SCIFIHISTORY.NET
  • MAINPAGE
  • About
  • Reviews
  • December
  • November
  • October
  • September
  • August
  • July
  • June
  • May
  • April
  • March
  • February
  • January

Stardate 10.26.2022.B: Is This The Best The Rebel Alliance Can Hope For? - A Review Of Andor's 'Announcement' (s01e07)

10/26/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
In case you folks don’t already know this, it gets increasingly difficult to talk in substantive terms about a growing number of franchises.
 
Back before the days of the Internet, scribes and critics didn’t really have to worry about so much daily (or routine) interaction with their readership.  A controversial opinion – when properly couched with both the distance from the general public as well as the reality that opposing forces were vastly less likely to meet – was just that … a controversial opinion.  It was rarely met with choruses to boycott an outlet or cries for authors to be censored into oblivion.  Back then, people honestly had better things to do with their time; yet, today, every Tom, Dick, Harry, Marcia, Jan, or Cindy has a blog, a vlog, a Facebook group, or the wide, wide Twittersphere with which to put out a call to arms.  That can be unnerving to some, but those who know me best will tell you that my propensity to ‘give a damn’ flamed out decades ago.
 
In fact, I’ve rarely ever given that a second thought … and this is because I write to express my own opinion, not to influence others about what’s good, what’s bad, what’s exceptional, or what’s hot garbage.  I like what I like – I try to express my fondness for the things I discover (or vice versa) – and I let the chips fall however they may.  I figure if I have to crash and burn, then I should be forever free to do it all of my own accord … so take that, Internet haters.
 
All of this brings me to “Announcement,” the seventh episode in the Disney+ Star Wars series Andor … which, quite frankly, is a bit boring.
 
I know, I know, I know.  I’m not allowed to say that because somehow my opinion magically and mystically invades your safe space, making it a big no-no.  Well, buckle up, buttercup, because that latest 50-minute experience was a bit of a slog … necessarily.  Big things came down in the installment right before, so – from a narrative standpoint – it was now time for audiences to catch their breath, for the characters in the galaxy far far away to come to grips with these latest developments, and for changes to occur that would set up the next part of the action.
​
Picture
That fact that I found it a bit tedious is, ultimately, inconsequential.  (I’m sure that there are plenty other critics out there who continue to swoon of every moment – blemished or not – and that’s perfectly cool.)  I suspect that the pace will pick up again – not via another moderately successful bank heist, hopefully – and we’ll be off to the races once more.  But creator Tony Gilroy and his band of screenwriters really ought to be a bit more learned in moving what resembles a plot forward.  All of this means is that I’m struggling with their style.  Such is life.
 
But as a character … I still don’t trust Cassian Andor.
 
I know, I know, I know.  How can I say that?  He’s a critical darling!  Well, that may be the case, but as I’ve said before I found him the least interesting character in all of Rogue One – his introduction to this cinematic universe – but he was salvaged in the small way of giving him an identifiable arc, one that showed he could stand for something when the chips were down.  At this juncture in Andor, he clearly doesn’t.  To make matters worse, he makes some of the dumbest choices imaginable – i.e. returning home, daring capture or incarceration, walking about freely on a beach resort planet (Space Malibu?) teeming with Imperial operatives.
 
Come the end of “Announcement,” I turned to my wife and asked, “Just how stupid can one supposed cunning criminal be?”
 
The fact that he’s survived this long without being either jailed or killed has almost officially defied logic – look for the impending press release from Kathleen Kennedy’s office or thereabouts.  Not only is he uninteresting and untrustworthy, he’s now categorically stupid.
 
This is the best the rebels can hope for?
 
Naturally, I do hope that the evolution of him from ‘doddering scamp’ to ‘hero of the Alliance’ is worth the wait.
 
At this point, I think it’s fair for me to conclude that – as a stand-alone property – I just don’t find Andor all that interesting.  This isn’t to say that it hasn’t had some nice moments or maybe even a good performance or two.  If I were that intrigued by Cassian himself, then I might feel more invested in the show (at this point, which is all I’m referencing, folks); but given the fact that this storyline is intended to be part and parcel of a broader universe I’m not all that impressed.

​-- EZ
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Reviews
    ​Archive
    ​

    Reviews

    birthdays
    Archive
    ​

    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December

    mainpage
    ​ posts

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly