust into everything to everything around us this figurative language is so powerful not only because it is as I just said imagin a in and of itself but because it awakens our own imaginations we have to visualize in Our Minds The Empire like a patch of rust slowly spreading until it has covered every inch of what was once a shining piece of Steel this is what poetic figurative language does why it is so meaningful why it elevates normal human speech beyond the simple facts that are conveyed within it even kinol Loy speech which is largely straightforward as it naturally should be considering its purpose ends with the most iconic line through the entire show three monosomic words that symbolize all the pain and suffering the men of narina 5 have endured and the release of all that pent up emotion as they explode from their prison out into the free air once [Applause] [Music] again but Kino doesn't lead with that he builds to it his speech begins as merely informational we are at this moment in control of the facility then slowly and deliberately shifts to motivational as the information he has just revealed is used as the foundation upon which to build all flaws are cold Kino trusts in the knowledge shared by his fellow inmates and yet he also knows that many of them feel as he once did despondent hopeless and unwilling to rock the boat and need to be aroused from that Slumber his speech is a mirror of his character Arc slowly unraveling is the discoveries made about the prison reveal the truth that will ultimately spur him and all of the pron prisoners to decide that I would rather die trying to take them down than giving them what they want this buildup is a large part of what makes this monologue so powerful it doesn't start out with the intensity turned up to 11 doing so would be jarring and not allow the viewer to be lured in hooked by the tension that is naturally present during the gradually increasing energy of the speech we see the same theme repeated in marva's funeral speech as she opens with a simple introduction and note of gratitude want to be a daughter of F and honor to be worthy of the stone builds to a message of warning but I fear for you we've been sleeping and finally ends with an emphatic call to action that kicks off the Rebellion on F fight the Empire luthin speech escalates as well albeit the main growth is in the emotion in his voice as he talks this man who seems to effortlessly and even flippantly use and discard human lives to serve his goals starts to let his masks slip I've given up all chance at inner peace I made my mind a sunless face he reveals bit by bit how he views himself how he knows that what he does is abhorent how he despises the man he has become and yet refuses to turn from the path he has laid out for himself and he concludes that buildup with proper force with an emotional explosion that Echoes through the levels of corusant everything now this monologue is not merely powerful because of how it builds but also because of the narrative weight behind it you can use beautiful poetic language but if it serves no purpose in the story it's just pretty meaningless fluff and there's far too much of fluff on our screens nowadays we want or at least we should want what we watch to have weight and meaning each line of dialogue and each action should lead into and affect the next characters should speak and act purposefully according to their own impulses goals and internal impetus instead of doing what they do because the plot demands it so why did luthan deliver this speech it's important to note that this and all the others are monologues not soliloquies they are given for the sake of someone other than the speaker in this case fani luan's double agent within the IB who desperately wants out wants to leave the Rebellion behind for the safety of his wife and daughter his question and what do you sacrifice is the cause for luan's Revelation Luan doesn't just let the mask drop because the audience needs to know what he thinks of himself he does so intentionally and calculatedly which is very much in line with his character throughout the series because revealing his inner turmoil is how he will accomplish his goal in this scene just stay with me lonni I need all the heroes I can get while we can certainly appreciate the Artistry of the speech in a vacuum it is made so much more powerful because the words spoken mean something they Enlighten our understanding of the character and they push the plot forward all while remaining creative imaginative and poetic that is why this monologue is so brilliant it's hardly alone in that Brilliance and while luthan speech is unmatched in terms of its powerful figurative language the emotional intensity and character and narrative weight behind three other monologues equal or even surpass those found in this scene let's begin with the longest of these dedra's interrogation of mix Cen dedra's monologue is a prime example of how to build tension as the ISB officer talks to Bix who is sitting while Dedra stands putting her at a disadvantage we can feel the figurative net that dra describes tightening and closing in you're in my net bigs where dra was previously viewed as a competent eager and passionate member of the Empire's intelligence agency this scene establishes her character trait that has been hiding beneath a thin veneer just under the surface her ruthlessness we saw hints of it before in the ISB meeting room but it's one thing to speak ruthlessly and quite another to act in the same manner and while derra accomplishes both quite effortlessly here she will get what she wants she says so in no uncertain terms she would prefer to get it the easy way the quick way I don't like wasting time but her victory in this battle of wills is inevitable she just has to convince Bix of that fact as with luthan speech diis is Meaningful in that it moves the plot forward it is also completely consistent with what we know about her and yet it simultaneously enhances our picture of her character it means something it makes us feel something before this scene she was intriguing perhaps even a tad sympathetic now she is terrifying a Monster who will stop at nothing to enforce the emperor's will the very worst thing you can do right now is bore me I want to quickly note how that line mirrors her opening statement I don't like wasting time reemphasizing the point and giving it added weight it's a small touch but those are the little details that really help set these speeches apart that make them memorable and that's what we want right or at least what we should want we should hope that our entertainment leaves an impact on us that it does more than simply fill the void for a few hours or a few minutes as I noted earlier these speeches are not remotely long and perhaps that's what makes them so memorable we can practically memorize them after watching them only a few times kinol Loy doesn't give a protracted speech there naturally isn't time for that the situation is urgent and quick action is required and yet his monologue still builds in power and weight in brilliant fashion it begins simply factually lacking emotional intensity we are at this moment in control control of the facility this is reflective of Kino's character when we were first introduced to him he simply did what needed to be done with no more feeling than necessary but all that has changed we saw him develop as he wrestled with cassian's desire to escape as he realized that none of them were getting out alive and then as he finally dropped this line at the end of the previous episode how many guards on each level never more than 12 this realization of Kino's growth as he urges his fellow prison ERS to run climb kill is incredible there is so much weight behind his words years of endless toil finally coming to an end and the men who hear those words innately grasp the full meaning behind them there's a reason Cassian tells him it has to be you Andor has hardly just arrived but kinoy has struggled suffered and survived in Arina 5 as long as any man there and while the other inmates may not know him personally his name and POS position being broadcast tells them clearly that he knows their pain that he understands what it truly means to be beaten down into hopelessness and yet he was able to overcome that Despair and climb out of that pit and so they can too kinoy was their manager and the men trusted him to keep them on task and in line with what the Empire demanded thus ensuring their continued survival now he shows us that he has become their leader who promises not surviving but living one way out one way out this attitude is reflected in marva's speech to the citizens of her home planet and we'll cover that philosophy in due time but first let's examine how marva's emotion helps gradually build the weight and power of the funeral scene again we see similarities between her monologue and kinos as she introduces herself my name is Marva carassi and and as with the earlier speech Marva connects with the people whom she addresses reflecting on their shared history I will six I think first time I touched a funerary Stone this marks a shift in Her speech as the focus moves away from her life and toward the lives of those standing on Rick's Road this is the first hint that her speech is no ordinary eulogy it will be far more meaningful than that and now I'm dead and I earn to lift you we begin to build now as marva's monologue moves toward its purpose it's so beautiful that in her last days marva's thoughts were not of herself or her Legacy but rather were focused on the future of the people she loves the people she would not see die quietly as she has would not have live out their lives in complacency as the news slowly closes around them in darkness it is never More Alive than when we sleep now we begin to understand the real purpose of these words the tension that has been building throughout this episode throughout this entire season is reaching a boiling point as the residents of far hear out loud what they doubtless already know and in their hearts we let it grow and now it's here and it's not visiting anymore we can see it on the faces of the crowd the desire to fight finally bubbling to the surface pushing past all the fears that had held it back but before they can they need one final exhortation One Last Breath of encouragement that the path on which they are about to Embark is the right one even if once they set out there is no turning back no stepping off fight the empire with that the buildup is complete the Rebellion sparked marva's monologue has so much weight behind it because of who she is her character is established as honored and respected on fars because we have along with Marva watched the Empire close its fist around her planet and because we understand the relationship between the two in episode 7 announcement Marva refuses to leave along with Cassian proclaiming how the very Act of rebellion in which he participated gave her the courage to finally stand up to the Empire which had so long long cowed her to the point that she wouldn't even walk through Fountain Square in order to avoid the horrific memories associated with that place I heard that I put on my best coat and I walked across the square with a smile on my face so this moment serves not only as the apex of the show's plot the culmination of all its major events it is also the peak of Marva as a character her own ability to wage war against the empire may have been cut short but her final words Proclaim one unassailable truth it is never too late what truly makes these monologues so memorable so impactful is not just their artistic creativity their poetic language and the way they carry narrative weight are crucial and worthy of admiration in and of themselves but they are most meaningful because of the sentiments ideas and philosophies which they convey Marva spent 13 years watching the Empire go about its business before at the very end of her life finally deciding to do something about it kinol LO spent who knows how long in prison never daring to hope for anything more than the day when he would be released before finally with less than a year left on his sentence discovering the courage to fight for his freedom it is never too late to do what we ought to do as long as we draw breath we can make the right choice we can choose to fight even when we had for so long chosen to run away or to do nothing without so much as a word said regarding this theme Andor displays it clearly through the life and actions of its characters it is quite simply exquisite and while that and many other subtle themes can be found running throughout this and other masterfully told stories for the remainder of this video we'll be discussing the philosophies espoused if not stated outright by the deliverers of these monologues the most prominent tenant put forth by these speeches can be summed up in the last words of nik's Manifesto remember this try it's amazing really just last month I talked about io's wisdom in regards to Hope how simply doing something putting one foot in front of the other is what you have to do in the darkest times when all seems hopeless and inaction seems like the only viable course of action and here this theme reemerges in a completely different work made some 15 years later this is why these are the stories that stay with us they espouse Eternal and Universal truths they may not be perfect or completely free of anything condemnable but modern stories still can and do display lasting values that have been worked Into The Art of Storytelling for Millennia we need to try we need to find fight this has been true since the beginning of time and will remain true until the end we will certainly have our doubts and maybe it's true maybe fighting is useless but the very Act of getting out of bed and purposefully starting a new day can be a victory even the smallest Act of insurrection pushes our lines forward in our lives however big our battles are the smallest Victory is still a victory now of course Marva Kino and neic aren't talking about our battles with depression anxiety or whatever May plague us they are speaking on a Grand scale where the act of fighting may very well bring about immediate death it begs the question do we have something like that in our lives something or more likely someone for whom we are willing to die if we don't are we really living as we ought as we observe Marva in episode 7 we notice that her demeanor has changed despite her deteriorating physical condition she is upbeat and energetic she is finally decided that she's willing to fight and die for the cause of freedom and that has given her life and of course this is the central theme of cassian's Arc as he shifts away from his focus on momentto moment survival and comes to care about the people around him and the fate of the Galaxy as a whole and while that is naturally a gradual development for our protagonist it would be a mistake to downplay the immediate impact of nk's Manifesto on Cassie's decision to fight as with the other speeches this one is given weight because it is built on Solid Ground nek is by far the most welcoming toward cassine when he is dropped into their group in Alani his youth ful energy and optimism clearly leave an imprint on his pessimistic and dispassionate counterpart we get hints that Andro was once something like neik that he sees who he used to be in the young rebel and clearly neic senses that connection as well hence his wish that his Manifesto be given to Cassian upon his death when Cassian reads these words then in the season 1 finale they carry extra weight because they came from someone who truly cared about Cassian who showed him kindness when the others treated him coldly and who saw in him the potential to be more than a mercenary only looking out for number one no Small Wonder there nik's words clearly paint him as an idealist freedom is a pure idea it occur spontaneously and without instruction we must ask what does Nik mean by Freedom if he's speaking in the true sense of the word and I believe that he is given that he's clearly thought about this subject at length nimic does not mean simply the ability to do whatever ones feels like at any given time if he did he wouldn't bother giving cassan his Manifesto as Andor was already acting according to that idea of personal freedom instead neic is referring to the freedom of self-determination the right of a people to determine their political status and pursue development without the despotic Empire controlling every aspect of their political and economic systems it's important to note that within this Freedom responsibility still exists the ability to act as one sees fit does not absolve a man from all his duties or obligations it allows him to see that they are fulfilled human life is full full of responsibilities to ourselves to our children to our parents our friends our neighbors this is natural and it does not impinge upon our freedom in controlling every aspect of Our Lives tyranny prevents us from fulfilling some or all of these responsibilities and that Islamic says is unnatural tyan requires constant effort it breaks it leaks in our second avatar reference of the day this brings us back to aula who controlled her friends rather than well befriending them because if she controlled them then they would do what she wanted and what she wanted was always Paramount this demonstrates two key Concepts first that personal freedom is not and cannot be a Paramount virtue if aula or any bully or Tyrant acts as they see fit they will inevitably crush the freedom of others in pursuit of their own quote unquote Freedom second oppression is the mask of fear power doesn't panic fear can be used to control people too great a fact but only for so long the Tyrant is fear ful Because he believes that everyone wants to take what is his and like him will stop at nothing to get it his only option then is to ensure whoever might oppose him is too afraid to do so too assured of Inevitable Defeat to Rebel but in the end the power of fear pales in comparison to that of love we see this in Marva as she finally decides to fight for her home planet we see this in kinol ly as he at long last shrugs off the behaviors that had kept him alive for years and inspires others to win their freedom we see this in Cassian who returns home and weighs into the Fry at Great personal risk to save Beck and of course we see this in the citizens of fcks who decide they cannot endure the Empire's boot any longer and take up the fight for the love of one another they may not live to see the fire but they have lit a spark they cannot know how Victory will be achieved but they know that if they keep fighting the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the empires of Authority and then there will be one too many one single thing will break The Siege NCH may have been an idealist but he knew the potential cost of the ideals he espoused he gave as much as he or any man could or perhaps I should say as any man should where nemic represents the Rebellion as it should be fighting inch by inch confident that their righteous natural cause will eventually break the empire into two Luan represents the harsh reality of this Insurrection as it is condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them luthan's course of action is hardly confined to a galaxy far far away it's a sad reality that the cost of Victory even over a tyrannical condemnable enemy is often one's own righteousness to pick but one example among thousands the bombing of Civilian Targets in Germany and Japan during World War II but this begs the question are those inhumane methods truly necessary in pursuit of a righteous cause nech certainly wouldn't think so since the smallest Act of insurrection pushes our lines forward one would think no matter how little progress is made as long as the Fight Continues Victory is eventually assured luthan doesn't choose to sacrifice creger in order to keep L's cover intact because it is the only possible solution to his problem but because it is the most effective one it is the move that will provide the shortest path to overthrowing the Empire even though it comes at Great cost both to luthan's forces and to luthan himself I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there's only one conclusion I'm damned for what I do Star Wars has always believed in life after death if you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine but this is the first time as far as I know anyway that anyone has expressed a belief in death after death and it makes sense of course if there is a higher plane of existence and how you act in the present life determines how you exist to the next one then of course what you two matters of course there is the possibility for separation from the force or whatever you want to call the Star Wars equivalent of hell it's fascinating to hear that belief expressed by one of the good guys by a rebel fighting to take down the evil empire surely such a cause sanctifies his actions no well Luan clearly doesn't believe so I earn to be a savior against Injustice without contemplating the cost and by the time I looked down there's no longer any ground beneath my feet what is the end doesn't justify the means it can't because if all the good guys fought however was most effective they would cease to be good and luthan acknowledged es this he admits that he isn't justified in fighting this way and yet he persists in his chosen course of action anyway that's remarkably intriguing to know what you are doing is wrong to know that it will ultimately cost you everything and yet to do it anyway in the hope that those who come after you will not have to fight as you did it's a philosophy unfamiliar to me those who perform horrendous acts whatever their cause tend to justify them in one way or another they believe that a good and does sanctify an evil mean or they reason that the act itself wasn't really so evil Luan does neither of those the ego that started this fight will never have a error or an audience or the light of gratitude this line makes it clear how his philosophy differs from that of neic the ego that started this fight not the ideal or the hope but the ego luthan set out on his rebellious path because he believed that he could take down the Empire not that he could provide a spark or even just the first strike of the Flint but that he could achieve Victory I don't know if he believes that now but he certainly did at the start and he is still prideful enough to continue that fight even though he is fully aware of what it will cost him everything this is just an incredible depiction of how our pride refuses to let go of what it wants how it drives us to do Despicable things in pursuit of that goal how it refuses to be set aside even when it becomes clear to us that we cannot possibly be justified in our actions in the fantasy genre we are used to seeing the good guys do good things and the bad guys do bad things oh sure our heroes struggle make mistakes and do in fact have growth in actual character arcs but luthan is on a whole other level he is openly acting contrary to how one should act given his assumed political philosophy he is a good guy doing bad things which stands in stark contrast to pretty much every other Star Wars character but it works for this reason good and evil black and white are still very much intact in this story as is appropriate in this shot genre and World Luan is not what people like to call morally gray for one thing because that doesn't exist that's not how morality works for another because he very clearly states that he is not gray but rather admits that he is entirely in the wrong that his pride will not let him change his ways or repent of the sins he has committed in pursuit of his cause this acknowledgement from a rebel the group of people we have been conditioned to cheer for since 1977 is thought-provoking it makes us look Inward and think deeper about how we might act according to our own selfishness and pride and we might pursue what we want without regards to the cost justifying ourselves along the way because what we want is good right and maybe it is but that doesn't mean the path we've chosen which is often the straightest and easiest is the right one pride is possessive when allowed to take over it will not relinquish control easily especially not if as luthan Finds Its methods of getting What It Wants are effective and when you're in a war the most effective means are often the most heinous ones indiscriminately bombing to inspire fear sacrificing fresh and inexperienced troops as a diversion and torturing conspirators to gain information which is exactly what we see D Miro do and nobody's listening dra is clearly willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants what her Empire demands she obtain I would say that dedra's philosophy believes that the end justifies the means but she seems to transcend that simple utilitarian notion the end is the end and the means are the means that's it that's all there is to it the is no question of justification there is no need for it the ISB simply does what needs to be done for the sake of the empire in order for something to be justified it first has to be unjust in nature nothing that drus says ever gives the indication that she believes the torture she inflicts is immoral the closest she comes to that is this now I would prefer a conversation rather than put Dr G back to work but that line simply States her preference well what does Dedra want she wants to operate efficiently I don't like wasting time and if Bix were to Simply cooperate and not quote unquote Force Dedra to Colin Dr gor things would move along much quicker and more smoothly the pain inflicted upon Bix is completely incidental an unimportant side effect of the method needed to acquire the requisite information it's an unfortunate necessity simply because as far as Lieutenant Meo is concerned it will take longer and for no other reason this particular line of thinking is so terrifying because it treats everyone and everything as an object to be used and then discarded when no longer needed it is utilitarianism to the highest degree with the ultimate good to which all other Goods must be subject being the continued existence of the Empire's iron grip around every system in the Galaxy utilitarianism is inherently flawed due to its lack of regard for the human person as an end in and of itself but when that ultimate good is determined by a tyrannical government that promises no really we know best the horrors that can come from adhering to this philosophy become all too obvious at the surface level Luan subscribes to the same philosophy as Dedra but where she doesn't dwell on right and wrong even for a second Luan is tortured by the contrast between the righteousness of his cause and the heinousness of his actions in case you couldn't tell luan's mindset fascinates me I want to call utilitarian but he's not he must believe that if everyone on his side acted as he did they would be no better than the evil empire which they seek to overthrow luthan acts like a utilitarian but he thinks like a contion he knows he should act as he would have others act but his ego and pride will not let him do so they force him to fight like the Empire fights because in his mind that is the only path to Victory and he acknowledges that this makes him a villain within an Army full of Heroes you'll stay with me Lonnie I need all the heroes I can get I wonder what they're going to do with him in season 2 his methods stand in such stark contrast to the ideals of nemch whose Manifesto had such a deep impact on Cassian that I suspect those will clash in that regard and most likely luthan doesn't make it out alive considering he is of course not in any subsequent movies so will his mindset change will his pride relent or will he continue on the path he has set out for himself until the very end if I spent too much time on luthan's monologue I apologize it's certainly the most thought-provoking of the five though all of them stand out in their own right and deserve to be remembered and disgusted for the brilliant pieces of writing and acting that they are I hope I've explained why in a passively manner monologues are not easy things to pull off they can very easily turn TR or preachy or and this is especially true for motivational speeches come out of left field and serve as a cheap plot device to get a character to do a thing Andor avoided all of that by carefully crafting these characters and letting the audience spend enough time with them so that we knew them and understood the motivations behind their speeches we saw the relationship between the speaker and the listeners and that gave the speeches weight that's just love and of course the language of these monolog is downright poetic making them a joy to revisit and ponder over especially because of the ideas and ideals contained within them we need stories like this tales that take their time trust Their audience and set forth ideas that will make viewers remember what they watched long after the TV has gone dark here is hoping that season 2 will deliver more of the same I hope you enjoyed this Ode to andor's monologues let me know if you have other such moments you'd like me to talk about and I will see you in the next one God bless

Channel: Master Samwise

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Id: GM1Id-aZs7s

Length: 33min 26sec (2006 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 21 2024