Star Wars has traditionally drawn very clear lines between good and evil. The Light Side of the Force is about compassion, healing, and living at one with the galaxy, while the Dark Side is all manipulation, murder, and cackling manically as you blast people with Force Lightning. And also blowing up planets for no good reason.
But just because it’s easy to pick out who to root for in a galaxy far, far away doesn’t necessarily mean every character is neatly categorized. As far back as A New Hope, Han Solo was introduced as a smuggler who’s simply concerned about being paid, with the flipside being a bounty hunter like Boba Fett who’ll take a job for the Empire, but isn’t necessarily evil.
This blurring of the lines came to the forefront in Rogue One and Andor, which has shown that you can’t effectively fight the Empire without getting your hands dirty. Now, eight episodes into the Disney Plus show, fans are saying this is one of the best aspects of the franchise:
But it’s worth underlining that in Andor the Empire is more believably evil than it’s ever been:
Most people end up looking pretty good when contrasted against the outright evil of the Dark Side:
Is it more of a ‘black and grey’ conflict?
Other Star Wars shows have shown that the Republic wasn’t a shining example of good government:
Those with direct experience are finding a lot to recognize here:
It’s been frequently observed that Andor is very different tonally from other Star Wars media, with a genuinely mature outlook on the franchise that’s distinct from Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett. We’re here for that, although it must be said that the relatively low viewing figures compared to other Star Wars shows indicate it’s not for everyone.
Published: Oct 28, 2022 05:22 am