Kassa

The premiere episode is a fairly good start to the series. I usually don't expect much out of the very first episode of any series. This episode was not a dynamic or an explosive episode for me, and I'm okay with that.

Beginning with the critical feedback, I'm not entirely sure where this series is heading despite being the first episode. I also was caught off-guard on the shortness of the episode runtime. I seriously didn't realize the episode was concluded until the ending credits rolled.

The first act of the episode was the strongest in my opinion. The suspense in one particular scene really showed Andor's threatening nature very well.

This episode only marks the beginning and I just look forward to more episodes in the future.

I'm sorry, but no. This has the best acting, writing, visuals, directing, and atmosphere out of any recent Star wars project... There ain't no way the fandom is gonna unanimously agree on everything, I get it, however this has some of the most care I've seen outside of the animated projects put into it. This FEELS like a team of people that spent time and effort on every little thing and it's really a shame that there are some individuals that would rather see 30 plus minutes of mindless action than watch a story start to unfold into something greater. I feel like for the first time in a long time that Star Wars is growing up... I only hope some of the more critical of this show will too.

So with the long stream of Disney star wars titles and spin offs you start to develop an expectation for these shows. What we have come to expect is on full display in the sequel trilogy:

Fast paced, light on plot. Explosions, light sabres. Useless storm troopers, more explosions. Character development...nah don't need that. More explosions. New light sabre. Floating rocks. Callbacks callbacks callbacks.

With that In mind I set my expectations pretty low for Andor. But wow. This is completely different, in fact it's good, very good...

Andor sets the tone right out the gate. It's gritty and dark, it has a sense of desperation. This is achieved through the visuals but also through the very natural dialogue. (This is a massive step up for star wars) the characters in this show talk like real people. They seem to have real problems and motives. In terms of tone It sits somewhere between the original trilogy and bladerunner. The result of solid dialogue is that it grounds the show in a sense of realism. Real world, real characters, real consequences. This is a recipe for real tension! Which is great for fans. One of the pitfalls here though is we already know the main character survives. Which is difficult to work with as a director when your job is to put the audience on the edge of their seat. It will be interesting to see how they work with this.

In terms of story we get a basic introduction to a few of the characters. (New droid is pretty cool) Some will argue it's "boring" but that's not the case. What the sequel trilogy and many of the spin off shows lack in the extreme is proper character development. And that's what this show is building. It respects the audience's intelligence and it's taking it's time with a more mature approach. It shows a different side to the star wars universe. Something "Solo" touched on but was never fully realised.

Overall I'm very pleased to see them produce something with this level of care. The practical effects, the slick dialog and believable characters sure there are easter eggs mixed in there but it seems for once the characters and the story are front and centre.

It really is a massive step in the right direction. I look forward to more.

Cassian searches for someone and runs into trouble.

This is a strong start to the series.

There is a great atmosphere generated in the opening scenes that sets the tone and re-introduces the central character very well. It's hard to judge other aspects of the plot at such an early stage in the series as it feels like it is slow burning towards something whilst showing various locations and people.

The feeling of paranoia is nicely established in multiple character exchanges. I like the politics involved in regional governance which is portrayed well in a number of scenes involving various officials.

I think the dialogue and performances are a cut above anything we've seen so far in the Star Wars streaming shows. Diego Luna and the supporting cast do a great job.

It feels like it ends quite abruptly, which is odd considering 3 episodes were released on the same day.

...But also, the only D+ show that actually feels like a real TV Show and not a 2-hour movie split into parts, and not bound by the weird 6-episode-only formula of MCU shows that surprisingly makes the writers both drag the first half of the show and also rush the ending with lots of lost potential.

This episode is the opener of the season and is obviously gonna be an introduction with fewer big events or explosions and action and all that, and I think that's why they released 3 episodes first and I'm assuming the 3rd is gonna end on a cliffhanger or something. The point I'm trying to make is that the show seems a slow burn and I actually like they're going this route and laying their plot this way instead of rushing or giving us pointless action just to keep the kids' attention span on the screen.

And that's also why I'm giving it a 7 because it is a competent start but nothing mindblowing or amazing yet.

This show's writing also continues the way of Rogue One's character building and giving characters backstory which I really liked about Rogue One as opposed to the Sequels. Even though this is like the simplest and most clichéd way of characterization, doesn't mean it's not gonna work and is definitely better than wasting 3 big movie budgets and +6 hours of our lives on a character with no name of family or backstory. And I am in no way trying to say that a character without flashbacks and backstory about his/her parents/siblings doesn't work at all, it's just that they went out of their way to find the most horrible way to implement this point about that character. This was the reason why many people liked Jyn and not Rey, cause her story was personal and she had the least amount of characterization and something that made us care about her character.

So like I said, they actually give backstory to the protagonist here and make the story personal just like Rogue One. One of the main reasons Star Wars became so huge was because of this personal storytelling and characters being each other's sons and sisters. It's space family soap opera after all.

So it's a competent start and did a good job of reintroducing Cassian Andor and giving him a competent backstory. Though I am getting a little tired of seeing flashbacks all the time in these shows. So let's hope these were the only ones or at least.

And also here's hoping the show is actually what it's looking to be and won't be incompetently written like every MCU show so far or the horrible Obi-Wan show written by a 5-year-old, and isn't rushed in the last few episodes, which by the looks of the number of episodes, it doesn't seem that way.