Bradley Jordan

This is by far the best Star Wars show that Disney has released so far. The tone and attitude make a relatively drastic shift away from the sillier dialogues and overall immature mood of shows like the Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett. While these shows had their moments, they pandered to an audience craving a fantastical family friendly space adventure littered with shock-cameos from pre-established characters we all know and love. These shows felt unrealistic and ungrounded. But boy did they get all your girlfriends interested with Baby Yoda! Yes of course it’s Star Wars, and it’s meant to take place in a fantasy universe. However I think over the vast majority of Disneys tenure presiding over the greatest franchise of all time, the most valuable asset in Star Wars storytelling has been lost: A sense of relevance and a connection to our real world. Disneys original game plan for SW seemed to be similar to what it did with Marvel. Overly epic battles fought between superhuman characters who become increasingly un-relatable and muddled as their powers increase and their motivations become vague. Andor brings a refreshing sense of badassery and realism into a universe that has been diluted with cutesy superhuman main characters. It’s rugged, violent and shows what Star Wars could be. When watching the most recent episode, I was genuinely interested in the intricacies of the office setting of the ISB. This is character driven storytelling that doesn’t rely as heavily on previously established Star Wars fantasy. The real world can be violent and harsh. Andor gives us a flawed main character who could exist in our world, dealing with themes that are relatable, in an environment that reflects the perils of potential tyranny that can exist and have existed throughout history. Star Wars fans have grown up, and the attitude and more serious tone that Andor presents is exactly what the franchise has been sorely needing.