Episode finished without me realizing.. I'm super excited for this.. Rogue One was one of my favorite Star Wars movies
definitely better than Obi-Wan Kenobi
Pretty generic sci-fi so far, could be set practically anywhere. This first episode feels like a lot of set up, which feels odd since the characters and scenario are pretty generic. Will give it a few more episodes to see if the show can distinguish itself.
first ep went super quick, but really into this already, love the aesthetics
I don't usually write TV reviews (too daunting of a task, as I watch a lot of TV), but I was so surprised by all of the criticism and lukewarm comments that I felt the need to throw my two cents in. To put it simply, the writing on this show is leaps and bounds above the writing on all other franchise TV released by Disney+ to date (Star Wars/Marvel). Maybe audiences are just used to the blunt force writing we often see in those other shows, where we are spoon fed on the nose dialogue that tells us exactly what is happening and how we should feel about it. I, for one, much prefer some nuance and subtlety in my TV, and that's what this show delivers. We get to piece together Cassian's plan without ever needing the show to spell things out. It's refreshing and engaging.
Moving to the smaller scale writing, I don't know how someone can watch the introduction scene of Syril Karn and Chief Hyne and not recognize the absolutely top notch dialogue, performances, characterization, story telling, etc. It does so many things at once, and it does them all brilliantly. And that's just one scene! The first episode has many that are equally impressive. As far as criticisms go, I will acknowledge that the opening four or five minutes were a little underwhelming. However, once we get to the actual instigating event, which happens around minute seven or eight, we get another example of excellent writing, dialogue, and performances.
All in all, easily the best Star Wars content we've seen since Rogue One.
Very uninteresting pilot. Doesn't leave you looking forward for the next episode.
Just finished the first episode, and I don't really know what I just watched. The only way I knew this was Star Wars was because it's in the title and the set resembles it. No sense yet as to how any of this fits into the timeline.
It feels like ages since I've written something truly positive about a series premiere but this was great.
Such a great atmosphere. So much suspension through sound and visuals only. It feels almost noir at some points. The grittyness is exactly what I wanted to see.
This is rooted so firmly in the Galaxy Far Away and still feels so different from the popcorn Star Wars we usually get. I love that they sidelined the empire without completely taking away its existence and menace.
The bustling streets alone are such a relieve to look at. This feels alive. Completely contrary to how empty and small everything felt in Kenobi.
Bu what convinced me most is characterisation without (many) words. The decision to kill the security guy was really unexpected but gives Andor so much more depth and multidimensionality than the good guy decision could have ever done.
I really really hope this series continues exactly in this style.
Story quality, direction and overall tension. This is so much better than the Obiwan series. I also enjoy seeing characters and situations that aren't really tied to previous Star Wars lore and therefore not shouldering the burden of staying cannon. Basically, I love it and excited. This is a good step in a new direction for Disney and Star Wars as a whole.
Taking under consideration that this was a character I hadn't much interest in to begin with, it was a good start. But that's about all I can say right now as we barely scratched the surface.
He seems to be very dependent on others, though.
This show is fantastic and can't wait for more!
[7.7/10] A good start to the series. There’s strong texture, character introduction, and intrigue to nudge things along, even if the show feels a bit like half an episode rather than a complete thing in the early going.
My favorite part of it is the production design and direction, which, not surprisingly was also the best part of Rogue One. Morlana One and Ferrix feel like living, breathing places. One is a rain-soaked, 1970s corporate-flavored company town with a dark underbelly. The other is a working class berg with earthtones and the hum of activities. Everything, from the hologram at the brothel, to the malfunctioning WALL-E-esque droid named B2EMO, to the secret communication relay Bix uses to contact her buyer seems real and tactile in the best Star Wars tradition. The director of photography and Tony Gilroy find strong framings and ways to emphasize the groundedness of these spaces within a very ungrounded universe, and it’s the thing that compelled me the most.
But “Kassa” also does a good job of introducing its cast. Andor himself is a noble scoundrel, ostensibly searching far and wide for his long lost sister, but also a bit of a shit whose all but exhausted the patience and tolerance of the Ferrix locals whose indulgence he depends on to get by. Antagonist Syril Karn is a myopic, impractical, and uptight corporate security guy who takes his job (and his uniform) too seriously, while freighting his subordinates with unreasonable expectations. The two cut a nice contrast, one scruffy and unreliable but decent in his way, the other well-groomed and doctrinaire but a jerk to practically everyone.
The episode revs up a good story engine. Andor commits one accidental murder in self-defense, and another more deliberate one (albeit of another contemptible jerk) to cover his tracks. Syril is tireless fixated on solving the murder, despite the apathy of his superior. One is doing everything in his power to get the hell out of dodge so he can’t be found, and the other is doing everything in his power to find the culprit. The plot is simple, but there’s character on both sides of it, which makes it easy to latch onto.
So do the rest of the characters. Syril’s boss, Chief Inspector Hyne, is a one-scene wonder, instantly projecting the air of someone who’s seen it all and knows how to swift through the bullshit, even though it’s mostly bullshit. Brasso and Bix are a bit stock as a best friend tired of his pal’s nonsense and a love interest who’s already attached, but they both have a good back-and-forth with Andor, and those relationships feel lived in, which makes it easy to forgive if the dynamics are a bit trite on paper. The scoundrels Andor runs into on the street, and the allies whose patience he tries when covering his tracks all have personality and feel authentic and recognizable in the way Andor bounces of them. There’s a lot of personality in this episode, which helps a lot.
We also get glimpses of his life on Kenari, which feels like scenes from an Inarrito or Mallick film in their way. In a way that recalls the Star Wars Holiday Special of all things, we get no comprehensible dialogue. Just young adults and children from a seemingly primitive village witnessing a spaceship in the sky and prepping for battle or exploration, with hints at brotherly protectiveness, affections for the eldest girl, and curiosity far and wide. It’s a bold choice to go this direction with Cassian’s backstory, and I’m intrigued to see where it goes and how it ties with Andor’s desire to find his sister.
All-in-all, this is more table-setting than narrative progression. But some of that’s inevitable in a first episode, even one in an existing universe. The chance to situate ourselves amongst these characters, this corner of the Star Wars galaxy, and the interplay of who Andor is now and whom he used to be, makes this an encouraging first step into the grimier spaces in which the future roguish rebel plays.
Interesting. Not much action yet but I love the world building in those Star Wars TV shows (makes them much more immersive than the movies).
Cassian Andor is nice, I just wish Jyn Erso could be in it as well (my favorite character from Rogue One).
The new character Bix is already interesting. I hope that we'll get to see more of her - she could be quite cool (like a badass techie).
The first competent Star Wars pilot, if not episode, since Disney buyout. The pilot does take its time to establish its world-building, juxtaposing the meager life of Cassian with the bureaucratic life of Syrill Karn.
I definitely adore the time they take and the way they tell stories by showing: the tense revolving Cassian and his co-workers, the gritty details of droids girding through the dirt taking viewers close to life in the show, the grotesque concrete set representing Prex-More buildings, the unspoken inefficiency of Prex-Mor officers. It almost feels like an episode from The Expanse - and it's good that this show doesn't "feel like Star Wars" because when fans say that it usually only means big screens Star Wars laden with dumb fanservice and not the various kind of storytelling that existed in Star Wars' now-forgotten Expanded Universe.
Certainly the show feels like if Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett had a decent writer and not just fanservice-dishing turd that is Feloni and his gang - kinda exceed my low expectation, but cautiously eager to watch the next episode.
Written after watching the first and second episode back-to-back.rating currently withheld as this isn't really a single episode of anything
Some good, some almost very good, some mediocre. Promising, but not without concerning issues. Ends abruptly in the middle of its own plot, though, so I can't really say I'm judging a single installment of anything. (does not change after episode 2)
Good acting. Good directing. And they obviously spend a lot of money on the visuals.
Mind palate cleanse
On second thought. This is disappointing considering all that could have been done with Cassian's character and all the fan fiction that has doubtless been written with nailbitingly compelling plots. This will have to get very good in the next few episodes to justify its existence. All the films failed to fit into Star Wars, save Rogue One. Mando crashed and burned, its own spinoffs aren't worth mentioning if you want to stay awake, and Kenobi was another exercise in endless corporate interference resulting in plot-begging for the sake of nostalgia-bating and committee appeasement.
Also, just thinking about the New Jedi Order series, and this doesn't have one tenth of the atmosphere and intrigue. And it's not just the lack of Jedi or mention of The Force. That's fine, although they shouldn't completely pretend like everyone in the galaxy has forgotten that they're in Star Wars. The Force, or the distinct lack thereof, is an integral and permeating aspect of the universe and how everything works in it. Oh, and it doesn't just mean fucking lifting rocks. They could never come close to doing Jacen Solo justice, so I really hope they don't try to rip off his character.
Get good or get f**k'd.
If I'm still here after probably episode six then that means something good finally happened.
There are some obviously great elements to this. Cassian’s backstory is not one of them.
I liked the first episode but having no subtitles for when the kids are talking makes it hard to pay attention to the scene since it’s just zoomed in on their faces while they’re talking in “alien language”
I liked the storytelling. It's so nice after this Kenobi shit. But the look doesn't feel actually so much like Star Wars. Was more thinking about Blade Runner.
When asked about taking over Rogue One, Gilroy said he had no trepidation for working on a Star Wars movie. “Because that was my superpower. I don’t like ‘Star Wars’—not that I don’t like it, but I’ve never been interested in ‘Star Wars’ ever, so I had no reverence for it whatsoever, I was unafraid about that and they were in such a swamp… they were in so much, terrible, terrible trouble that all you could do was improve their position.” These words make me question if Gilroy is a bad choice since he doesn't love Star Wars. Maybe he is actually a great choice because he can create new depth to the SW galaxy, using his ability as a screen writer.
I never understood why people praise Rogue One so much. I think the core of Star Wars are its characters, their evolution and their relationships. There is some of this in RO, but it's not the primary part. I'm not saying it's a bad movie, it's actually a good one. But there is no characters I like (a part from K2SO) and it's strange for me to feel this way for a Star Wars movie. I admit some of them had great potential like Jyn and Chirrut.
Star Wars can be a combination of genres, and RO can be seen as a war movie, and it's a good one in this contest. So Rogue One is a good movie, but I don't like it as a Star Wars fan. This topic is a little bit complex to be discussed further here.
Let's talk Andor. It seems the budget is way bigger if you compare it to Obi-Wan Kenobi. You get yourself lost in a galaxy of details. I like the designs, I love the astromech droid. Big budget doesn't always mean good direction, but from this first episode, I can feel the director had the chance to show us the universe and the characters that live in it without rushing. And Haynes took this opportunity and use it for good. There is also a mature way to show the characters journey: no cliché, no hurry to express themself or taking positions. It's a good way to keep you interested in someone, because it takes time to understand them. Just some infos here and there, to tell the viewer there is more to know.
Plus, having no Force, there won't be "magic", you can't get out of situations using some superpowers. It's not a good or a bad thing, but I think the change is nice, you can expand the Star Wars universe this way. I said that, even if I love the Force and Jedi\Sith powers.
It's maybe too early to talk about this in general, I won't watch all the episodes right away, I'll take my time.
The timeline between Episode 3 and 4 is probably my favourite. So I am interested in seeing this series.
That wasn't bad. I still think the lead is dull as dishwater and the show suffers from prequelitis since we know nothing bad can happen to him. I feel sorry for that cop though. Another smart white man trapped in an office full of useless diversity hires.
God I've missed practical effects and actual set design. And this takes the most interesting moment of Rogue One- Cassian's murder- and expands it to really give Diego Luna something to chew on
So, Cassian's not really affiliated with the rebellion yet? And he's looking for his sister? So far, this doesn't really grip me all that much, but maybe it will once the alliance gets involved. Love Diego Luna, but the excitement I had for Rogue One which is easily my favourite SW-movie, still has to happen.
This show might be asking for a tad more active energy than I'd like at the moment but it's objectively a quality show. it's great to see the man who should have been the protagonist for rogue one shine here though. we jump straight in with Cassian and he's just instantly compelling like he was in rogue one. Diego Luna plays his desperate here really well without overacting. (the subtly is in the eyes).
I also love how the show instantly conveys its settings and the social politics of both the planet Cassian is on and the corporate setting without tedious exposition. Don't get me wrong we are delivered info but the show trusts its audience to be paying attention rather than force-feeding us which is why it isn't a laid-back show but it does make for a rewarding watch. The plot is thick from the very beginning and the stakes and character motivations for Cassian are given to us in the first few scenes of the show
one thing I do consistently appreciate about Disney era star wars is the stellar set and costume design. SW has done the planet fringes of the Galaxy thing before but it does shine especially well here. there's just so much character and detail in even background characters that were fun to take in and really helped with that instant rich worldbuilding I was talking about. the vibes here were great and I'm living for it.
Overall really a good pilot. Not sure If I'm gonna inhale this one like I did Moon Knight cause it does feel more intricate but I do feel really compelled to get to the second episode.
Definitely a slow burn. After the strong opening reminder of what Andor is capable of, this is largely just setting the stage, but sets it well, with its simultaneous focus on Andor's past and present, nice exploration of the Corporate Sector with the Empire looming in the background, a lovably broken droid, a villain who's evilness comes from corporate middle management aspirations (I've literally worked for guys just like this), and another deep dive into the wretched hive of scum and villainy side of the Star Wars universe.
Okay, 2nd rewatch, months apart and I gave up on the show from Episode 1 previously, so from the next episode, it's new territory.
On rewatch this isn't as bad as I had originally rated (5 stars out of 10). It is slow, that's for certain, with a lot of set-up and a pretty weak ending but there's enough here to enjoy. Maybe 7 was too generous. 6 might be more accurate.
Rather slow and too much flashbacks.
Nice and tight introduction, that kinda just sets up the pieces that will, no doubt, come together later. Great introductions, i think, even if there's only so much spontaneity you can get with a "spy thriller" as Disney states it is. I'm really happy with a lot of the technical elements though, the fact that there's a lot of practical sets and just real :asterisk_symbol:things:asterisk_symbol: is just awesome. Love the music and cinematography too, it's great! Looking forward to what's next, but this is a very much needed breath of fresh air for Star Wars.
This first episode was way too slow paced for me. It just barely kept my attention. I'll give the next episode a try later on but this first viewing is bringing my expectations down.
Wow, this was BOOOOORINNNNNG. I think I'm done with Star Wars for a while. Gees.
To be honest very boring, non-captivating and more-of-the-same feeling after the other shows that we had the last 2~3 years. Hope it picks up more with the other episodes. Right now it just feels like a template to fill in some time between other more popular series that come out later.
I was really excited for Andor as I‘m a big fan of Rogue One. Definitely the best Star Wars film Disney has produced so far. So I had high hopes for this prequel show. After watching the first episode I‘m not disappointed but on the other hand also not that impressed. Visually it‘s very well made and the characters seem to be interesting. In general I think there‘s a reason why they released the first three episodes at once. I‘m sure the show will pick up its pace in the next episodes.
It is so boring. Imagine having access to some of the best CGI and using none of it, and no it is clearly not a matter of low budget, it's just lazy.
while i'm not sure what's going on (this is what happens when these shows are made to be one long movie instead of episodic), i am still interested in these characters and what they are doing. at least we're not in tatooine anymore (thank the gods)
Love the costumes, could imagine to wear some off them
Cassian I love you :heart:
Shout by nutmacBlockedParent2022-09-21T18:45:59Z
This premier episode feels more like Blade Runner than Star Wars. If someone didn't tell me, I would've assumed it as an all-new sci-fi thriller series outside the Star Wars franchise.
This premier episode is largely ambiguous, as we follow one of Rogue One's leading character, Cassian Andor. This opener is set 5 years before the movie (and Star Wars: New Hope), where Cassian is on a lone quest to locate his long lost sister.
Younger viewers might lose their patience as there isn't much action, not even K-2SO. But the world building is fantastic, nearly enough to tide them over.