Andor and 'the Galactic Vietnam'

Andor has captivated many of its viewers because it shows how the largely faceless Empire functions and because it explores the suffering of the Empire’s victims.

The new television show Andor is widely regarded as the best work of Star Wars storytelling on the screen at least since Rogue One, which was also written by Tony Gilroy, the creator and main writer for the series. Gilroy famously is not a fan of Star Wars, and it is perhaps for this reason that he has been able to escape from the crushing gravity of the franchise to create something genuinely interesting. The series tells the backstory of the Rebel intelligence officer Cassian Andor and how he goes from being a mercenary to a committed adherent of the Rebellion. If that doesn’t sound very promising, the series surprises with its writing and its portrayal of power and how power is abused.

A prequel to a prequel is always a dicey proposition, but Andor has captivated many of its viewers because it shows how the largely faceless Empire functions and because it explores the suffering of the Empire’s victims to a much greater extent than we have usually seen in other productions. In these respects, it differs from and improves upon the main Star Wars stories that it supplements. If the original Star Wars trilogy was George Lucas’ response to the Vietnam War with the Empire as the stand-in for the United States, Andor is a much more extensive critique of empire as both warfare state and carceral state. [Spoilers follow.]