A love letter to Andor and Tony Gilroy
01/06/2025
Forty years after the release of Return of the Jedi, the original Star Wars trilogy has finally received the sequel it deserved. I'm talking, of course, about Andor, and particularly its second season.
Let me start with the conclusion: Andor is "just" an excellent, well-written, well-acted, well-directed, well-filmed, intelligent, genuine, relatable, respectful-of-its-viewers, compelling, dystopian science fiction show. Which happens to be set in the Star Wars universe. And that's precisely what elevates it beyond its own merits: basically, it represents everything I had hoped to see since the original trilogy.
Forty years of waiting, forty years of hope consistently disappointed by deceptive sub-par crap, up to the point where I didn't give a f*ck anymore.
And then this. Andor.
I still can't quite believe that Disney actually handed the largest budget in Star Wars history1 to a man and a team who understand cinema, respect the viewers and care about the source material. What a strange timeline we're living in! Speaking of which, if you give this show a try, you will see, hear and feel where every penny went (spoiler: not in crappy CGI). "Production value" is the consacrated term, right? It's one of the biggest star here.
To understand the power of this show, do this calculation: take the awesome job the production team did, multiply it by the aura of legend the original trilogy carries, and multiply that again by the infinite amount of disappointment its fans endured during the last forty years. If you're not particularly attached to the original movies and never particularly felt betrayed by the avalanche of mediocre sequels, you will just see in Andor a solid and well-shaped sci-fi show. But for the others—like me—it's like a miracle. This is finally another piece of Star Wars to add to our personal canon, finally a new Star Wars worth rewatching.
It's fun that the two best pillars of the Star Wars universe are complete opposites: manichaeism versus nuance, grand destinies versus anonymity, big explosions versus quiet manipulations, and fast action versus the slow progression of a political agenda.
There are multiple elements that we, the viewers, can relate to, but one that stands out, is the chilling depiction of fascism slowly making its way into a democracy. The tactics feel disturbingly familiar: disinformation, media control, spread of forged narratives, manipulation, and (of course) intimidation and overt militarization. We witness the final days of a democracy, leading to that famous Darth Vader line in Episode IV:
The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I've just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.
Yes, there are a few debatable "not-that-great" bits that surface occasionally, driven by the need to connect with other Star Wars media, but it's rare enough not to be a concern. They appear mostly near the very end of Season 2, to align the story with the Rogue One movie. For example, this lone and awkward "May the Force be with you" coming out of nowhere.
Since I finished watching the second season (which, again, is a step above the first), I've been obsessed with understanding why I found it so great. I've been introspecting, watching making-ofs, analyses... and I got the confirmation I was not delusional: I'm not the only one considering it as a great piece of work, made with love by experienced people.
I won't rehash everything I've seen and understood—I'll let you discover by yourself. But if you're still unsure about giving Andor a try, please watch this ten-minute video explaining a few of the elements that make it great. It doesn't cover a lot, but I think if I were doubtful and unwilling to get fooled once more by a Disney turd, this video would have convinced me to at least give it a chance:
perma-link: 202506010000_a_love_letter_to_andor_and_tony_gilroy.md