So a bunch of people in the comments and a couple friends have reached out to me to let me know that I missed a trick by not consulting with some indigenous people about the whole unsubtitled Kenari take. From what I've been told it's very representative of many peoples indigenous experience of losing their language due to colonization. It's quite possible that an adult Cassian may no longer remember the language of Kenari at all so by forcing the audience to feel that separation and alienation it gives us a taste of what a young Kassa may have experienced, especially after he was brought to Ferrix. My friend told me I was almost there but he could tell I hadn't consulted with any native folk and he was right. It didn't occur to me to check with folk outside of my Latine sensitivity readers. I appreciate all the people who've written thoughtful comments about this. I will try to do better in the future.
A similar theme of genocide and colonialism is brought up later when Luthan is selling an artifact with writings in a forgotten language. I think it was a very deliberate choice.
I commented under another comment earlier, but that’s precisely the take I had on those scenes. Taking someones language is a core tactic in the colonization playbook, it was used all over the world with indigenous children forcibly taken from their families, but it was also used in the efforts to eradicate the Welsh, Gaelic and Québécois French. There is also an immigrant perspective here.. I know it’s common for 2nd generation immigrants or children brought to a new country at a young age to feel a sense of alienation from their culture because they do not speak the language. You shouldn’t be to hard on yourself though, as I’ve yet to see a single take on the internet pick up on that. I’d love to see a video essay ideally from an indigenous or immigrant perspective covering this however.
@@xenophonBC It sounds like you didn't really understand the video at all if you're just gonna sit here and tell people to relax instead of listening to them
I was about to come to the comments to write something like "yeah, that was the intention" akin to other comments that I just read, but I found this. So instead, I liked this comment and left a pretty different one myself.
One thing I want to point out about the ship fight: besides being cool, its brilliant storytelling. Luthen’s whole ideology is “we push the Empire to tighten their grip, more and more, until it gets too tight and it snaps back”. In that scene, he gets to demonstrate it: little annoyances cause the Imperial Captain to up the tractor beam, until Luthen makes a seemingly incompetent escape attempt (an act of outright rebellion) at which point the beam (repression) is turned up to maximum. At this point, Luthen unleashes the chaff: a cloud of otherwise insignificant little things that, due to the strength of the beam (repression) overwhelm the Imperial ship. It’s an uprising. It’s his entire ideology demonstrated in a single scene. And it’s perfect.
My gawd, you are absolutely spot on. I knew there had to be a reason that scene was so powerful, not just because it was shiny and cool and "starwarsy." Stunning work, and I can't wait to tell someone else what you found.
It broke my heart when they all finally get to freedom and he goes “I can’t swim”… You realize in that moment that he knew he wasn’t ever leaving, but he fought for them all anyway. That visceral feeling (multiple times throughout) of sacrificing for the greater good was so goddamned potent.
Honestly I was kind of baffled by the decision to not show the prisoners swimming to shore and helping those who couldn't swim. Seems weird that they just cut away and have Cassian and the other dude running along a beach and later be all, "wonder if anyone else survived!" Like weren't you all swimming away together?
@@JordanSullivanadventures they're on a planet everyone probably tried swimming in different directions so Melshi and Cassian wouldn't know how many people survived and neither do we which is the point of them not showing them swimming away.
i mean they all basically died trying to swim away anyway with basically only the two men left. I got more of a "we will die anyway, might as well die on or terms or by taking out this whole base's production while we do it" than a sacrificial thing
I 100% understand the stance that having no subtitles for Cassian's native language was alienating. Personally, the effect that I got from it wasn't alienation from Cassian and the other kids. For me, not having subtitles for those bits made me key in even more to the acting and the emotionality of the kids, which I think made me empathize more. The emotions and experiences didn't need to be translated to be understood because they are universally understandable. We know what happened here--we don't need to be told. The other thing it did for me is really underscore that Cassian is a survivor of a genocide--that we don't get to see any subtitles for his native language because a translation _cannot be made._ That this is a permanently lost language because of what the Empire did to Kenari. I can understand and respect alternate perspectives on this, but when I watched it I remember explicitly thinking that it was a pretty deep-cutting, ballsy decision to not have subtitles for those scenes.
My precise thoughts. Why is a certain level of alienation bad anyway? It's showing us what loss is. That some things are really gone. That people will never truly understand. Quite genius in my opinion
This is precisely how I felt about it. Every detail of setting and costume and facial expression is important. The language separates us, but it lets us focus on our shared humanity. That matters.
I completely agree, I also think that the language reminds us that we are an outsider. It reminds us that we do not have permission to be viewing what is an act of shared trauma from cultural genocide. I definitely think not having the subtitles was a very very good choice.
@The Mediocre Master ok, here's an interesting thing I've realised that not many people have actually talked about. While yes, the flashbacks in chapters 1-3 are set during the time of the republic. They also speak in present day about Kenari being destroyed in a mining disaster. And maarva specifically says in relation to Cassian's search for his sister that there were no survivors on Kenari implying that either the Republic or potentially Empire had done something there after the flashbacks as well. So like the flashbacks are sandwiched between normal mining and potentially mining disaster? It's not really clear about that but that's not really the important thing the show is talking about anyway. Although I'd love to see more about Kenari. Without a doubt. But at the very least it's clear that something has happened to Kenari for the group we see Kassa with to not have any adults and parents with them.
As a Lakota 60’s scoop survivor who left my “adoptive”/scoop home at 15 to join the Indigenous occupations in canada in the 1990’s Andor was the most relatable thing I’ve ever watched in my life. That there was no subtitles actually made me cry.
@ does my work somehow delegitimize my opinions? Or does my background delegitimize my opinions? Just trying to figure out if you’re classist, racist or both.
Here's the thing, I think that learning Cassian helped make the Death Star isnt sad, but almost hopeful because he halted production! Him stoping the prison, getting all 5000 people out halting the prison and getting it out of power for months helped halt production. Maybe it was only for a bit, maybe they stopped a few more pieces but it mattered, because how close where they to getting the death star plans? By seconds. Every second mattered, and every rebel helped buy a precious few seconds for a farm boy to make the shot.
yeah when I was watching I was really hoping that it was parts for the death star (same reasons as you). my pessimistic side was half expecting that we'd find out the other half of the prison was just disassembling the parts and the whole thing was pointless labour
Part of me would have appreciated if the items were something banal like turbolaser power packs or whatever. But it's vastly more narratively satisfying that it was some key part of the Death Star. Reality isn't generally narratively satisfying so the first would have been a nice subversion. But the latter makes a more impactful story. Kinda like is Luthen and Kleya were just ordinary people managing to build the foundation of a rebellion. As opposed to if they turn out to be a fallen jedi and padawan that survived Order 66 and are now using the dark side to defeat the empire.
@@j.f.fisher5318 I do think it works in the specific context of the prison, and the repeated lines 'I'd rather die trying to escape than giving them what they want'. In this case giving the fascists what they want is helping to build the literal, physical representation of everything the Empire wants to be. When you keep your head down and just do what you're told, you become a tiny part in a horrific machine.
In the grand scheme of things, and when you consider how absolutely tight the victory at the end of Rogue One was... Cassian indirectly buying just one or two seconds before the Death Star's activation is basically a double down on how pivotal he was to the rebellion. But it also reinforces the thought that he was not in it alone. Had it been not for his prison mates, for his allies and for all the people that fought by him on each battle, he wouldn't have achieved shit.
I really do just love how, with a *tiny* few changes and a change in perspective, Syril would be the good guy in a different piece of media. He could easily be slipped into a different show, and be the Hero Cop that won’t listen to his corrupt bosses. He is so dedicated to The Truth that he will face professional consequences, and then go out of his way to continue fighting to solve the case. The issue is that he’s doing this for a completely evil cause. And yeah he’s also quite creepy, and so on, but the base level of his character when written out is effectively that of a hero protagonist cop. Note that last word. Cop. I very much read Syril both as a commentary on how fascists operate and internalise what they do, but also a commentary on *other* media. It’s saying “hey aren’t all these hero cops in other shows and movies just one bad government away from willingly being the Gestapo?” And that is fucking great.
Yeah, I personally read Cyril as more of a sympathetic character, someone with very clear social anxiety from his awful upbringing making him come off as creepy, who's strong internal sense of justice is abused by the fascist machine. A demonstration of how fascist regimes can use 'good' people as tools to do awful things. Funnily enough, I believe there would've been an equal chance of him becoming a rebel under ever so slightly different circumstances.
He's the Ordinary Man of 1920s Europe. He wants order, and peace, and community cooperation. Fraternity and equality. He's so desperate to belong somewhere, and so proud of his uniform, he doesn't stop to consider the morality of where he belongs and who gave him that uniformity. And yes, I capitalized that phrase as an allusion.
After watching Syril become stripped of his individuality I now have a desire for a Star Wars buddy cop film with cops similar to Syril and Mosk who are catching “the bad guy” (ignore that fact it’s a rebel) then either defect from the empire after seeing how corrupt their justice system is or just accept it and they’re just pussies. And it’ll be more on brand since I’m still waiting for a Star Wars horror movie that will never happen
In a show full of richly written characters Syril is among my utmost favorites, and it's because of Kyle Sollers brilliant performance. Nonverbally, the guy's expressing more than many others do through a movie's worth of dialogue.
A lot of other posters have suggested Kenari is not a generic language but specifically a lost language that we cannot learn because Andor has forgotten it, and I'm sure this can't be an accident since this theme of language and loss is a huge theme throughout the show in general. In addition to the upfront loss of language, the only other place we see Cassian being told about the Kenari is a brothel - the entire idea of the Kenari has been reduced to an exotic, upmarket fetish. One of Luthen's artifacts he shows off ,all of which are otherwise given pretty clear implied meaning, one is a tablet that can't be understood because the language has been lost. With the Empire torturer, an entire species has been utterly eradicated EXCEPT their language, but it is in this case their cries of pain, distorted and mutilated to serve the preferences of the Empire. In the absurdist trial sequence, the ability to control what language means is the main source of power of the Empire judge. In prison, the ability to conceal their intent through language is what keeps the prisoners from rebelling, and losing that control leads to revolt. Fascist genocide may end with camps and crematoria, but it starts with the will to power, deciding that you can control reality through the control of language.
I mean, why do you think fascists nowadays want to ban discussion of certain topics in schools (such as talking about pretty much any form of systemic oppression, they also don't want you to talk about LGBT+ people or critical race theory or anything like that)? They think that, through controlling language, they can control reality and thus erase groups of people they don't like, or at least force them to hide themselves away, as well as ideas they don't like.
One line that is understandably buried in an ocean of other amazing moments is when Cass comes to get Maarva and she explains how the empire has taken over everywhere. Cass: "Well, we'll find a place they haven't ruined yet." Maarva: "Why? I'm already there. That place is in my head. They can build as many barracks as they like, they'll never find me." That line absolutely cut to the core of me. The utter heart of rebellion burning inside to be surrounded by fascist occupying forces and stubbornly stay free. She refused to let them subdue her. They could put 30 deathstars in the sky above Ferix and never make this woman believe she wasn't free. I loved her for that if nothing else.
It reminds me of the lyrics to the Firefly theme song: Take my love, take my land Take me where I cannot stand I don't care, I'm still free You can't take the sky from me
I am so glad you mentioned the Medic. I’m an EMT working on becoming a Paramedic and the way they call him a ‘Med tech’ immediately hit home. His interaction with Olaf felt so real and disturbing to me, down to calling him brother. I understood so well why he didn’t want his name and his desperation in ‘I can’t help him. I can’t help anyone’ has stuck with me ever since.
I feel like a Soviet gulag or labor/work camps feels the most direct allegory that they were going for. The way its designed seems super well-suited to Soviet minimalism and efficiency, about these ‘goals’ to strive for working in teams, that your reward for effective communist cooperation is an extra ration, and that everyone shares in their suffering equally but with a social credit score in hierarchy. That they are crucial to the industrial work effort of the empire etc etc. all the symbolism seemed pointed that way, because its not about degradation and dehumanisation of the prisoners in a WW2 concentration camp sense as much as it is about the industrialism and collectivism.
@@GuineaPigEveryday I doubt that. If it were inspired by the gulag, it'd be more clear cosmetically. It looks and feels more like a US prison making license plates.
It took me several viewings to realize this, but I'm pretty sure the reason Cassian starts attacking the machinery is because he sees the facepaint he put on in imitation of the nameless child leader who stood up for his right to come on the "mission" in an earlier scene, and is suddenly overwhelmed about her death and this series of events that led to it.
Something I really love is that Sergeant Mosk goes from gung ho, “First Line of Defense of the Empire” rent a cop, to understanding what that actually means. He sees what the Empire does to bring “order” on Ferrix during the riots. And you just see him drinking on some steps, just thinking what he witnessed. And this is the last we will see of him. His actor confirmed on Twitter he was not asked back to film in season 2
Damn. I was looking forward to more of the character and the performance. I didn’t read his drinking alone as facing doubts about which side he was on, I just saw it as him stuck looking for Syril.
I'm ok with that being the last we see. Not everyone will become a rebel, some will see the horrors and just go about their days, believing that there's nothing left to do. Especially if you once believed in a cause committing those horrors
I was always a bit confused what we were supposed to see in that last shot of him, is he just depressed being abandoned by Syril his one imperial superior officer, a symbol he would follow into death and glory, now abandoning him for someone more powerful. I love how simple it is, that the soldiers faced with doing war crimes for their government do it and only afterwards drown their sorrows in drink.
57:23 Let me tell you, when Marva says "that's just love", my entire heart just exploded and honestly i don't think I've emotionally recovered from that scene
This show really is the best because almost every scene has an impact on someone. Everyone has their favorite/most touching scene and usually for projects it's either 1 or 2 moments that everyone talks about but the diversity in which scene touched who is just *chefs kiss*
This show hit a really interesting spot for me. I'm Haitian so this reminded me a lot of the Haitian revolution and the cost we paid for Freedom, But every inch was worth it even if we're being starved. Maarva's speech, especially hit home.
I had a similar experience having a Scottish background and seeing the Scottish Highlands being used as the backdrop to tell a story which mirrored the Highland Clearances. So much of the depth of this series comes from the real world injustices and struggles that it represents.
@@GamerParent I really loved that Aldhani and the entire arc really encapsulates a different type of injustice and struggle that being a community of peoples being forced by an oppressive regime to be forcefully relocated, I also love the oppressive and almost deafeningly quiet atmosphere of the planet and how the show frames the Imperials as apathetic landlords which further mirrors the real world as a lot of landlords up in the Higlands willfully booted many of the communities out and they weren't given any choice. The real world Highland Clearences were done by Scottish landlords and nobility themselves and in a bit of irony eradicated many of Scotland's Gaelic speakers as well as leading to many Scottish clans leaving for other colonies, it also contributed to the Highlands population never fully recovering which also mirrors how there are only handful left of local peoples in Aldhani. I also like that the enterprise district is found in the lowlands of Aldhani which hits the nails for the parallel even harder as it might also allude to the much more not well known Lowland Clearances as the wealthier landlords moved away from their rural areas to more industrial centres like Glasgow, Edinburgh and even in the northern England to Liverpool, Manchester or further down to London. It gives a sense that the empire as not only greedy but also apathetic and more willing to use different methods to weaken their occupied territories
Honestly, it hits hard pretty much any nation/ethnic group with historical experience of armed resistance/uprising. Finally a show that doesn’t cut corners when it comes to the presentation of such situations. Showing both great, dark and very shady aspects of underground struggle and sometimes organic way it forms (funeral scene and its outcome is just top notch). This series doesn’t treat its audience as idiots, craving for some light entertaiment. For SW it is revolutionary. 😂
"Fun" fact: the hitting bits of random metal to alert people comes from The Troubles in Northern Ireland, when a similar thing was used to warn of upcoming Army/Police raids.
The show also inverts the meaning of Jynn saying “it’s not so bad if you don’t look up”. There are a few lines about the importance of looking down. Including Clem’s “They don’t look down to where they should”.
At 01:50:27 I believe they switch hats not for funzies, but as a practical way to recognise each other in the upcoming chaos. It is easier to identify your hat in a crowd than your buddies’.
I just kept expecting them to reveal Cassians sister. That she somehow got off the planet and its someone we knew all alone. It cuts so deep when Marva tells him to stop looking for her. She's gone.
It’s still weird to me that Maarva tells Cassian that there were no other survivors, but the brothel madame in episode 1 is familiar with Kenari, and seems to remember employing a girl from there, and can guess by looking at Cassian that he is looking for someone with dark features like himself, so she knows what people from Kenari look like. That all seems like a promising lead. Makes me wonder if searching for the sister was meant to be a major plot point and the writers abandoned it because it didn’t fit with the direction the show was taking. I wish we could have gotten a first episode that shows Cassian nicking the Starpath unit instead of looking for his sister, since that’s the plot point we could actually use some backstory on.
This is definitely the good kind of subverting expectations. It's realistic but still carries thematic weight. It goes against popular story tropes but without being empty and meaningless...like when characters just...forget about major antagonists they were talking about a few scenes ago...
What about Dedra being the sister? Doesn't her supervisor say something to her about having to be the best compared to her colleagues? Never got what that meant...is she the empire's 'reformed indigenous person' that now serves loyally?
I am so happy you talked about the messiness of Maarva's character as Andor's foster mom, and how she literally ripped him away from his family. I was really surprised by how many fans wanted to unambiguously see her motivations as completely justified, or want to see her as a perfect mother. I understand why, and there's nothing wrong with wanting that, but I do wonder if part of that is because of the dearth of actual mainstream stories with foster children where that experience is represented well. As a former foster child who had to be forcibly separated from quite a few families, the way they portrayed her and Andor's own relationship with her actually really spoke to me. Granted, I was not at all in any of the situations you rightfully connected to with indigenous people being stolen, so I can't speak to that. But for me, there was an underlying anger Cassian had throughout the show. Yes towards the empire, but I think you could and should read it as unresolved anger towards his foster parents too, even if he loved them. I don't believe the show wanted us to view Maarva's character as unambiguously good, at least not in Andor's life. I realized this show was going to be something special because of that incredible scene at the end of episode 3, where we're inter-cutting between young Andor and Adult Andor. There's A LOT happening there. I don't believe that scene was there just to connect us to two points to Cassian's life where his world and trajectory completely changed. I think young Andor's uncomprehending face and his wonder cut to Maarva smiling at him cut to Adult Cassian's face is an incredible way to communicate how he actually felt about the way Maarva took him from his family and his home. LOOK AT HIS EXPRESSION. That scene explicitly compares Luthen with Maarva, which, is definitely a specific creative decision. Yes, Luthen is a lot more suspicious, and yes, they are also meant to be compared in terms of different figures fighting against the empire, but I also interpreted that scene as Andor HIMSELF remembering his childhood and the last time this happened, being transported to that moment himself. The way that scene plays out is framed like a memory . Cassian remembers the first real moment where he becomes part of Maarva's family, and THAT'S the expression on his face when he remembers it? I think Cassian has lived out the full consequences that moment in his childhood, and it plays a role in why he's so mistrustful. People with the best intentions--people who are fighting against the same enemy you are--can still hurt you. I was not expecting this level of nuance in a foster child narrative, and I personally was really happy to see it, even if it was a very small slice. I love that in this interpretation, we have a main character who was a foster child, whose identity as a foster child actually had representations in the way it was portrayed--to me, the ramifications of being a foster child played a role in his relationships with other people, with a community that he felt slightly outside of, with his own family. I really liked that he was a foster child who loved his foster parents, and was still angry at them when he remembered the moment he had to live with them. I love that, and I also wish this part of the show was talked about more.
I find the reading of hertaking andor interesting, I didn't see this at all like the stolen generation etc. Maarvas split second decision was based on what the Empire would do when they arrived, and her inability to communicate with the boy the danger. Wonder what season 2 will bring concerning this.
My grandmother is a survivor of the Indian Boarding School System. When she was a child, her grandmother (someone who avoided being sent to boarding school, by literally being hidden in the basement) broke into panic everytime school teachers and other white agents of the state came to inquire "Why aren't your children in school?" Because my great-great grandmother, witnessed her siblings, her cousins and many other children get seized by white indian agents, by white nuns, by white soldiers. To take them to boarding school OR If they were half white, pale skinned or "pretty". Were taken completely and utterly away from their families, never to be seen again. She had no idea where many of those children went, because many died. She fought hard to keep my grandmother home, but after she passed away. My grandmother was finally sent and she endured a brutality that turned her into a woman who could have axed Palpatine with little issue. She was something to behold... But only because of the things those people done to her. Removing her from her home, destroying her language (which she vowed to remember when everyone around her forgot, and BOY did she REMEMBER) and so on. Maarva's motivations are familiar and it hurts to see her genuine love for Cassian. Because there's been so many Native people who come back from being adopted out, who cry. Because their adopted parents LOVE THEM. But they were still taken away, they were still stripped of relationships to their culture. They're still lost
It's fascinating and could use it's own deep dive, but there's one tangential point to it: Kenari is largely thought to now be extinct. From what we hear, and to some degree are shown, it's *probably* true. That being said, we don't have that certainty. Perhaps andor really is the last living Kenari, or perhaps that group of children found a way to survive. If the first is true, then perhaps Maarva was Right to do so. But if it turns out others did survive, then she partook in cultural genocide (even if her intentions were good). I suspect we won't get an answer, because while getting an answer is very Disney, it doesn't necessarily match the tone of the show. After all, it's shown that adults for some reason are highly targeted by the dangerous chemical in the air, so it may be the children cant make it to adulthood. No clue On the point of there not being subtitles during times which the Kenari kids speak--I think it's a great choice, even/especially as someone who is HoH. It's a loud statement that This Language Is Extinct, the specifics are lost. To some degree this happens with other life forms in the series, like chewwie rarely if ever getting specific translations and not just what Han says he's saying, or Basic Droid speak being largely left untranslated--but part of that is that there is someone they communicate with that translated it for us.
It definitely wasn't a clear cut good thing she did there, but she had little time to think it through and knew that the Republic was coming to take their stuff back and would likely kill him if he stayed there. Later Kenari would become unhabitable thanks to a mining disaster and all humans on the planet died
For all the praise this show gets I still think it’s underrated. It’s so good like seriously how was this made in this era of not only Star Wars but tv and movies as a whole? It’s a true triumph and I still think it deserves wayyyy more love.
And I would add that part of its strength is that it isn't really what you would call a classic "Star Wars show" like The Clone Wars or Rebels - instead, Andor is a political drama, prison film, heist thriller, or dystopian film all set in the Star Wars universe.
“If you are ignoring a system that’s killing people; if you’re doing nothing but standing around saying shit’s fucked without trying to find an umbrella, then you’re part of the problem!” I wanted to give 10,000 likes to this statement. This vid was amazing! Thanks so much for the heart and soul you put into it!!
Even if you act to just care for those closest to you, any act against opression is part of a bigger rebellion. We don't all need to be strategic heroes and political intriguists like Mothma and Luthen. We can also be like Brasso or the Tower Bell Dude (best superhero name ever): we can act against nowadays opression by just caring about the ones close to us and drawing a line in the sand. An anvil tower nobody can step upon. An old-lady-turned-brick that nobody can disrespect in our presence. In the grand scheme of this, they haven't really made an impact on the rebellion... but hell if their attitude and the attitude of countless others like them hasn't helped put down the Empire. We can all learn a lesson from these secondary characters.
Man, I can just not get enough of Andor video Essays. If you enjoy podcasts I very highly recommend "A More Civilized Age" and their breakdown of Andor, (they also went through all of clone wars and in-depthly discussed it as well). They even talk about how the reason the citizens of Ferix are banging on that metal is because it's a neighborhood alarm system reminiscent of what Irish citizens did during "The Troubles" when British forces would be seen in their neighborhood.
Thats fantastic, ive seen ppl nitpick the metal banging way too much for no reason and guess what they were wrong again to doubt the writers. This show isn’t perfect (to some), but man the details are so fantastic. It makes me happy seeing youtube fill up with Andor video essays all over, good that love for it is staying alive and hopefully growing
it also reminds me of a common way people from latin america protest! on the streets, whole communities bang pots and pans in unison while they march, it’s known as“Cacerolazos”.
@@GuineaPigEveryday I swear so many nitpicks of this show are just from people unaware of historical context lmao. I'm Irish and it never occurred to me that people would not immediately understand what the metal banging was about, either from knowledge or just rolling with the implication, until I read your comment
this show is right up there with hunger games for me in terms of art that has reshaped how i experience the world. i cannot think about cassian’s arc without getting emotional. and it has an added effect thanks to luna’s casting. It’s just indescribable how it feels to see someone who looks like me and speaks like my father and family members leading a show about the necessity for resistance in the face of oppression. thank you for this video! i’m having all the feelings 🥹
I literally rewatched the entirety of Hunger Games just because I cannot wait to get my fix for Andor with S2. The parallels between Cassian and Katniss of the process from being a lumpen (lower class people who have no interest for the revolutionary cause) to being a revolutionary is astounding.
@@fish_birbtheir arcs are very similar when you think about it - belongs to an oppressed group and doesn’t really care enough to do something about it (Living outside of the capitol, living on a poor planet like Ferrix) - gets roped into a fight by forces they cannot control (The 74th Hunger Games, the heist at Aldani) - still don’t want anything to do with revolutionary efforts (Opening chapters of Catching Fire, Cassian’s time on Niamos) - get abused physically and mentally by the system that exploited them (The Quartel Quell, Narkina 5) -become radicalized individuals that will do anything to see the system crash and burn (Mockingjay, Rogue One)
Andor made me nostalgic for something I've never had: The fierce sense of community the people of Ferrix have. I've always just felt so isolated from the places I live in, having been renting my entire adult life it never seems worth it to build bonds with neighbours who I could be forced to move away from at any time. The people of Ferrix have each others backs in a way I wish I could experience.
It's never too late to start where ever you are in your life. Being in community takes work, sometimes a lot of work, hard work. But you have one advantage. You already feel it's worth it.
What i see missing from a lot of the andor analysis is that cassian lost his parents in a REPUBLIC mining disaster. It was a republic corporation that colonized the planet, caused massive environmental damage, left thousands of orphans. the seeds for both empire and cassian's dispossession were in the ravenous economic system of the republic, much like the turmoil and despair that leads to fascism comes from industrialization - class struggles, lumpenbourgoise coconspirators, and the acquiescence of elites
Keeno struck me as someone who was always looking out for his crew. As long as he thought there was the slightest chance that simply serving their time would be enough to get them out alive, he was going along to keep his fellow inmates alive. The instant, the *instant* he realised that there is, well, only one way out, he commits to the revolt. Strong performance in a show full of strong performances.
41:26 "And he was a main character." I can't even describe the way I reacted to that. I really don't get emotional easy, but that kind of reaction to simple representation really got to me. The way that post was written and how the dad reacted was so fantastic.
As a person who consumed English media with subtitles most of my life, I think having Cassian's native language 'mysterious' was a mirror of what I was experiencing as a child. I really appreciate that I felt reflected on those scenarios; finally, these people who lived their whole life catered to by the majority of the world were feeling what I felt: alienated and just a secondary audience. ngl I really hoped it won't be addressed because the children's reactions were enough language as it was. I mean, come on, western media sees silent movies as highbrow art recently so what are bits of scenes like that?
It's more like. From an Indigenous perspective, our Languages being stated as "Mysterious", "Unknown Language" or the funniest thing ever on Turtle Island; "FOREIGN LANGUAGE" IS a literal reminder. That our Languages are still seen as insignificant, unsuited for Western audiences to sit and think about. Because there was a concerted effort to stamp out each and every language spoken in the America's that were Indigenous in origin. It's why a huge swathe of Indigenous people across north and south america, wind up speaking more than a single language. English as an example. I grew up speaking Omaha and Lakota only as a child, but once I entered broader American society, I had to stop. Because ENGLISH, ENGLISH, ENGLISH. SPEAK ENGLISH YOU IMMIGRANT
I honestly liked that the affection from Vel and Cinta was subdued? I think it poignantly displays the heavilyy suppressed love they try to have for each other, and it ultimately makes sense that they keep that on the down low because a loving relationship between two rebels in a fascist galactic empire is probably a huge risk for general emotional turmoil, emotional leverage in the wrong hands, and the huge chance of again losing who you love. The mention of Cinta's family dying fits in the piece of why she probably wants to avoid anymore intimate connections until the rebellion is over, she probably can't bear to lose another person she loves. I also gotta disagree with your points about the Kenari storyline, I get that the unsubtitled scenes run the risk of confusion and alienation- but Im ngl I thought that was the point? There are many details that you can tell the showrunners chose to omit because that's just the harsh world under an authority that erases things, cultures are lost, people are lost, some that you could care about and won't even know are dead. The scene itself was well-directed with actions and feelings shown on the characters' faces that illustrate well what they're doing, what they're going through, the storytelling was raw and captivating especially because I couldn't understand what they're saying. The sequence is elusive and lacks more details than the others show, which fits because these moments are probably now just vague memories since they happened early in Cass's life, he couldn't even remember his sister's name. I get that Maarva taking him is questionable, but I understood that it was her weighing the situation of this child not knowing anything about what's to come, can't possibly understand her, and a frigate of fascists ready to land in minutes to slaughter everyone. Of course it was a grey decision Clem even points that out, but the point being storytelling-wise is that this is one of the key moments that led to Cassian becoming the character we know. That's just the grey world of living in a fascist empire, and Cass, Maarva, Clem, etc, are only human. And yeah sure Maarva telling him to drop the hopes of finding his sister is messed up, but that's ignoring the implied context that Cassian has been spending A LOT of time searching for her sister, ultimately becoming the reason as to why the authorities started to chase him in the beginning. Him searching for her sis literally kicks off the events of the season. I assumed from Maarva's perspective that this search has only given Andor more grief and suffering, and as one of her final messages to him, tells him to just try and make peace without a potentially impossible goal that might swallow him whole.
@girayne Although I too think the coyness or repression fits the story and characters. I wouldn't have complained if they did show kissing and so on. Guess they did the best they could with the censorship.
I loved that as well. It falls in line with the season's entire theme about sacrifice and the cost of rebellion. When Vel tries initiating some intimacy with Cinta, Cinta responds, "The Rebellion will always come first. We take whatever's left." It's so damn heartbreaking but also a very nuanced depiction of a same-sex romance in a time of rebellion. The cause would absolutely come first for someone like that. I could name several parallels from World War II of homosexual resistance fighters who put the cause first and never got to live and enjoy domestic life with a loved one. Most famously, Willem Arondeus bombed an Amsterdam office to destroy thousands of identity records of Jews. Before he was executed, he said, "Tell people that homosexuals are not cowards."
I think if you’re a rebel in the resistance against a full tilt fascist regime, you would want to hide any and everything that makes you vulnerable. And loving someone can of course be used against you, (and against the one you love), by a a ruthless regime with no scruples, regardless of the nature of that love. (Lest we forget: Cassian’s love for his mom is the reason everyone is on Ferrix in episode 12). I suspect Cassian and Bix will rekindle their love for each other in season 2, and if so, I fully expect them to hide it at all cost, just like Vel and Cinta hid theirs. They would have to be stupid not to. Thing is we don’t really know how the Empire feel about homosexuality, or if they even have an opinion. (And Disney are probably not about to let us know any time soon). I think the mere hint at Imperial homophobia would be taking it a step too far in grounding SW in our own reality - it would have looked too much like our own world. I think.
Scary but also pathetic and inept. It is made up of horrible people who are dysfunctional, they aren't cool, in many ways they kinda just suck. But they're given power in a horrible all encompassing system where their actions result in horrible deaths.
@@dayalasingh5853i don’t think inept is accurate. the empire is portrayed as painfully adept in andor, compared to pretty much every other portrayal of the empire, especially in disney’s star wars. the show excellently shows how the empire slowly but surely usurped power from all those underneath it.
Worth noting that Cinta didn't leave the heist "cool as a cucumber." She was crying and looked like she was trying really hard to hold back her emotions. She most likely killed the family so there wasn't any witnesses. She might even justify this because of her own anger about the empire killing her entire family. Thank you for the amazing video!
Agreed, I think she left no witnesses too. I'm hoping next season's story has Cinta joining Saw's 'fanatics', while Vel joins Mon's rebels and their differences in acceptable tactics and priorities conflict with their relationship. They're such good characters to build on.
I'm Irish, and growing up in the 80s you basically saw two Irish stereotypes in American media: the drunkard and if a show or movie was feeling brave and topical, the terrorist. We had to put up with bullshit like Ryan's Daughter and Darby O'Gill. You only saw nuanced and realistic Irish characters in Irish media, and occasionally British stuff, but that was it. The addition and development of the occasional Irish character like Chief O'Brien in Star Trek was massive for me as a teenager because we all loved Colm Meany after The Commitments and it was awesome to see him play an Irish character who was genuinely Irish. He liked to drink, but he wasn't a drunk. He was proud of his work, both educated and working class at the same time, he was proud of his heritage that included the labour movement - the Irish independence movement of the early 20th century was intrinsically linked to the unions. It's so frustrating when, say Carl Benjamin makes fun of Riz Ahmed who mentioned being excited about seeing people like him on TV as a kid during the Rogue One press junket, when everyone on TV looked like Benjamin. He never had to contend with almost everyone on TV looking like him, but the ones who acted like him were there for comedy, or an ongoing conflict was being mined inexpertly for drama. 30 years later the Irish stereotypes have faded and there's far more varied, if still rare characters in non-Irish media. Everyone deserves that and it shouldn't be a fight or a struggle, it should just be the default. Oh, and before I forget, there are so many great Irish actors in Andor playing a wide variety of characters! Maarva, Dedra and Mon Mothma are all played by Irish actors. Maarva's arc has an incredible resonance because so much of what happens on Ferrix is steeped in things that happened in Northern Ireland. Maarva's funeral is basically an IRA funeral including the anti-occupation invective, the bashing of scrap to alert people to the arrival of security forces... It's all stuff I saw on TV or in documentaries.
from a native perspective, the kenari flashbacks are definitely something. but i don't think maarva is a white savior-she didn't go native/dances with wolves/avatar and teach the locals how to fight the government. she's not even a stand-in for fostering out native kids, there just aren't enough parallels there. yes, she definitely kidnapped kassa, but she was definitely not participating in any government-sanctioned buy-in system to take kids away from their families. and based on what we've heard about kenari, there was nothing left, or soon to be nothing left. so when looking at maarva's actions, we're not really talking about residential schools or displacement or genocide. that would be on the republic/empire and whatever actions they took leading up to the mining accident and whatever they did with the kids afterwards. for maarva, the closest parallel i can think of would be pulling a kid out of wounded knee just before everyone is killed. she and clem can't stop the entire atrocity on their own, but they can at least save one person.
You already know my thoughts but just to repeat for algo purposes, this was a really beautiful video and I deeply appreciate the message at the end. Not a lot of cis people are willing to actually speak up right now, just thank you for always showing up, love you 💜 To the audience; seriously start climbing, wake up, fascism is here, actually take in the message.
"an unwillingness to engage with the material they purport to enjoy" is a Very Polite Way to say "people who grewup loving antifascist art yet chose to become fascists, and dont want to face that."
@@marshallscot "if someone uses the word "facist" then all I have to to is ctrl-v the phrase "Everyone that disagrees with my politics is a fascist" and then I won't have to engage honestly with the content of their ideas or ever form one single original thought!"
@@NixonsAppendix You think the story about a bunch of resistance fighters fighting an Empire and the story about a politician using cesarist tactics to turn a representative democracy into an Empire while preying on a troubled youth's insecurities to make him into a self-loathing enforcer aren't antifascist?
This show was so good. I cried at the manifesto reading. Thank you talking about Diego Luna, Tecnoch Huerta, Oscar Isaac, and Adria Arjona and the issues of how Latines are represented in Hollywood and what barriers are there.
It is a show where a major character insights a riot at her own funeral by telling people to get woke. And it's arguably the best written Star Wars thing in general. Not a small feet.
I actually found the fact that there's no subs for the Kenari to be more effective, as the way they communicate to each other is perfectly understandable even though you don't know what exactly they're saying to each other. Like it forces you into a sense of understanding with them instead of treating them like people you'd need a translator to understand. You are able to understand them fully, though the natural way they communicate alone, with no outside help. Just my two cents anyway, either take away is valid I think. Edit: just noticed someone made a point very similar to mine and I have to agree
That's valid - I had no problem with that either Unless it's a very detailed discussion about philosophy and the meaning of life, then well-acted facial and vocal expressions will do. They were well-acted facial and vocal expressions - there was no doubt about what was going on.
This was my take as well. It's just natural understanding based on the context of their situation. Feel subtitles weren't necessary. But also, the whole lost language due to colonization isn't something I considered, which probably makes even more sense. Either way, I think it's clever. It's just good storytelling that already has everything it needs without subtitles
Not only did I go buck-wild over the Kyber crystal, he also mentioned it was from the time of the Rakatan Invaders, which means KOTOR is canon now. Checkmate, Disney.
Well, afawk, the names used within kotor are Canon (however, since Disney is started to retcon written media, even the bits about revan could be considered up for debate)
Luna having to ask for people to stop giving him Jabba merch has the same vibe as me begging my parents to get me anything other than Grogu merch after that was all the presents I got for over a year.
I just watched this over on Nebula. It was fantastic as usual. Also thanks for the Mrs Harris Goes to Paris recommendation. My dad died a few months ago and my mom has, understandably, been sad (as have we all). I have found that watching silly or heartwarming shows and movies with her in the evenings really seems to help. We watched Mrs Harris last weekend and she loved it so thank you
I'm genuinely impressed and happy that you used Latine instead of Latinx. It's great that you support the use of the word that many latinamericans are increasingly using to describe themselves.
I thought I was mishearing her the first few times she said it, and it's the first time I've heard someone use the term. Is "Latine" the preferred gender neutral term, as opposed to "Latino" and "Latina?"
@@eldorados_lost_searcher Yep. I've been using it for a while now. Way easier and intuitive to gender neutralize words with than whatever the fuck latinx is supposed to be lol.
As a pedantic English speaker who took a couple years of Spanish, I never liked the word "Latinx". It just felt like an unholy mashing of a Spanish word with an English letter that didn't at all fit the forms of Spanish words. Latine sounds infinitely better and I am glad that Latin Americans are taking up and spreading the use of that word.
A little detail I always found very perfectly telling about the disgustingly efficient Prison System of Narkina 5 is the mere fact that SHOES determine which class you belong to. You know. Just like in real life.
Thank you for making me happy cry. I love this show so, so much. In your Rogue One video you described it as "radical optimism" and I think about that a lot. Our society is so conditioned on irony and disaffectation that even suggesting we try, at anything, is embarassing, "Cringe," or silly. We need media like this to shatter that. Also, this show does so much work in humanising every single person who dies and I think it's special. No victory without sacrifice and loss, but that loss doesn;t need to be cheap action. Just the way the camera lingers in scenes like the funeral riot. Beautiful
little fun addition about filming locations: I visited the set of Andor while they were filming at a quarry in Dorset! the shot they were filming was the exterior of Saw Gerrera's base, and they had filmed inside the quarry beforehand according to the security guy we talked with.
100% 😢 but also what a great scene. As a former air traffic controller I heard many stories of planes crashing after takeoff because loads werent secure. This was on a rail at the time, but it shows that in the heat of the moment they didnt have time to calculate the necessary thrust as they had discussed the episode prior. So much detail in this script.
@@stevebreedlove9760 National Flight 102, likely based on that as the director of the episode was in Kandahar at the time it happened, iirc, she also worked on Generation Kill.
syril is honestly one of my favorite characters ever made. he’s not a great man by any stretch of the word, but he’s driven by a twisted sort of honor instilled into him by the empire. his relationship with his mother is so devastatingly toxic but so enthralling. he’s prideful and insecure and driven, but he’s such a painfully human character. i want so bad for him to find the acceptance and purpose he so desperately seeks in the rebellion, but i know he is so strongly rooted in law and order, that there’s no way he would.
Best Andor video I’ve seen so far. Broke down every modern day parallel from police brutality, mass incarceration, and racism in America. It’s funny to see other UA-camrs not even touch on these subjects directly because of ignorance or because it doesn’t effect them personally. As a black man in America, Andor as a show resonated me on an extremely personal level because I’ve shared the exact same sentiments and feelings expressed by Cassian, Luthen, etc. People saying “Omg the Empire is so evil, glad that doesn’t exist” is crazy to me, because they’re blind to the atrocities in our own country. Great video 💯
2:00:03 I had forgotten how powerful this moment between Maarva and Cassian is. Had a good cry because of parallels with my own family. Thank you for making such a thoughtful video!
Andor didn't help create that which will kill him. He helped to destroy that which he was forced to build. In a fascist society, everyone, willingly or not, is working for an ultimate evil. Doesn't mean you can't take your chance at stopping that work, and then help bring down whatever they forced you to create. Also, wait some people thought the first three episodes were boring? The first time through I was honestly worried about the change of setting because I just fell completely in love with Ferrix as a setting as its tone. Luckily I was wrong and the rest of the show only keep getting better, but I was so into that place!
I like the potential interpretation of “do or do not there is no try” and “all you have to do is try” where trying is enough. Trying IS doing. The only failure case is to do nothing.
Ever since Rogue One, I had been wishing and praying for an Andor series, and when it was announced and folks were going “who cares” and how this show was never gonna succeed, I always had faith that this story would work and be the best thing for Star Wars. And all I can say right now is……VINDICATIIOOOOONNNNNNN! 🥳🥳🥳 Also lmao at your TIMMMMMM voice 🤣 and Mister Colm Meaney Wasn’t Available That Week 😂😂😂
Just wanted to thank you for being part of why andor does so much to bring hope and meaning, especially after the election. The show affirms humanity and the worth of collective action like no other media for me, well save for disco elysium but I can't reexperience that the same way as andor. Videos like this and Jesse gender's, as well as the AMCA podcast has helped me connect with the series like no other. So, again, thank you so much
It's wild that B2's voice actor was just, the guy. The stutter and delivery are like, masterful acting. The way he got me to cry over a box on wheels who just wanted his marva.
i really recommend the like 12+ hours of podcasting A More Civilized Age did on Andor - they are a Clone Wars podcast but did an Andor break for it and if you would like EVEN MORE andor commentary content (like me, i love people talking eloquently and keysmashingly about a thing that is just THAT good, that is why I'm here) go there. they're good people. (make sure u got the right podcast tho there's another SW podcast with civilized in the name that rants about how woke SW is these days and believe me when i say that is the opposite of AMCA's vibe)
I've been having a pretty shitty day but all of my favorite youtubers released a video today and this was the highlight. I watched this show as soon as I could because I knew you would make a video about it and I wanted to be ahead of the curve. As per usual you have created an essay that has enhanced my love of this amazing show.
This essay speaks to me in many ways that aches in my bones: I am American indigenous, and have spent the last year fighting against fascists, clawing meter by meter to liberate people I have never met across the world from home, shoulder to shoulder beside every stripe of person, for a sunrise I might never see. But there is only one way out
Out of every video I have anticipated about Andor, THIS was the one I've waited for. The empathetic touch and deep insight you have onto these characters never ceases to disappoint! And as expected, I felt loads and learned loads. Thank you for another fantastic analysis!
Absolutely fantastic, especially the last 5 mins. You are a poet! It’s a beautiful thing to hear someone so eloquently essay both the most wonderful SW project ever written within the context of the politics underpinning its subtext, whilst being so aligned to my own ideology. I wept at your conclusion remarks (but I had a couple of Merlots ☺️). Thank you, and praying for your country (I’m from U.K.) in Nov.
Fantastic video, love how you included so many voices of creators behind the show and of latine actors expressing issues they have with the industry. As well as your own perspective that makes some events and character moments hit even harder. Also, glad to be a fun little bit of such a great video
Just a little addition about the "climb" motif: at the beginning of Rogue One, in Andor's very first scene he meets a character with a broken arm. As stormtroopers approach, he is forced to kill the man because he can't climb to safety, and his capture would jeopardize the Rebellion. On the one hand, it's an illustration of how revolutions are messy and filled with unfortunate circumstances. I just connected that, but I don't really know how it fits into the motif, except as maybe a symbolic reinforcement that one's ability to climb is directly correlated to one's ability to earn freedom. Especially if the consequence is death.
I am SO HAPPY you talked about the “climb” and all the other parallels. Not enough people talk about it. Also the rule of three applies to the climb. Also also, my gf says you should do a video on RRR.
the way that Ferrix uses percussions to convey message/sow discord reminds me of the traditional method that Indonesian communities used to do to relay information of like, robbery, fire, or natural disasters, called Kentongan. Ofc this can also happen in other culture/countries but Cinta means Love in Indonesian so my mind just went there instantly
I think you’re my favorite video essayist. Your enthusiasm and passion for the media you discuss is so palpable and I love hearing franchises discussed by an essayist who cares so much. I loved Andor (honestly probably my top show of 2022) and this video discussed a lot of themes and behind the scenes stuff I hadn’t realized. I cried through that interview with Huerta at 41:46. The representation matters so much, and I know everyone knows that, but that just strikes such a chord. That interview particularly, putting it into words like that. Seeing people like me on screen and CELEBRATED all over pop culture would’ve meant so much to me as a child who hated myself so much for not being pale and blonde, for being unable to slip into a skin and name more easily accepted. (And like, to be clear, joke’s now on me, because being an adult writer and artist who rarely works outside means I am now pale therefore in the exact opposite position child-me was in.) I’m so happy for everyone who’s seeing themselves now, and I’m happy for myself as well, but that happiness is always accompanied by a bit of grief for my childhood self who should not have had to navigate the world as precariously as I did. I shouldn’t have had to make those choices. Man, all I can do now is pay it forward and try and make it easier for kids who still don’t get to see themselves represented on screen like they should be. It’s just an interesting time to be in, when things are changing so much (and yet so slowly) but also while we’re all recognizing the damage that the years previous have done to older generations.
When people say Star Wars isn’t political I think they mean it’s never been about identity politics. It’s about something bigger. But, fortunately I haven’t heard or read a single complaint about the same sex relationship in Andor or the diversely inclusive cast and all of the awesome female characters. In fact, I haven’t seen anyone complain about this series at all. I’ve seen nothing but praise and I think it’s well-earned.
I'd be surprised if nobody else noticed this, but just to add to the Narkina-5/concentration camp metaphor - the text never uses these exact words, but the narrative created by those prisons is *work will set you free*
TBH I don't think the Orange and White is a choice by the rebellion- it's high-visibility, which is pragmatic for prison uniforms, and for rescue after an ejection on a flight-suit.
I had to rewind and watch that ship get wasted by Luthen. It was incredible. I have a feeling Cass won't find B and Bix. 😟 That last bit. Goosebumps! 🔥
This *fantastic* video sparked a very raw and vulnerable and compassionate conversation with my father. As a latina, this means so much to me. I want to just say that, your videos are art. That they really hit a chord. You have an impact. This is important. Thank you. Ps: this video absolutley wrecked my sh!t and i haven't stoped crying yet. I love it.
48:28 now I love Star Wars, from the films to the TV shows to the books. And I love getting into the nitty-gritty lore. And yeah A lot of the lore is just filler for the world and has no Real need for it, but! Having The canonical name for a style of music being JIZZ?! JIZZ! was perhaps the greatest thing that’s ever come out of Star Wars
My favourite part of Kino's speech is this: "You need to help each other. You see someone who's confused, someone who is lost, you get them moving and you keep them moving until we put this place behind us." It's so fucking good. "You need to help each other."
Glad I took work off today! Hyped! Edit after watching: Great vid! Though I would largely disagree with the idea that Cassian needs to find his sister. The fact that the plot of him wanting to find his sister is dropped almost immediately seems very purposeful. Cassian may dream of an easy world where he can find and save his sister, but the simple fact is that she’s just another name on the long list of people that have died and disappeared under the fist of the empire. She can’t be found or saved by Cassian. What Cassian can do, is save those like his sister from the empire.
1:58:36 the best thing about this scene to me is how she kills him. She acts all intimidated luring him into a dark building and just absolutely shanks him. The way he is so overconfident during a riot thinking he is above harm, once again plays into the whole self satisfaction the empire has with itself.
It's always a good day when there's new Ladyknightthebrave content! I literally cheered when this popped up in my feed. Another great video, that made me have feelings all over again for this amazing show. I love your insight and comments and how much they inspire me. Thank you!
I’ve only recently discovered your channel but all the videos I’ve seen so far have had such interesting insights and purpose behind them. You’re never just talking about the show, but about real life as well and you do it in such a compelling and thoughtful way. All of this to say, wonderful work and thank you for sharing with all of us ✨
Also, I think it’s fantastic Luna was able to use his real accent and be a Mexican dude in Star Wars. I want yellow and orange rodians and different colored humans.
it's my first year as a sociology major and i am now revisiting this video essay. couldn't have been a better time, your words are gold. thank you for this analysis! i'll watch the new video next 😊
So a bunch of people in the comments and a couple friends have reached out to me to let me know that I missed a trick by not consulting with some indigenous people about the whole unsubtitled Kenari take.
From what I've been told it's very representative of many peoples indigenous experience of losing their language due to colonization. It's quite possible that an adult Cassian may no longer remember the language of Kenari at all so by forcing the audience to feel that separation and alienation it gives us a taste of what a young Kassa may have experienced, especially after he was brought to Ferrix.
My friend told me I was almost there but he could tell I hadn't consulted with any native folk and he was right. It didn't occur to me to check with folk outside of my Latine sensitivity readers. I appreciate all the people who've written thoughtful comments about this. I will try to do better in the future.
A similar theme of genocide and colonialism is brought up later when Luthan is selling an artifact with writings in a forgotten language. I think it was a very deliberate choice.
@@xenophonBC "relax"?
I commented under another comment earlier, but that’s precisely the take I had on those scenes.
Taking someones language is a core tactic in the colonization playbook, it was used all over the world with indigenous children forcibly taken from their families, but it was also used in the efforts to eradicate the Welsh, Gaelic and Québécois French.
There is also an immigrant perspective here.. I know it’s common for 2nd generation immigrants or children brought to a new country at a young age to feel a sense of alienation from their culture because they do not speak the language.
You shouldn’t be to hard on yourself though, as I’ve yet to see a single take on the internet pick up on that. I’d love to see a video essay ideally from an indigenous or immigrant perspective covering this however.
@@xenophonBC It sounds like you didn't really understand the video at all if you're just gonna sit here and tell people to relax instead of listening to them
I was about to come to the comments to write something like "yeah, that was the intention" akin to other comments that I just read, but I found this. So instead, I liked this comment and left a pretty different one myself.
One thing I want to point out about the ship fight: besides being cool, its brilliant storytelling.
Luthen’s whole ideology is “we push the Empire to tighten their grip, more and more, until it gets too tight and it snaps back”. In that scene, he gets to demonstrate it: little annoyances cause the Imperial Captain to up the tractor beam, until Luthen makes a seemingly incompetent escape attempt (an act of outright rebellion) at which point the beam (repression) is turned up to maximum. At this point, Luthen unleashes the chaff: a cloud of otherwise insignificant little things that, due to the strength of the beam (repression) overwhelm the Imperial ship. It’s an uprising.
It’s his entire ideology demonstrated in a single scene. And it’s perfect.
Holy shit I'd never even thought of that, that's amazing
"What is your ideology?"
"Fuck the Empire."
*pocket sands a cruiser*
That scene was brilliant, and beautiful, and I immediately rewound it to watch it again, in the middle of watching that episode.
My gawd, you are absolutely spot on. I knew there had to be a reason that scene was so powerful, not just because it was shiny and cool and "starwarsy."
Stunning work, and I can't wait to tell someone else what you found.
When your ideology can be turned into an effective battle strategy... then you know it's a good ideology!
It broke my heart when they all finally get to freedom and he goes “I can’t swim”…
You realize in that moment that he knew he wasn’t ever leaving, but he fought for them all anyway. That visceral feeling (multiple times throughout) of sacrificing for the greater good was so goddamned potent.
Have a headcanon: Kino Loy lives. Not because he suddenly learned how to swim, but because the people he inspired saw him struggling and helped him.
Honestly I was kind of baffled by the decision to not show the prisoners swimming to shore and helping those who couldn't swim.
Seems weird that they just cut away and have Cassian and the other dude running along a beach and later be all, "wonder if anyone else survived!" Like weren't you all swimming away together?
@@JordanSullivanadventures they're on a planet everyone probably tried swimming in different directions so Melshi and Cassian wouldn't know how many people survived and neither do we which is the point of them not showing them swimming away.
i mean they all basically died trying to swim away anyway with basically only the two men left. I got more of a "we will die anyway, might as well die on or terms or by taking out this whole base's production while we do it" than a sacrificial thing
I promise you and everyone….Kino Loy is alive and we’ll see him again.
I 100% understand the stance that having no subtitles for Cassian's native language was alienating. Personally, the effect that I got from it wasn't alienation from Cassian and the other kids. For me, not having subtitles for those bits made me key in even more to the acting and the emotionality of the kids, which I think made me empathize more. The emotions and experiences didn't need to be translated to be understood because they are universally understandable. We know what happened here--we don't need to be told. The other thing it did for me is really underscore that Cassian is a survivor of a genocide--that we don't get to see any subtitles for his native language because a translation _cannot be made._ That this is a permanently lost language because of what the Empire did to Kenari. I can understand and respect alternate perspectives on this, but when I watched it I remember explicitly thinking that it was a pretty deep-cutting, ballsy decision to not have subtitles for those scenes.
It’s wasn’t the Empire that did that to Cassian’s homeworld, that was a Republic ship during the Clone Wars
My precise thoughts.
Why is a certain level of alienation bad anyway? It's showing us what loss is. That some things are really gone. That people will never truly understand. Quite genius in my opinion
This is precisely how I felt about it. Every detail of setting and costume and facial expression is important. The language separates us, but it lets us focus on our shared humanity. That matters.
I completely agree, I also think that the language reminds us that we are an outsider. It reminds us that we do not have permission to be viewing what is an act of shared trauma from cultural genocide. I definitely think not having the subtitles was a very very good choice.
@The Mediocre Master ok, here's an interesting thing I've realised that not many people have actually talked about. While yes, the flashbacks in chapters 1-3 are set during the time of the republic. They also speak in present day about Kenari being destroyed in a mining disaster. And maarva specifically says in relation to Cassian's search for his sister that there were no survivors on Kenari implying that either the Republic or potentially Empire had done something there after the flashbacks as well.
So like the flashbacks are sandwiched between normal mining and potentially mining disaster? It's not really clear about that but that's not really the important thing the show is talking about anyway. Although I'd love to see more about Kenari. Without a doubt. But at the very least it's clear that something has happened to Kenari for the group we see Kassa with to not have any adults and parents with them.
As a Lakota 60’s scoop survivor who left my “adoptive”/scoop home at 15 to join the Indigenous occupations in canada in the 1990’s Andor was the most relatable thing I’ve ever watched in my life. That there was no subtitles actually made me cry.
Tarot readings, tarot deck creation and Indigenous opinions by a Lakota - Cajun tarot reader and fortune teller...
@ does my work somehow delegitimize my opinions? Or does my background delegitimize my opinions? Just trying to figure out if you’re classist, racist or both.
Here's the thing, I think that learning Cassian helped make the Death Star isnt sad, but almost hopeful because he halted production! Him stoping the prison, getting all 5000 people out halting the prison and getting it out of power for months helped halt production. Maybe it was only for a bit, maybe they stopped a few more pieces but it mattered, because how close where they to getting the death star plans? By seconds. Every second mattered, and every rebel helped buy a precious few seconds for a farm boy to make the shot.
yeah when I was watching I was really hoping that it was parts for the death star (same reasons as you).
my pessimistic side was half expecting that we'd find out the other half of the prison was just disassembling the parts and the whole thing was pointless labour
Part of me would have appreciated if the items were something banal like turbolaser power packs or whatever. But it's vastly more narratively satisfying that it was some key part of the Death Star. Reality isn't generally narratively satisfying so the first would have been a nice subversion. But the latter makes a more impactful story.
Kinda like is Luthen and Kleya were just ordinary people managing to build the foundation of a rebellion. As opposed to if they turn out to be a fallen jedi and padawan that survived Order 66 and are now using the dark side to defeat the empire.
@@j.f.fisher5318 I do think it works in the specific context of the prison, and the repeated lines 'I'd rather die trying to escape than giving them what they want'. In this case giving the fascists what they want is helping to build the literal, physical representation of everything the Empire wants to be. When you keep your head down and just do what you're told, you become a tiny part in a horrific machine.
In the grand scheme of things, and when you consider how absolutely tight the victory at the end of Rogue One was... Cassian indirectly buying just one or two seconds before the Death Star's activation is basically a double down on how pivotal he was to the rebellion. But it also reinforces the thought that he was not in it alone. Had it been not for his prison mates, for his allies and for all the people that fought by him on each battle, he wouldn't have achieved shit.
Didn't think of that. That's super powerful. But then again, he was the one to destroy it, he had to escape to destroy it anyways.
I really do just love how, with a *tiny* few changes and a change in perspective, Syril would be the good guy in a different piece of media. He could easily be slipped into a different show, and be the Hero Cop that won’t listen to his corrupt bosses. He is so dedicated to The Truth that he will face professional consequences, and then go out of his way to continue fighting to solve the case.
The issue is that he’s doing this for a completely evil cause. And yeah he’s also quite creepy, and so on, but the base level of his character when written out is effectively that of a hero protagonist cop.
Note that last word. Cop. I very much read Syril both as a commentary on how fascists operate and internalise what they do, but also a commentary on *other* media. It’s saying “hey aren’t all these hero cops in other shows and movies just one bad government away from willingly being the Gestapo?” And that is fucking great.
Yeah, I personally read Cyril as more of a sympathetic character, someone with very clear social anxiety from his awful upbringing making him come off as creepy, who's strong internal sense of justice is abused by the fascist machine.
A demonstration of how fascist regimes can use 'good' people as tools to do awful things.
Funnily enough, I believe there would've been an equal chance of him becoming a rebel under ever so slightly different circumstances.
Syril also had a dope ass theme.
He's the Ordinary Man of 1920s Europe. He wants order, and peace, and community cooperation. Fraternity and equality. He's so desperate to belong somewhere, and so proud of his uniform, he doesn't stop to consider the morality of where he belongs and who gave him that uniformity.
And yes, I capitalized that phrase as an allusion.
After watching Syril become stripped of his individuality I now have a desire for a Star Wars buddy cop film with cops similar to Syril and Mosk who are catching “the bad guy” (ignore that fact it’s a rebel) then either defect from the empire after seeing how corrupt their justice system is or just accept it and they’re just pussies. And it’ll be more on brand since I’m still waiting for a Star Wars horror movie that will never happen
In a show full of richly written characters Syril is among my utmost favorites, and it's because of Kyle Sollers brilliant performance. Nonverbally, the guy's expressing more than many others do through a movie's worth of dialogue.
I will never get over Brasso smashing that dude with Marva's brick. Fucking amazing series
My husband yelled, "Hit him with the brick!" just before he did it, and then we both cheered.
Brasso my king ❤
Brasso is a real G.
I’m hoping that there will be a spin-off with brasso, bix and the kid
I would love for my funeral to include my best friend braining a fascist with my remains.
A lot of other posters have suggested Kenari is not a generic language but specifically a lost language that we cannot learn because Andor has forgotten it, and I'm sure this can't be an accident since this theme of language and loss is a huge theme throughout the show in general. In addition to the upfront loss of language, the only other place we see Cassian being told about the Kenari is a brothel - the entire idea of the Kenari has been reduced to an exotic, upmarket fetish. One of Luthen's artifacts he shows off ,all of which are otherwise given pretty clear implied meaning, one is a tablet that can't be understood because the language has been lost. With the Empire torturer, an entire species has been utterly eradicated EXCEPT their language, but it is in this case their cries of pain, distorted and mutilated to serve the preferences of the Empire. In the absurdist trial sequence, the ability to control what language means is the main source of power of the Empire judge. In prison, the ability to conceal their intent through language is what keeps the prisoners from rebelling, and losing that control leads to revolt.
Fascist genocide may end with camps and crematoria, but it starts with the will to power, deciding that you can control reality through the control of language.
Damn, Hideo Kojima was onto something with MGSV.
I mean, why do you think fascists nowadays want to ban discussion of certain topics in schools (such as talking about pretty much any form of systemic oppression, they also don't want you to talk about LGBT+ people or critical race theory or anything like that)? They think that, through controlling language, they can control reality and thus erase groups of people they don't like, or at least force them to hide themselves away, as well as ideas they don't like.
One line that is understandably buried in an ocean of other amazing moments is when Cass comes to get Maarva and she explains how the empire has taken over everywhere.
Cass: "Well, we'll find a place they haven't ruined yet."
Maarva: "Why? I'm already there. That place is in my head. They can build as many barracks as they like, they'll never find me."
That line absolutely cut to the core of me. The utter heart of rebellion burning inside to be surrounded by fascist occupying forces and stubbornly stay free. She refused to let them subdue her. They could put 30 deathstars in the sky above Ferix and never make this woman believe she wasn't free.
I loved her for that if nothing else.
It reminds me of the lyrics to the Firefly theme song:
Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
I am so glad you mentioned the Medic. I’m an EMT working on becoming a Paramedic and the way they call him a ‘Med tech’ immediately hit home. His interaction with Olaf felt so real and disturbing to me, down to calling him brother. I understood so well why he didn’t want his name and his desperation in ‘I can’t help him. I can’t help anyone’ has stuck with me ever since.
Are you doing okay? I have (sometimes life-threatening) depression, and some of what that character said was too relatable to my worst days.
Narkina 5 is part prison, part concentration camp, and part Amazon warehouse.
JFC, this is amazingly true.
Set designers said they were inspired to make the prison feel like a slaughterhouse. That was a round table interview with Star Wars Explained.
I feel like a Soviet gulag or labor/work camps feels the most direct allegory that they were going for. The way its designed seems super well-suited to Soviet minimalism and efficiency, about these ‘goals’ to strive for working in teams, that your reward for effective communist cooperation is an extra ration, and that everyone shares in their suffering equally but with a social credit score in hierarchy. That they are crucial to the industrial work effort of the empire etc etc. all the symbolism seemed pointed that way, because its not about degradation and dehumanisation of the prisoners in a WW2 concentration camp sense as much as it is about the industrialism and collectivism.
@@GuineaPigEveryday I doubt that. If it were inspired by the gulag, it'd be more clear cosmetically. It looks and feels more like a US prison making license plates.
@@bobbirdsong6825delusional take honestly, its literally a gulag
@@hegantank6495if it's delusional then why did I think of the comparison independent of this comment thread
It took me several viewings to realize this, but I'm pretty sure the reason Cassian starts attacking the machinery is because he sees the facepaint he put on in imitation of the nameless child leader who stood up for his right to come on the "mission" in an earlier scene, and is suddenly overwhelmed about her death and this series of events that led to it.
Something I really love is that Sergeant Mosk goes from gung ho, “First Line of Defense of the Empire” rent a cop, to understanding what that actually means. He sees what the Empire does to bring “order” on Ferrix during the riots. And you just see him drinking on some steps, just thinking what he witnessed.
And this is the last we will see of him. His actor confirmed on Twitter he was not asked back to film in season 2
Damn. I was looking forward to more of the character and the performance. I didn’t read his drinking alone as facing doubts about which side he was on, I just saw it as him stuck looking for Syril.
Such a shame honestly, the subtle development he undergoes in the finale was amazing
I'm ok with that being the last we see. Not everyone will become a rebel, some will see the horrors and just go about their days, believing that there's nothing left to do. Especially if you once believed in a cause committing those horrors
I was always a bit confused what we were supposed to see in that last shot of him, is he just depressed being abandoned by Syril his one imperial superior officer, a symbol he would follow into death and glory, now abandoning him for someone more powerful.
I love how simple it is, that the soldiers faced with doing war crimes for their government do it and only afterwards drown their sorrows in drink.
@@Miss_Trillium 7 months later watching people stay silent on the genocide in Gaza and your comment has certainly been proven right.
57:23 Let me tell you, when Marva says "that's just love", my entire heart just exploded and honestly i don't think I've emotionally recovered from that scene
Yes, absolutely the best line in the whole series.
It works because it's so honestly true though as well. I could imagine someone saying that in that situation.
This part and Brasso telling Cassian that Maarva loved him more than anything he could ever do wrong 💔
This show really is the best because almost every scene has an impact on someone. Everyone has their favorite/most touching scene and usually for projects it's either 1 or 2 moments that everyone talks about but the diversity in which scene touched who is just *chefs kiss*
That moment resonated with me so very much. It makes me think of friends, family, and people from my past. And it moved me deeply. Love is tremendous.
This show hit a really interesting spot for me. I'm Haitian so this reminded me a lot of the Haitian revolution and the cost we paid for Freedom, But every inch was worth it even if we're being starved. Maarva's speech, especially hit home.
I had a similar experience having a Scottish background and seeing the Scottish Highlands being used as the backdrop to tell a story which mirrored the Highland Clearances. So much of the depth of this series comes from the real world injustices and struggles that it represents.
@@GamerParent I really loved that Aldhani and the entire arc really encapsulates a different type of injustice and struggle that being a community of peoples being forced by an oppressive regime to be forcefully relocated, I also love the oppressive and almost deafeningly quiet atmosphere of the planet and how the show frames the Imperials as apathetic landlords which further mirrors the real world as a lot of landlords up in the Higlands willfully booted many of the communities out and they weren't given any choice. The real world Highland Clearences were done by Scottish landlords and nobility themselves and in a bit of irony eradicated many of Scotland's Gaelic speakers as well as leading to many Scottish clans leaving for other colonies, it also contributed to the Highlands population never fully recovering which also mirrors how there are only handful left of local peoples in Aldhani. I also like that the enterprise district is found in the lowlands of Aldhani which hits the nails for the parallel even harder as it might also allude to the much more not well known Lowland Clearances as the wealthier landlords moved away from their rural areas to more industrial centres like Glasgow, Edinburgh and even in the northern England to Liverpool, Manchester or further down to London. It gives a sense that the empire as not only greedy but also apathetic and more willing to use different methods to weaken their occupied territories
Tony Gilroy actually cites the Haitan Revolution as one of the historical inspirations behind the show!
Glory to the Haitians! you are a brave and honourable people! love from Greece
Honestly, it hits hard pretty much any nation/ethnic group with historical experience of armed resistance/uprising. Finally a show that doesn’t cut corners when it comes to the presentation of such situations. Showing both great, dark and very shady aspects of underground struggle and sometimes organic way it forms (funeral scene and its outcome is just top notch).
This series doesn’t treat its audience as idiots, craving for some light entertaiment. For SW it is revolutionary. 😂
It makes me so mad that I can't convince anyone to watch this show it is just so incredible
Yeah. Their loss. 😐
I recommend it to a number of friends and family, that don't like Star Wars.
I've gotten 2 friends, one of which avidly says they dislike star wars, to watch it. Both gave high marks to the show
I'll watch it. For the 6th time. There... now you have someone that will watch it. It's so good!
@@stevebreedlove9760its our loss when ppl whine about everything being shit nowadays and refuse to watch when its actually fucking good
"Fun" fact: the hitting bits of random metal to alert people comes from The Troubles in Northern Ireland, when a similar thing was used to warn of upcoming Army/Police raids.
The show also inverts the meaning of Jynn saying “it’s not so bad if you don’t look up”. There are a few lines about the importance of looking down. Including Clem’s “They don’t look down to where they should”.
At 01:50:27 I believe they switch hats not for funzies, but as a practical way to recognise each other in the upcoming chaos. It is easier to identify your hat in a crowd than your buddies’.
Yeah. That makes a ton of sense.
Makes sense. Some of my more radical friends have tricks like that when shit hits the fan
Colour of the hat rim, to signify who was higher ranking. Come on, guys! ;)
I just kept expecting them to reveal Cassians sister. That she somehow got off the planet and its someone we knew all alone. It cuts so deep when Marva tells him to stop looking for her. She's gone.
It’s still weird to me that Maarva tells Cassian that there were no other survivors, but the brothel madame in episode 1 is familiar with Kenari, and seems to remember employing a girl from there, and can guess by looking at Cassian that he is looking for someone with dark features like himself, so she knows what people from Kenari look like. That all seems like a promising lead. Makes me wonder if searching for the sister was meant to be a major plot point and the writers abandoned it because it didn’t fit with the direction the show was taking. I wish we could have gotten a first episode that shows Cassian nicking the Starpath unit instead of looking for his sister, since that’s the plot point we could actually use some backstory on.
This is definitely the good kind of subverting expectations. It's realistic but still carries thematic weight. It goes against popular story tropes but without being empty and meaningless...like when characters just...forget about major antagonists they were talking about a few scenes ago...
What about Dedra being the sister? Doesn't her supervisor say something to her about having to be the best compared to her colleagues? Never got what that meant...is she the empire's 'reformed indigenous person' that now serves loyally?
@@eosborne6495It is very possible that noone on the planet at that time survived and that the only survivors where people off planet
@@vigilantenfdl4424 she's as white as wonderbread... you think she's related to Cassian 'dark features' Andor? Girl...
I am so happy you talked about the messiness of Maarva's character as Andor's foster mom, and how she literally ripped him away from his family. I was really surprised by how many fans wanted to unambiguously see her motivations as completely justified, or want to see her as a perfect mother. I understand why, and there's nothing wrong with wanting that, but I do wonder if part of that is because of the dearth of actual mainstream stories with foster children where that experience is represented well.
As a former foster child who had to be forcibly separated from quite a few families, the way they portrayed her and Andor's own relationship with her actually really spoke to me. Granted, I was not at all in any of the situations you rightfully connected to with indigenous people being stolen, so I can't speak to that. But for me, there was an underlying anger Cassian had throughout the show. Yes towards the empire, but I think you could and should read it as unresolved anger towards his foster parents too, even if he loved them.
I don't believe the show wanted us to view Maarva's character as unambiguously good, at least not in Andor's life. I realized this show was going to be something special because of that incredible scene at the end of episode 3, where we're inter-cutting between young Andor and Adult Andor. There's A LOT happening there. I don't believe that scene was there just to connect us to two points to Cassian's life where his world and trajectory completely changed. I think young Andor's uncomprehending face and his wonder cut to Maarva smiling at him cut to Adult Cassian's face is an incredible way to communicate how he actually felt about the way Maarva took him from his family and his home. LOOK AT HIS EXPRESSION. That scene explicitly compares Luthen with Maarva, which, is definitely a specific creative decision. Yes, Luthen is a lot more suspicious, and yes, they are also meant to be compared in terms of different figures fighting against the empire, but I also interpreted that scene as Andor HIMSELF remembering his childhood and the last time this happened, being transported to that moment himself. The way that scene plays out is framed like a memory . Cassian remembers the first real moment where he becomes part of Maarva's family, and THAT'S the expression on his face when he remembers it? I think Cassian has lived out the full consequences that moment in his childhood, and it plays a role in why he's so mistrustful. People with the best intentions--people who are fighting against the same enemy you are--can still hurt you.
I was not expecting this level of nuance in a foster child narrative, and I personally was really happy to see it, even if it was a very small slice. I love that in this interpretation, we have a main character who was a foster child, whose identity as a foster child actually had representations in the way it was portrayed--to me, the ramifications of being a foster child played a role in his relationships with other people, with a community that he felt slightly outside of, with his own family. I really liked that he was a foster child who loved his foster parents, and was still angry at them when he remembered the moment he had to live with them. I love that, and I also wish this part of the show was talked about more.
I find the reading of hertaking andor interesting, I didn't see this at all like the stolen generation etc.
Maarvas split second decision was based on what the Empire would do when they arrived, and her inability to communicate with the boy the danger.
Wonder what season 2 will bring concerning this.
My grandmother is a survivor of the Indian Boarding School System. When she was a child, her grandmother (someone who avoided being sent to boarding school, by literally being hidden in the basement) broke into panic everytime school teachers and other white agents of the state came to inquire "Why aren't your children in school?"
Because my great-great grandmother, witnessed her siblings, her cousins and many other children get seized by white indian agents, by white nuns, by white soldiers. To take them to boarding school
OR
If they were half white, pale skinned or "pretty". Were taken completely and utterly away from their families, never to be seen again. She had no idea where many of those children went, because many died.
She fought hard to keep my grandmother home, but after she passed away. My grandmother was finally sent and she endured a brutality that turned her into a woman who could have axed Palpatine with little issue. She was something to behold...
But only because of the things those people done to her. Removing her from her home, destroying her language (which she vowed to remember when everyone around her forgot, and BOY did she REMEMBER) and so on.
Maarva's motivations are familiar and it hurts to see her genuine love for Cassian. Because there's been so many Native people who come back from being adopted out, who cry. Because their adopted parents LOVE THEM. But they were still taken away, they were still stripped of relationships to their culture. They're still lost
It's fascinating and could use it's own deep dive, but there's one tangential point to it: Kenari is largely thought to now be extinct. From what we hear, and to some degree are shown, it's *probably* true. That being said, we don't have that certainty. Perhaps andor really is the last living Kenari, or perhaps that group of children found a way to survive. If the first is true, then perhaps Maarva was Right to do so. But if it turns out others did survive, then she partook in cultural genocide (even if her intentions were good). I suspect we won't get an answer, because while getting an answer is very Disney, it doesn't necessarily match the tone of the show. After all, it's shown that adults for some reason are highly targeted by the dangerous chemical in the air, so it may be the children cant make it to adulthood. No clue
On the point of there not being subtitles during times which the Kenari kids speak--I think it's a great choice, even/especially as someone who is HoH. It's a loud statement that This Language Is Extinct, the specifics are lost. To some degree this happens with other life forms in the series, like chewwie rarely if ever getting specific translations and not just what Han says he's saying, or Basic Droid speak being largely left untranslated--but part of that is that there is someone they communicate with that translated it for us.
It definitely wasn't a clear cut good thing she did there, but she had little time to think it through and knew that the Republic was coming to take their stuff back and would likely kill him if he stayed there. Later Kenari would become unhabitable thanks to a mining disaster and all humans on the planet died
@@nightgirlgaming1985it is also very likely that the "mining diaster" was a imperial cover for the sluaghter of kenari
For all the praise this show gets I still think it’s underrated. It’s so good like seriously how was this made in this era of not only Star Wars but tv and movies as a whole? It’s a true triumph and I still think it deserves wayyyy more love.
And I would add that part of its strength is that it isn't really what you would call a classic "Star Wars show" like The Clone Wars or Rebels - instead, Andor is a political drama, prison film, heist thriller, or dystopian film all set in the Star Wars universe.
“If you are ignoring a system that’s killing people; if you’re doing nothing but standing around saying shit’s fucked without trying to find an umbrella, then you’re part of the problem!”
I wanted to give 10,000 likes to this statement. This vid was amazing! Thanks so much for the heart and soul you put into it!!
100% this.
first they came for the ...
Even if you act to just care for those closest to you, any act against opression is part of a bigger rebellion. We don't all need to be strategic heroes and political intriguists like Mothma and Luthen. We can also be like Brasso or the Tower Bell Dude (best superhero name ever): we can act against nowadays opression by just caring about the ones close to us and drawing a line in the sand. An anvil tower nobody can step upon. An old-lady-turned-brick that nobody can disrespect in our presence. In the grand scheme of this, they haven't really made an impact on the rebellion... but hell if their attitude and the attitude of countless others like them hasn't helped put down the Empire. We can all learn a lesson from these secondary characters.
@@YouMakeMyMotorRun no more main character syndrome. Be the secondary transformational character you want to see in the world!
It's 12th of January 2024 when I'm making this comment and that's all I'm going to say
Man, I can just not get enough of Andor video Essays. If you enjoy podcasts I very highly recommend "A More Civilized Age" and their breakdown of Andor, (they also went through all of clone wars and in-depthly discussed it as well). They even talk about how the reason the citizens of Ferix are banging on that metal is because it's a neighborhood alarm system reminiscent of what Irish citizens did during "The Troubles" when British forces would be seen in their neighborhood.
Thats fantastic, ive seen ppl nitpick the metal banging way too much for no reason and guess what they were wrong again to doubt the writers. This show isn’t perfect (to some), but man the details are so fantastic.
It makes me happy seeing youtube fill up with Andor video essays all over, good that love for it is staying alive and hopefully growing
it also reminds me of a common way people from latin america protest! on the streets, whole communities bang pots and pans in unison while they march, it’s known as“Cacerolazos”.
@@GuineaPigEveryday I swear so many nitpicks of this show are just from people unaware of historical context lmao. I'm Irish and it never occurred to me that people would not immediately understand what the metal banging was about, either from knowledge or just rolling with the implication, until I read your comment
this show is right up there with hunger games for me in terms of art that has reshaped how i experience the world. i cannot think about cassian’s arc without getting emotional. and it has an added effect thanks to luna’s casting. It’s just indescribable how it feels to see someone who looks like me and speaks like my father and family members leading a show about the necessity for resistance in the face of oppression. thank you for this video! i’m having all the feelings 🥹
I literally rewatched the entirety of Hunger Games just because I cannot wait to get my fix for Andor with S2. The parallels between Cassian and Katniss of the process from being a lumpen (lower class people who have no interest for the revolutionary cause) to being a revolutionary is astounding.
@@fish_birbtheir arcs are very similar when you think about it
- belongs to an oppressed group and doesn’t really care enough to do something about it
(Living outside of the capitol, living on a poor planet like Ferrix)
- gets roped into a fight by forces they cannot control
(The 74th Hunger Games, the heist at Aldani)
- still don’t want anything to do with revolutionary efforts
(Opening chapters of Catching Fire, Cassian’s time on Niamos)
- get abused physically and mentally by the system that exploited them (The Quartel Quell, Narkina 5)
-become radicalized individuals that will do anything to see the system crash and burn
(Mockingjay, Rogue One)
Andor made me nostalgic for something I've never had: The fierce sense of community the people of Ferrix have.
I've always just felt so isolated from the places I live in, having been renting my entire adult life it never seems worth it to build bonds with neighbours who I could be forced to move away from at any time.
The people of Ferrix have each others backs in a way I wish I could experience.
It's never too late to start where ever you are in your life. Being in community takes work, sometimes a lot of work, hard work. But you have one advantage. You already feel it's worth it.
What i see missing from a lot of the andor analysis is that cassian lost his parents in a REPUBLIC mining disaster. It was a republic corporation that colonized the planet, caused massive environmental damage, left thousands of orphans. the seeds for both empire and cassian's dispossession were in the ravenous economic system of the republic, much like the turmoil and despair that leads to fascism comes from industrialization - class struggles, lumpenbourgoise coconspirators, and the acquiescence of elites
Keeno struck me as someone who was always looking out for his crew. As long as he thought there was the slightest chance that simply serving their time would be enough to get them out alive, he was going along to keep his fellow inmates alive.
The instant, the *instant* he realised that there is, well, only one way out, he commits to the revolt.
Strong performance in a show full of strong performances.
Andy Serkis said that Kino Loy was probably a union leader before going to prison, which I can't unsee it after reading that.
41:26 "And he was a main character."
I can't even describe the way I reacted to that. I really don't get emotional easy, but that kind of reaction to simple representation really got to me. The way that post was written and how the dad reacted was so fantastic.
Listening to that section I actually teared up.
As a person who consumed English media with subtitles most of my life, I think having Cassian's native language 'mysterious' was a mirror of what I was experiencing as a child. I really appreciate that I felt reflected on those scenarios; finally, these people who lived their whole life catered to by the majority of the world were feeling what I felt: alienated and just a secondary audience. ngl I really hoped it won't be addressed because the children's reactions were enough language as it was. I mean, come on, western media sees silent movies as highbrow art recently so what are bits of scenes like that?
It's more like. From an Indigenous perspective, our Languages being stated as "Mysterious", "Unknown Language" or the funniest thing ever on Turtle Island; "FOREIGN LANGUAGE"
IS a literal reminder. That our Languages are still seen as insignificant, unsuited for Western audiences to sit and think about.
Because there was a concerted effort to stamp out each and every language spoken in the America's that were Indigenous in origin. It's why a huge swathe of Indigenous people across north and south america, wind up speaking more than a single language. English as an example.
I grew up speaking Omaha and Lakota only as a child, but once I entered broader American society, I had to stop. Because ENGLISH, ENGLISH, ENGLISH. SPEAK ENGLISH YOU IMMIGRANT
I honestly liked that the affection from Vel and Cinta was subdued? I think it poignantly displays the heavilyy suppressed love they try to have for each other, and it ultimately makes sense that they keep that on the down low because a loving relationship between two rebels in a fascist galactic empire is probably a huge risk for general emotional turmoil, emotional leverage in the wrong hands, and the huge chance of again losing who you love.
The mention of Cinta's family dying fits in the piece of why she probably wants to avoid anymore intimate connections until the rebellion is over, she probably can't bear to lose another person she loves.
I also gotta disagree with your points about the Kenari storyline, I get that the unsubtitled scenes run the risk of confusion and alienation- but Im ngl I thought that was the point? There are many details that you can tell the showrunners chose to omit because that's just the harsh world under an authority that erases things, cultures are lost, people are lost, some that you could care about and won't even know are dead. The scene itself was well-directed with actions and feelings shown on the characters' faces that illustrate well what they're doing, what they're going through, the storytelling was raw and captivating especially because I couldn't understand what they're saying. The sequence is elusive and lacks more details than the others show, which fits because these moments are probably now just vague memories since they happened early in Cass's life, he couldn't even remember his sister's name.
I get that Maarva taking him is questionable, but I understood that it was her weighing the situation of this child not knowing anything about what's to come, can't possibly understand her, and a frigate of fascists ready to land in minutes to slaughter everyone. Of course it was a grey decision Clem even points that out, but the point being storytelling-wise is that this is one of the key moments that led to Cassian becoming the character we know. That's just the grey world of living in a fascist empire, and Cass, Maarva, Clem, etc, are only human. And yeah sure Maarva telling him to drop the hopes of finding his sister is messed up, but that's ignoring the implied context that Cassian has been spending A LOT of time searching for her sister, ultimately becoming the reason as to why the authorities started to chase him in the beginning. Him searching for her sis literally kicks off the events of the season. I assumed from Maarva's perspective that this search has only given Andor more grief and suffering, and as one of her final messages to him, tells him to just try and make peace without a potentially impossible goal that might swallow him whole.
@girayne Although I too think the coyness or repression fits the story and characters. I wouldn't have complained if they did show kissing and so on. Guess they did the best they could with the censorship.
Then her being messy would be realistic a people tend to be usually messy.
I loved that as well. It falls in line with the season's entire theme about sacrifice and the cost of rebellion. When Vel tries initiating some intimacy with Cinta, Cinta responds, "The Rebellion will always come first. We take whatever's left." It's so damn heartbreaking but also a very nuanced depiction of a same-sex romance in a time of rebellion. The cause would absolutely come first for someone like that. I could name several parallels from World War II of homosexual resistance fighters who put the cause first and never got to live and enjoy domestic life with a loved one. Most famously, Willem Arondeus bombed an Amsterdam office to destroy thousands of identity records of Jews. Before he was executed, he said, "Tell people that homosexuals are not cowards."
This is just my comment but way better lmao
I think if you’re a rebel in the resistance against a full tilt fascist regime, you would want to hide any and everything that makes you vulnerable. And loving someone can of course be used against you, (and against the one you love), by a a ruthless regime with no scruples, regardless of the nature of that love. (Lest we forget: Cassian’s love for his mom is the reason everyone is on Ferrix in episode 12). I suspect Cassian and Bix will rekindle their love for each other in season 2, and if so, I fully expect them to hide it at all cost, just like Vel and Cinta hid theirs. They would have to be stupid not to. Thing is we don’t really know how the Empire feel about homosexuality, or if they even have an opinion. (And Disney are probably not about to let us know any time soon). I think the mere hint at Imperial homophobia would be taking it a step too far in grounding SW in our own reality - it would have looked too much like our own world. I think.
The best thing about Andor is they made the Empire scary again.
Scary but also pathetic and inept. It is made up of horrible people who are dysfunctional, they aren't cool, in many ways they kinda just suck. But they're given power in a horrible all encompassing system where their actions result in horrible deaths.
@@dayalasingh5853i don’t think inept is accurate. the empire is portrayed as painfully adept in andor, compared to pretty much every other portrayal of the empire, especially in disney’s star wars. the show excellently shows how the empire slowly but surely usurped power from all those underneath it.
@@br1ghts0ng good point
No. The best thing is that they made the political commentary and subtext relevant again. Disney was screwing that part up.
@@dayalasingh5853it's not inept. It's just that any totalitarian state fosters negative selection and potemkin villages.
Worth noting that Cinta didn't leave the heist "cool as a cucumber." She was crying and looked like she was trying really hard to hold back her emotions. She most likely killed the family so there wasn't any witnesses. She might even justify this because of her own anger about the empire killing her entire family. Thank you for the amazing video!
Agreed, I think she left no witnesses too. I'm hoping next season's story has Cinta joining Saw's 'fanatics', while Vel joins Mon's rebels and their differences in acceptable tactics and priorities conflict with their relationship. They're such good characters to build on.
I'm Irish, and growing up in the 80s you basically saw two Irish stereotypes in American media: the drunkard and if a show or movie was feeling brave and topical, the terrorist. We had to put up with bullshit like Ryan's Daughter and Darby O'Gill. You only saw nuanced and realistic Irish characters in Irish media, and occasionally British stuff, but that was it. The addition and development of the occasional Irish character like Chief O'Brien in Star Trek was massive for me as a teenager because we all loved Colm Meany after The Commitments and it was awesome to see him play an Irish character who was genuinely Irish. He liked to drink, but he wasn't a drunk. He was proud of his work, both educated and working class at the same time, he was proud of his heritage that included the labour movement - the Irish independence movement of the early 20th century was intrinsically linked to the unions.
It's so frustrating when, say Carl Benjamin makes fun of Riz Ahmed who mentioned being excited about seeing people like him on TV as a kid during the Rogue One press junket, when everyone on TV looked like Benjamin. He never had to contend with almost everyone on TV looking like him, but the ones who acted like him were there for comedy, or an ongoing conflict was being mined inexpertly for drama. 30 years later the Irish stereotypes have faded and there's far more varied, if still rare characters in non-Irish media. Everyone deserves that and it shouldn't be a fight or a struggle, it should just be the default.
Oh, and before I forget, there are so many great Irish actors in Andor playing a wide variety of characters! Maarva, Dedra and Mon Mothma are all played by Irish actors. Maarva's arc has an incredible resonance because so much of what happens on Ferrix is steeped in things that happened in Northern Ireland. Maarva's funeral is basically an IRA funeral including the anti-occupation invective, the bashing of scrap to alert people to the arrival of security forces... It's all stuff I saw on TV or in documentaries.
from a native perspective, the kenari flashbacks are definitely something. but i don't think maarva is a white savior-she didn't go native/dances with wolves/avatar and teach the locals how to fight the government. she's not even a stand-in for fostering out native kids, there just aren't enough parallels there. yes, she definitely kidnapped kassa, but she was definitely not participating in any government-sanctioned buy-in system to take kids away from their families. and based on what we've heard about kenari, there was nothing left, or soon to be nothing left. so when looking at maarva's actions, we're not really talking about residential schools or displacement or genocide. that would be on the republic/empire and whatever actions they took leading up to the mining accident and whatever they did with the kids afterwards.
for maarva, the closest parallel i can think of would be pulling a kid out of wounded knee just before everyone is killed. she and clem can't stop the entire atrocity on their own, but they can at least save one person.
You already know my thoughts but just to repeat for algo purposes, this was a really beautiful video and I deeply appreciate the message at the end. Not a lot of cis people are willing to actually speak up right now, just thank you for always showing up, love you 💜
To the audience; seriously start climbing, wake up, fascism is here, actually take in the message.
💜💜💜
@@Ladyknightthebrave 😘🥰
This. If you ever wondered what you'd do during one of history's many genocides, it's whatever you're doing right now.
"an unwillingness to engage with the material they purport to enjoy" is a Very Polite Way to say "people who grewup loving antifascist art yet chose to become fascists, and dont want to face that."
How most Star Trek fans have turned out nowadays it seems. The dumbasses who claim “Star Trek has become woke and socialist” without any irony
"Everyone that disagrees with my politics is a fascist."
@@marshallscot "if someone uses the word "facist" then all I have to to is ctrl-v the phrase "Everyone that disagrees with my politics is a fascist" and then I won't have to engage honestly with the content of their ideas or ever form one single original thought!"
@@saroachman"People that didn't like the politics in the prequels are fascist."
C'mon man, make a real argument or take the L.
@@NixonsAppendix You think the story about a bunch of resistance fighters fighting an Empire and the story about a politician using cesarist tactics to turn a representative democracy into an Empire while preying on a troubled youth's insecurities to make him into a self-loathing enforcer aren't antifascist?
This show was so good. I cried at the manifesto reading.
Thank you talking about Diego Luna, Tecnoch Huerta, Oscar Isaac, and Adria Arjona and the issues of how Latines are represented in Hollywood and what barriers are there.
It is a show where a major character insights a riot at her own funeral by telling people to get woke.
And it's arguably the best written Star Wars thing in general.
Not a small feet.
@@NyJoanzy 💯
I actually found the fact that there's no subs for the Kenari to be more effective, as the way they communicate to each other is perfectly understandable even though you don't know what exactly they're saying to each other. Like it forces you into a sense of understanding with them instead of treating them like people you'd need a translator to understand. You are able to understand them fully, though the natural way they communicate alone, with no outside help. Just my two cents anyway, either take away is valid I think.
Edit: just noticed someone made a point very similar to mine and I have to agree
That's valid - I had no problem with that either
Unless it's a very detailed discussion about philosophy and the meaning of life, then well-acted facial and vocal expressions will do.
They were well-acted facial and vocal expressions - there was no doubt about what was going on.
This was my take as well. It's just natural understanding based on the context of their situation. Feel subtitles weren't necessary. But also, the whole lost language due to colonization isn't something I considered, which probably makes even more sense. Either way, I think it's clever. It's just good storytelling that already has everything it needs without subtitles
Not only did I go buck-wild over the Kyber crystal, he also mentioned it was from the time of the Rakatan Invaders, which means KOTOR is canon now. Checkmate, Disney.
I'm pretty sure there were already some references in Clone Wars.
Well, afawk, the names used within kotor are Canon (however, since Disney is started to retcon written media, even the bits about revan could be considered up for debate)
@@Miss_Trillium The KOTOR Remake by Saber is probably gonna be counted as "Canon" tbh
Luna having to ask for people to stop giving him Jabba merch has the same vibe as me begging my parents to get me anything other than Grogu merch after that was all the presents I got for over a year.
I just watched this over on Nebula. It was fantastic as usual. Also thanks for the Mrs Harris Goes to Paris recommendation. My dad died a few months ago and my mom has, understandably, been sad (as have we all). I have found that watching silly or heartwarming shows and movies with her in the evenings really seems to help. We watched Mrs Harris last weekend and she loved it so thank you
Mrs. Harris is the best piece of fluff. But I'm also a person afraid of taking risks that could improve my life, so it really spoke to me.
The moment that Cassian began crafting his alibi with Brasso, I knew Andor was my kind of show.
I'm genuinely impressed and happy that you used Latine instead of Latinx. It's great that you support the use of the word that many latinamericans are increasingly using to describe themselves.
Seriously. You never see people use that, thank god.
I thought I was mishearing her the first few times she said it, and it's the first time I've heard someone use the term. Is "Latine" the preferred gender neutral term, as opposed to "Latino" and "Latina?"
@@eldorados_lost_searcher Yep. I've been using it for a while now. Way easier and intuitive to gender neutralize words with than whatever the fuck latinx is supposed to be lol.
@@cloak211
Thanks.
As a pedantic English speaker who took a couple years of Spanish, I never liked the word "Latinx". It just felt like an unholy mashing of a Spanish word with an English letter that didn't at all fit the forms of Spanish words. Latine sounds infinitely better and I am glad that Latin Americans are taking up and spreading the use of that word.
A little detail I always found very perfectly telling about the disgustingly efficient Prison System of Narkina 5 is the mere fact that SHOES determine which class you belong to.
You know. Just like in real life.
The eternal war of pessimism against hope,
of action against stasis,
of cop against brick.
Good video.
The last phrase feels like it should be the other way around to fit the pattern.
Thank you for making me happy cry. I love this show so, so much. In your Rogue One video you described it as "radical optimism" and I think about that a lot. Our society is so conditioned on irony and disaffectation that even suggesting we try, at anything, is embarassing, "Cringe," or silly. We need media like this to shatter that. Also, this show does so much work in humanising every single person who dies and I think it's special. No victory without sacrifice and loss, but that loss doesn;t need to be cheap action. Just the way the camera lingers in scenes like the funeral riot. Beautiful
Amazing video. Not just required viewing but required rewatching. Thank you so much for having me be a part of it!
little fun addition about filming locations: I visited the set of Andor while they were filming at a quarry in Dorset! the shot they were filming was the exterior of Saw Gerrera's base, and they had filmed inside the quarry beforehand according to the security guy we talked with.
I will never get over our socialist king getting literally crushed by capital 😭
100% 😢 but also what a great scene. As a former air traffic controller I heard many stories of planes crashing after takeoff because loads werent secure. This was on a rail at the time, but it shows that in the heat of the moment they didnt have time to calculate the necessary thrust as they had discussed the episode prior. So much detail in this script.
@@stevebreedlove9760 National Flight 102, likely based on that as the director of the episode was in Kandahar at the time it happened, iirc, she also worked on Generation Kill.
I don't know if I'd label him a socialist just for being anti authoritarian but it was a good visual metaphor
syril is honestly one of my favorite characters ever made. he’s not a great man by any stretch of the word, but he’s driven by a twisted sort of honor instilled into him by the empire. his relationship with his mother is so devastatingly toxic but so enthralling. he’s prideful and insecure and driven, but he’s such a painfully human character. i want so bad for him to find the acceptance and purpose he so desperately seeks in the rebellion, but i know he is so strongly rooted in law and order, that there’s no way he would.
Best Andor video I’ve seen so far. Broke down every modern day parallel from police brutality, mass incarceration, and racism in America.
It’s funny to see other UA-camrs not even touch on these subjects directly because of ignorance or because it doesn’t effect them personally.
As a black man in America, Andor as a show resonated me on an extremely personal level because I’ve shared the exact same sentiments and feelings expressed by Cassian, Luthen, etc.
People saying “Omg the Empire is so evil, glad that doesn’t exist” is crazy to me, because they’re blind to the atrocities in our own country.
Great video 💯
The best stories are always about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Andor is such a story, hope this show wins an Emmy
2:00:03 I had forgotten how powerful this moment between Maarva and Cassian is. Had a good cry because of parallels with my own family. Thank you for making such a thoughtful video!
I absolutely did not miss that Andor has an Arab kid throwing a bomb at police being treated as heroic. extremely based
Nothing honorable about an arab.
*Ethiopian
I just want to say, thank you for letting me relive this absolutely beautiful show through equally beautiful your essay.
Andor didn't help create that which will kill him. He helped to destroy that which he was forced to build.
In a fascist society, everyone, willingly or not, is working for an ultimate evil. Doesn't mean you can't take your chance at stopping that work, and then help bring down whatever they forced you to create.
Also, wait some people thought the first three episodes were boring?
The first time through I was honestly worried about the change of setting because I just fell completely in love with Ferrix as a setting as its tone. Luckily I was wrong and the rest of the show only keep getting better, but I was so into that place!
I wish I could give this a thumbs up for every time I've watched it... thank you LKTB, I'm looking up. I'm climbing.
I like the potential interpretation of “do or do not there is no try” and “all you have to do is try” where trying is enough. Trying IS doing. The only failure case is to do nothing.
Ever since Rogue One, I had been wishing and praying for an Andor series, and when it was announced and folks were going “who cares” and how this show was never gonna succeed, I always had faith that this story would work and be the best thing for Star Wars. And all I can say right now is……VINDICATIIOOOOONNNNNNN! 🥳🥳🥳
Also lmao at your TIMMMMMM voice 🤣 and Mister Colm Meaney Wasn’t Available That Week 😂😂😂
Just wanted to thank you for being part of why andor does so much to bring hope and meaning, especially after the election. The show affirms humanity and the worth of collective action like no other media for me, well save for disco elysium but I can't reexperience that the same way as andor. Videos like this and Jesse gender's, as well as the AMCA podcast has helped me connect with the series like no other. So, again, thank you so much
Andor was a prestige HBO sci-fi show disguised as a Disney Star Wars series.
Lmao. We will never get another Star Wars show of this caliber again.
It's wild that B2's voice actor was just, the guy. The stutter and delivery are like, masterful acting. The way he got me to cry over a box on wheels who just wanted his marva.
i really recommend the like 12+ hours of podcasting A More Civilized Age did on Andor - they are a Clone Wars podcast but did an Andor break for it and if you would like EVEN MORE andor commentary content (like me, i love people talking eloquently and keysmashingly about a thing that is just THAT good, that is why I'm here) go there. they're good people. (make sure u got the right podcast tho there's another SW podcast with civilized in the name that rants about how woke SW is these days and believe me when i say that is the opposite of AMCA's vibe)
I love A More Civilized Age.
"I hate them so much, they are so well written "😂
I don't know why but that made me chuckle
I've been having a pretty shitty day but all of my favorite youtubers released a video today and this was the highlight. I watched this show as soon as I could because I knew you would make a video about it and I wanted to be ahead of the curve. As per usual you have created an essay that has enhanced my love of this amazing show.
Hope your day improved, and that today is going better. Take care.
This essay speaks to me in many ways that aches in my bones: I am American indigenous, and have spent the last year fighting against fascists, clawing meter by meter to liberate people I have never met across the world from home, shoulder to shoulder beside every stripe of person, for a sunrise I might never see. But there is only one way out
Out of every video I have anticipated about Andor, THIS was the one I've waited for. The empathetic touch and deep insight you have onto these characters never ceases to disappoint!
And as expected, I felt loads and learned loads. Thank you for another fantastic analysis!
Absolutely fantastic, especially the last 5 mins. You are a poet! It’s a beautiful thing to hear someone so eloquently essay both the most wonderful SW project ever written within the context of the politics underpinning its subtext, whilst being so aligned to my own ideology. I wept at your conclusion remarks (but I had a couple of Merlots ☺️). Thank you, and praying for your country (I’m from U.K.) in Nov.
Fantastic video, love how you included so many voices of creators behind the show and of latine actors expressing issues they have with the industry. As well as your own perspective that makes some events and character moments hit even harder. Also, glad to be a fun little bit of such a great video
Thank you for your help with the script and reading those Diego lines 😁💜
27:04 it’s been a while so it caught me off guard … definitely chills when Andor delivers that line
Me too Crash.....Zero Cool type chills 😁
I have a lot of fEeLiNgS about your idea of the Ferrix survivors laying a brick for Cassian! 😢
Idk if its said here, but Cassian is wearing nemecs book in Rogue One. Cool easter egg how Luna really cared for Cassians lore and backstory.
Only calling the toy cop Cereal Corn from now on
Just a little addition about the "climb" motif: at the beginning of Rogue One, in Andor's very first scene he meets a character with a broken arm. As stormtroopers approach, he is forced to kill the man because he can't climb to safety, and his capture would jeopardize the Rebellion. On the one hand, it's an illustration of how revolutions are messy and filled with unfortunate circumstances. I just connected that, but I don't really know how it fits into the motif, except as maybe a symbolic reinforcement that one's ability to climb is directly correlated to one's ability to earn freedom. Especially if the consequence is death.
I love how many amazing Irish Actors there are in Andor, Genevieve O’Reilly, Fiona Shaw and Denise Gough all deliver masterful performances
I am SO HAPPY you talked about the “climb” and all the other parallels. Not enough people talk about it. Also the rule of three applies to the climb. Also also, my gf says you should do a video on RRR.
the way that Ferrix uses percussions to convey message/sow discord reminds me of the traditional method that Indonesian communities used to do to relay information of like, robbery, fire, or natural disasters, called Kentongan. Ofc this can also happen in other culture/countries but Cinta means Love in Indonesian so my mind just went there instantly
I think you’re my favorite video essayist. Your enthusiasm and passion for the media you discuss is so palpable and I love hearing franchises discussed by an essayist who cares so much. I loved Andor (honestly probably my top show of 2022) and this video discussed a lot of themes and behind the scenes stuff I hadn’t realized.
I cried through that interview with Huerta at 41:46. The representation matters so much, and I know everyone knows that, but that just strikes such a chord. That interview particularly, putting it into words like that. Seeing people like me on screen and CELEBRATED all over pop culture would’ve meant so much to me as a child who hated myself so much for not being pale and blonde, for being unable to slip into a skin and name more easily accepted. (And like, to be clear, joke’s now on me, because being an adult writer and artist who rarely works outside means I am now pale therefore in the exact opposite position child-me was in.) I’m so happy for everyone who’s seeing themselves now, and I’m happy for myself as well, but that happiness is always accompanied by a bit of grief for my childhood self who should not have had to navigate the world as precariously as I did. I shouldn’t have had to make those choices. Man, all I can do now is pay it forward and try and make it easier for kids who still don’t get to see themselves represented on screen like they should be. It’s just an interesting time to be in, when things are changing so much (and yet so slowly) but also while we’re all recognizing the damage that the years previous have done to older generations.
Ooooh I’m interested to see what you’ll say about Andor!
Personally it’s my favorite SW thing so far, but then again I also really love Rogue One.
It is truly a lovely day when we not only get a new essay, but we get a TWO HOUR LONG essay. you made my day :)
When people say Star Wars isn’t political I think they mean it’s never been about identity politics. It’s about something bigger. But, fortunately I haven’t heard or read a single complaint about the same sex relationship in Andor or the diversely inclusive cast and all of the awesome female characters. In fact, I haven’t seen anyone complain about this series at all. I’ve seen nothing but praise and I think it’s well-earned.
I'd be surprised if nobody else noticed this, but just to add to the Narkina-5/concentration camp metaphor - the text never uses these exact words, but the narrative created by those prisons is *work will set you free*
TBH I don't think the Orange and White is a choice by the rebellion- it's high-visibility, which is pragmatic for prison uniforms, and for rescue after an ejection on a flight-suit.
I had to rewind and watch that ship get wasted by Luthen. It was incredible.
I have a feeling Cass won't find B and Bix. 😟
That last bit. Goosebumps! 🔥
Season 2 trailer was leaked, from the stills we can see that Cass finds Bix again. It's on the Lost Acolytes' channel
@@auroralee3934 oh nice!
The actress also said she has screen time in S2 at Celebration.
This *fantastic* video sparked a very raw and vulnerable and compassionate conversation with my father. As a latina, this means so much to me.
I want to just say that, your videos are art. That they really hit a chord. You have an impact. This is important. Thank you.
Ps: this video absolutley wrecked my sh!t and i haven't stoped crying yet. I love it.
48:28 now I love Star Wars, from the films to the TV shows to the books. And I love getting into the nitty-gritty lore.
And yeah A lot of the lore is just filler for the world and has no Real need for it,
but!
Having The canonical name for a style of music being JIZZ?!
JIZZ!
was perhaps the greatest thing that’s ever come out of Star Wars
It doesn't even matter that it's star wars, it's one of the best anti fascist pieces of art made this century. It's boggling that Disney made this.
My favourite part of Kino's speech is this:
"You need to help each other. You see someone who's confused, someone who is lost, you get them moving and you keep them moving until we put this place behind us."
It's so fucking good. "You need to help each other."
Glad I took work off today! Hyped!
Edit after watching: Great vid! Though I would largely disagree with the idea that Cassian needs to find his sister. The fact that the plot of him wanting to find his sister is dropped almost immediately seems very purposeful. Cassian may dream of an easy world where he can find and save his sister, but the simple fact is that she’s just another name on the long list of people that have died and disappeared under the fist of the empire. She can’t be found or saved by Cassian. What Cassian can do, is save those like his sister from the empire.
"I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them."
It's hard for me to see others as simply hero or villian these day.
1:58:36 the best thing about this scene to me is how she kills him. She acts all intimidated luring him into a dark building and just absolutely shanks him. The way he is so overconfident during a riot thinking he is above harm, once again plays into the whole self satisfaction the empire has with itself.
“He put his whole Britussy in it.” Listen, I knew I was gonna like this essay but I SMASHED that like button with this line lol.
It's always a good day when there's new Ladyknightthebrave content! I literally cheered when this popped up in my feed.
Another great video, that made me have feelings all over again for this amazing show. I love your insight and comments and how much they inspire me. Thank you!
The Dave Chapman thing with B-mo is just too much for me, the robot made me cry in the show and now this
“I don’t want to be alone, I want marva” 😭😭
I’ve only recently discovered your channel but all the videos I’ve seen so far have had such interesting insights and purpose behind them. You’re never just talking about the show, but about real life as well and you do it in such a compelling and thoughtful way. All of this to say, wonderful work and thank you for sharing with all of us ✨
I somehow forget how amazing and meaningful your videos are until you post a new one. This is amazing!
Also, I think it’s fantastic Luna was able to use his real accent and be a Mexican dude in Star Wars. I want yellow and orange rodians and different colored humans.
it's my first year as a sociology major and i am now revisiting this video essay. couldn't have been a better time, your words are gold. thank you for this analysis! i'll watch the new video next 😊