How quickly we forget and move on.
As Star Wars series are coming in abundance, we, as fans tend to look ahead or at what’s
in front of us.
I have been guilty of it as well.
And it’s at no fault of our own.
The franchise is just growing faster than anyone had ever anticipated.
When Disney bought Star Wars and Lucasfilm from George Lucas in 2012 we didn’t imagine
it being series made for television that would cause our tunnel vision.
Again…not our fault.
We were told from the beginning that it would be the FILMS that would grab our attention.
But that didn’t really pan out for the Star Wars franchise.
As of that time, Disney+ had not been announced and Disney XD was the big platform for new
Disney series…okay…in the case of Star Wars it was just animation.
With Star Wars Rebels being the first.
Since then we have had multiple Star Wars series released.
The Mandalorian, Resistance, the Clone Wars Season 7, The Book of Boba Fett, the Obi-Wan
Kenobi series, and of course the Cassian Andor series.
That isn’t to mention the other animations, Tales of the Jedi, the Bad Batch, and Visions.
There has been so much.
But it seems that, with every new release or announcement of a new series, we become
focused on that.
Forgetting what had come just a couple of months or even years prior.
That is why I’ve decided to do a series where I go back in time to discuss some of
our favorite moments from past Star Wars projects, and do an in depth analysis of each episode.
I did it with the Book of Boba Fett and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series last week, to a lesser
degree, but not as in depth as I will be going from this point forward.
So, this week we are going to begin our focus on the Cassian Andor series.
Starting with episode 1, titled “Kassa.”
But before I move on, a quick word from me.
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With that said…back to today’s topic.
I know that revisiting Star Wars series after they’re gone tends to draw less attention
than continuously beating on what’s in front of me, or any news.
But I don’t really report on news and rumors.
There are enough channels out there that do that, and maybe I’ll do it in the future
when I have more time to expand.
But be that as it may, I am revisiting the Cassian Andor series anyway.
And I challenge you all to go back and watch it, using the tools I’m giving you.
Now that the entire first season is out, it can be binged.
Maybe even some of you will see it in a different light.
And this is a collaboration.
I’ve teamed up with Diyar the Memer to bring you something truly special.
I now give you Andor episode 1, “Kassa.”
From the opening scene of the first episode titled, Kassa, we see this show is going to
be so much different than anything in the recent history of Star Wars.
And the opening really does set the tone for that episode and the 11 others that follow.
The opening of the series starts off dark.
But it does something no other Star Wars project has…it uses BBY as a starting date for the
timeline.
If you didn’t know, BBY stands for before the Battle of Yavin, which is the ending battle
of A New Hope.
So, the Cassian Andor series begins 5 years before A New Hope.
In fact, unless you’re a die-hard Star Wars enthusiast, the timeline can seem confusing.
With Andor being 5 years before A New Hope, the Mandalorian set 5 years after Return of
the Jedi, and The force Awakens being 30+ years following Return of the Jedi, it’s
hard to keep everything straight.
But Andor did that.
It gave us a timeframe.
Not just so we know what year we are looking at, but it also gave us a point of reference
of what the Empire would look like during this time.
With no solid rebel alliance and only minor pockets of resistance, it also gives us a
clear indication that the Jedi are gone.
All with 3 letters and a number…BBY 5.
Once the timeline is shown, we are taken to a place in our minds that seems despairing.
It’s dark, wet, dreary, and an indication of the state of the galaxy…especially those
planets who were almost forgotten about.
And the Preox-Morlana Corporate Zone of Morlana One is such a place.
As a hooded Cassian Andor walks the long dock, we see the city in the background.
With the clouds being thick and heavy, one would expect to see the city lights reflecting
on them.
But no…the lights of the city are even too dim to shine on the dark clouds, which hover
just above the cityscape.
The pinnacles of the buildings narrowly missing the blackness.
The dock holding Cassian is no different.
Hundreds of lights line the walkway.
Yet, there is barely enough light emitting to show safe passage, or a hiding threat.
And the threat is there.
Unseen at the moment.
That threat reveals itself within the city’s boundaries.
It looms.
It hides in plain sight.
It’s oppressive and suffocating.
When Cassian Andor is introduced to a pair of Preox-Morlana Security thugs, we think…this
can’t be the danger we have been sensing.
Sensing it almost like a Jedi.
But no, these two are nothing more than cronies…wannabe Imperials with delusions of grandeur.
Left on a planet to be forgotten.
Unworthy of the Imperial brand with their ill-fitting, cheaply made uniforms.
There job is merely to keep the corporate zone secure, not police it, and definitely
not be in the leisure zone in uniform.
But their pay is as meager as their titles and their lack of status within the Empire.
But this time they will try to shake down the wrong person…and it will cost them their
lives.
Once Cassian Andor has dispatched the thugs, we immediately understand why this series
was made for him.
In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, with Cassian Andor we were almost able to overlook his
character.
Sure, he seemed ruthless but there was something about him that made us question why he was
getting his own show.
And in this first scene of the Andor series we are shown immediately.
Cassian is that danger we felt when the first scene opened.
He is the dreary discomfort.
As Cassian runs back to his ship, he carries the heavy darkness with him, just as he brought
it.
But he knows he messed up.
He knows he let his better judgement flitter away, once again.
His only chance is to run and hide before his crime is discovered.
We then travel to Ferrix.
Another forgotten planet under the reign of the Empire.
It too is heavy with emotion.
Although it is brighter than what we saw of Morlana One, there is still a gloom.
The light that is present is unable to fully penetrate the dark smoke and thick clouds.
The fog hangs in the air following every footstep Cassian Andor takes.
There is no vegetation to be seen.
Instead, the ground is covered in loose dirt.
Dirt that clings to anything brave enough to disturb it.
But the darkness didn’t always follow Cassian.
In his youth, his home planet of Kenari was teaming with life.
Full and vibrant forests and covered in sunshine.
The absence of any adult supervision doesn’t weigh on the youths of Kenari because they
have each other.
There is no threat they can’t take head on…up to this point.
But curiosity may change that.
But for now, there is safety in their numbers and survival has been learned, and perfected.
But now Cassian Andor isn’t that child surviving in the wilderness.
He’s a man with consequences for his actions.
Actions of his most recent endeavor on Morlana One may catch up to him.
With an angle to the camera, as Cassian is awakened by B2EMO, we feel something is off.
The crooked camera angle tells us this is an unsettled man.
A crooked camera angle for a crooked man.
Not crooked in an evil sense, but twisted by the galaxy he lives in.
Contorted into something unfamiliar to those who care for him.
As his friends are earning honest livings in repair shops or scrap yards, Cassian Andor
chooses a life of chaos and instability.
A life of petty theft…or worse.
Returning to Morlana One, the Deputy Inspector, Syril Karn brings the urgent report that two
of their men were killed in the leisure zone the night before.
The dreariness of the night before has lifted, and the sun is shining bright.
Bright enough to illuminate the office.
But Chief Inspector Hyne wants the matter dropped.
Only reading the report, the superior officer deduces precisely what had happened.
But he wants the men to be honored.
Lied about.
But this doesn’t settle well with Deputy inspector Syril Karn.
He wants the culprit found and brought to justice.
Syril decides to take the matter upon himself.
He is met with an unenthusiastic response.
Most Pre-mor security agents don’t want to get involved in a skirmish on Ferrix.
As I’ve pointed out, in the first episode of the Cassian Andor series, any time Cassian
is around, the climate is either dreary, cold, or both.
It’s darkest when he is committing a sin against himself.
This shows that he carries a weight.
The weight of a cold heart with a dark history.
Even though his friends care for him, it is obvious that the feelings are not mutual.
At least on the outside, in this point in time.
Even his droid is a sad shell of what he may have been at one time.
Cassian Andor has no greater ambition.
Just to lay low and hope his miss steps don’t catch up with him.
In this episode, finding his sister seems to be of some importance but he can’t continue
his search in the open by being a wanted man, and the blackness surrounding him almost guarantees
he won’t be successful.
Maybe one day when he learns how to be selfless.
Syril Karn, the Deputy inspector of the Pre-Mor Security force is shown differently.
Longing for something more than what he’s being given.
He has his uniform tailored to him.
Both because he has a certain amount of style and he mimics the uniforms he sees the Imperial
officers wearing.
His cheaply made, ill-fitting uniform isn’t complimentary of his style, nor the lack of
motivation the others have, who wear the same uniform around him.
Syril Karn is ambitious, surrounded by light.
Showing that his intentions are well-meant and that he just wants justice for a double
murder.
He is pure.
Although a little naïve.
He’s ready to charge in, out in the open, and feels he should be respected for the title
he carries.
Another delusion of grandeur.
Knowing what we know from the second episode on, the Empire doesn’t care about him.
the Empire that he holds dear.
He’s just a lacky.
Disposable and unimportant.
But the light surrounding him assures him that he is more than what anyone thinks of
him.
And we will get more into that when we look at further episodes.
The Cassian Andor series is some of the best written Star Wars content in many years.
The acting is superb, the dialogue and writing stand up against almost anything that could
possibly be compared to it.
There are no super powered Jedi or ultra-evil Sith.
Average people standing up against oppression.
With one man in the center who couldn’t care any less about a greater good.
Only his own survival…a survival made difficult by his own mistakes.
The characters are rich and the world building of the show leaves nothing to be desired.
As George Lucas said, “Star Wars isn’t about spaceships.
It’s about family.”
And the Andor series showcases that with the hodge podge family that tries to get the rebellious
Cassian Andor to do the right thing.
Join me next time as I revisit the second episode of the Cassian Andor series, titled
“That Would Be Me.”
Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button and give the video a thumbs up.
But that’s all I have for today.
Until the next video, this is Gerald, a Star Wars Fanatic signing off.
Wishing you all great health, happiness, and peace.
Thank you all for watching and remember, this is the way…and positivity in the Star Wars
fandom is the only way!