Andor Is the Best Star Wars Show Nobody Talks About, and S1 Finale Proves It

About the only flaws one can find are that at the climactic halfway point of such a dark series, no major character from either side ends up dead, and that the showrunners have even less sense of scale than the Star Wars writers, beyond the limitations of spectacle imposed by their budget.

Otherwise, the cinematography is great, the drama is great, and the moments of pathos that could have turned into creepiness with lesser direction and acting come across as genuine.

There are no nonsensical plot twists that happen just because the showrunners wanted to make some cool scenes, as has become common with Disney 's Star Wars.

But the show is still not popular. While specific viewership data for streaming is often hard to come by, Parrot Analytics found that demand for back seasons of The Mandalorian equaled that of Andor from October 29 to November 4, and demand for the animated series Tales of the Jedi exceeded both of those shows. Such numbers are obviously bad.

One Emotional Andor Scene Made Even Diego Luna Cry on Set

And while Internet discussion of the show had risen from "almost nonexistent" to "fairly lively" by the finale, it still did not reach the heights of previous Disney Star Wars TV series.

The reasons for this gap between quality and popularity are difficult to pinpoint.

It is possible that the genre change (Andor is a spy thriller X heist movie X prison break movie IN SPACE, far from the usual Star Wars fare) was too much for existing Star Wars fans, and the franchise's reputation at that point resulted in a lack of interest from the general audience.

It is also possible that the decision to reduce the amount of Easter eggs, crossovers with other Disney products, and nostalgia bait was a commercial mistake, as the audience that sticks with Star Wars today largely craves such things.

Either way, the situation with Andor does not bode well for the prospects of any more non-formulaic Star Wars shows or movies.