Everyone's Rebellion

If only last night's Andor wasn't so short! I get it, though, they're doing this three episode arc structure. I wish Disney had just decided to release three episodes at a time in perpetuity. But make no mistake, I thought last night's episode was brilliant. I'm going to talk about it by listing some of the best moments.

Karn's Horrible Mother

You can't help feeling for the guy as she pitilessly cuts him down with a constant, passive aggressive barrage. And you can tell from his sullen attitude that he's been dealing with it all his life.

The Imperial Who Would be Prelate

This is a very small moment but I love the Imperial officer getting offered a hotel as his HQ and then he immediately asks for a title that comes with no additional pay. It's a detail that felt so real world, like occupying Nazi forces or any number of other military glutting on their power over newly conquered territory.

Cassian Knowing Hands

In practicing their soldier march, Cassian remarks on how soldiers should be placed with regards to whether or not their right or left handed. Vel interrupts and quizzes Cassian to find he knows the dominant hand of every member of the Rebel group. Once again, we see Cassian's keen eye at work. This time it earns him some more respect from his new comrades. It also shows Vel is a capable leader because she's able to operate from a perspective of the bigger picture--she sees what's important about what Cassian just said beyond its immediate relation to the task at hand. I saw one critic remark about episode three that it's redundant to show that Cassian is perceptive and clever again and again but I would argue that perceptive and clever people don't stop being perceptive and clever just because you know they are. This is Cassian's superpower and what's the fun of a superpower that doesn't get regular exercise?

Mon Mothma's Whole Family Hates Her

Poor Mon Mothma. Her husband has evidently turned their daughter against her. The teenage girl's arguments about her mother being hateful and selfish aren't really logical but they're the kind of thing a rebellious teen might say who's been steered subtly to a certain faction.

Some people might say all the focus on family drama is not like Star Wars. But I'd say this show is more Star Wars than Star Wars has been in a long time. Take yourself back to the first time you saw A New Hope, If you managed to avoid spoilers on Luke's parentage, he was just a teenager on Tatooine who hated the Empire but didn't see how he could get involved. His surrogate parents were overly protective and he chaffed against it. Then one day he came home and found their charred corpses on the ground, courtesy of the Empire. It's a powerful moment that substantially fuels his motivation going forward. And yet, in all the Star Wars media that came afterward, we rarely got anything like it. Now we have someone like Karis whose backstory involves a brother whose lands were taken by the Empire, who killed himself. As Vel says, everyone has their own Rebellion. It's all personal for these people.

Andor is available on Disney+.