"Andor” starring Diego Luna has had its fourth episode released today and keeps its slow burn and focus on characters and the world.
Considering the middling reviews from other influencers and media outlets, you could be deterred from watching “Andor” due to it being called ‘boring’ and ‘not having enough callbacks or easter eggs.’ However, this is completely wrong. TV shows are meant to be a slow burn, many of the great shows that are universally praised, such as "Better Call Saul,” "Breaking Bad” and "Game of Thrones” are slow burns. Many of the previous Disney+ shows such as "Kenobi” and "The Mandalorian” rely on the dopamine hits from nostalgia, in which showing something the audience may remember, such as Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker, takes precedents as the writers ‘key-dangle’ the audience instead of writing a decent story.
“Andor” is unique in the way that it stays a television show at its core and not a long movie as some other shows from Marvel or Star Wars have become. We get to learn about characters that are one-offs and get to empathize with them when they succeed and fail. This carries us to episode four, the longest episode yet clocking in at around 40 minutes. It revolves around setting up the new characters for this show, especially the other protagonist Mon Mothra, a senator who is secretly funding and running the Rebellion.
Surprisingly, there isn’t anything terribly bad about this episode besides a few shots of shaky CGI. For the most part the episode was shot practically, using real sets instead of having the characters be on a blue screen. This is important in the scenes with Mon, as the background has to be CGI as it is a city with floating cars. However, what’s especially impressive is the set design, they really went all out and stretched their budget as the sets are extremely detailed and robust.
This episode mainly revolves around Andor meeting a new cast of characters, a group of rebels who will soon attack an Imperial facility to steal their money that would go to Officers' paychecks. This episode was focused on getting the viewer invested in the five new characters that will be the new cast of main characters in the story. Sadly, we do not get a lot more of Sybil, the Corpo Officer from the first three episodes. However, we do see him go to his home and meet his mom after a long time. This episode was definitely a set up for what’s to come, and many people will consider it boring, however it is necessary to understand and get to know this new cast of characters, which I very much appreciate.
This type of show, the one of a slow burn in which the characters are given more focus, should be the new standard for Disney+ shows, as it is night and day compared to every other show that has come out for the streaming platform. “Andor” continues to be a deep and character-centered story, which is deeply appreciated.
Rating: 4/5
