‘Andor’ Is The Best ‘Star Wars’ Entry Since ‘The Force Awakens’

2015 was a great year to be a “Star Wars” fan. “The Force Awakens” came out in December, and, in the months that followed, everyone was talking about the latest installment in the Skywalker Saga.

And I do mean everyone. I remember Daisy Ridley appearing on Good Morning America to discuss her role as Rey, and the panelists all hotly debating whether she could be a Palpatine or a Solo. One woman proudly told her that her son believes that Rey is a Ken-ob-i, making sure to clarify, “Am I pronouncing that right?”

The excitement around “Star Wars” stayed for about two years and generated excitement for “Rogue One,” largely adding to the success of the spin-off film. There were a few nay-sayers who felt that “The Force Awakens” was too similar to the original trilogy, but by and large, everyone was excited to see Luke Skywalker back in action.

Until “The Last Jedi” came out in 2017 and all sh-t hit the fan. There were cries that it was both “too woke” and yet somehow “too racist” coming from opposing sides, with a social media slugfest that seemed comparable to a U.S. Presidential election. Either it was “the best ‘Star Wars’ movie ever” or “the worst ‘Star Wars’ movie ever” and there was no in-between. The “passion” has fortunately died down in recent years – we’re all too exhausted by everything else these days – but it essentially stole any goodwill that ever existed for the sequel trilogy.

That inertia quickly infected “Solo,” a Han Solo origin story that absolutely no one had asked for, and made audiences hesitant to see “The Rise of Skywalker” when it summed up the 9-episode Skywalker Saga in 2019. After all, much of the excitement had already been sucked out of the story. Who is Rey? Oh, she’s no one important. Who is Supreme Leader Snoke? Oh, well, he’s dead, so I guess that doesn’t matter much. Remember that “Game of Thrones” actress you loved who’s now playing Captain Phasma? Oh, she’s dead too.

The questions that you were hoping to get answered? Gone. The fate of the Resistance? Confined to the characters left standing on board the Millennium Falcon at the end of “The Last Jedi.” At least, in the original trilogy, you got the sense of the Rebellion and the larger fight. The ending of “TLJ” suggested that an organization reborn from the Empire was facing Resistance from… all of about twelve people.

It was clear that the expectations for “The Rise of Skywalker” were low, and they sank even lower after Colin Trevorrow parted ways with Lucasfilm, leaving J.J. Abrams to pick up where he left off. It seemed his energy for finishing up the franchise also waned; not only did he did he retcon the idea that Rey was a “nobody” by making her a Palpatine, he also retconned the backstory of Poe Dameron from what had already been established in other media. And don’t even get me started on the line, “Somehow, Palpatine returned,” which continues to be mocked to this day (it really does get worse every time you hear it).

Disney struck a win when they released “The Mandalorian,” which was a fresh new take on “Star Wars” that existed outside of the Skywalker Saga and didn’t feature the iconic lightsaber battles or tales of the Force that so many have associated with the franchise. It allowed Lucasfilm to get in the sandbox and play around with a lot of other ideas. Some paid off, while others, like “The Acolyte” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” crashed and burned.

Even the first season of “Andor” wasn’t met with a lot of love. It was labelled long-winded and boring, comparable to the tax debate shown at the beginning of “The Phantom Menace.” The first season picked up and led to a satisfying finale that drew audiences back for a second season. It’s a good thing that they did, because Tony Gilroy made sure to throw everything at the wall and somehow still managed to stick the landing.

Drawing off of World War II history and real-world events simultaneously, Gilroy managed to create a new kind of “Star Wars” tale that felt modern, and yet still invoked the nostalgia of the original trilogy. The second season consisted of four sets of three episodes, each set a year apart, leading up to the first minutes of “Rogue One” so that fans could create a clear timeline of Cassian Andor’s journey to joining the Rebellion.

For the first time, the franchise feels alive again. It feels like the moments after “The Force Awakens” came out, when “Star Wars” fans could look forward to the future of the franchise with the hope of watching a single, cohesive story with compelling characters and a clear narrative. The second season of “Andor” managed to touch on many different genres, creating the hope that Lucasfilm will dare to explore a new kind of story in a galaxy far, far away.

There was not a lot of love for the prequel trilogy when it was first released. It remains to be seen if the sequel trilogy’s reputation will improve with time. At the moment, it doesn’t look like it. “The Force Awakens” will have its ten-year anniversary in December, but there were no grand tributes held for the film earlier this year at the fan-packed Star Wars Celebration in Japan.