Pardon My French, But Holy Shit

This show is GOOD.

I'm gonna do my very best to keep this short because when I tell you I could gush about this show for literal hours, I mean it. Just DM me or something if you wanna talk about it because oh my goodness.

Color me pretty surprised by this, for a few reasons. For starters, Disney's live action Star Wars shows have all been good, more or less, but very rarely have they done anything that truly blew my mind. Furthermore, I think 'Rogue One' is the most intensely overrated Star Wars media besides 'Rebels' and 'Revenge of the Sith'; it's not a bad movie, but I think people who call it a masterpiece, or the best Star Wars film, are being very hyperbolic.

'Rogue One' is a perfectly good movie, with a great third act, but it's held back by...being a movie. We never truly get to understand the characters or the world they inhabit as well as we should, and unfortunately, Jyn Erso just never really worked for me as the lead. I don't like that she spent two thirds of the movie being entirely apathetic to the Rebel cause, and then was suddenly ready to throw her life away for it even though the Rebels kill her father, her progression just doesn't make a lot of sense as it's shown. We never see her come to terms with, say, the idea that the Empire's actions lead to her fathers death or anything like that, there's something like less than 10 minutes of screen time between her father dying and her being ready to go to war on the side of the faction that blew him up. We didn't get the time with this cast that we needed to really drive the emotional core of the film home, and while the Empire certainly seems like more of a threat in this movie, we never truly understand the scope of their evil.

Enter 'Andor', a show like nothing nothing we've ever seen from Star Wars before. Not only do we get in depth character work like we've never seen before to make everything land, but we get shots like we've never seen before, music like we've never heard before, and fascism like Star Wars has never shown it before.

'Andor' pulls back the veil of Star Wars most infamous villains, the Empire, in a way that has never been done. The Empire in this show isn't a joke; the Stormtroopers aren't inaccurate buffoons getting knocked around by plucky adventurers, they're the foot soldiers of a galaxy-spanning fascist regime who exert their authoritarian force on a whim. The Imperial bureaucracy isn't made up of squabbling Admirals committing off-screen atrocities, it's made up of ladder-climbing sociopaths for whom the ends always justify the means, no matter how morally disgusting. Imperial prisons have not yet become the target of heroic rebels looking to save the innocent, they're in their prime as oppressive, sterilized cages from which escape seems entirely impossible and whose claustrophobic halls you can practically feel closing in as you watch.

'Andor' also has a lot to say about...well, let's just say the Empire as a concept, and leave it at that, yeah? The over-policing, the casual cruelty, the arrogance, the unsustainability of fascism, it covers so very much in its 12 episode run I'm finding it hard to even find a starting point.

So let's start simply, with Cassian. Beginning the series as a man living on the fringes of the law, just trying to avoid the Empire and live his life, Cassian learns in the hardest ways the lessons that 'Rogue One' could only pay lip service to: You can't outrun the Empire. There is no staying on the sidelines, and the consequences of inaction are just as bad, if not worse, then getting involved in the fight. Diego Luna plays Cassian with such earnestness, such humanity, that it's easy to forget you're watching an actor on a television show. His face shows us every thought running through his head better than words ever could as he experiences horrifying injustice, his emotions and reactions feel so heart-wrenchingly real. If this isn't an Emmy winning performance than, frankly, I'll be damned.

But of course, Cassian isn't our only character. Stellen Skarsgard is electrifying as Luthen Rael, a wealthy Imperial noble who moonlights as the fledgling Rebellions primary benefactor (and unofficial liaison to its many disparate factions), and a terrifyingly thorough man who has no illusions about what beating the Empire will cost. Genevieve O'Reilly shines, finally getting to put the character of Mon Mothma through her paces as a woman who plays the political troublemaker to hide her more radical work, and who struggles silently against her imperialist husbands ambitions (and the effects it has on her daughter). Denise Gough is immensely compelling as Dedra Moore, an ISB agent obsessed with working her way up the ranks. Originally appearing to be a "woman in a man's world" story waiting to happen, what we see instead is the horrifying story of a true believer, a through and through fascist who sees her job, and anything her job requires of her, as necessary. Kyle Soller, in a slightly similar position, is a man for whom winning the approval of authority is all that matters, and anything that prevents that is an obstacle that must be overcome.

Look I could go on and on because every character is given so much depth, their emotions and motivations are so grounded and relatable, and it all seems so damn effortless. And the best part? The show doesn't pause to call attention to any of it; instead of assuming the audience is stupid and beating them over the head with whatever they're trying to do at the moment, the show just soldiers on and trusts that you're paying attention (which, believe me, you will be).

Where do I even go next? The soundtrack is stellar; instead of simply trying to imitate the styles of John Williams (something other Star Wars media has failed miserably at), 'Andor' elects to create its own unique sound. The visuals are top tier, this might be the best Star Wars has ever looked. The one-two punch of excellent shot composition and razor sharp editing make every scene compelling from beginning to end, and shooting on location makes every environment feel so real and lived in, in a way that Star Wars hasn't felt since the original trilogy.

The action, which is used sparingly and is masterfully built to, often over several episodes, is so fresh for this franchise. There's nothing romantic about it, nothing pretty or "cool", it's short and brutal. Characters you may have grown to like over the course of a couple episodes will die in an instant, sans fanfare, not for the shock value, but because that's what war is, that's what the fight against the Empire costs. This isn't Star Wars action for you to gawk at like a well-choreographed lightsaber duel, this is a galaxy fighting for its freedom against a force that won't hesitate to kill anyone in its way before it loosens its grip.

Look I think you get the picture at this point, and frankly I just want to get this review out into the world so that I can tell anyone who hasn't done so already to drop what they're doing and check this out. I don't think it's out of line for me to say that this without a doubt the most compelling piece of Star Wars media ever, outside of the first two movies. Not only is this the shot in the arm that this franchise has desperately needed since Disney took over (and The Last Jedi pissed off everyone except for me), but it's a great look at what the future of this franchise can be in the hands of people with a vision. This isn't just a great story told in the Star Wars universe, this is just straight up fucking great television.

I'm over the damn moon and giving this show my first and probably only ever 6/5, yeah that's right. 6 outta 5, this is everything Star Wars can be when it doesn't shackle itself to something that someone has already done (JJ Abrams pay attention).

In summary, holy shit.