The history of Star Wars as a franchise has been mired in mismanagement and poor creative decisions since Disney's acquisition of its parent company, Lucasfilm. Even with a promising start with Episode VII - The Force Awakens and a rather impressive standalone prequel in the shape of Rogue One, the narrative of the franchise seemed to be going nowhere. 

This was followed by movies and TV shows that have been met with mixed reviews. With the release of TV shows and movies that felt both overwhelming and a little too similar, I, along with many other fans of the franchise, had mostly given up hope of seeing something truly exceptional come out from this period of Star Wars. 

Andor felt like a completely fresh experience from the get-go. A departure from the over-reliance on fanservice to gain any traction and relying instead on anxiety-inducing storytelling helps Andor stand out. The story removes itself almost entirely from the sort of cookie-cutter style of content Disney has gathered a reputation for. Instead, what we get is 12 episodes diving deep into the effects of fascism and how rebellion is born on a grassroots level under an oppressive landscape. 

Sometimes, Andor does not even feel like a Star Wars product, and that's part of the show's strength. It requires nothing from the viewer if you understand the basic idea of Star Wars, which is an evil empire vs rebels trying to fight them. 

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Then, Andor makes perfect sense. It uses the shiny coat of paint that is the world of Star Wars and manages to tell a story of human characters and their reactions to the constantly shifting world around them. 

The story primarily focuses on the titular character, Cassian Andor. Reprising his role from Rogue One, Diego Luna gives an incredibly layered performance of an everyman with more history and scars than meets the eye. He is introduced as the protagonist who is searching for his sister, running into trouble with galactic police officers on his quest. 

One small event leads to another, leading to Andor's escape from his home world. The build-up to the events, as well as the world where the events take place, are breathtaking. Not a single scene feels wasted as we progress from one arc to another and Andor finds himself in conflict against the empire in more ways than one.

In many ways, Andor is extremely true to the spirit of Star Wars without trying to fill it with pointless fanservice that does not add anything compelling to the story. What little callback there is has been handled with meticulous care and with honest storytelling in mind. Even the antagonists are written to be unique, and yet somehow, they all collectively add something new to the imperialist system the entire galaxy seems to be suppressed by. 

The great effort in making sure that the political commentary is imbued deep within the core of this story is at once fascinating and completely out of the left field for a corporation that likes to play it safe like Disney. 

And honestly, everyone should give this a watch. Even the non-Star Wars fans. 

Raian thinks sometimes. But only sometimes. Send him thoughts at IG @raian_is_burning