I’m honestly shocked that Andor made it past the Mouse in terms of themes and messaging. It’s a return to the more political messaging that Lucas himself makes a point of referencing in many interviews. Unlike a lot of Disney’s MCU properties, Andor actually takes political stances that aren’t exactly in the mainstream or otherwise inexplicable. $MCU_villain makes a lot of sense, and then randomly does something unforgivable to reinforce that leftist=bad and that merely maintaining the neoliberal status quo is most moral thing to do, whereas Andor’s messaging is much more radical (“one way out”).

Alongside a strong political and moral stance, Andor draws on the space-opera origins of Star Wars as opposed to the grounded sci-fi of Trek. It embraces the dramatic monologue through characters like Luthen and Kino, and empathizes character-driven elements rather then the plot-first, explanations-later approach of the Sequels. It feels closer to early-season Game of Thrones than shows like the Witcher, which also suffered from “theme park” syndrome where the universe only exists to further a singular plot. All in all, Andor had a fantastic season 1, and gives me some hope for the future of Star Wars.