MLGG: Pop Culture News, Reviews and Interviews

Cassian’s nightmarish incarceration goes from bad to worse, as word spreads of a major problem in another area of the facility and a co-worker’s health deteriorates. Syril Karn may finally make his mother proud, but makes a creepy move that may cost him yet again. ISB Officer Meero begins her questioning of someone close to Andor and meanwhile, Mon Mothma’s outward political situation is falling apart – with her clandestine activities also in difficulty too.

I’ve often spoken of my concern about Andor being yet another prequel show that would be pretty much pointless, yet I have never been happier to have been proven so spectacularly wrong, week after week.

All of the threads of Andor’s layered narrative are as compelling as each other; to see them coming together so masterfully is also wonderful to behold.

Andor’s prison continues to feel suffocating, oppressive and claustrophobic – with escape on his mind, Andor pushes his luck in trying to get information on the facility, leading to one hell of a payoff in the final sequence. Andy Serkis is, of course, superb in his role here – but then what else do you expect from one of the finest actors in the world?

It’s not just the prison facility that feels oppressive and suffocating though; almost all of the characters are trapped in some way in prisons of a more metaphorical nature, sometimes willingly but others less so.

There’s such a tangible texture to Andor’s universe; it’s an absolute triumph of art design, sets, props and costumes. Where CGI is used, it’s done sparingly and in a way that doesn’t distract; the series has a really old school feel and its focus on genuine drama, with believable and deep characters, marks it out as something very special in the Star Wars universe.

Though when it comes to the big picture and even, on a smaller scale, the fate of some characters, we know what’s going to happen, the real trick of Andor is in adding such vivid texture to a story which has a foregone conclusion. That we continue to be enthralled and wrapped up in the developments of these previously unseen pockets of the universe demonstrates just how brilliantly absorbing Andor is.

Andor doing this with little in the way of fan service cameos or dialogue makes it feel even more special too – though many Star Wars fans may be turned off by its reliance on drama and political commentary rather than the usual surface level Space Nazis vs Plucky Underdogs action, the rest of us have been blessed with perhaps the best live action Star Wars drama yet told.

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