Star Wars discussion (SPOILERS INCLUDED)

[Kane]

Fantastic start. Love that there will be 12 eps, too.

[DigitalGypsy66]

The Rolling Stone article/interview I posted here said the original plan was to do 5 seasons of 6 episodes each, with each season taking place over a year. Then they started doing the math on it, and it would've taken like 10+ years to finish, and Diego Luna would be too old to play the same character .
So they decided on 2 12 episode seasons, where this first season takes place over a year, and next season will have time jumps (I think 3 episodes per time period) and lead right up to Rogue One. Which I'm feeling is due for a rewatch.

[Gaucho]

only 2 seasons?

[DigitalGypsy66]

Yes, but 24 total episodes! Not the 6 or 8 or 9 (She Hulk, ugh) of most Disney+ Star Wars or Marvel Shows.

[tifosi77]

DG They just re-released Rogue One theatrically in some markets, so you might want to check local availability. (I missed my window here, unfortunately; puppy stuff)

[nocera]

I've only watched the premiere so far but good god this is on another level than Kenobi or Fett. I'm not going to get into the whole debate on the Volume again but the production level of Andor is so far beyond those shows. The writing as a whole appears to be on a higher level as well. Obviously it helps that Diego Luna is fantastic.

Rogue One is easily the best post Lucas Star Wars movie and this could very well end up being the best Star Wars series. It's off to a good start anyway.

By the way, House of the Dragon uses the Volume as well but does so sparingly and with much greater success than Kenobi or Fett. So yes, it's not the tool the sucks.

[DigitalGypsy66]

DG They just re-released Rogue One theatrically in some markets, so you might want to check local availability. (I missed my window here, unfortunately; puppy stuff)

Yeah, I guess we missed it too. (In related re-release news, Avatar is playing in 3D here this weekend. My kids recently watched it on Disney+ and loved it, so we might go and see it in full 3D in the theater)

[eddy]

How's Andor hold up for the younger crowd?

[tifosi77]

Andor Eps 1-3 according to Tif

- This...

...is not Republic insignia. It's the logo of the Confederacy of Independent Systems - the Separatists, or 'Seps'. So when younger Maarva kidnapped saved young Kassa fearing that he'd get done for killing a 'Republic officer', I'm not sure what's going on there. I double checked it on Wookieepedia this AM, and they describe it there as a Sep shipwreck. Cassian's homeworld was the location of a major mining accident that we see the fallout of through his opening flashbacks, one that was covered up by the Empire, so maybe that plays into this discrepancy somehow? Maybe it will prove to be a plot twist rather than a plot hole? Let's remember that the Seps were lead by Count Dooku at the outset; he's well dead by this point, but the whole existence of the Confederacy (at least the SW version) was to provide a pretext for Darth Jar-Jar to invoke emergency powers and give Palpatine the control of the Senate so he could control both sides of the Clone War and found the Empire. The whole Sep movement was an elaborate false flag operation, that was disbanded/abolished BBY19, which is roughly the same point in the timeline as Kassa's abduction liberation. I dunno. Just kind of a 'huh' moment for me.

- In the words of Ryan Arey, "this Star War f**ks".

- While the foundry shootout was cool in a vacuum, I felt the scene played on for far too long and it lost momentum. You don't have to make Cassian try to recover the Starpath box thingy three or four times to establish its importance (or rather, to underscore his importance to the larger picture instead of the box thingy). Out of context the scene was cool to watch two weeks ago, but in the continuity of the episode it was overwrought, especially we're cutting from that shootout to another action piece right after. A tremendously minor complaint, and one that is a much better problem to have than Deborah Chow's handing of action for 99% of OWK.

- Cassian's motive here is a bit thin imo. We haven't yet seen the flashback that shows his father's death, so maybe that will be filled out later. But for now, he goes from accidentally killing one dude in a street fight, to outright murder a minute later, to terrorism in like one day cycle. And in the midst of this break to bad he spares the new antagonist through the magical powers of Plot Armor.

- I was not a GoT person, but from what little I know about it this Maarva person gives me Lady Olenna vibes (in a good way). Is that off base?

- New bad guy Syril (Figgis?) is in for some trouble. Never mind his realistic portrayal of freezing in battle/PTSD/whatever you want to call it. His boss straight up told him to concoct a cover story for the loss of the two guards and be done with it, and instead he got like 8 or 9 more employees killed, lost a ship, incited a riot on Ferrix, and gave birth to the spy who will go on to steal the Death Star 1 plans and ultimately bring about the downfall of the Empire. womp womp

- The new merchandising opportunity droid is pretty great. I was immediately as invested in it as I was any of the people. lol

- From a casting POV I was a little bit confused at first as to what was going on. Lt Horn Dog Bix bears a strong resemblance to the people of Kassa's tribe on Kenari. So I wasn't quite sure if she was meant to be a refugee like him, or what the connection was there.

- Speaking of, great touch having all the children of Kenari wearing grown up clothes that don't fit. Did I miss something that explains this? Were only grown ups affected by the mining accident/gas spill that turned people's faces yellow?

- The costume design of this iteration of SW (including Rogue One) is extremely textural and rich. There's so much world building going on just in how people dress, it's fantastic.

- The bell ringer dude is excellent. It's significant that this task is left for a human to perform imo, highly ritualistic.

- Speaking of hints of religiosity.......... does Maarva have a Kyber crystal in her necklace hanging from the cockpit of her ship?

- The buildup to the foundry shootout was absolutely tremendous, as good as any chunk of SW before imo. All the townspeople clanging on bits of junk, clearly as a signal not as random noise as Sgt Weeble suggested. And the silence....... so great. And the resolution, the brief montage of the fallout of what preceded was absolute *chefs kiss*, and encapsulates exactly why Rogue One is my favorite SW movie. I was 4 yrs old when SW was released unto the world, but I'm a grown up now. These stories aren't antiseptic. There are consequences to be had. My favorite was the yard worker who strung up the drop ship and caused it to crash (nice homage to George Lucas "American Graffiti" btw) quietly having a drink by himself in the bar after all was said and done. "Well, I'm a Rebel now...." Just so good.

Questions/nitpicks are of an exceedingly minor nature that may yet be resolved in subsequent storytelling. And the few complaints are also pretty thin if I'm honest. Overall, this is how you tell a prequel story. We already know how Cassian's story ends, but I am invested in the how-he-got there part in a way that OWK or the prequel trilogy never managed.

[tifosi77]

I've only watched the premiere so far but good god this is on another level than Kenobi or Fett. I'm not going to get into the whole debate on the Volume again but the production level of Andor is so far beyond those shows. The writing as a whole appears to be on a higher level as well. Obviously it helps that Diego Luna is fantastic.

Rogue One is easily the best post Lucas Star Wars movie and this could very well end up being the best Star Wars series. It's off to a good start anyway.

By the way, House of the Dragon uses the Volume as well but does so sparingly and with much greater success than Kenobi or Fett. So yes, it's not the tool the sucks.

It never was the tool.

[nocera]

Source of the post It never was the tool.

Agreed. It's the overuse of the tool, which I feel like I pointed out in this original debate but I'm too lazy to go back and fact check. Kenobi and Fett look bush league compared to Andor and it's mostly due to that.

[DigitalGypsy66]

How's Andor hold up for the younger crowd?

My teenagers loved it. YMMV.

[eddy]

How's Andor hold up for the younger crowd?

My teenagers loved it. YMMV.

hopefully watching all 3 tonight. Can't wait

[nocera]

Watched 2 and 3 today and they just confirmed what I already knew. This show is great. It’s the first Disney+ series that feels like a legit show that could be on HBO or AMC. I’m excited to see how the rebellion comes into to play.

[Gaucho]

[tifosi77]

Here's how good Andor is: After three episodes, I actually don't care that it's Star Wars.

That said, there are some super duper arcane SW references going on. From spacecraft in the deep background of the salvage yard, to Cassian's handgun, there's some fan service happening if you know where to look and what you're looking at.

(And despite the public comments, I'm not sold that Stagecraft wasn't used on this show at all, but whatever)

[Beveridge]

I've been continuing my watch of Clone Wars. Season 4 has been enjoyable, which I'm counting as a payoff for sticking with it for the first 3 seasons.

[Dickie Dunn]

[nocera]

This might be a hot take, but maybe retire Vader too. At least for a while. After Kenobi, I’m thinking less is more. If there’s a good story to tell, I’d be all in. Kenobi wasn’t it though.

[Dickie Dunn]

I want a Vader series but feel like the opportunity has been missed.

[nocera]

I’m sure there’s a Vader comic or novel or animated series that could be adapted to live action but it better be a damn good story to warrant it. There’s obviously a large time gap between 3 and 4 where stories could take place but throwing Vader in something just for the sake of Vader doesn’t really interest me. We saw the beginnings and we’ve seen the conclusion of his character. I’d be into seeing him at the height of his power but it has to mean something and enhance what we already know.

[nocera]

Side note: I’m stunned that Vader’s voice in Kenobi was Respeecher, not James Earl Jones recording new dialogue. That’s impressive. Apparently the last time he voiced the character was ROTS.

[tifosi77]

Jones recorded new dialog for both Rebels and Rogue One, if I'm not mistaken.

[eddy]

Very much enjoyed first episode of Andor, for a while there, my brain kept thinking I was watching a blade runner series. It was also more star warsy than I thought it would be.

[Gaucho]

but also less so in a good way