A pseudo-origin story of the Rebellion as Cassian Andor is drawn into a sprawling series of galactic events after killing two crooked cops in self-defense. After joining up with a band of rebels to hijack an Imperial payroll, Cassian is forced to go on the run as the Empire ratchets up its show of force as the galaxy becomes more and more discontent with their strict authoritarian ways of government.

Man oh man, what a series. Andor is such a different beast from really anything else in Star Wars that it always leaves me in awe. While the series does pick up a bit slowly, once you get invested into the characters and story, you are drawn in and can't wait to see what happens next. All at once it's a story about family, political intrigue, the early stages of war, and frenetic sci-fi action as we jump from point A to point B to point C and so on. Aside from the actually stellar VFX (some of the best for any streaming series, it's almost cinematic in its scope), the writing is what sets this apart from anything else the Disney-era of Lucasfilm has offered -- and it rivals really any writing in the franchise, coming from a die-hard fan since birth. The acting is also great, from both its stars to even its side characters. This show makes you invested in every person's story, even if they're a great hero or a scummy villain, it is just that good. Definitely do yourself a favor and watch this series, but not just the first few episodes. As I said, it takes time to get going, but when it does, it is some of the best media I have ever seen -- especially the final half of the season. Highly recommended.

Content Concerns: There is a good bit of sci-fi violence throughout, and it gets intense. Characters are shot, hung, blown up, crushed, etc. It's never too gory though. There's also a little bit of profanity; not an overwhelming amount, but probably a dozen or so uses throughout the whole season (an assortment consisting of "h-ll," "d-mn," "b-st-rd," and 1 use of "sh-t," a rather shocking first for the franchise).

(July 14, 2023) ( )