Andor’s Brilliant Prison Trilogy Takes ‘Star Wars’ To New Heights

Andor is the dark horse for the Best Disney-era Star Wars project. It feels like comparing apples to oranges, so I can't say it's better than The Mandalorian. The Mandalorian is the only Star Wars show that is kid-friendly. A lot of kids may find Andor too cerebral and not funny.

In some ways, Andor captures what George Lucas was going for in his trilogy. Tony Gilroy's Star Wars is about spies and rebels instead of Jedi and Midichlorians. Tension surrounds the subterfuge and secret wheelings. The mundane is made to hum and buzz. The future rebel leader walks on a razor's edge, as Mon Mothma tries to funnel her family fortune into the uprising. We know that Vel is her cousin. As Dedra Meero hones in on the leader she believes is at the center of an elaborate resistance network, we watch on the edge of our seat.

Meero is a fascinating character. The latter is a Senator who hides her true purpose behind the guise of a rich woman and martyr. Meero is a cunning and ruthless investigator whose pursuit of the truth leads her closer and closer to her targets. The person doesn't flinch at violence. She asked her when she last saw Andor. Bix says that you wouldn't believe him. Meero doesn't say yes. I think I wouldn't. The Empire is willing and creative when it comes to causing pain.

In the prison colony Andor finds himself in a place where he can be cruel to others. A new twist on the panopticon is Andor's prison, which has floors that can cause a prisoner to die in a heartbeat. At one point, Andor and Kino argued about whether or not they were being watched. He wants to finish his sentence and be free. The guards don't have a reason to listen in. He told his fellow prisoner that they weren't important to them. The combination of fear and uncertainty has created order in the prison with virtually no effort from the skeleton crew of guards.

Jeremy Bentham introduced the panopticon. In a highly efficient prison, the fewest guards can control the largest number of inmates. The panopticon was designed to have all prison cells facing a tower. Inmates would never know if a guard was watching them. It's possible that the prison could operate without guards at all.

The guards' authority is effectively internalized by this process. The inmates fall in line because they never know if they are being watched. In Andor, this concept is altered to some degree, but still a high tech version of the same thing. The prisons are close to the ocean. Inmates' cells are open-faced with nothing but the threat of the floor behind them. No guard goes into the cells and only occasionally goes to the work floors to bring in a new prisoner.

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He described his invention as a new mode of getting power of mind over mind. This concept extends to the halls of power in Andor. The shape of the doorways is almost the same as the prisons themselves.

Some of this symbolic imagery can be seen in the meeting room. The differences between images matter. Mon Mothma's doorways have several more sides and less rigid angles than the prison and the ISB meeting room.

There is a panopticon of the Empire. Always keeping an eye on things. The present is omnipresent. Emperor Palpatine is at the center of order and power in the universe. The power of the rich and powerful is hard pressed. A potential deal with a powerful criminal, Davo Sculden, from her home planet of Chandrila, is one of the reasons Mon Mothma is trapped in her elegant prison life. Status and reputation are more valuable than anything else. He replied that a drop of discomfort may be the cost of doing business when she said she would be more comfortable paying him.

Davo said it was a lot to think about as he left. She ignores the arranged marriage tradition of her people for her own daughter or at least with this man. He says that is the first untrue thing you have said to him.

The freedom from other people's opinions is one of the great pleasures of wealth. The writing on this show is really good.

There are many examples of the panopticon at work. He leads his floor of inmates with great efficiency and determination. The guards don't have to raise a finger. There is a constant threat of punishment and reward.

The 'gamification' of Narkina 5's prisons is almost similar to a game called Squid Games. Seven men are at each table. Each day these men work hard to put together technology. They don't know what it is. Part of the point is that. It doesn't have to be meaningful, it just has to be efficient. The tables compete against each other. The winner will have flavor added to their gruel and the loser will be shocked. The floors are competing against one another. Everything about these prisons is running smoothly. They are clean. White walls and hard lines. The prisoners are not filthy. The prison has access to as much food and water as they please, but there is a secret that ends up undoing it.

Medical inmates wearing blue stripes tend to older inmates who have suffered a massive stroke. One of the few inmates with access to more than one floor is able to communicate with other inmates via sign language. In translation, a lot is lost.

The doctor told Loy and Andor that 100 men were killed in order to stop them from spreading the word that the Empire fell. A man who had just been released from prison was returned the next day with a terrible truth. When their sentence is up, they are sent to another prison. When Loy realized that his sentence would be extended for life, he upended the whole promise of risk vs reward. He would rather die fighting for his freedom than in a prison.

The prison uprising begins with a plan to overwhelm the few guards before they are able to make a difference. They are fighting for their lives. A lot of people don't make it. The destruction of entire planets from a distance is one example of how Andor depicts violence and death. They throw weapons at the guards, who shoot back with deadly force. When the guards use the floor to fry the prisoners, the water shorts the system out. The inmates took blasters and raced to get the rest of the cells after they killed the guards. The power was turned off in the center of the prison after they took the command center. As the inmates race to the top of the prison and jump into the water below, the guards are hiding.

Loy says that he can't swim. 'What?' Andor yells. He was pushed to the edge by the other inmates. The prisoner is still above.

There are many other people. Different types of cells.

The double agent is Lonni Jung. Luthen and the ISB officer only meet face-to-face in the tenth episode of Andor. The rebels have given Lonni intel in order to help advance his career. The more useful he becomes, the more Luthen gets from him.

He doesn't want to stay anymore. After telling Luthen that a rebel plan has been discovered and begging him to call it off, he explained that he has a daughter now and he can't take such risks for her sake. He wanted his wife to be happy. Luthen doesn't like what he sees. The only way out is death.

Lonni wants something. He has put in a lot of hard work. Luthen has sacrificed something.

The old man asked what his sacrifice was. I am condemned to use the tools of my enemies to defeat them. I want someone else to have a good life. I want to make a sunrise that I will never see. I don't know what I'm going to sacrifice. It's everything!

I won't say something isn't true. The scene gave me goose bumps.

This is the very best ofStellan Skarsgrd. One of the highlights of Andor is when you realize how much better this show is than any other Star Wars show.

This is a very good Star Wars. The examination of power, of freedom, of the thin line between the two, together with the gorgeous cinematography, tight and powerful writing, and universally strong performances, is simply on another level. I want Mando for humor, but I also want Andor for a serious, almost literary, take on this universe far, far away. This is what Star Wars needs to evolve into. This is how it goes.

Toby Haynes was the director of the prison trilogy and Beau Willimon was the writer.

Do you enjoy andor as much as I do? You can let me know on social media. We have two episodes left and will have to wait until the second season.

I've been writing about this show for a long time. The first three were a trilogy. The 7th episode was the one that bucked the trend. I want to know what they do with the last two episodes.

• Read my review of episodes 1-3 here.
• Read my review of episodes 4-6 here.

I was correct. It is certainly a new hope for Disney. You get something truly special when you give this property to people who honor and respect what has come before.