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:: An ongoing episodic story of fan-fic set after Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and inspired by George Lucas' historical draft concepts ::
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| November 2022 |
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Reviewing ANDOR
30th November 2022 |
The live-action series ANDOR has now completed, and overall it's been tense and thrilling ! As these events detailing the genesis of the Rebellion against the Empire become 'canon', we have been introduced to Luthen Rael and his assistant Kleya Marki, and learned more about Senator Mon Mothma, and freedom fighters Saw Guerrera and Vel Sartha and Cinta Kaz.
The series presented Cassian - "Kassa" - Andor from his apparently orphaned child-tribe (and apparently doomed by the Old Republic) on the forest world of Kenari, rescued by Clem and Maarva Andor, who resettled with them on the industrial-salvage planet of Ferrix. As a young adult he slipped into the murky world of trading ship parts, especially military units, which ultimately brought him to the attention of the local law enforcement and in turn the Imperials, as well as Luthen Rael.
A high-octane escape from Ferrix with Luthen led him to join a rebel cell attacking an Imperial Garrison on Aldhani, and successfully stealing its funds. Meanwhile, Mon Mothma's actions in ferreting away charitable funds to help support Luthen's cause begin to draw attention from the Imperials.
An unfortunate and innocent mis-step by Cassian whilst on the run following the Garrison heist puts him in a high security Imperial prison, when he and his fellow inmates are unknowingly building laser-focusing arrays for the under-construction Death Star. Realising that their prison terms are simply being recycled back into the penal system to provide more free labour, Andor helps lead a prison break-out.
Upon hearing of the death of Maarva and the interrogation of his friend, Bix Caleen, Cassian makes his way back to Ferrix, and, as the Imperials oppress a local uprising, he helps rescue Bix and some other friends and to get them off-world. Espying Luthen in the crowd, Andor later approaches him, and persuades him to formally recruit him into his rebel cause.
As indicated over the previous months, I found the slower pacing difficult, especially for the initial episodes. I appreciate that there were many and varied characters to introduce and follow, but, in my head, I was still expecting a 'movie paced' show befitting a Star Wars genre ; in fact, I still believe that, to a certain extent, some scenes and settings could have been presented more 'urgently', although I do recognise that, even with the in-lore time frame, showing the Empire not yet in full ascendancy may be more dynamic for story-telling than showing even more oppression.
Related to this, one aspect I continually struggled with was the writers' apparent choice to provide particularly verbose speeches to certain characters, or very stilted or 'fractured' dialogue styles. As with the pacing, I found this to be, at best, 'showey' and 'knowingly ironic', and at worst, a distraction pulling me out of the 'Star Wars' world. A case in point was Luthen's 'justification' speech to his Imperial informant, which might have appeared and sounded more convincing if it had been spoken to a fellow rebel, like Mon Mothma or Saw Guerrera, rather than what appears to be a 'lowly' field agent !
It's also been a little frustrating to discover that Mon Mothma wasn't necessarily the singular genesis of rebellion - which I and no doubt most fans had had in mind post Episode VI - and I'd love to learn more of the dynamic and origins of Luthen and Mothma's partnership. Scenes with Saw Geurrera, and references to at least one other rebel leader, imply several rebel cells potentially unconnected save for the odd communiqué, so I would be keen to see how the more 'local' inter-cell politics play out, rather than just solely the politics on the grander scale of the galaxy.
The perspective of the Imperial Empire through the eyes of the ISB was particularly cold and oppressive, and thus successful ; as was the choice of decor on Coruscant, ranging from the cold hard brutalist lines of the Empire to the softer arcs found in Mothma's Chandrilan residence and Luthen's antiquities shop.
As the show progressed, it became more tense and thrilling, and the characters became more intriguing as their facets were revealed. The vsuals were rich, and it was very telling that large practical sets had been opted for over solely digital environments, the former helping to give a 'solidity' and a 'believability' with its grit and grime and larger scale. The droid design for B2EMO was amazing, akin to the subtle triumph that was Artoo Detoo, with such a clever use of appearance and action to provide a personality.
Production for the second series is now underway with a release date for 2024, with telescoped story-telling replacing the additional seasons that had originally been planned : plots of 3-4 episodes will span the remaining 4-5 years that will lead the story to the Rings of Kafrene and into Rogue One. I am genuinely looking forward to seeing more of Andor, and to discover how his adventures develop and how the disparate rebel cells evolve and come together.
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The illustrated virtual edition of Episode VII : Plague of Doom continues, and we re-visit the space battle above Kessel : a Mon Cal cruiser has just scored a successful hit against one of the Star Destroyers lifting off from Kessel and the gunner crew are celebrating, but their chief warns them that there are still several Imperial warships left out there !
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| You can see the VE artwork in the 'Kessel' art gallery as well as in the online illustrated story, and you can discuss this in the forum here ! |
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| Following a busy home life, and a certain amount of 'writer's block', I have now started to pull together existing and new ideas for the Virtual Edition Episode XI story line ! With ideas of murder and hyper-destruction and balance and cosmic energy, I hope to begin drafting a story outline very soon.... |
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| Nathaniel Reed, 30th November 2022 |
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