I agree with everyone above. I think the series is some of the best Star wars that they have produced. Can’t wait to the second half of season 1. I look forward seeing more action on Ferrix. Also believe we will see the start of the organized Rebellion and the fall of the Senate.
1 Like
And so, of course, they’re gonna change it up on us. 
Per Alex Damon of Star Wars Explained, Tony Gilroy has said that episode 7 this week is a one-off, then 8-10 an arc, then 11-12 an arc. So how accurate my earlier illustration of how next season might work to cover 4 years is could be doubtful. Ah well.
I actually did now know this was his name, I and my family only know him as “Star Wars Explained Guy who SHOULD be in Mando season 3 behind a helmet somewhere” I enjoy his channel quite abit
1 Like
Yeah, Alex and Mollie are both pretty awesome. They’re semi-canon…Veers’ AT-AT drivers in one of the ESB From a Certain Point of View stories are numbered with their birthdays. 
What I’m really liking about Andor is the insight to parts of the Galactic Empire that we haven’t seen before. We get to see the Interworking of the ISB. How it affected parts of the Empire. Also I’m glad they are showing the Imperial Army and not just Stormtroopers. In Legends, the Army and the Stormtrooper Corps were separate branches. With separate command hierarchy. The Stormtroopers Corps was under direct control of the Emperor. This gives the Stormtroopers more of an elite status. Not just the bundling idiots who cannot shoot. Which we have seen in a lot of Star Wars projects. So looking forward to episode 8.
1 Like
Also wanted to add that we get to see a darker side of the Rebellion then ever before. The Rebellion origin story may not be as white hat clean as we thought. This maybe to be setting up a conflict between different factions of the rebellion.
I finally got around to watching episode five, and while technically proficient, I found it nearly unbearable. I dislike almost all of the characters, with the exception of Luthen, the Imperial Lieutenant, and Lieutenant Lockjaw (sort of).
Lieutenant Lockjaw is interesting, and apparently weird facial expressions run in the family. His mother is quite a character and I don’t know quite how to feel about her.
Episode four had enough movement, “action,” and Luthen that I really enjoyed it, but this one just came down to the fundamental characters. I just don’t care about any of them, and find too many distinctly unpleasant.
Why do you need to like the characters for enjoying the episode/show?
I get it that often it helps to feel with the protagonist but for me this is not a must to enjoy a well done show or read a well written book.
That aside I can understand most of the characters, why they are doing what they are doing and Nemik is not unlikable while Skeen is one of the best written characters.
And again, the dialogie is outstanding.
Yeah, the dialogue was “good enough” to “excellent.” The best dialogue of the episode was, I think, the lieutenant when he found that the gantry was unpainted. Seemingly oddball, but it was a very well-written scene and the dialogue accomplished its purpose with aplomb.
Maybe you don’t, but I do. A lot of it comes down to personal preference.
I don’t even have to care about the protagonist, but I have to care about someone in order to be invested in the story.
For me, when I’m watching something, it takes at least 1.5 of these three things to get me invested: Story, characters, action.
I can turn my brain off and watch a pure action film if it has just enough characters or plot to keep me invested and I can watch a nearly actionless show if I care about the characters and the story is engaging.
The only box this episode checks is story. I dislike most of the characters, which means I don’t care what happens to them to any degree. Because I don’t care about what comes next for the action or the characters, my enjoyment of the story is downgraded from its potential.
If I’m invested in the characters, then I care what happens next because it affects someone I care about. Conversely, if I “love to hate” a character (“this villain must be stopped!”) and am invested that way, I care what happens next because it affects someone I care about, I just care in a different way (ideally, an investing villain is opposed by an investing protagonist, otherwise you just root for the bad guy).
Character-driven stories are my favorites (see: Republic Commando) as long as I am able to care about the characters (see: Republic Commando).
Here are some examples:
Halo: Action heavy. Just straight up action. Plot, barely existent. But I actually care about Master Chief and Cortana, something done perfectly in Halo 3. So Action: 1, Plot: 0, Characters: 0.5.
Arcane: This is actually a perfect example of investment. For the first half or so of the series, I was mildly interested by the world and action, 0.5 each. But the characters didn’t grab me. I mostly watched it because a friend wanted my opinion.
Then in the second half, I actually had someone to root for (Caitlin, in large part because she actually had a moral backbone), and someone whose journey I was fascinated to watch (Jace). I was invested in both of them, and that drew me into the show on the whole and I was able to enjoy it much more than I had been.
That doesn’t really matter to me. I get all their motivations, but I don’t actually like the characters or care about their motives. They don’t seem like the sort of people I would want to spend any time at all around, and that isn’t helped by the fact that virtually no one in the show likes anyone else, so the only thing highlighted is the causes of friction.
Nemik isn’t unlikeable, he’s just framed as an overzealous annoyance and is slightly overpowering (which I can relate to). He’s the one on the crew I come closest to liking, and I think I could if his character was surrounded by a different cast.
“Identification” and “empathy” are overrated, in my opinion, with sympathy being far more important. If someone has a sympathetic story and a sympathetic character, or hits the tricky anti-hero niche of having a sympathetic story and a “sympathetically-unsympathetic” character (usually requiring a foil, living or phantasmal, to pull off well), it’ll pull me in almost without fail. Positive interpersonal relationships (family, friend, romantic) can also draw me in; I’m more likely to care for a character who shows care for other characters.
Oh, one other thing: Unless they were replicas, Luthen had Jedi and Sith holocrons on his shelf, and if that isn’t totally universe breaking I’m not sure what is.
Yes, I’m being somewhat facetious, but still. “It’s an Easter egg” is no excuse for something that makes so little sense in the world.
Sorry, I don´t get why it´s totally universe breaking.
It´s a bit daunting to put these on a Showcase I will admit that, but universe breaking?
And after watching episode 7 I can only repeat myself. Best written Star Wars ever.
1 Like
Apparently you missed half my comment: “Yes, I’m being somewhat facetious, but still. ‘It’s an Easter egg’ is no excuse for something that makes so little sense in the world.”
They are not only supposed to be very rare, but extremely sought-after and dangerous to possess, especially in the era of the Empire. It was extremely jarring for me to see them so casually, openly displayed as a collector’s item, completely out of step with all previous iterations.
A side note: In movies, as in writing, every detail is important and should not be treated flippantly. Tossing in something that itself will play the crux of entire stories so randomly is a very odd choice, the wisdom of which I must question.
Thanks for lecturing me about the importance of details. Glad I am aware of it now.
It´s not that I love this show because of the tons of details and carefull writing.
My feeling is that you are exaggerating a bit, that´s all.
And I already wrote that it was strange to display them this open, though not as nicely as you did.
You questioned, I answered. I’m sorry for being complete in conveying my reasoning.
As for loving the show for its details and careful writing, sure. This wasn’t, and I pointed it out.
Episode six:
Again, technically proficient, but I just don’t like it. Aside from a couple minor things (e.g., a blaster hit to the back of the right shoulder blade instantly killing someone, while apparently lacking the energy to pass through and hit Cassian) and continued issues with cultural worldbuilding, it all comes down to that I just don’t like the story or the characters.
Cassian just murdered somebody else in cold blood, handling that situation the worst way he possibly could have, and the only characters I had any amount of interest in at all are dead. Except Lieutenant Lockjaw, and I suppose Luthen counts. Everyone is just so off-putting.
The star shower looked cool.
I disagree. He accidentally killed the first one. If he let the other one go or went along with the guard’s plan ("I’ll tell them it was an accident, I promose!) he would have been locked up then executed. Show over. He realized he had already killed one guard and so logically realized his only course of action to not be imprisoned or executed was to kill the other.
I like how the show forced this decision upon Cassian to show his personality instead of the second guard suddenly pulling a hidden holdout blaster to make it all morally ok.
Curious, were you for or against, “Han shot first!”?
I’ve never fully understood that controversy. His life is being directly threatened either way, either way it seems a justified action.
First guy, accident, yep. Not his fault.
Second one, I understand the situation, the motivations, etc., but it isn’t a very sympathetic situation.
Third one, just straight up cold blood. Skeen hadn’t done anything yet, and hadn’t moved past talking. Cassian hadn’t even tried to talk him out of it or anything. At the point when Cassian shot him, I wasn’t yet totally convinced he wasn’t testing Cassian (though it had gone far enough I figured that for meta reasons, he wasn’t).
Episode seven was much more entertaining. I particularly enjoyed… toupee guy. I’m forgetting his name. Similar to episode four in terms of content and machinations, and four was my favorite so far so it stands to reason that I’d like this one too.
He was certainly in the right in his discussion with Mon Mothma. The one thing that bothers me is that if she didn’t realize that the Empire was going to crack down once her Rebellious activities started, she shouldn’t be anywhere near this. Did she just think the Empire would let her build up a standing army, and then challenge her to a winner-take-all straight fight?
Regardless, I like toupee man (whose name still escapes me for reasons unrelated to the show) and think he’s very well-acted and well-written, and look forward to seeing more from him. His assistant person is also quite intriguing.
I have some questions about the timeline (ages, clone troopers, etc.), but it’s vague enough that I’m happy to give them leeway.
I thought you were speaking of the killing in the first episode.
Yeah the 2nd one is more difficult to justify. But, I think from this character’s point of view, there might be other options, but the one he chose was the only one that is a no-risk solution. He knows Skeen would kill him if needed. If Cassian ties him up, what do they do next? 24 hour surveillance until what? Drop him off someplace and he would be a huge risk to identifying them either to save his own butt, or to make some money. I think the writers are trying to convey that he is a completely logical killer, that doesn’t let morality get in the way. He doesn’t like to kill, but when it’s the best solution he doesn’t hesitate. This makes sense for what we know Cassian will do someday - you’re a confidant that has helped me but your leg is hurt and you can’t get away? Sucks to be you, my life and the Rebellion is more important.
1 Like