Cassian Andor, the Rebel operative who died retrieving the Death Star plans in Rogue One, gets his own prequel television series in Andor. This 12-episode tale follows him through the years immediately preceding the movie- his troubled past, his difficult present trying to sell stolen Imperial technology, his run-in with Luthen Rael (who tries to get him to join the Rebels), his involvement in a Rebel heist, his subsequent flight to avoid such a life, a later unrelated arrest/escape, and the forebodings of his future. But it's not just about him. We also get a look into Luthen's and Mon Mothma's work for the Rebels- one in the shadows, the other as a senator on Coruscant. And we even get some insights into the Imperial perspective through Syril Karn, obsessed with finding Andor, and Dedra Meero, an Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) supervisor. Can a rag-tag band group of Rebels coaelesce to overcome Imperial might- or is it too little, too late?
This show has its share of fans and critics. My kids called it "good but boring." It was certainly grittier and less action-packed than your typical Star Wars fare, focusing instead on the suspense, sacrifice, and machinations required of those planning a Rebellion. I liked it overall, though I thought there were some plot points that seemed forced or poorly explained. And I could get confused with keeping all the characters and storylines straight.
Ultimately, I see the show's primary value in its portrayal of sacrifice. Multiple characters give of themselves in varied ways for the Rebel cause. Perhaps the most poignant moment of the whole series is this exchange (copied from here):
Lonni Jung: And what do you sacrifice?
Luthen Rael: Calm. Kindness. Kinship. Love. I've given up all chance at inner peace. I've made my mind a sunless space. I share my dreams with ghosts. I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there's only one conclusion, I'm damned for what I do. My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight, they've set me on a path from which there is no escape. I yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost and by the time I looked down there was no longer any ground beneath my feet. What is my sacrifice? I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice? Everything!
Powerful.
Rating: B+
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