Rix Road

I have to admit the series started off slowly, but it was all very important for the set up of what was to come. This was a brilliantly written piece of work, the sets were fantastic and varied (unlike other Star Wars shows), there was tons of wonderful costumes and props that were brilliantly made, albiet sometimes it was a piece of 1970s tech with some tweaks to make it look good (like the colapsable poloroid phone) but then again, this is what makes Star Wars so wonderful. Everyone remembers the guy with the ice cream maker.

Diego Luna does an amazing acting job as Cassian Andor, his acting and range of emotion give the character life and make you feel for his plight. His characters hero arc was perfectly done, from somoeone who just wanted to be left alone to slowly becoming the freedom fighter he would become. I could go on about all the other cast too but no one wants to read a novel. Let's just say the actors playing Imperials did such a good job I REALLY wanted to see them dead.

I don' want to give spoildes so you will read this and decide to watch the episode (though TBH if you are reading this you either already have or pretty much commited to the show) but if you look at my other reviews of movies and shows I do NOT often give out 10s, and I don't like to do it, unless a show is so good it was near perfection. I have given the entirety of the show a 9/10 and know there are those bots designed to pad a show or trolls out to dis a show and I am aware that IMDB tends to ignore 10s and 1s for this reason but I have to give credit where it is due. This is a good show.

Hope they continue this excellence in the future shows.

Whoa, this episode was powerful stuff, taking a huge step back from Sci-Fi fantasy and placing us right in the heart of an experience seen first hand through the centuries right here on planet Earth, things we've seen first hand or through news media, the marching, the tension, the oppressive state holding people down, a simmering anger waiting to boil over, this isn't Star Wars anymore, it's a view outside your own window, wherever your from, whatever your politics. You can't argue that this show is brave and so on point at telling a story that's happening right now on our own planet, and to think it was Disney who gave the nod, for a change I say "well done them."

Cassian returns to Ferrix for the funeral.

This is a very strong finish to the season with great tension and character moments.

The plot mostly follows the funeral from the perspective of several characters and in doing so it gradually increases the tension to a great boiling point moment. This is superbly done by the writers and filmmakers.

It has some very strong scenes of political rebellion against oppression and this is exactly what the story requires. One moment made the hairs on the back stand up and feels like a plausible depiction of a powder keg situation. It all feels part of the Star Wars universe and should be appreciated by fans who admire the underlying themes of the movies and not just the action-adventure aspect.

All the cast are excellent but the standout performance for me is by Fiona Shaw.

As ever the visuals, sound, and editing is superb. Watch out for the mid-credits scene which is another nerdgasm moment and links brilliantly to the Narkina 5 episodes.

Andor has one over-arching narrative: morality will always fight back. Luthen's ideologies work to an absolute pinnacle. The tighter the Empire closes its fist, the more erratic the revolt will be. Take what Nemik's manifesto stated: "The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear." This dialogue is purely stunning.

Episode 12 was no exception to the fantastic storytelling we have come to see from Tony Gilroy and Co. Everything culminates in satisfying fashion on Ferrix; I am beyond excited for the second season.

Andor makes not only Rogue One better; it makes the whole Star Wars universe richer. I now know with a fuller knowledge what the rebels were fighting for in the Original Trilogy.

This TV show was masterfully crafted into a gritty, full and genuine class of storytelling.

Despite the retcons and rebrandings and wiping the name "Slave I" away, some of us remember how Old People Star Wars used to get Oscar nominations. When George Lucas said Star Wars was "for 12-year-old boys", he wasn't wrong, but he also said that to deflect the criticism he knew The Phantom Menace was about to be greeted with. Making things "for kids" in our culture has become an excuse to either not try so hard, or even peddle absolute garbage to a market that just doesn't know better. Kids' shows... kids' breakfast cereals, even. (Face it, kids are tricked into eating junk food to replace a daily meal, and keep doing it until they grow out of it.)

This doesn't pretend to be a kids' show, when Star Wars has become reduced to a string of cliches presented on screen. Obi-Wan Kenobi should have been a walk in the park for Disney to produce an entertaining show that fleshed out characters without straining continuity or insulting the audience who know the characters and situations better than the writers do. No one should have to suffer a Boba Fett mini-series where the Most Notorious Bounty Hunter In Yne Galaxy inexplicably decides to become a humanitarian crime lord without the crime when he's not indulging in lengthy flashbacks that have no relevance to the the scenes before or after and offer no insight into why he's not longer the character audiences tuned in to see.

Yet, amidst this cynical feed trough approach Disney has towards this property, it's a wonder how anyone can bring achieve the creative control over of production values and storytelling reminiscent of Star Wars when we didn't know for 3 years if Han would survive the carbon freeze, of Luke finding the charred bodies of his aunt & uncle, when Han was a drug smuggler, or interrogation droids entered the room with huge hypodermics. Even at its best, Old People Star Wars never even had dialogue this good.

As a single episode, I can't say it tops the previous one for me, but that's still 11 episodes in a row where I went from impressed to genuine amazement at how each was better than the last. Ep12 comes close. Plenty of plot threats are deliberately dangled to line up Season 2. I didn't need to see them all resolved yet, and I'm glad they didn't try to.... But so much develops here!

If you're reading reviews of a season finale, I don't need to tell you to watch the rest first. After a slow start, this series gets it's direction 3 episodes in and each episode stands up to repeat viewings. It's not going to replace the Original Trilogy and it's not a half-asses attempt to keep the ball rolling by retooling and remaking what's already been done to death.

I did not have high hopes - or any hopes at all for this show. I didn't want to see a Cassian Andor spin-off. It's just such a shame hasn't applied the level of care to their previous live-action Star Wars shows (Mandalorian will be the bigger crowd pleaser, but it has filler problems, too much winking at the viewer, and that ugly modern Star Wars plastic look that doesn't match the greasy, rusting patina that used to make Star Wars look "lived-in".

I may not have been spoon-fed everything I wanted from this finale, but I'm in awe at what this 12-episode season has done to explore different corners of the setting and taking the time and care to find nuance and get solid-or-better performances from every speaking role.

Thanks, Tony Gilroy, for not insulting your audience.