Opinion: “Andor” is the most interesting show in “Star Wars”

Two. Long. Years. That’s how long it took for this season of “Andor” to grace us with its presence. The first season was a pleasant surprise, giving a grounded, gritty tale in the Star Wars universe (as much as that can be allowed, given Star Wars’ fantastical nature) about what it means to start a revolution and what parts of yourself you must sacrifice to allow a revolution to thrive. There aren’t any good guys in this story. Only bad ones and worse ones. 

“Andor” is easily one of the most interesting things to come out of the Star Wars canon in recent years and it’s surprising that Disney allowed this to be made, considering its darker themes, mature storytelling and slow pacing. That’s not to say that “Andor” is a diamond in the rough. There have been several good Star Wars related shows such as “The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars: Rebels,” but “Andor” is a different beast entirely. 

What makes “Andor” such a miracle is the fact it took a character from a solid movie (honestly, it would have been just fine if they had the last battle as a short(ish) movie) and made a compelling show about revolutions and the strange characters who put them together. There’s no Jedi, no Sith, no Force. This is just a group of people, operating against a powerful system that stifles dissent at every turn. Sure, there are still starships and ray gun fights, but this is a relatively grounded story and “Andor” admirably pulls it off. 

So far, we are early into the season, so the episodes that have come out have been slow paced build ups to the real action, but “Andor” keeps the tension rolling. Despite the meticulous plotting, the show more than makes up for it with its attention to detail and its well-crafted action sequences. There are even some well-placed moments of humor in here too, which makes sure to let everyone know that this won’t be completely bleak. 

Yet what makes “Andor” unique among the other Star Wars shows and movies is its monotony. From our scrappy heroes to the members of the Empire, “Andor” shows that starting a revolution is hard work. You must get squabbling groups to put their differences aside to face the true enemy, but we also see this with the Empire. There’s no cackling madmen ranting about unlimited power, most of them are bureaucratic office workers, working in a system that’s rotten to the core and allows monstrousness to thrive. It makes the Empire even more terrifying, as this type of banal evil is all too common in our world and grounds the Empire in this one. 

This also brings us to the most controversial scene of this season so far, the attempted sexual assault of Bix (Adria Arjona). Some Star Wars fans have bristled at this, saying that this doesn’t have a place in the Star Wars universe. But this is a darker, grittier show and the bad guys are going to do bad things. Also, it’s a fascist government run by power-crazed nutjobs. What do you expect them to do when they have power over people who can’t do anything back to them? 

It is unfortunate that Tony Gilroy will be leaving Star Wars after putting “Andor” out to the world. We need more stories like “Andor” in the world of Star Wars, perhaps we’d find our way out of the drought we’re in now.