Andor - or "How very DARE they make me care about a stumpy red robot!"

 

I hate bandwagons. I hate jumping on them, I hate falling off them, generally if there's a popular opinion on a movie or TV show, I really don't feel comfortable going with the majority opinion on that thing. It's like being a sheep, following the herd, not expressing an opinion of your own. 

So I feel a bit annoyed that I liked "Andor" as much as I did, purely because to hear certain sections of Sci Fi fandom talk (particularly those ever vocal Star Wars fans), "Andor" is second only to "Rogue One" in its greatness, easily surpassing the mighty original Star Wars Episode IV and even better than "The Empire Strikes Back" (fighting talk in my opinion!)

I loved Rogue One, but there were times where I could really have done without Krennic, who was just so two dimensional and annoying that he pretty much robbed the movie of being truly great. Early on in "Andor" as well, there were episodes where the story arc took too long to gain traction, to get going and even in some of the greatest episodes (those set in the prison complex) it felt like the plot was dragging a little. 

Then they dropped "Rix Road" on us, the season finale, and basically kicked the living shit out of any naysayers who might have had doubts about how great this series really is. 

I've watched it four times since it aired, and each time I've found myself wondering how anyone's going to top that with anything in the Star Wars universe from now on. I can't think of a single moment in that episode that was 'dead time', I can't think of a single performance from any of the cast that fell short of the ludicrously high standards already set in previous episodes. I'm also going to be extremely pissed off if Fiona Shaw (who I've described as the real MVP of the series) doesn't win a metric truckload of awards for her performance as Cassian's mother. Her final speech was breathtaking. Beautifully written, absolutely expertly delivered and even now just thinking about it as I type it actually makes my head hurt with how excellent it was. It reminded me heavily of V's speeches in V for Vendetta, a rallying cry to rebel, a catalyst for downtrodden people. One that makes me think of our current situation in the UK, and the absolute shitshow of a government we're stuck with and what it'd be like if there was a similar moment in our own timeline. 

Christ it was good. 

The other thing that got me about that scene was the funeral music. If you're like me and you tend to watch TV while doing other things (I usually like to sketch ot draw with the TV on in the background as background noise) those first few wailing horns and plaintive flutes of the funeral dirge grab you by the ears and make you sit up and take notice. By the time the scene plays out you're left absolutely reeling with how damned good, how brilliantly orchestrated that funeral scene was. 

Then there's that bloody robot. B2-EMO. I hate, hate, hate that I keep falling for the 'cute stuff' that latter Star Wars shows work in. Maybe not so much any of the attempts by JJ Abrams etc in the newer movies, but stuff like Grogu and now B2-EMO, perfectly pitched to market the shit out of merch featuring these characters. But in the case of that little stumpy busted-ass stuttering red robot it's probably the first time I've actually thought "Damn, I love that little guy, if anything happens to him I'm out, I'm done!"

He was old, whiny, a bit needy but the perfect foil for Cassian's understated heroics. 

"C-C-C-Cassian!" - Every single frigging time I hear that robot say that I'm on the verge of tears. Again, perfectly delivered dialogue by Dave Chapman, the actor and puppeteer who was also responsible for making the world fall in love with BB8. I don't know why or how I cared so much about that droid but placing it at the centre of the funeral scene and the infamous speech was a stroke of genius. 

Now the show is over and season 2 is being discussed, seemingly years away (2024) I think I'm due a rewatch of the whole thing from start to finish (If I can wean myself off just watching Rix Road on a loop). Other MVPs in the show included Andy Serkis, whose performance as Kino Loy was yet another amazing performance to heap on top of the many in his career. That guy can act, no doubt about it. 

Stellan Skarsgard is also worth a mention too, purely for fleshing out a character that you're never sure whether to love or hate in Luthen Rael, and providing a master class in character acting along the way. Probably his finest role, undoubtedly a character you really want to see returning in Season 2. 

And let's not forget Diego Luna, who might have been upstaged by the three Ss (Skarsgard, Shaw and Serkis), but always held the whole show together with a quiet understated menace, like the Cassian we know from Rogue One was slowly being formed, wrought in iron, quietly menacing and ruthless (how many times did he just kill people without any need for fancy speeches or ridiculous monologues, just up, pop, you're dead bad guy. That was awesome in the final episode). the emotive scene where he finds out what his mothers final thoughts on him were was beautifully done. 

I almost feel sorry for the other SW shows we've had this year. Kenobi feels like a distant memory now. Tales of the Jedi? Pfff, I can't think of a single moment in that show that came anywhere close to being as great as one single episode in Andor. Even The Mandalorian feels like it will need to up its game with the next season to be this good. So the bar has been raised sky high. Let's see what happens next...