Andor: Narkina 5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Andor, played by Diego Luna, goes to prison.

I think this was probably the worst episode of the season so far, mainly this was because nothing really happened. At least in last week’s episode, which I also didn’t hugely like, they set up fun stuff for down the line in this episode we get precious little. On the one hand we get Andor serving his prison sentence, which other than meeting Andy Serkis’s character who does have a few good moments, is fairly dull we know it is just a matter of time until he breaks out, but it doesn’t happen in this episode. On the other hand we have yet another dinner party scene with Mon Mothma, played by Genevieve O’Reilly, which is just more of the same that we have seen before.

We do get some interesting scenes even if they are far between such as the Empire cracking down on Cassian’s friends, which the episode ends on, as well as Vel, played by Faye Marsay, returning on the hunt for Cassian. Plus added Saw Gerrera, played by Forest Whittaker.

Overall, a fairly boring episode with a few brief moments of excitement here and there.

Pros.

The Empire finally coming after Cassian

The return of Vel

Saw Gerrera is back

Cons.

Cassian’s storyline is boring

So is Mon Mothma’s

It feels like killing time

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Andor: Announcement

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Cassian, played by Diego Luna, faces some of the consequences for his actions and things are set up for later in the season.

Certainly this won’t be anyone’s favourite episode, very little of interest happens here it is mostly just a lot of set up for later on, that is not to say that set up isn’t interesting or without promise, but there is only so much excitement you can have for teasing things to come.

I think Luna gives a great performance when he is talking to his character’s adoptive mother, played by Fiona Shaw, it is so raw and full of emotion that for a moment you forget that you are watching a TV show and question whether or not these are real people. I do think that Luna has been such a boon not just for this show but for Star Wars more broadly as he is capable of giving such excellent performances.

Where this episode falls down for me is with the ending. For plot reasons Cassian is accused of a crime he had nothing to do with and sent off to prison. Basically that sums up the whole scene for you there is nothing more to it then that he is just sent off to prison for no reason other than the show needed to do something with him next week as he seemed a bit at an end after the events of last week. It reeks of lazy writing and plot convenience to me.

Overall, a fine episode but one that is very much filler.

Pros.

Luna

Exciting things to come

It is watchable

Cons.

There is only so much excitement you can have for set up, defiantly a filler episode

The ending is stupid and clearly just done for plot reasons.

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Andor: The Eye

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Cassian, played by Diego Luna, and co finally rob the Imperial base.

I thought this was a strong episode, I liked that we got to see the native people who lived on the planet it helped the world to feel more realised.

I think rather predictably we got several deaths here and more than a few loose ends. Nemik’s death was the most obvious and when it happened I thought finally, however, it also packed an emotional punch and feels like it will be important to Cassian’s wider journey. Skeen’s turn to the dark side is again not particularly surprising, however, what is surprising is just how quick Cassian puts him down- pretty dark for a Disney + show. There are several other characters that just seemingly walk off into oblivion for no real reason, to me these are irritating loose ends but hopefully the next few episodes will explore what happened to them.

I do appreciate that this show continues to play with moral ambiguity and go a lot harder than we have seen any other Star Wars property go in a long while. I am curious to see where the show will go from here as nothing particularly has been set up, but I do hope they don’t bring Kyle Soller’s Syril back again as I feel he would be a weak villain for the series on the whole.

Overall, a strong episode but one that also raises the question where do we go from here?

Pros.

The tension

The stakes

Luna

The darkness and moral ambiguity

Cons.

Too many loose ends

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Andor: The Axe Forgets

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The crew further plan for the heist.

I would say this episode was good and watchable but was certainly the filler episode before next week’s heist. We get a lot of slow character interaction scenes, which don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed, but for those expecting weekly action this week would have been somewhat of a turn off.

I appreciated the focus this episode had on building out its world and its characters. It was nice to see Cassian, played by Diego Luna, interacting more with the other members of the heist team, I feel like bonds are being established before no doubt a bunch of them die in next week’s episode.

I didn’t much care for the Syril, played by Kyle Soller, subplot about him being dressed down by his overbearing mother, it felt far to obvious and generic in terms of character motivations for him to then renew his search for Cassian. Widely this section of the episode felt like it was stalling for time.

Overall, a good episode but certainly a lot more slow and filler like.

Pros.

Luna

Cassian and his fellow rebels

The ending of the episode

Wider exploration of Mon Mothma as a character

Cons.

Some parts of it feel like filler

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Andor: Aldhani

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Andor, played by Diego Luna, embarks on a heist and the embers of the rebellion begin to form.

I think this was a very good episode and way better than a lot of the other Disney + Star Wars shows we have had so far, however, I would say that it is a step back from what we got last week. This is very much a talking set up episode, which by no means is a bad thing as we will get to, but it does mean that the episode suffers with pacing issues. I think the worst thing about pacing in this episode is where it leaves off on, as the ending of the episode just feels like a random cut to black in the middle of a scene.

I enjoyed the scenes with Stellan Skarsgard’s Luthen, it is nice to see that he is a man of many faces. I have no idea where his story is going but I am excited to find out. Moreover, I thought his scenes with Mon Mothma, played by Genevieve O’ Riley, were really strong, and I thought that O’ Riley was really starting to shine in the role.

I also thought the heist planning scene was a lot of fun later in the episode, I liked the fact they built a model diagram and that yet again it seems like Cassian will be doing a suicide mission. I thought the two stand outs of the Cassian scenes were Faye Marsay as Vel and Alex Lawther as Nemick, both instantly created memorable and likeable characters who I want to see more off.

Overall, a slower episode but still one that is a lot of fun.

Pros.

Seeing more of Luthen

O’ Riley’s Mothma

The heist planning scene was a lot of fun

Seems like there is a lot to be excited for later in the season

Cons.

Pacing issues, mainly where they choose to end the episode

Not a lot happens

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Andor: The First 3 Episodes

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, searches for answers in the early days of the Empire.

This review will be a little different from my standard pattern, rather than review the first batch of episodes individually this will instead review them all together.

I think if you compare the first episodes of this show to Obi-Wan Kenobi or God forbid The Book Of Boba Fett then it is night and day. Where they felt cheap and low rent, with a seeming fear of anything approaching moral ambiguity, this show feels cinematic and asks some hard questions making us reflect on whether Cassian is a hero or not. In truth he is what modern Lucasfilm seems terrified of, an anti-hero.

I heard on a Youtube review on these opening episodes that some people are annoyed that within them there is no mention of the Force or of the Jedi/Sith. However, I for one think that is a great thing, I want to see what the wider Star Wars universe looks like, I am bored of the same old same old and would like to see other aspects of the Rebellion.

I also really appreciated the moody tone of these episodes with their being an almost Peaky Blinders esque feel to it at times. I think that Luna is already doing a terrific job and I can’t wait to see more from him as the series progresses.

Overall, the best thing Lucasfilm has done since The Mandalorian

Pros.

The moral ambiguity

The tone

Luna

The wider Star Wars universe

It feels fresh

Cons.

A bit slow in places

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Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part VI

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, and Vader, played by Hayden Christensen and voiced by James Earl Jones, face off once again, and Reva, played by Moses Ingram, goes to hunt down the child of Anakin Skywalker.

For the most part a great final episode. There were a few things that I would nit-pick, such as the Grand Inquisitor, played by Rupert Friend, still looking naff, or the fact they undercut what should be a very impactful moment with a meme reference, but those aside this episode is firing on all cylinders.

The fight between Vader and Obi-Wan was well done and fairly cool, I wasn’t so keen that it was the memory of Leia , played by Vivian Lyra Blair, that returned his strength not his memories of Anakin or even of both the children, but that is just personal taste. I thought it was a bit of a forgone conclusion that Kenobi would beat Vader, but I enjoyed his defeat all the same Christensen gave a great performance.

The Reva sub-plot I thought tied things up nicely, it redeemed her to a degree and had her survive to go off and have her own adventures as possible a light side Jedi again. I really thought these last two episodes really brought Reva into her own, it was just a shame that she was written so one notedly beforehand.

Finally, I just want to touch on the Qui-Gon Jinn, played by Liam Neeson, who does a make a return here and boy oh boy what a return it is. Seeing Neeson back really made my day, a great way to end it.

Do I think we need a second season? No not really, I say leave it here and maybe have the comics fill in the rest, Star Wars as a brand really needs some new characters and new stories, the past as they say should die.

Overall, a strong season finale.

Pros.

The Vader fight

Redeeming Reva

Qui-Gon’s return

The emotion

It really brought the series together

Cons.

A few nit-picky concerns and issues

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Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part V

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Vader closes in on Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, and Reva, played by Moses Ingram, has her origins explored.

First things first, the flashback scenes wherein we finally got a return from Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker weren’t great. What I mean by that is twofold, firstly not a huge amount happened in them and secondly the de-aging CGI used on Christensen wasn’t good, there was something deeply uncanny valley about it.

My other issue with the episode was that the ending implies that Reva will go and hunt down Luke Skywalker if she survives her injuries, this makes no sense as in the episode she was helping Kenobi to a degree and had a heel turn so to go after a kid would not make sense in terms of character progression. However, that aside I do think that this episode is probably the best one for the character of Reva as the youngling theory is confirmed and we get to see more nuance from both the writing and Ingram’s performance.

I thought the final fight with Vader was pretty strong, it was fun to see just how powerful Vader is and the return of the Grand Inquisitor, played by Rupert Friend, satiated the part of my brain that needs things to stick to cannon. I would say the highlight of the siege was probably the death of Tala, played by Indira Varma, as it felt incredibly powerful emotionally.

Overall, another good episode though I do wish they would stop using this de-aging tech as it doesn’t look good.

Pros.

The Vader fight at the end

The death of Tala and its impact

Reva’s origins

Kumail Nanjiani’s return

Cons.

The ending

The de-aging tech

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Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part IV

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A freshly defeated Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, must venture into the Inquisitors’ base to try and save a captured Leia, played by Vivian Lyra Blair.

I think this was the best episode of the series so far. I liked seeing Kenobi back in action fighting off storm troopers and actually being capable to a degree, I see why the show had him be so weak and ineffective to show how far he had fallen, but it was nice to see him recovering and returning to his old ways.

I enjoyed seeing the early form of the Resistance in the Path people, and though I would have liked to see another Jedi like maybe Quinlan Vos show up, maybe that was just wishful thinking. On that note, I am intrigued to see where they go with all the trapped Jedi beneath the Inquisitors base, that could be quite impactful for the wider universe.

I like the little bit of Vader, played by Hayden Christensen and voiced by James Earl Jones, we got towards the end, it was nice to see him pose a threat to Reva, played by Moses Ingram who up to this point has just been great at everything and got away with seemingly killing the Grand Inquisitor. Reva again had some very painful scenes, Ingram managed to pull off threatening in the torture scene though that would be hard not to, but in the proceeding interrogation her lack of facial acting abilities really shone through.

Seemingly Lucasfilm have greenlit a Reva series now, which highlights that the character won’t die and that Star Wars is almost more concerned with sending out a political message rather than producing good content, but who knows maybe it will be good if they actually give the series good writers.

Overall, a good episode let down once again by Reva with it now almost feeling like her show rather than Kenobi’s.

Pros.

Kenobi getting his groove back

The torture scene was surprisingly hardcore for Disney

I enjoyed the ending fight set piece

The Vader/Reva scenes were strong

Cons.

Reva is stealing too much focus from Kenobi and Ingram’s poor acting is starting to show

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Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part III

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Darth Vader, played by Hayden Christensen and voiced by James Earl Jones, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, face off for the first time.

I think this series is getting better as it goes along, it isn’t perfect by any means but it certainly is finding its footing. The two things that irritated me about this episode up front before I get into the things I liked, firstly I don’t like that Reva, played by Moses Ingram is being written to be a mary sue, great at everything automatically with no knockbacks or challenges and secondly I don’t like that the Grand Inquisitor, played by Rupert Friend, has seemingly been killed off, though no doubt that will get changed by the end of the series.

That said, for the most part I enjoyed almost everything about this episode. I liked the secret underground resistance, before the resistance, rail road and all of the good things it could bring: including maybe seeing Quinlan Vos in live action. I also enjoyed Indira Varma’s Tala and thought she had great chemistry with both Obi-Wan and Leia, played by Vivian Lyra Blair.

Moreover, I also thought the fight between Vader and Kenobi was good and I applaud how brutal they got with it. I think a big issue with The Book Of Boba Fett was how bloodless everything was, so it is nice to see some gore and threat being shown in the Star Wars Disney + universe. I have seen some people complain about Vader letting Obi-Wan go at the end, with him not venturing into the flames to finish him off or even using his force powers. However, I think him doing this makes sense as he is probably going to be playing the long game and be tracking down not just Obi-Wan but also his helpers. Two birds with one stone as they say.

Overall, a pretty strong episode made better by Reva taking a back seat.

Pros

The Vader Kenobi fight

The tease of Quinlan Vos

Leia continues to have good moments

McGregor is on top form

Cons.

Hugely side-lining the Grand Inquisitor

Reva as a mary sue

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