The rivalry between Star Wars and Star Trek is the stuff of legends – at least as far as the fandoms are concerned. But this year has been a big one as far as Star Wars is concerned, with the Emmy-award-winning Andor Season 2 releasing to near-universal acclaim. The timing became significant, with showrunner Tony Gilroy considering Andor the most important story he’ll ever work on. It seems he’s not alone in that estimation, too.
Speaking to ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan, Star Trek: Discovery creator Bryan Fuller spoke about his love for Star Wars – and, particularly, for Andor.
“I think episode 8 of Andor season 2 is the most important episode of television this year, and probably for many years to come. Previously, I watched it so many times and cried at just the bravery of this woman, [Mon Mothma]. It’s a crime that Genevieve O’Reilly was not acknowledged with awards.”
Andor Was Like Nothing Else We’ve Ever Seen in Star Wars
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Andor was a unique Star Wars TV show, in large part because of the incredible quality of its writing. This was Star Wars as prestige television, and it’s unlikely any franchise will ever make anything quite like it; Disney is cutting on streaming budgets, as are Disney+’s streaming rivals. Fuller, meanwhile, is singling out one specific episode – Andor Season 2, episode 8, “Who Are You?” This was the middle chapter in a massive story focusing on an Imperial act of genocide committed against the planet Ghorman, and it has been widely for the incredible quality of its writing and production.
Andor was a masterpiece of science-fiction, and it’s frankly delightful to see other creators recognize it. But it stands out in large part because its message is somehow both timeless and timely; it shows the cost (and necessity) of fighting against fascism, set in a distant galaxy that somehow feels chillingly familiar.
Showrunner Tony Gilroy was initially reluctant to discuss the overt political imagery of Andor, but he’s become more open about it as the months have passed. “When I started on the show, the parallels between what was happening in the world and what was happening in the galaxy and the Empire—those were already obvious,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. But it’s been “very sad for us how much it rhymes” with the real world, he continued, pointing to surprising moments that, oddly, paralleled the story he told in episode 8 in particular.
This timeliness is what gives Andor its true significance, and it is why Fuller’s assessment is likely true. Andor told a very specific story at a time when the real world began to mirror it, giving the Star Wars series a weight that pop cultures franchises often aspire to, but seldom achieve. When Fuller calls this “the most important episode of television this year, and probably for many years to come,” he’s surely right.
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