ANDOR aka Glum Village : its own thread

damn i love this show. THIS IS THE REAL PREQUELS, PEOPLE.

instead of princesses and princes it's the story of labor camps, of construction workers, of kidnapped natives, of middle managers and despised sergeants. of plots in the workplace. of the obdurate details of enforcement and empire management. not just as backdrop or character detail but as the main subject. it's bloody-minded in its materialism. and unstintingly gloomy!

so this episode.. our rebellion poster couple has split up. but that's what happens in good dramas, the characters get faced with tremendously difficult decisions and we get to find out what's important to them and you're DAMN RIGHT that the rebellion is more important to... Cinta, okay i did have to go look that up.. than whatever is going on between her and.. Vel, yes i looked that one up too. now i have images in my head of what the actresses look like in normal clothes. but anyway. good.

the prison is WILD. how the fuck is he going to get out?

i enjoyed the hell out of how tense and awkward andor's introduction to the factory floor was. remember that hold-up with the irritated imperial support staff in the corridor? someone wasn't at their post? all that kerfuffle? i'm interested in why that scene was there. why do you need that scene? you could have tightened everything up by just getting andor into the fabrication room straight away. hands on his head, jabber poised to zap him, it's already tense. so why? i guess my answer would be that it does heighten the tension some, makes you say "get on with it", which gets you closer to what andor himself is feeling then. but it also shows how everybody kind of hates their job there, apart from a handful of sadists. they're all just annoyed and snappish and despite the gleaming ultra-sanitary meticulously conformist operation they're running, the human stuff doesn't really work right. the whole thing's idiotic of course. you'd get better work out of your laborers if you actually trained them properly at the beginning! your efficiency would improve if so many of them didn't kill themselves! etc etc but that's how repressive regimes have always done it. they don't know any other way.

still holding out for... Syril?? is that really his name? to break good. it looks like he's reached his limit with the Imperial paper-pushing department. he's going to do something loco next episode it's clear.

- storm troopers, the old school kind! they still strike instant terror in me

- even though it focuses on very different sorts of characters there is a star-warsness to certain themes: hope vs fear, techno-minimalism vs organic sloppiness, belief in a cause vs being a gun for hire

- fuckin GHOST DOG

i want to watch rogue one again now but i think it’s actually a pretty different beast? a “movie” with all the compressed energy and relentless pace that implies these days, as opposed to this which is paced more like a 70s tv miniseries

so uh, the gas shower - was that a holocaust reference?

I think it’s definitely intended.

Such an amazing show. The factory floor introduction was intense.

I said out loud “I wonder what they’re making” and my kid said “parts for the Death Star”…

Out of the mouths of babes.

My takeaway from the holding-up bit where the guy wasn’t at his post was that Andor — as indicated brilliantly acted by Luna — is an extremely good observer. Not some super spy nonsense as such, just somebody who is good at thinking on his feet and knowing when to shut up (like does he even have ten lines this episode? astounding). My sense is that he was taking in a lot of quick details almost chaotically but is filing them away, as was more obviously hinted at with the sign-language sequence.

Yes. And his bewilderment at the assembly process was brilliant as well, it made me extremely anxious. But as you say possibly not as helpless as he seems - he’s filing things away for the future.

thx for starting a thread tracer!

reposting my thoughts:

new Andor episode great

the prison stuff gave me a “Ghosts…Of The Civil Dead” vibe but honestly it’s prob just bc its an all white future hell-prison

diego luna is so good, the transportation + arrival scenes he looked legitimately physically scared like he was going to puke at any moment, like when you are so afraid you’re involuntarily twitching

xpost I think it's good to remember that at the start of the series he's already been established at someone who stole a high-level Imperial macguffin to begin with as well as searching around for his sister in skeevier/less 'safe' situations. It's not that he's James Bond as such, but someone who has some earned skills to start with; absolutely he's frustrated, overwhelmed and bewildered at being stuck where he is now on top of being scared he but clearly realizes this isn't the place for a vent or a whine. (It helps too that I think the character gets clearly established at only being easily conversational and earnest as such with people he's already known for years, thus the small circle of his Ferrix crew. Everyone else, he talks only when he has to, and usually only when he absolutely has to.)

it was extraordinarily tense

you’re like “why is everyone taking off their shoes??” just pit-of-the-stomach horror vibes

and “why do those guards have such massive boots”?

the insta-pain device

the realisation of just how many poor fucks there are in this place

the gamification of work

this is marxist materialist star wars and i’m here for it

yeah Ned i rewatched the first few scenes of Rogue One last night and i forgot just how much of a “shoot first, talk later” guy he is. he’s from the Han Solo wing of life, in it for himself, ready to blast anything or anybody he needs to, but where Han could talk the ears off a rock, Andor just does his thing with minimal extras.

I think the whole "where is this person they're not at their post" is planting seeds/foreshadowing. . . just think at some point in this show he's gotta BREAK OUT OF THERE

CRAZY

HOW WILL HE DO IT

Through wisecracks and tomfoolery

the food hose was so ._.

We get a heist and a prison break in the same show.

Also thought the guards thing was to show how intense the security around the work is, and how the whole chain runs on fear and bullying. (at a time in the episode where it creates maximum anxiety for us!) Worked for me, as does pretty much everything in this outstanding show. It’s almost too good for Star Wars.

Loved this too the show has fine momentum now after a little too slow of a start imo. Nice to see Saw (arf).

good role for Andy Serkis

the penal factory was all very THX 1138

It sure was!

Watching this i was very * in a crow t robot voice* “dialogue by david mamet”

the characters for once appear to be driven by human-level motivations - misplaced ambition, jealousy, laziness, spur-of-the-moment thoughtlessness. People actually talking like people, instead of just delivering exposition.

I never found storm troopers scary in the originals, they looked slow and awkward in those white plastic suits. What was terrifying was the droid that almost chokes Cas out--how did they make the wrongness and un-human-ness of that badly proportioned robot SO CHILLING?!

The Ferrix wardribes--mwah. Skarsgard's outerwear in his off-planet buyer disguise, basically an American military parka as adopted by rebels everywhere--mwah! Everything being slate blue and orange--double mwah.

Skarsgard's failed negotiation with Forest Whitaker told us a lot about the precarity of the elements he's trying to bring together!! All crazy in their own way and each other's worst enemies...except for the Empire.

I really like it. Everything looks so good and not cheap or shoddy.

I said out loud “I wonder what they’re making” and my kid said “parts for the Death Star”…

― Spencer Chow, Thursday, October 27, 2022 3:57 AM (five days ago) bookmarkflaglink

YOOOOOO I was like THIS IS ALL PART OF THEIR WAR MACHINE.

I was thinking TIE fighter parts, but Death Star makes more sense. I'm still holding to my assessment that this is 100% based on the discussion from Clerks about all the dead Death Star contractors in ROTJ.

What was terrifying was the droid that almost chokes Cas out--how did they make the wrongness and un-human-ness of that badly proportioned robot SO CHILLING?!

I thought this bit was hilarious, because it deliberately makes you think of the same model Imperial droid that Cas owns (and reprogrammed) in Rogue One, except most definitely not as lovable or funny. kind of the opposite of the fan-servicey moments we usually get when we see a familiar character in these shows.  

show needs more aliens though. what, no twi'leks or rodians in imperial prison?

I hate Cyril's manipulative, grasping mom so much. I think that means she's a great character lol. You can really feel how growing up in her shadow, under her power, would mal-form you into something that would look unremarkable (family, loyalty, paying debts owed) but be so wrong inside.

Happy Andor day everyone!

This was the least remarkable and possibly talkiest episode so far (!) and still quite tense in places.

kind of breaks the whole 3 episode arc model, I was ready for some wild escape action

Still a great episode though. Andy Serkis was excellent and guessing the escape action will all kick off next week

It's worth taking a few episodes to build up the escape. Loved the horrifying sound being described to Bix as something we ourselves are spared - and Cyril's Mom's expression when he told her he'd been promoted to name but two of many things.

Denise geogh smash me in the head w a hammer pls

this was really her episode. i thought she was extraordinary. performance of the series imo.

She's so devious, but Mon Mothma has my heart, and it makes total sense that glammed up Vel is part of the family.

Good stuff once more.

i love the way gough does that snarly-sneer at cyril while putting him in his place, she’s so awesome

and the sound editing when they from bix screaming into the drill in the prison workroom was ~chef’s kiss~ so good

cannot say how much i love the actress playing cyril’s mum, more insidious and unsettling than the manipulative-mum-stock-standard - even her tone is somewhat surprising.

great episode

*when they CUT from bix

How long is the series. I assumed it would be either 8 or 10 episodes judging from other things. So is the next one season finale and filled with cliffhangers or are things working up to a temporary at least denouement.
We do know the eventual end anyway already unless that had a miraculous intercession or something.

12 eps for this season

and according to imdb, 12 episodes for the next :)

you're telling me I might have to work with CRIMINALS?!

the entire scene of Mon Mothma giving an impassioned speech only for someone to cut the mic of anyone agreeing with her followed by her continued reticence was some good character development (or lack thereof)

can't believe the Empire plays people the Tim Treadwell tapes from Grizzly Man--didn't Werner Herzog remind us to never listen to the tapes

http://richardhoefer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/honestwithme-1024x573.png

Meero is just the best. So believably compromised and desperate. Her expressions are a tour de force at times, just a flicker here and there which hint at what’s hidden.

She's great. Took a while to realize where I'd seen her, she had a small but good role in Under the Banner of Heaven. Very different show than Andor.

how is meero “compromised”? am i forgetting something? in many ways she seems like a successful version of syril - a true believer

Idk how she literally makes one muscle in her cheek twitch when she’s pissed at Syril but it was masterful.

Yeah that was an astounding moment.

i guess the show is called Andor so this can’t happen but it would be so sick if the show just continued right up to the events at the climax of Star Wars ep IV but from the non-Skywalker point of view

xxp Tracer I meant compromised as a human being

turns out i was rewatching this in parallel w/u tracer, bursting into tears at the exact same moments lol

'Too bad' might need unpacking there, if it's "too bad, I'm going to tip half of it out the window", that's fair enough.

Very much my meaning!

xxp denise gough would be perfect as a young margaret thatcher

I definitely agree with the point about this being very loosely linked to Star Wars - TLJ strikes me as what happens if you treat it more like the Aliens movies, Rian Johnson clearly came in and said "okay, this is an interesting framework, here's a story I want to tell in it"

(I know it's an over-wondered thought in geek circles, but I do always wonder how big the ripples would be if David Lynch had directed RotJ)

Gough was my favourite thing in the show (among many, many favourite things - set design, no magic, Andy Serkis, prison stun floor ...)

Yes inclined to agree, she's somewhat first among equals.

Although I guess it's evident Gilroy is not reeeally burdened by telling this story in not only the same galaxy as Gungans and Babu Frik but in the increasingly carved up yet still alluring nexus between Eps III and IV where there are always the events and aspects of those plus R1 to bear in mind I'd be interested to see what he could do truly free of all that while still offering a modern branded Star War, maybe concurrent and complimentary to the Rey trilogy.

Rian Johnson clearly came in and said "okay, this is an interesting framework, here's a story I want to tell in it"

Tangentially, did anyone else read that scene with Kylo killing Snoke and then inviting Rey to join him (as sparks fall dramatically from the ceiling) as Rian Johnson inviting JJ Abrams to actually do something new and interesting with the franchise? I can't tell if this is insane or obvious.

bringing this stuff into the andor thread is actually kind of upsetting

Haha 100%

When Johnson was working on TLJ wasn't Trevorrow still expected to helm the final part? From what I've seen of what he had in mind for it it actually lined up well with TLJ (still jarringly suucinct for a supposed middle act imo) and the subsequent nature of Andor via a proposed mass uprising against the First Order that we would see more of as opposed to this just being an aside uttered by Dominic Monaghan (iirc) at the end of IX.

Cheer up Tracer I am rewatching Andor for the second time in six months thanks largely to you (and to large new TV).

xxp You can always take up with the guy who mentioned the films in this thread!

I’m rewatching and I have decided this show is also a romance. Not about romantic love, but about a spymaster willing to believe he’s right about the impulse he sees in a possible agent and the tumultuous route they take to come back together. Just a guy hoping another guy can believe what he believes

Occurred to me after seeing the episode 8 scene where Luthen doesn’t want to sever ties with Bix back on Ferrix and has the delusional belief that anyone on Ferrix has a better idea of where Cassian might be

I never quite understood why Luthen comes back to Ferrix for the funeral. He already has agents to deal with Cassian. What’s he doing there? If it’s a bit of a romance that makes it start to make sense.. he’s drawn to Cassian irrationally.. but I feel like there was something I missed

maybe he intuited the presence of the force (hints for s2 reveal)

my kids keep saying he’s a Jedi and I like NO YOU DON’T GET IT

RETVRN

luthen was darth plagueis all along

what i think is important when watching star wars with children is to make sure they understand when they’re wrong

I think Luthen remains undecided on killing or recruiting Cassian right to the end as one of those two options MUST happen. In the end only going to Ferrix himself to see if he can encounter Cassian again and force a decision on it can enable that, but he has to keep Vel ready to kill him if it all goes south?

yeah that sounds about right. He’s a bit of a gambler isn’t he, despite his attention to detail. He doesn’t mind leaving things open, seeing where they go.

Luthen's also subtly attempting to affirm his own beliefs and you see him waver a little in several episodes. Those grandiose speeches are as much for him as they are for his audience (and the viewing audience). He wants to be right about Cassian so bad

As for something more ephemeral: apparently there is exactly one party song that's popular during the run of the series thus far, and it's titled after the hottest beach planet-turned-imperial: Niamos!

So far we have:
Niamos! (Morlana Club Mix) -- First episode, Cassian is at the club trying to find out if his sister was there
Niamos! (Coruscant Lounge Mix) -- Played at the party Mon Mothma is hosting in ep 7 where she's entertaining guests and talking about moving money
Niamos! (Galaxy Mix) -- Played over the ending credits of ep 7 after the camera zooms out from Syril in his new insanely boring office cubicle, a distinctly un-party atmosphere

Niamos!

here's a 10 minute loop version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r9qnkCE0Hw

keep music live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA8-6X8aR3o

Some are rockists, some are poptimists, some are wailing jizzists.

iirc jizz has now been retconned to "jatz"... thanks disney :(

Some are into skatplay, others are into jatzplay

xxxxp I think that's just the section that was played in the episode looped. The official soundtrack available on streaming has a second section

I was gonna say only on third watch of this did I notice Mothma's muzak was a tease of the same tune as the Niamos Grindcore banger.

Whenever you hear that party music, you know something terrible is going to happen!

oh, I forgot to mention that the Galaxy Mix over the credits was an encore. The first time it appears in that episode is when Cassian is on the beach about to run some errands

the next two tracks are, depressingly:
"Tourists Don't Run"
and
"Six Year Sentence"

space-age music in dune:
• bagpipes
• throat-singing
• chapman stick

Fairly certain Chapman Stick's a character

Blu-ray set out next month with some extras:

https://gizmodo.com/andor-season-1-blu-ray-release-date-details-steelbook-1851308715/slides/5

Sweet!

Wow yes. I just rewatched it with my sci-fi indifferent older daughter who was absolutely gripped from ep 1. Is it even better than the 1977 movie? Certainly for an adult audience.

On a separate note I actually just saw Michael Clayton for the first time thanks to a one-off Alamo screening. And yeah, a lot more of the vibe tracks, if you will.

I recently showed my niece and nephew A New Hope and they kept laughing at how bad the VFX were, they couldn't take it seriously. I kept having to be like, "when I was a kid, this was mind-blowing". My nephew is even pretty into sci-fi but I guess it was too hard a sell for them - no interest in seeing Empire Strikes Back

I suspect they'd be way more into Mandalorian or Andor simply because they look better

Must be hard when you grow up watching movies with great special effects like, er, Ant-Man 3

Vinnie was it the "special edition" with the coating of "new" (now old) CGI applied?

the space battles get a lot better in rotj. i agree, i remember being very nonplussed as a 10 year old by how slowly the x-wings moved in ANH vs the x-wings that i flew in the pc game x-wing.

"new" (now old) CGI

shit, you're right. new special edition mk 2 needed stat!

well i've always said this, that since CGI gets better all the time once you go down this road of specializing old movies with new effects you kind of can't stop since those new effects will quickly start looking very bad, in fact far worse than if they'd been practical to begin with. the only winning move is to despecialize obv but in lieu of that yes, new special editions are needed!

Tracer, it was the special edition on Disney Plus. I don't think I was particularly bothered by the "new" CGI - it doesn't look great but many of the old VFX shots look pretty dated nowadays as well. I still enjoy all the other aspects of the movie, but I can see how it's a hard sell for younger people. My nephew and niece pointed out how bad any blaster scene was, with the shots going wildly off-target every time. And fair point to them

that lobster man in full

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNmFiZjBjZmUtOTdkYS00YmU0LTlkMjItMjZiZTk1YWJlMjRkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDYyODAzNQ@@._V1_.jpg

FUCK

lol when we watched Andor my kids were stunned that stormtroopers actually got a few hits in