Yes, the new Andor series takes us back to a known Star Wars character with a known fate. Notwithstanding, there is no question that the series will also give us something, many things, we’ve not seen in the franchise before, or have only seen in glimpses. The Empire, the galactic civil war, both affect billions of beings beyond our favorite scoundrels, princesses, and Jedi. Andor will illustrate that in full detail, and show us just how much the galaxy’s strife will whip its denizens into a rebellious frenzy. It’s backstory, but it’s new storytelling. That’s good, right? In sadly, stereotypical fashion, many fans don’t think so. Thus the age-old Star Wars question rears its ugly head – Will the fan base ever be satisfied?
There is a far greater galaxy far, far away than what we’ve seen the predominantly hero-centric stories thus far…. But we’ve barely seen any of it. Granted, Rogue One showed how non-lightsaber-wielders can also be heroes. Solo showed us a bit of the criminal underworld, but honestly, nothing particularly substantive. The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, while gritty, are still steeped in nostalgia. Andor really is something new; it’s dark, complex, morally ambiguous, deeper, and more thought provoking than prior Star Wars entries. But because it’s more introverted in terms of development, fans are decrying it as “boring,” “slow,” and “bland.”
Why aren’t Star Wars fans satisfied with Andor?
The comments above are just a smattering from the Star Wars Facebook post about the Andor series. One commenter even goes so far as to call the show “garbage.” Another deems it “forgettable.” Still, others are loving it and watching it with a completely different perspective. Reading all the social media comments makes me question whether many fans are capable of accepting something different at this point. Perhaps it’s not the content that’s dividing the fan base, but complacency.
One comment seems to nail the conundrum on its head (which I’ll repeat here with punctuation and without the ALL-CAPS of the original):
“Oh no! It’s not all explosions and lasers! This show is boring because I hate depth of character, which is actually the crux of storytelling!”
That… is actually not too far off base.
Is the pace to blame, or fans’ lack of patience?
We’ve grown accustomed to stories starting off with a bang, for sure. From the opening battle of A New Hope, to the chaotic commencement of Revenge of the Sith, to the events of Order 66 opening The Bad Batch, Star Wars typically gets to the action in a hurry. Andor, of course, doesn’t do that. But… it doesn’t need to, and shouldn’t. It’s not that kind of story. Yo’re not going to see lightsabers and “hero” battles. It’s a crime and espionage drama. In it we’ll see the true seeds of rebellion planted and sown. Maybe this isn’t for everyone, and that’s fine. What saddens me, though, is how quickly fans jump to judge the series on three episodes because it’s not what they’re used to. That’s a shame, because the series looks to be a compelling journey through the previously unseen underside of the galaxy far, far away.
Andor airs Wednesdays on Disney+.
I’m as baffled as you are JJ. I’ll preface my remark with saying I’m an unconditional fan from all the way back in ’77, there hasn’t been anything Star Wars that I haven’t liked. I saw someone refer to Andor as the “Deadwood” of the Star Wars franchise and they may be onto something there. It’s a wind-up drama, like a western along with the suspicion of trust…which makes for a wonderful series overall. I also appreciate the pedestrian nature of the show, showing us the inside and everyday environment of it’s denizens. In answer to your question about the current state of Star Wars audiences, I think it’s “them” who’ve changed. I believe there’s this feeling that the studio owes them something of an entitlement, I hear the phrase, “The Star Wars that we deserve” a lot. Sadly, it’s really not the way fandom works and to be fair, I think any long standing franchise has these struggles of delivering a massive product to a vast audience that has so many various wants and desires from it. It’s also a fad now to slam something and degrade it, it gets attention and it’s kind of like a game to see who can say the worst about it and how fast. I think social media craves debate and attention from its citizens, Star Wars just happens to be a good subject to throw in the middle. I’m thrilled to have Star Wars available and at the forefront again, if you had told me 15 years ago I could watch Star Wars on television every week, I’d had thought you were insane. Andor is good and compelling and it may be a bit of an uphill battle but I’m in it for the long haul.