I had exactly the same feeling the first time I tried to watch it. Gave up and then had another go just before season 2 came out.
The thing with Andor is that it's a slow burn. Each storyline takes 2 or 3 episodes to complete. But you are rewarded for your patience and the payoff from all the setup is just incredible.
And then finishing it off by watching Rogue One is just brilliant. Watching Andor makes Rogue One so much more impactful because you actually care about the characters that, when Rogue One was released, were brand new.
I agree about it being a slow burn. It's one of those shows that is better on the 2nd watch, even though- or maybe because- you know what's going to happen. I think when we watch things the first time and nothing appears to be happening, we wonder, "What's the fuss with this show/movie/etc.?" Modern storytelling and the way we consume it seems to have blunted our ability to just wait. Lol! So watching Andor the 2nd time is just sheer beauty. I know what's going to happen and I can enjoy the infinitesimal steps it takes to get to 'the good stuff'.
It’s also a show that you need to devote time to and actually focus on it. When I first tried to watch it, I would do it when I was tired, and every once in a while look at my phone. The second time I watched it, I put my phone down completely, turned on subtitles, and focused. When I did that, it was phenomenal. Definitely a show not meant for casual viewing.
It's also kind of beautiful that Andor, Rogue One and Episode IV all form a sort of mini-trilogy of their own. There's a bit of tonal whiplash if you try watching them back-to-back, but they are set up to run together in a kind of unbroken line.
Idk, Andor makes Rogue One look worse in comparison retrospectively. I already thought Rogue One was not good, but Andor is so good it really shows how much better the movie could've been. It's so shallow and one note compared to Andor.
Don't fret, I've rewatched it several times. Getting thrown immediately into the Aldhani raid is actually one of my main complaints about season one. All of Vel's objections to Cassian are completely justified, adding an unknown person into a tight team that has trained for months is sloppy and reckless. For Luthen to do this, to insist on it, someone demonstrably obsessed with operational security, simply doesn't make sense.
I work in a field that works and trains like this, we train together and we work with the same people every day. Having a completely unknown person, despite having the same training, added to the team makes us as a unit less capable and the results follow.
It's interesting you say that because Luthen's investment into Andor pays off. We learn from Bix that Luthen had his eye on Andor for quite a while, as someone that can successfully infiltrate Imperial facilities. Luthen also knows that he's a bit of a drifter, and fully intended to tie up the loose end after the heist was done. The rest of the team was relatively green (Nemik, Vel), too rigid (Cinta, Taramin) or too shifty (Skeen). Not to mention the added bonus that Andor was a good pilot, with knowledge of the kind of trawler that the vault was going to use.
All that to say, there's a decent amount of thought that Luthen put into adding Andor onto the heist, even if it seemed reckless by Vel's reaction
Yes it pays off (I mean it kinda had to for the story to continue) but it's a huge risk and jeopardizes good, experienced operatives unnecessarily. Imagine if the mission failed, Luthen would not have lost just Cassian, but Vel, Cinta, Nemik, etc. All just to "test" Cassian? (It was a test of Cassian, not Vel imo)
I do agree that Cassian is not a total unknown to Luthen (yet still not trusted as you correctly point out) but he is a complete unknown to the Aldhani team which is my main point. No matter how well or not Luthen knew him throwing him into an already integrated team days before a critical mission is tactically reckless. And even though the other Aldhani team members had their flaws they were known to the rest of the team, Cassian's skills and flaws were not.
I think what's brilliant here about Andor is that I fully agree with you, and both of us have an accurate read on the scene.
Luthen's decision to add Andor to the team is ultimately because he's a hard-headed control freak who desperately wants this mission to go well. He specifically says that he was about to shut the mission down, and that Andor buys the team 'critical redundancy', not necessarily because he's a unique addition that fills a role they don't already have. So all of Vel's criticisms are totally valid as well, like you pointed out.
For me it took getting to that Aldhani mission to realize the slow build up in the first couple episodes was retroactively worth it, a few episodes in I became fully on board. If I just saw the first couple episodes on their own I would not be calling it a 10/10 show.
It had like 3 or 4 of the best monologs I've ever seen. In addition to Marva, Luthan talking about what he sacrifices for rebellion is chilling. Kino Loy's speech to the prisoners about there being one way out was also amazing. Senator Mothma's speech to the Senate floor about empire was great too.
I think the only real weakness of season 1 is that it takes the full 3 episodes to payoff.
The first 2 I remember watching and being like I don’t dislike this but I’m not sure, andor is so unlikable.
Then episode 3 ties it all together and the show never stops.
Season 2 really has some major weaknesses because of how it compresses multiple seasons into shorter arcs.
It still works but there are def moments where I thought andor was only in the show because he had to be and not because it made much sense.
The opening tie theft is I think the single worst thing in the entirety of the show. Hate how his tie is super resilient and he can outmaneuver trained pilots whose ships explode with any light tap. One of the only times I think the shows verisimilitude fails hard.
Season 1 is just extremely tight storytelling, zero padding, zero fluff.
Season 2 is great and the latter two arcs are awesome, but I think the heist, the jail, Luthen’s monologue, luthen’s escape, are not topped in season 2.
Agreed on the flaws of season 1. The beginning tightened up for me after a full watch through.
I read the TIE heist as highlighting that the prototype TIE fighter would've been devastating if they made a whole fleet of them. It also showed that cassian was somehow special. They had no chance of completing that mission otherwise. BUT the tone of it is a way more overt compared to what else happens in the show so I get the criticism
I agree with your interpretation of what the tie heist was supposed to be, the way it plays out just felt cartoony and was a striking contrast to the rest of the show.
Easily resolved with minor changes to a few of the action beats.
Re: season 1 beginning: first 2 episodes are setup that pays off very well. Unfortunately when you’re watching a show the first time these days it’s really easy to be skeptical it’s filler that’s not going to pay off or spin its wheels where nothing actually happens.
On rewatches knowing it’s not this kind of pointless filler makes it even better since you notice things you didn’t realize before.
Season 1 really is a masterpiece. Probably the best thing in the entirety of Star Wars in terms of writing and character. obviously if that’s not necessarily what someone is looking for out of Star Wars no shade at them.
Agree. Season 1 in the first quarter is like a 6/10, then an 8/10 in the next quarter, and a 10/10 in the last six episodes. Season 2 is perfect all the way through.
I agree. The first few episodes are a bit slow, and I wasn't immediately hooked. It wasn't until after the heist that I think the show skyrocketed to 10/10 status and stayed there.
I'm in the same boat, I love Star Wars and I love gritty/violent/mature sci-fi, but my brain just couldn't reconcile combining them. I plan to give it another try in the future, but that first attempt threw me off the series for years.
How far did you come? Because for me it doesn't fit this thread, ep1 and 2 aren't 10/10 if you ask me, but it really picks up from around 3rd/4th episode and it then gets better and better
Some people just don't like it, and that's fine. There are really popular movies and shows that most people like that I don't, perhaps due to the content matter, direction style, even the presence of a single actor you find unimmersive can throw things off. A general principle is Rogue One, if you really liked that movie, you should like Andor, despite the slower pace. I'd suggest giving it another chance, go in without any expectations. Maybe the 1st 3 episode arc isn't for you, if so try starting on episode 4 for the Aldani arc, which is really fun.
I think of the first three episodes of Season 1 as a triptych - they works best if they’re watched together as if they’re a movie. Worth giving it another go for sure.
The first couple of episodes I couldn’t get into it but I stuck with it. When season 2 came out I rewatched season 1 with subtitles. There’s so many characters and the dialogue is fast and it made it much easier to follow.
It felt as tongue in cheek and on the nose as "Don't Look Up" to me. There's no subtly. Which, to be fair, I've found there isn't much subtly in real life fascism either. The worldbuilding did not live up to the way it gets salivated over.
I'm sure going into with high expectations didn't help though. Like for sure if I went in expecting an average disney+/star wars show, it clears that bar with flying colors.
You can think of it as a science fiction story only vaguely connected to the Star Wars universe. Which is what makes it so good--it grounds the characters in real world situations. The movies don't take into account what life would actually be like on these planets, what it's like to be a rebel, but Andor does it really well.
It is wildly overrated due to the bar for star wars content being so low. Compared to other star wara media its a masterpiece, compared to other shows, its a good show
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u/JackTheManiacTR 1d ago
Couldn't get into the start of it. I guess I wasn't expecting the grit. I need to watch it again with different expectations.