Hi, my name is John, and I want to talk about Star Wars. Have you ever seen it?
I never like to assume anything about my readers — maybe you know how long it took the Millennium Falcon to do the Kessel Run, or maybe you think The Mandalorian is a Las Vegas casino. I don’t know. I’m just here to humbly recommend things to watch.
Here’s all you need to know about Star Wars: it’s an operatic 45-year-old sci-fi/fantasy franchise about space knights and scrappy underdogs fighting dark wizards and an evil empire in a galaxy far, far away, and it has made approximately one gazillion dollars at the box office and in merchandising. A few years ago, the whole kit and caboodle were bought from its creator, the director George Lucas, by Disney, and now it’s part of that multinational entertainment company’s collection of immensely valuable intellectual properties.
There are 12 movies and ten TV series in the entire Star Wars saga, with many more to come. These special effects extravaganzas are made mostly for children and adults who are young at heart and also large angry men who act like children. I think that covers it.
But what if you’re not in the mood for laser sword fights or don’t have a spare month to watch every chapter of Lucas’ neverending, simplistic good vs. evil fable? Do not worry. I got you. What if you’re an enormous fan of Wookies and droids and Baby Grogu, and you’re a little… bored of it all? Well, I got you, too.
So, If I may suggest, everyone should watch (or revisit) Andor on Disney+.
Andor is a series that fits snugly into the Stars Universe timeline: it takes place before the downbeat but exhilarating movie Rogue One, a 2016 prequel to 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope. But you don’t need to know anything about Star Wars to enjoy what is a forbidding thriller about freedom and oppression. Andor tells the story of a rising rebellion and the terrible sacrifices heroes make to save the future.
The series star is Cassian Andor, who we first meet as a haunted secret agent on a suicide mission in Rogue One. That movie is one of my favorite of the new Star Wars movies, and I’ll include director Ron Howard’s young Han Solo lark on that list. I think Solo is the third-best flick in the entire space opera, but that’s probably only my opinion.
In Andor, we meet Cassian before he takes up his cause. He commits a crime while searching for his missing birth sister and, while on the run, becomes entangled in the rebellion. As the title character, Diego Luna’s boyish face is tired. His Cassian Andor is the survivor of an imperial war crime who knows how to manipulate people with his puppy dog eyes.
Luna is brilliant as another Star Wars scoundrel, only Andor is more cynical and wounded than others. We know he’s destined to become a freedom fighter, but his journey is a long, sad one.
Stellan Skarsgård also stars as Luthen Rael, an idealistic, cold-blooded spymaster from a John le Carré Cold War potboiler. During the day, he runs an antique shop on the planet Coruscant, a planet-sized city that serves as the capital of the newly formed Empire. But behind the scenes, he is building a resistance that will, eventually, prevail. Skarsgård is one of those actors who is comfortable acting in realistic dramas and big-budget adventures and is charismatic and intense no matter the role. He is incredible as Luthen, a half-dead man animated by fury and vengeance.
Andor is the sort of show that casts superb actors in small roles that you cannot forget, even weeks after. As Cassian’s adoptive mom, Fiona Shaw is fragile but fierce, and she deserves acclaim for a short scene where she tells her son why she won’t escape with him to safety. Denise Gough is masterful as the refined and savage Dedra Meero, a member of the Empire’s secret police and a woman surrounded by incompetent men and suckups. She has to work harder and smarter than the men if she’s going to stamp on the faces of the Empire’s enemies with her shiny boots.
Adria Arjona is Bix Caleen, Andor’s ex, and mechanic who dreams of toppling the Empire and the corporate contractors they employ to keep small planets in line. Arjona gives a strong performance as a loyal, low-level rebel who, in one of the most disturbing scenes in all of Star Wars, is tortured by a sadistic Imperial doctor.
Later in the season, the great Andy Serkis shows up as a model prisoner who learns a hard lesson about power. Serkis is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood, and he is unforgettable in the three all-too-short episodes he appears in. His trembling eyes and raw, vulnerable voice wrecked me, and Serkis almost steals Andor from Andor.
The show’s dialogue is spare and elegant, but that doesn’t mean Andor is all talking. Throughout its twelve episodes, there is a heist and a prison break, and both are rousing and, surprisingly, original, especially considering the genres. It’s rare to watch a fresh take on a complex robbery or a group of prisoners plotting an escape.
There are a few monologues that are like rocket ships. Just powerful and direct. There are also a few shootouts. But I guess what I’m trying to write is the show is smart and stirring.
Created by Tony Gilroy, Andor is a well-designed, powerfully written, creeping panic attack with a vice-like plot. The episodes are in no hurry to unfold, and patience is rewarded with sudden acts of derring-do and shocking betrayals. Gilroy is a Hollywood veteran who is best known for his Michael Clayton screenplay, the slick George Clooney thriller that can be watched over and over without it losing its velvety punch. In Michael Clayton, Gilroy exposes the ways bureaucracies and institutions permit people to become self-interested machines programmed to squeeze profit from every available stone.
Lucas was inspired by many influences when he was dreaming up his saga — filmmakers like Akira Kurosawa, futuristic cowboy cliffhangers like Buck Rogers, and the writings of the academic Joseph Campbell, who wrote about the similarities between mythic figures from different cultures.
Gilroy — who is respectfully playing in Lucas’ Tatooine sandbox — is driven to explore characters torn apart by their circumstances and the decisions they are forced to make. Some choose to surrender, some to fight. Others choose power. Order. Evil. This series is not for kids, which doesn’t mean kids shouldn’t see it. I think Gilroy’s view that heroes are flawed compliments Lucas’ vision of larger-than-life champions clashing with Gods. These two ideas can coexist. The Star Wars universe has room for broken renegades and secret princes, each working towards the same goal, which is, simply, freedom.
The Star Wars streaming show, Obi-Wan Kenobi, was a chance for the fans to watch superstar Ewan McGregor, whose career thrived after starring in Lucas’ controversial prequels to the original trilogy, ignite lightsabers and engage in another final battle with his former padawan, Darth Vader. It was a diverting adventure despite moon-sized plotholes and unripened dialogue. It was Star Wars, in the traditional sense, a simple morality play. Andor is also a Star Wars, but it's a little unconventional. The moral isn’t quite so cut and dry. Behind every Luke Skywalker, you see, are countless, nameless people without magical powers who are afraid to do the right thing but do it anyway.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of John DeVore's work on Medium.