It is surprising that Andor, the first three episodes of which began streaming today, opens by taking a practically universally beloved character fromRogue One and spending the best part of those two opening hours textually having what feels like the entire universe hate its eponymous hero. In our introduction to him in Andor, he botches a mission so badly that he resorts to killing two corporate security guards.
The catalyst for everything that goes to hell across Andor's first three episodes was only shown because this is a man who barely has a grasp of what he's doing. In these three episodes, we are introduced to a world of networks and relationships that Cassian has made for himself on the planet, most of which he abuses for favors and are made with people continually calling him out for it. The man is an absolute disaster, no one likes him, but he gets by on it because they know if they just keep doing him a favor, he will sort through a bit of scrap there, or borrow a few credits. Not because of his charm, not because of his skill in anything in particular, but because they just want to be as far away from his bullshit as possible before he gets hurt.
It is a bold way to introduce us to a new person. His willingness to assassinate Jyn Erso's father should they find him was meant to show us a ruthless man, but also a cool one. We were meant to think that Cassian wasn't one of those goody- two-shoes heroes, but he was. The Cassian of Andor does not mess up, he scrambles from one hole to another, and hurts people along the way. He is a nightmare. He would be unlikeable if it weren't for the fact that a Star Wars show opens with "Here's our hero, this guy you know and like" He is bad at what he does, but he does it anyways.
The ideal fantasy of Star Wars is not to see beautiful people engage in porn. It is to watch normal people do their best in the face of evil because they are mad at the world they are in. It might be funny to say that in a setting like the Skywalkers, or magical warrior monks who can move the earth with their minds and perform feats, or everyone is just six degrees from someone famous, that it's a good thing. It is. Jedi and Sith and fated heroes may be at the center of so many Star Wars stories, but Star Wars is at its most endearing when it is about the people who aren't those powerful beings of destiny and have to be heroic anyways. It is why we like characters like the heroes ofRogue One, why we like the nice, worst Crime Lord this side of Mos Espa, and why we dislike the myth of his heroic legacy in The Empire Strikes Back. Watching characters who are not great at being heroes struggle because they want to do the right thing, instead of just perfectly doing it, is more important to the galaxy far, far away.
Over the course of the two seasons, Andor will get better at everything. He will fight back against the Empire and become a credible threat. He is going to be that man we meet at the start of Rogue One, messy, rough around the edges, and still just rolling with the punches of the Empire. If he was just a hero already, watching him go from almost hilarious disaster to still not-entirely heroic point is more gratifying.
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