Andor

[SWSF Eidolon]

SYRIL IS REDEEMED!!


Good tale.  Great final Luthen Andor scene and also the post-credits reveal of what the prison was building was sweet.  The whole dynamic of the DS's construction is very enriched by that and gives Cassian's total experience/character use a very poetic series of circumstances and deeds come his end with Jyn on Scarif.

The Mothma/husband interaction in the car ride was interesting- it was definitely a cover for eventual revealed banking irregularities, but was he in on knowing that her accusations were for that purpose or is she playing him cold and his reaction to her being lied to his genuine perspective?

Also, did it seem to yous that Luthen was already having reservations about killing Cassian as the funeral procession was gaining steam and as the unrest began to unfold?  It felt to me like when it flashed back to him on the stairs he was having moments of his pragmatic approach being flooded by idealism...  Cinta was definitely more consumed by a fixation on the Imperial personnel on Ferrix than necessarily killing Cassian it felt.

[Syren]

Rescue by way of stalking is not redemption. Syril is a creeper to the max with supes incel vibes. 

Mon's husband (aka Manbun McGuilicutty) does not seem in on it and seemed genuinely surprised by the accusations. She threw that man under the proverbial bus because she knew the driver was listening and, in doing so, made him indirectly responsible for the arranged betrothal of their daughter to cover his "debts." I doubt she would bring him into her confidence given his penchant for cavorting with her political enemies at parties and such. He is but another tool she must use, although she was likely hoping never to use her daughter - it be like that sometimes. 

[Medivh]

I agree that Mon Mothma had the conversation because she knew the driver was listening; great cover/explanation for the banking maneuvers she made.  Also don't think husband was in on it.

Overall, I liked the season.  I think the first five episodes were too slow. I think Disney recognized that, which is why they released the first three episodes at once - not enough happens in any of them, and they probably thought people would lose interest if they only showed one or two episodes.  Ep 4, nothing happens either.

The show really picked up with the attack on Aldhani for me.  From then on, even the non-action sequences felt like they had consequence.

Love Luthen's character, the depths; the amazing tricks on his ship (well, everything except the lightsaber-like laser beams shooting out of them).  It had a lot of the vibes of how smuggler ships are described in the books, with false transponders, and methods of avoiding detection or capture.  I loved how he had to put on a fake persona on Coruscant.

Syril's character is stupid. He tried chasing Andor (against the directives of his superiors, btw), caused a ruccus, lost his job, and was a pathetic waste of storytime for the better part of episodes 4-12.
So, he save ISB Agent Dedra Meero, which means ... what?  Dedra doesn't really need character development - she is the villain, afterall. She's not going to turn good, she's not meant to.  Syril doesn't help her character, and they really didn't add anything by putting her in a position to need rescue.  Take him away, she's just as cunning as she should have been.

Liked the ending - Andor confronts Luthen. Doesn't threaten him, just tells him he's in.  Perfect.

And of course, Andy Serkis is the most underrated actor of all time, never getting his due for playing characters where he puts his entire being into voice and motion.  Loved him in this, and most of the other roles he does.

Liked the post-credit scene.  A part of me thinks the death star is too far along for five years before it's completion - it looked like everything was built except the super laser disc, which, gets installed in Rogue One.
Maybe the prison-break slowed production?  By a lot?

[SWSF Eidolon]

When a stalker rescues you from the clutches of people who are going to beat you to death with bricks of baked dead people, you thank that stalker with a kiss god damnit, not just quiver with confusion in his warm tight unyielding grasp.


Besides- Ive got a feeling Dedra likes the stalky type.  Otherwise she's doing the stalking, it's in her nature, its why shes good at her job, but that role reversal- she digs it.  Finally someone who can keep up with her little subversive games and misinformation campaigns.

[SWSF Hoppus]

I agree with Med in general RE Syril being a bit of a waste. He needed to be there to create the initial trouble that pushed Andor into the hands of Luthen, etc. But we could have dropped him from there. I would have preferred more time with Cinta or Mon or anyone else in the show.

Also agree that Andy Serkis was f'ing phenomenal, I'd love him to come back in somehow and have survived. Seems a waste of a great actor

[SWSF Eidolon]

I could not diverge further.  We are taken on a journey with Syril as much as with Cassian and are shown the intimacies of his background to the extent of getting to know his mother just like Maarva for Cass.

From zealous corporate officer with astute investigative acumen to a choking field commander in the moment of deployment and the embarassing failure of that operation and made a scapegoat, to being sent home to that god awful mother of his having systematically chipped away at his confidence from child hood to adulthood now, to having to accept a family favor career post and SOMEHOW mustering the drive and courage to say F that, not accept defeat and to carry on with the mission that has already rolled over him once- and to do so by going through ISB??



Serkis felt like a personnel play more than a vital actor component to executing the character.  It was one dimensional and the whole distinct value was the 'I can't swim' moment.  He is steered entirely by Cassian only because he is otherwise a road block to insurrection vs. poor Syril who did not even have the encouragement of his own mother

If Serkis had his way that Death Star dish would be done a lot quicker =P

[Syren]

re: Andor v Syril; the making of a Rebel v the making of an Imperial? Being radicalized from opposite ends of the spectrum? 

[SWSF Hoppus]

Sorry Eid, you're wrong

[SWSF Eidolon]

Tony Gilroy says otherwise in S2 when we are getting the other half of the Andor and Syril Show! 

[SWSF Hoppus]

Welp gonna have to find time to write/sim until next season now.

[SWSF Eidolon]

Acvepted. If you want you can write the bit as the Recon YWing pilot that crashed on Endor in my Forest Folk thread =P

The woks send a war party to investigate the disturbance and see imperial ground detachment descend on crash site and wipe it.

This will be first encounter or sighting ewoks have of imperial presence on their planet and in their skies before DSII taking shape yet

[George]

Andor is the best live-action Star Wars since ROTJ.

Also, hello again, you lovely people.

[SWSF Eidolon]

Agreed,  and ahoy matey

[SWSF Hoppus]

Been streaming the Andor soundtracks on Spotify while working... so fucking good. Might be enough to get me writing...