Andordoesn’t look all that much likeStar Wars, the classic 1977 blockbuster that laid the path for the franchise to this day. Though much has changed over the four-and-a-half decades, one can learn a lot about the true nature of the Star Wars narrative by looking at the franchise’s newest hero and its oldest.
The Disney Plus Star Wars series have been some of the most universally praised entries in the franchise in decades.The Mandalorianwas an instant classic,Obi-Wan Kenobiwas considered an all-around success, and some people evenlikedThe Book of Boba Fett.Andor, the newest series, is a revelation in the way it evolves the franchise’s central themes.
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There’s this meme that used to go around that would outline the journey of Luke Skywalker from humble farm boy toa powerful war hero. It explores the fact that Luke was born in modest conditions, lacking any political guidance. He briefly entertains the possibility of joining the Imperial army, just to get off the rock he was born on. Then he meets a stranger who preaches a bizarre faith he’s only vaguely aware of, his caretakers are brutally murdered, and he spends the next few years putting his life on the line as an insurgent rebel. To use modern parlance, Luke gets radicalized. The meme points out that thetale of Luke Skywalkeris extremely similar to the standard story of insurgent “terrorists” around the world. It’s subtextual, but it’s the key to the power of the Star Wars brand.
George Lucas, for all his faults, did have some political intent in the narrative of the original Star Wars trilogy. Everyone and their mom has pointed out the similarities to World War II, but Vietnam was the more contemporary reference point. The Rebel Army hiding out in the dense forests of Endor resembles nothing more than the Viet Cong, a reference Lucas was happy to point out in interviews at the time. The heroes of the original trilogy were anti-imperialist rebels who had to use guerilla tactics to face a vastly technologically superior foe. Underdogs tend to be the hero of most stories, but anyone with the slightest political knowledge would recognize the cinematic language ofStar Wars praising the insurgentand condemning the imperialist. This idea has been escalated and modernized by the tale of Cassian Andor.
Cassian Jeron Andor was born Kassa, a humblenative of an arboreal planetin the middle of nowhere. He lived a relatively normal life until his people were destroyed in a mining disaster by Republic Forces. Cassian became a child soldier, conscripted for lack of other options when he was just a boy. He was forced to fight for the Confederacy as an insurgent, aiding the forces that would later overthrow the Republic and install the Empire. He even mentions being forced to fight for the Empire after a prison sentence. He finds himself living on the kindness of the woman that rescued him from his home planet. Once she dies, he devotes himself entirely to the cause of the Rebellion. He, too, is radicalized to the cause by a personal tragedy, but there’s no fancy prophecy for Cassian Andor.
Andoris an example of a creator seeing what the source material had to say about the real world, updating it to fit the modern day, and making it far more explicit. The Empire of the past was the midpoint between Hitler’s Germany and Johnson’s United States. The Empire of 2022 is an impossibly large military complex spearheaded by an oppressive police force. It’s more familiar to the modern experience. In the same way, the old hero found his rebellion in an ancient prophecy and fated superpowers. The new herodoesn’t get lightsaber training, a heroic destiny, magic powers, or even a wise old mentor. He has the skills he learned over a lifetime of hardship and the hate that burns hot enough to blow up the Death Star. Cassian Andor is Luke with all the fantasy removed. Rebelling against the Empire isn’t whimsical or magical. It’s a life of violence and sacrifice in which nothing is sacred. The man fans met inRogue Oneis happy to explain, butAndorgrounds its audience in the life of the new Star Wars hero.
Cassian Andor represents and embodies the pure rage that informs the world he was born into. In the same way,Andorrepresents that very real feeling in its audience. By leaning into the element of Star Wars that used to be referred to only in subtext and ironic memes,Andoris the perfect Star Wars story for the modern day. We all know theend of Cassian Andor’s story, he dies in an act of self-sacrifice that saves the universe. The journey of that man is more than just the perfect escalation of Star Wars' themes, it’s the perfect sci-fi story for the world we live in today.
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