Star Wars: Andor

[SonOfSoAngry]

Dedra and Syril:

 

Spoiler

 

[monkeydog]

Never thought I'd be excited by the Star Wars take on a colliery band.  Top stuff.

[Mogster]

I really wasn't prepared for just how good this show was. You could rip Star Wars out of it altogether and it would still be amazing, but the fact that it adds so much texture to that universe makes it that much better. Incredible stuff.

 

The finalé was absolutely perfect.

[SpagMasterSwift]

Dedra and Syril:

 

Spoiler

That moment weirdly reminded me of the moment with Leia and Han in Empire Strikes Back, but like the black mirror version.

 

[Pob]

I didn't quite understand what went down with Mon Mothma:

Spoiler

I initially thought that she'd confided in Perrin and they cooked up the gambling misinformation between them. But did she actually just pluck some past gambling addiction from the past and make a thing out of it to explain the missing money? So Perrin's incredulity is real, because he'd not actually done anything.

 

So if that was her solution to explaining the missing funds, why did she also go ahead with the deal with Davo?

 

[SpagMasterSwift]

Spoiler

I think the gangster said that he had seen her husband a lot - which she didn't realise - so he is keeping his gambling problem from her (and probably why he denied it in the car). She knows that the driver is listening in on her, so she prompts that by telling him she wants privacy - then lays out the info about the gambling problem for the Empire to hear, which they do. She can now deal with the gangster without it looking too strange to the Empire, but still has to give up her daughter. At least that was how I read it.

 

[Phantoon]

It's belt and braces.

Spoiler

Don't forget the gangster could sell her down the river, so she has a cover story for both the Empire and him.

 

[MardiganX]

Spoiler

At first I took it that Mon had refused to basically sell her daughter and the gambling chat was her way of dealing with the money. But after the courtship reveal, it felt like the gambling thing was the technical front for whatever funds are going to move about now. There is and will still be more dodgy transactions to sort out the money troubles. The arranged marriage on its own hasn't made them go away. So the gambling is going to be part of the alibi for whatever Gangster Father-in-law is going to do.

 

The scene in the car adds depth to what Mon is having to do to sort things out, shows just how little she cares about her husband at this point and even makes the marriage reveal more of a surprise moment than it should be due to the subtle misdirection from the car scene.

 

Just yet another example of even the smallest details being handled beautifully.

 

[Delargey]

57 minutes ago, Pob said:

I didn't quite understand what went down with Mon Mothma:

  Hide contents

I initially thought that she'd confided in Perrin and they cooked up the gambling misinformation between them. But did she actually just pluck some past gambling addiction from the past and make a thing out of it to explain the missing money? So Perrin's incredulity is real, because he'd not actually done anything.

 

So if that was her solution to explaining the missing funds, why did she also go ahead with the deal with Davo?

 

 

Spoiler

I think she still needs Davo to transfer future funds to her "charities" discreetly.

 

[Eighthours]

I didn't think the finale was quite as great as I was hoping it would be, to be honest:

 

Spoiler

The setup of all the pieces coming together was excellent, but then not much really happened in terms of our main characters doing stuff. Vel and Cinta basically had nothing to do, Luthen was just standing there, Cassian did a surprisingly easy rescue of Bix, and then the escape off the planet for her, Brasso (?), the bomber and B2EMO seemed far too simple. The stuff with Dedra was fine and obviously I loved Syril rescuing her, but again he was just a bystander for much of it. I don't think the second half of the episode was a suitably powerful release for the massive buildup of tension in the first half, so I'm not sure how rewatchable it'll be overall. It's nice to see the rebellion properly get going, though, obvs.

 

What should have been an amazing montage set to Maarva's speech unfortunately featured my pet peeve in telly, which is that whenever there is a montage with voiceover underneath it (as it was for much of it), that voiceover is almost always massively overwritten and way too long. Kinda like Luthen's big speech from a couple of eps ago - which was 95% amazing - it went probably 30 seconds too long, to the point where the words went into the background so much that I almost tuned out. Great ending to the speech, sure, but a pretty flabby middle. 

 

The episode was fine and it's been a phenomenal show overall, but there have been several better episodes this season for me. The finale should be the best one, though, so the universally positive reaction to it seems more like a reaction of the show itself and how great it's been, than entirely appropriate for this particular ep!

 

Great last scene, of course, and I'm massively hyped for season 2.

 

Landing certainly stuck but not entirely nailed, for me anyway. I think the finale could have been better, but hey I'm nitpicking because the rest of this season has been so fantastic.

 

EDIT: Spoilered for plot stuff.

[yakumo]

They really did a great job showing how dangerous and precarious a prospect the rebellion actually was. The consequences were real and sacrifices needed to be made. We got a true taste of it in Empire Strikes Back and Rogue One but the “struggle” will always be my preferred Star Wars narrative.

[ZOK]

3 hours ago, Mogster said:

I really wasn't prepared for just how good this show was. You could rip Star Wars out of it altogether and it would still be amazing, but the fact that it adds so much texture to that universe makes it that much better. Incredible stuff.

 

The finalé was absolutely perfect.

I said mid way through this ranked alongside the original trilogy and Rogue One. I now think it’s arguably the best Star Wars thing of them all.

[ZOK]

Regarding the arranged marriage introduction, that was really nicely handled camera-wise

 

Spoiler

as the daughter was clearly onboard with it as it suits her developing fundamentalism, and the way they focussed on her and edged out Mon & man indicates this will be a juicy plot line in series two.

 

[amc]

Just watched The Eye. Fuck a duck. Now this is Podracing.

[SpagMasterSwift]

I think season 2 is going to be 

Spoiler

quite time jumpy, as they span 4 years building up to Rogue One, and after the focus of this season that initially makes me a little sad. But then we’ve had this season to really get to know these characters so maybe letting them run will be ok. 
 

I know they’ve had some pushback about not featuring enough aliens and they’ll probably address that in season 2, but I dig the way you see these characters and wonder who they are or what they are about. You know? Like in the original Star Wars films…
 

 

 

[monkeydog]

30 minutes ago, SpagMasterSwift said:

I think season 2 is going to be 

  Hide contents

quite time jumpy, as they span 4 years building up to Rogue One, and after the focus of this season that initially makes me a little sad. But then we’ve had this season to really get to know these characters so maybe letting them run will be ok. 
 

I know they’ve had some pushback about not featuring enough aliens and they’ll probably address that in season 2, but I dig the way you see these characters and wonder who they are or what they are about. You know? Like in the original Star Wars films…
 

 

 

 

That's just Fred from 'round corner. Nice bloke but he's inta all that that funny leather gear.

[cavalcade]

I don't think any Star Wars media has really showed the micromanagement aspects to the Imperial fascism quite as acutely as this. Blowing up a planet is a bit like the Stalinistic "one person is a tradgedy, a billion Alderaans (Alderannis?) is a statistic". I don't think post-Andor you'd have quite as many of the "maybe the Rebellion are the real monsters cos they blew up the Death Star and everyone in there had a family!!!111!!" hot takes that we had post original trilogy. Someone in this thread said that this series enriches nearly every other mainline Star Wars movie by grounding the space wizards and space fighters with a background of what the actual stakes are. Which is why, even if S2 never arrives, or is a disappointment, this Season was a great bit of programming from beginning to end. 

 

I agree that Season 1 didn't quite stick the landing, but in terms of the themes and events it put forward it was deeply satisfying that it didn't shy from every aspect of what fighting oppression actually costs and didn't (apart from the post-credits sequence) give in to a fan servicey ending where, I don't fucking know, CGI Wedge Antilles turns up a yeets R2D2 into a Scarlaac pit or some bollocks. 

 

Good stuff. 

[Benny]

When I first saw the carousel picture for the last episode on Disney Plus:

 

Spoiler

I usually don't look too closely in case it's a spoilery picture, but I saw some black amour/helmet next to Dedra out of the corner of my eye, and had a sudden panic that she was standing next to Vader or something before I looked away. It's that feeling of really caring about something enough that you start to get anxiety that they might fuck it up somehow, with something mandated for the show from the Disney corpos.

 

[Pob]

Feel bad saying this, but the title theme in the finale sounded a bit like a shittyflute version. I realised later it was the instruments from marching band but it still had a touch of the Trombone Champ about it.

[Benny]

I was too busy loving the drumbeats to notice.

[cavalcade]

Having played in SIlver bands most of my childhood - they largely sound absolutely shit. Only top tier brass bands with amazing players sound better than a TikTok comedy video backing, so I really appreciated that nod to realism. As a French Horn player, then Cornet player it was nice to see the former finally tied to something more noble than being a twat with a ridiculously sized instrument which largely plays long sustained notes that nobody gives shit about. 

 

If I knew I could've placed a space French Horn I'd have probably stuck with it longer. 

[fly53r135]

Just now, Benny said:

When I first saw the carousel picture for the last episode on Disney Plus:

 

  Hide contents

I usually don't look too closely in case it's a spoilery picture, but I saw some black amour/helmet next to Dedra out of the corner of my eye, and had a sudden panic that she was standing next to Vader or something before I looked away. It's that feeling of really caring about something enough that you start to get anxiety that they might fuck it up somehow, with something mandated for the show from the Disney corpos.

 

I think that will be a real problem for series 2.

I cant imagine great dialogue and character development will have sold many toys. Someone at Disney will be suggesting more known characters.

[ZOK]

12 minutes ago, fly53r135 said:

I think that will be a real problem for series 2.

I cant imagine great dialogue and character development will have sold many toys. Someone at Disney will be suggesting more known characters.

Why? If they were going to that they’d have already suggested it for this series. And perhaps they did, and got told no.

[Darwock]

Mandalorian season 2 is all the evidence you need.

 

Remember, there was no merch from that show at all during season 1’s original run.

[fly53r135]

3 minutes ago, ZOK said:

Why? If they were going to that they’d have already suggested it for this series. And perhaps they did, and got told no.

 

I can think of $1.5 Billion reasons 

Disney Plus Streaming losses 

[ZOK]

They’re hardly on the same level though, are they? Mandalorian is trashy fun stuffed to the gills with obvious merch from the get go, whereas Andor is a serious show.

[ZOK]

And for clarification, I’m not seeking to be educated as to how merchandising works, thanks. I’m highlighting why it is obviously not going to apply here, because if it was it would already be set up for it.

[ZOK]

8 minutes ago, Darwock said:

Remember, there was no merch from that show at all during season 1’s original run.

I seem to remember you could get plushies of the little Yoda about three weeks after it started couldn’t you?

[ZOK]

Having said that, I would be tempted by a model of the Ferrix space bus.

[Waggo]

I have been chuckling to myself all day at work today thinking, is there actually any point whatsoever to Stormtrooper armour?
 

Spoiler

Big lad even head butted one at one point, once it all kicked off.

Intentional humour or not it made me laugh.🤣🤣🤣