“Andor” starring Diego Luna has had its first three episodes released today, and unlike past shows such as “Kenobi” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” it’s actually not bad.
“Kenobi” and “The Book of Boba Fett” were bad due to their bad writing and overblown fan service. Showing a beloved character took precedence over making a good show. They also made their main characters worse in retrospect as well, with Kenobi now being displayed as a weak, foolish man and Boba Fett as a boring coward. So when they have a character who was somewhat developed in a spin-off movie like Cassian Andor, they have a lot to work with and make sure he keeps in character.
Andor’s character in “Rogue One” was that of a backstabbing assassin, who constantly lied and killed for a cause he was growing weary of. Thankfully, his character has remained intact for this show, and that is all due to Tony Gilroy, the lead writer and showrunner of the show. Gilroy also co-wrote “Rogue One,” on which Andor is based. But before we go into the show itself, talking about the bad is still important, but it’s a short list.
This could be a problem with Disney+ on a streaming error or uploading the wrong version, but there are no subtitles for parts where there is “alien language.” This happens a lot in the first three episodes when Andor has flashbacks, where the only thing that is spoken is the native alien language. This didn’t make it hard to understand what was going on as reading body language and observing what is happening worked, but I’m not sure if subtitles were meant to be included. If they weren’t meant to have subtitles for this section, then that’s not something bad on the part of the show, but usually, they have subtitles when aliens speak.
Now in terms of good, the story is actually interesting this time and the characters aren’t half bad. There will be no spoilers in this review, so this will be brief. Each episode lasted around 35 minutes, but the show definitely had a slower pace, something desperately needed to flesh out characters.
The story of the first three episodes revolves around Cassian Andor trying to escape a planet after killing two police officers in a brutal fashion. This then introduces us to the best character so far in the show: Syril, played by Kyle Soller. His character is one of a stoic and unfaltering officer who is tough but has never seen battle. His wimpy speech in episode two was amazing, as he tries to come across as strong but ends up looking weak to the men he is supposed to command. Diego Luna as Cassian Andor does a good job too, but nothing stands out.
One thing that stood out was the lack of overusing of green screens in the show. Instead of relying on them, they opted to shoot on real locations and only green screens for the background or when it was absolutely needed. This made the show feel more real compared to other Disney shows and makes the show look much better overall. Another great piece was the music. It wasn’t overbearing and was used when needed, letting slower or character-centered moments feel more dramatic and real.
Overall, the show is heading in a great direction, something that was not expected going in. Hopefully, the show can maintain its good standings, and not end up like the other shows.
Rating: 4/5
