Tom Bissell -> Andor (Off-Topic)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, 09:07 (1 day, 11 hours, 28 min. ago) @ Coaxkez

I've never seen anything animated. It's not the animation, but the content. I loved the first season of Arcane, for instance, but I've never seen anything to indicate that the animated Star Wars stuff approaches that level. It is for kids, right? No offense to you, but I'm just not interested. For one thing, it holds no sentimental value for me at all.

Rebels is definitely for kids. They do a lot of "all-ages" stories that have something for everybody, but there are also a fair few outright slapstick episodes that are clearly written to appeal to ten year olds. I have a young son, so that's my entry point into the show, but it does also appeal to me on an "inner child" sort of level.

I get your position on the whole juvenile aspect of Star Wars. Maybe growing up with the entire original trilogy as a monolith alters the way I perceive it. For me, that's just part of what it is. You either like it or you don't. It's cool if it's not your bag.

The Clone Wars kind of grows with its audience. The first season is full of silliness like Jar Jar Binks being mistaken for a Jedi and then having to play the part in order to get them out of a jam (yes, really), so it feels a lot more like a kid's show early on, but then by season six, they were doing entire three-episode arcs about banking deregulation. I wouldn't say it ever rises above the level of YA, but it's a very eclectic blend of stories. Again, to me, that's just part of what it is. Part of the charm of Star Wars is the fact that it's all over the place tonally. George Lucas is the kind of guy who puts slapstick comedy with battle droids in the same movie as lingering close-ups of a dude getting burned alive.

Based on what you've said, though, I can guarantee that neither show is for you.

Andor is something else entirely. It's not for anyone who wants or expects their Star Wars to appeal to their inner kid. The worst thing about it is that it's Star Wars, and has all the associations of Star Wars. It has much more in common with The Sopranos, The Wire, Game of Thrones, or especially John LeCarre novels. It's a savvy exploration of authoritarianism informed by a knowledge of history, human behavior and relationships, and how rebellions are born. If someone wants lightsabers, it's not their show, but it is S-tier television, straight up.

"The worst thing about it is that it's Star Wars," LOL, I've heard this sentiment from certain critics as well. That it's an incredible show "hiding" inside of the Star Wars universe.

I think there is plenty of room within the franchise for different perspectives. There are plenty of fans like me enjoy the animated content, but there should absolutely be projects geared toward fans who are looking for something more substantial and adult-oriented. I'm all in favor of that. There is plenty of room under the tent. Not everything needs to be whiz-bang action-adventure all the time, and I do agree that the Bill Burr episode was the best part of The Mandalorian, so I think Andor would appeal to me as well.

Totally agree with your last paragraph. I sounded anti-kid in my comments, but it's because Andor deserves an audience made up of people who either don't or no longer like Star Wars, and I'm willing to bet that, for many, their dismissiveness has to do with thinking of it as kid stuff. I do enjoy things made for kids. I will never stop loving the original trilogy in part because I was a kid when I was first exposed to it. I also think there's plenty of room under the Star Wars tent (so does the creator of Andor). Andor gave me something I didn't know could exist: Star Wars taken seriously. Not trying to be a snob, but I'm 61. Time is fleeting. I stopped watching Marvel content after the first Avengers movie because the time investment involved wasn't worth it to me anymore. My teenage self would be all over it, but I'm not him anymore.