Star Wars: Andor

[Stanley]

2 minutes ago, Kevvy Metal said:

Man, this is sooo fucking good! 

Isn’t it just. Who imagined Star Wars could ever be like this. I love how assured the writing and direction is, the way that the very human prison segues into dark alleyways with shifty looking aliens hanging around, and none of it feels out of place. It’s just perfect. 
 

Andy Serkis is also immense. 

[Vespa Alex]

46 minutes ago, Benny said:

Yeah booooooooooi... Oh fuck it's over.

 

 

Two more to go. 

[Darren]

You know when I said a few weeks ago that this was the best ever Star Wars? I was wrong.

 

That was the best ever Star Wars.

[Moz]

1 hour ago, Vulgar Monkey said:

Man serkis is a fucking brilliant actor when he isnt all CGI.

I feel like his casting is throwing down the gauntlet to Disney and saying “are you seeing this?!”

[Matt Defis]

That was pretty fucking awesome. 

[Dapple]

4 hours ago, Monkeyboy said:

Episode 10 is brilliant. I think I had goosebumps when...

 

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Luthen was talking about what he'd sacrificed. Skarsgård knocked it out of the park. It helped that he also looked pretty cool standing on that walkway with his long coat billowing in the wind.

 

Spoiler

"I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them."

Great scene, great line

[ZOK]

1 hour ago, SpagMasterSwift said:

I know they were in a rush but 

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I’d have grabbed a pair of them boots!

 

Loved the way they talked about the rebel ship being discovered with the dead pilot rather than showing it - in my mind it’s an x-wing even tho it obviously isn’t.

 

That’s exactly what I was thinking! I also would definitely not

 

Spoiler

have left those two dudes to their own devices in the control room.

 

[Delargey]

If was running the prison

Spoiler

I would put the guns in a locked room at least.

 

Mon mothma was fantastic as ever this week, her stiff pose all through the conversation and her outfits are always to die for.

 

 

[geldra]

Was there a reason given for why the prison is all humans and no aliens?  Not nitpicking, just wondered. 
 

Echoing the praise for the end speech in this Ep and generally about the whole shebang. Best Star Wars since the og trilogy (Rogue 1 and fuck it I’m saying it… Solo (even though I know it was totally unnecessary I liked lots of it) excepted.  
 

Re lack of humour I read the next two episodes are going to be set in the prison where they keep all the Gungans. They’ll love the electrified floors. 

[PK]

27 minutes ago, geldra said:

Was there a reason given for why the prison is all humans and no aliens?  Not nitpicking, just wondered. 

 

When Andor is being shipped out to the prison they're asking everyone where they're from and segregating them by race. 

 

I don't know how accurate the history is behind it, but someone on reddit posited an interesting theory that this is a roundabout reference to a serious mistake the British made in Ireland when they imprisoned rebels from all over the country together; supposedly they'd had no really effective way of forming connections with each other before that, and they were able to build more of a literal rebel alliance from the links that being locked up together established between previously disparate groups.

[Jammy]

Fuck, that was great. Serkis, Skarsgård and Genevieve O’Reilly doing all the heavy lifting.

[geldra]

1 minute ago, PK said:

 

When Andor is being shipped out to the prison they're asking everyone where they're from and segregating them by race. 

 

I don't know how accurate the history is behind it, but someone on reddit posited an interesting theory that this is a roundabout reference to a serious mistake the British made in Ireland when they imprisoned rebels from all over the country together; they'd had no really effective way of forming connections with each other before that, and they were able to build more of a literal rebel alliance from the links that being locked up together established between previously disparate groups.

aaaah they were sorted just before they boarded the shuttles.  Nice one ta. 

[Darren]

27 minutes ago, geldra said:

Was there a reason given for why the prison is all humans and no aliens?  Not nitpicking, just wondered. 

I presume it’s just about efficiency. If each facility only has one species (if that’s the right word) then they can all do the same work, the same floor voltage works on everyone, and they only need one type of gruel in the feeding tubes.

[Stoppy2000]

29 minutes ago, geldra said:

Was there a reason given for why the prison is all humans and no aliens?  Not nitpicking, just wondered. 
 

I think this came up earlier in the thread - not sure if its still canon but the empire usually treat non-humans worse. So they are probably shipping them off somewhere even worse. Maybe the spice mines of Kessel? 

[pastry]

Guess we can't keep saying this every time.. but.. the detail and execution of the sets, the framing, the use of light and shadow.. it's wonderful! 

That Skarsgard scene captured the feel of the very best bits of TESB – I just enjoyed soaking up every bit of it, just a great shot with so much presence.

 

Spoiler

I really thought the prisoners would attempt to take the ship that just dropped the new prisoner (aside – loved how he didn't hesitate to get stuck into the fight!) - them jumping off into the ocean seemed an odd and short lived escape plan to me – interested to see how that pans out.

 

[PK]

3 hours ago, Vulgar Monkey said:

Man serkis is a fucking brilliant actor when he isnt all CGI.

 

1 hour ago, Moz said:

I feel like his casting is throwing down the gauntlet to Disney and saying “are you seeing this?!”

 

I don't know why but something about his reaction to the

 

Spoiler

floor being switched off

 

makes me really want to see him in a 40K adaptation. He'd be a fucking terrifying space marine

[Sabreman]

Took me this long to notice the Rebel Alliance flight suit vibe from the prison uniforms.

[Unofficial Who]

5 hours ago, Sabreman said:

Took me this long to notice the Rebel Alliance flight suit vibe from the prison uniforms.

 

Yeah, my partner just said the same thing to me, if that's where they're going so far it's brilliant retconning. Very show don't tell.

 

Also with effective retconning Mon Mothma. They've taken a potential weakness from the first movie, her formal stiffness and they've turned it into a defining character trait in Andor, representing her quiet strength. It's the sort of retconning that gives the original material more texture and gravitas rather than the lazy clumsy "memberberries" of the sort you usually get.

[Pob]

3 hours ago, Unofficial Who said:

 

Yeah, my partner just said the same thing to me, if that's where they're going so far it's brilliant retconning. Very show don't tell.

 

Also with effective retconning Mon Mothma. They've taken a potential weakness from the first movie, her formal stiffness and they've turned it into a defining character trait in Andor, representing her quiet strength. It's the sort of retconning that gives the original material more texture and gravitas rather than the lazy clumsy "memberberries" of the sort you usually get.

 

Are these retcons, or just...'cons'? 

[Stoppy2000]

42 minutes ago, Pob said:

 

Are these retcons, or just...'cons'? 

Yeah just cons - they haven't effectively changed anything. It's just more fleshed out in general. 

 

Also those prison suits just look star wars-y - it's just a nice detail. Like most things in this show.

[SpagMasterSwift]

When they lean into the Star Wars vibes it has so much power. 

Spoiler

The lift doors opening to show Luthen dramatically standing there, cloak blowing in the wind. Incredibly striking image, then it gets backed up with Stellan Skarsgård's delivery of a great monologue. The whole while his mole is kept confined in the box of the lift. And again the contrasts that the show is so good at, we cut to Andor free. Could have ended the series there, but we have two more to go! It's soooooo good.

 

[Moz]

That Stellan Skarsgard speech is burned upon my soul

[Boothjan]

Stellan Skarsgard is just so bloody good, isn't he?  He makes acting look so easy, but in pretty much everything he's in, he's got an awesome presence about him.

 

This might be my favourite performance of his - aside from Chernobyl

[probotector]

I’m catching up as fast as I can.

 

Its pretty slow but I guess that’s the point. 
 

Real outside sets and locations just feel so good!

[Don Rosco]

14 hours ago, Girth Certificate said:

everything

 

You knew it was coming as soon as he started, but when it dropped...wow. Chills. That monologue really made things slot into place regarding his character for me. A bit like Andor and maybe Saw in Rogue One, he knows he's morally doomed, and he's going to accept his inevitable sacrifice. It's going to be a long wait until season 2 after these last two episodes.

[probotector]

If there is a season 2, this bombed hard from what I read.

 

Starwars fans got what they always wanted and hate it by the looks of it.

 

 

[Garwoofoo]

Star Wars fans hate everything, especially women and new Star Wars stuff. Pandering to them is a thankless task.

 

Andor isn't for me but I'm glad it exists and it's nice to see everyone here appreciating it.

[Pob]

I think season 2 is already filming. No doubt the viewing figures are way lower than Obi Wan and Boba Fett given the relative obscurity of the Andor character but you'd hope that Disney+ would also take into account the prestige value. Good word-of-mouth is likely to lead to a long tail of viewers.

[Vulgar Monkey]

Best bit about the skaarsgard speech is that for all his pomp, you still come out a little bit 'yeah ok so you're morally doomed, but these guys are literally doomed, so err, fuck off?'

 

He's all about hard strategic choices for the greater good and in the grand scheme is able to justify it, and can even justify a bit of self-preservation as he no doubt recognises how essential his own role is in that, but for whatever reason when he gets questioned on it has this big indignant speech ready for it. He sounds almost like he's trying to convince himself as much as the other guy, but in the end we know that his sacrifices arent, and cant be, the same as those he's necessarily forcing on other people.

 

Also, yeah I'd hope Disney are smart enough to look at viewing figures over a longer period, since that's half the point of the streaming format. Other platforms have killed off perfectly viable shows because they dont, and have only ended up shooting themselves in the foot by doing so. With this and other big franchises, it does feel like Disney are more interested in the long-game, using shows to build and strengthen an IP, even if an individual show doesnt do so well it contributes to a greater whole.

[Pob]

7 minutes ago, Vulgar Monkey said:

Best bit about the skaarsgard speech is that for all his pomp, you still come out a little bit 'yeah ok so you're morally doomed, but these guys are literally doomed, so err, fuck off?'

 

He's all about hard strategic choices for the greater good and in the grand scheme is able to justify it, and can even justify a bit of self-preservation as he no doubt recognises how essential his own role is in that, but for whatever reason when he gets questioned on it has this big indignant speech ready for it. He sounds almost like he's trying to convince himself as much as the other guy, but in the end we know that his sacrifices arent, and cant be, the same as those he's necessarily forcing on other people.

 

It's been a good intro to more adult material for my son. When he saw Luthen there, cloak billowing in the wind and laying it out to the ISB agent, he asked "is he bad?". Well, that's a complex question isn't it? He's so used to seeing stuff with goodies and baddies, baddies turning good and goodies turning bad, so it's interesting for him to see something where most characters are an evolving mixture of the two.