My thoughts on Star Wars content from the last decade: And this is gonna contain spoilers so be warned.
Clone Wars: Some episodes were hit or miss, but overall the quality was incredible. This show made me love characters that I couldn't stand in the Prequel Trilogy. Of particular note are the "Mortis" arch, the "Order 66" arc, the return of a certain sith lord, the "Mandalor" arc and the last few episodes of Season 7.
Rebels: While a lot more "kid friendly" and lighthearted, this was still a good show. I particularly loved Kana Jarrus and his character development. He's become one of my favorite Jedi characters.
The Bad Batch: I love this shows. It shows an atypical family who still very much think of each other as family. While it can be goofy at times, it still has a lot of heart and the members of the Bad Batch all have a lot of personality. I look forward to Season 2 in January.
The Mandalorian: This is some of the best live-action content we've gotten from Disney. The relationship between Din and Grogu is amazing and heartwarming and the show has a lot of good action and set pieces. Of particular note is the episode "The Believer". Bill Burr, despite being a controversial comedian, gave a heartfelt performance as a traumatized war veteran haunted by his past that added a great deal of depth to his character. I just wish Ahsoka had been given a better introduction in the show. I watched it with my dad and had to explain who Ahsoka was.
The Book of Boba Fett: Ironically, the show I was looking forward to the most turned out to be the least good. While I didn't hate the show, and even enjoyed a lot of it, it was a hot mess. Boba being relegated to a side character in his own series didn't help either. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't very good.
Obi Wan Kenobi: Another one I was hyped for only to be let down by. Again, there were aspects of the show I really liked, and it was great to see Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christenson reprise their roles, but this show could have been SOOO much better. I classic waste of wasted potential. It feels more like a fan film than an actual canon entry.
The Sequel Trilogy: What sequel trilogy?
Rogue One: This is hands-down the best Star Wars movie we've gotten from Disney. K2 is the best droid in any Star Wars movie, the movie's theme of sacrifice and hope, and one of the best Darth Vader scenes ever, make this a worthy entry in the Star Wars lore.
Solo: I don't feel like this movie deserves the hate that it gets. While it may be the prequel no one asked for, it was still a decent movie. I feel like a lot of the flak it got was backdraft from "The Last Jedi". It certainly isn't great, but it's not horrible and I had fun watching it.
This all brings us to Andor: I'm just gonna come out and say it. This is the best Star Wars work we've gotten from Disney in terms of quality. Yes, it even surpasses "The Mandalorian". This show doesn't rely on fan service. We don't need space wizards with laser swords for this show to work and that's why it's special.
As I previously stated, this probably isn't a show that children would enjoy, but it's very mature and well-crafted nature put it right up there with "Game of Thrones" imo. Of note is the lack of filler. Even "The Mandalorian" had filler episodes. Every episode of "Andor" is important to the overall plot.
While the show is slow-paced and has a lot of talking (which is still quite good) there are also some big payoffs. The Aldhani heist, prison break and Ferrix riot were all great action scenes.
The show really delves into the totalitarian nature of the Empire and the consequences it has for the common citizen. We see Cassian being arrested by a power-tripping stormtrooper just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, for which he is basically sentenced to a lifetime of slavery in a penal colony.
Nemik's manifesto about freedom being a pure ideal and how attempts to stifle it naturally lead to rebellion, and totalitarian regimes being fragile rings true even in real life. As do Cassian's words about how "power doesn't panic". I could point out any number of examples of that in real life but I'm not going to.
Maarva's recorded speech at her funeral was powerful and moving. As was the riot that followed. Brasso clocking an Imperial in the head with the brick made from Maarva's ashes was both awesome and hilarious, as was the Time Grappler Sparta-punting a stormtrooper off his tower.
I feel like Disney didn't expect Andor to be successful, so they kept their hands off of it and as a result we got a much more sincere product without the executive meddling. I eagerly look forward to season 2.
