I finally started watching Andor--I've been waiting for M and I both to be in the mood.

It is so good. It doesn't feel like a SW show at all and I mean that in a really good way. I haven't read the novels just seen most of the movies and then the tv shows and after just watching one episode I feel like the world is more lived in and real than the others. It kind of felt more along the lines of The Expanse or Farscape than what I think of with Star Wars. I'm not sure how to describe it but-- WWII spy thriller is a good description. It feels way more about the characters than The Larger Plot/Mythology of SW universe. Of course I may change my mind about that after the other episodes.

Lower Decks-- I've been pretty good at guessing where the plot is going , even if I'm not right on how it gets there but this week I was wrong about how it was going to end. And I'm glad there were finally consequences to Mariner and Freeman's issues but also that it didn't paint Mariner as the bad guy

I try to be understanding when people don't agree with me, but the people who think that Andor is boring or slow have lost me entirely. It's SO GOOD.

Also, here's a question: how old is Andor supposed to be? Because I think, based on the flashbacks, Andor is supposed to be in his late 20s: he's a teenager when he attacks the clone troopers and presumably goes to prison. Except Diego Luna is 42! I think that's hysterical.

I searched for how old he is supposed to be because I hadn't even thought to wonder about it-- he's supposed to be 21 ish during the series and 26 during Rogue One. He doesn't look like he's in his 20s to me but hey-- he's an alien..or well kind of an alien so I guess it can just be handwaved as --an alien thing.

I can kind of see why people would think that the writing is slow, based on the first episode because it goes against the fast pace and is more contemplative... (I don't think that's the right word I'm looking for but..) like the characters have an urgency but the pacing of the episode and how it's edited etc doesn't have an urgency to it.

It kind of reminds me a bit of The Wire in the sense that it seems like it should be Action! and Fast Paced and instead you get this slow build, bureaucracy , routine and characters interacting without exposition or just driving the plot forward. And there is the lack of Exposition to Catch the Viewer Up with Everything going on which I find refreshing because you have to figure things out from context or wait for the characters actions and interactions to explain what is going on. The closest it felt to Exposition Speech was with the Corporate military dude breaking things done for Mr Law and Order.

I can't remember anyone's names.. Mr Law and Order kind of reminded me of Rimmer...like if Rimmer were in a drama and competent

Yeah, the reactions are all over the place. My favorite part might be that dude's horrible mother.

Weird to see Andy Serkis show up for a minor side-character in Andor.

My favorite part might be that dude's horrible mother.

My favorite is the dude's horrible mother's apartment.

That is pretty great.

I also like the prison uniforms a lot.

Watching tumblr melt down over The Witcher news has been entertaining today. Cavill is leaving after S3 and one of the lesser Hemsworths is taking his place as Geralt. [link] I was underwhelmed by S2, so I’m in shrug and see what happens mode.

There was a recent kerfuffle where a former writer for the show said that most of the writers room thinks the books and games are terrible. If true, that might explain why Cavill, who is a huge fan of both, decided to leave.

Hard to judge when we won’t see season 3 for months yet. It’s all pretty weird, though.