• he/him

cohost's first star wars fanblog, official "Big Name Fan".

 

in my "bad batch s3" era currently



ANDOR ANDOR ANDOR ANDOR


  • this show is such a powerhouse of acting it's blowing my mind. everyone in this show is so fucking killing it it's absurd. this show has a bunch of long, lingering shots of actor's faces, it's just so fucking real. It's so fucking good.

  • mon mothma's tradcath daughter is such a genius move. softly heartbreaking, I loved watching that conversation between Vel and Mon. "it's worse here than it is there", because the fascism of the empire is stronger in the capitol, and Chandrilan customs are easily woven into fascism.

  • luthen, luthen, luthen. Seeing him finally "in action" here was beautiful, terrifying. I love seeing him go all out first on Saw and then on the Cruiser.

  • I think there is such a strange bond of trust between Luthen and Saw. It's delicious. Saw being such a manic, emotional, furious revolutionary and Luthen the hyper-controlled, nailed down, meditative one. They complement each other, and they know it -- when Luthen said that Saw knew too much about him, that's a kind of love. Intricate rituals. Hard times and hard people.

  • I don't think Luthen is a Jedi. I still don't! I'm sorry. It's not enough for me yet. I think he might have a lightsaber! I think he's clearly a collector, regardless -- lightsabers, jedi material in general, is super illegal at this time period. It would not be that awkward for him to hide that material, even from Saw's men. I think he's a believer, like Chirrut Imwe and Lyra Erso. That's the part of him that's still sentimental. It's the part of him that he hasn't yet given up -- the hope he's ashamed to admit he still has.

  • For the record I still think Luthen is an ex-separatist (I'm gonna write a long post about this at some point, I know it). I think that's the most likely solution and also the one that I find the most interesting.

  • The constant motifs being shown again -- water, climbing, the beach, the sunset. All these mementos mori for Andor and he doesn't even know it yet. Seeing Melshi and him on the beach together... man. This show gets it.

  • The little whisper from Nemik -- Cassian being actively haunted by the spectre of communism.

  • B2EMO in this... wow. I've never seen -- I don't even think I can think of -- a piece of star wars media that treated a droid with this much humanity. Brasso listens to B2. He talks with him. He treats him with such care. Maybe it's because Brasso is a laborer, maybe it's because he's part of this particular community, I don't know, but Brasso has such care for this little creature. Both of them are so wonderful.

  • The tradition of Ferrix being that once you die you are literally made into a part of the community. To be made a brick in the buildings is something that's often chastised in various media, but I think this makes it so loving and careful and community-minded. Ferrix is just such an amazing addition to the world of Star Wars, it's such a blessing.


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in reply to @CT-0451's post:

Curious if the brick metaphor will be used next episode. Will bricks get thrown at stormtroopers, perhaps?

I also don't think Luthen is a Jedi. I believe it's more interesting if he isn't (although I'm open to being convinced otherwise), and I suspect all the hints people are seeing are just red herrings or over-eagerness. I also bet this show has enough restraint to only hint at and never reveal his past exploits.

Also every choice in storytelling this episode feels like the most cutting, devastating choices you can make for these characters. Really push them to their limit! Of course Mon doesn't want to have her daughter sold off in some arranged marriage but oh my god Leida might be putting herself on that track anyway.

Love me a Colin Cantwell cruiser showing up.

Also... this is maybe a huge reach, and I normally don't do this kinda shit, but when I saw the debris from the tractor beam dish, something about it seemed familiar to me...

debris from cantwell cruiser dish

debris from cantwell cruiser dish with rebellion logo overlaid

I think we have seen some of the bricks being thrown, right? I remember there was some stuff being thrown during that flashback to the clone troopers marching through ferrix, but I might be wrong...

re: the mothma stuff: YES god. i love how much this show is willing to put these characters into the WORST situations.

anyway yes I LOVED that cruiser. and I don't think you're wrong to see that in the wreckage, this show has some seriously good imagery going on, I wouldn't put it past them.

I've been strictly on the "Luthen is not a Jedi" train so far but I think I might have gotten off at this stop. That walking stick is definitely a lightsaber. I wouldn't be mad if they never confirmed it one way or another though.

oh yeah don't get me wrong - I think that stick COULD be a lightsaber. Might be one! I just don't think Luthen, the guy, is/was a Jedi. I think his stance on this just doesn't line up with a Jedi stance, even a burned one. I think he's just a guy who was burned by the Republic/Empire and wanted to spend the rest of his life devoted to destroying it, same as so many others in this show

When I first heard the Luthen Rael = Rael Averross theory I thought it was cute, but didn't buy in. After his monologue in episode 10 I'm kind of semi-convinced. But I think it would be more interesting if we never have Luthen's background revealed. It's a mystery that will always be more compelling left in the box, you know?

Seeing Mon Mothma with her family is just really fascinating, like rubbernecking a disaster unfolding in real time. I think it's an interesting dynamic to show, the child being more conservative than their parent. It's a real life dynamic that I feel like we don't see as much. I love seeing her politicking too and seeing the Imperial Senate. And seeing her with Vel! I just feel like this is the most in-depth portrayal I've seen for her. This show just really gives her so much more depth.

B2 made me cry so much. B2EMO indeed. Poor little guy. Loved seeing Brasso taking care of him though.

I have to say I'm a big fan of having these characters be ordinary people and not Jedi, but at the same time I've seen a lot of hints that Luthen is a Jedi. If it was just the suspiciously lightsaber-shaped walking stick and kyber crystal, I wouldn't think much of the theory. Like you said, stuff is easy to obtain. But it's also about what he says, though, especially his speech to Lonnie. And the ridiculous precision that must have required to execute that barrel roll to take out those tie fighters. We might not ever get an obvious answer, though. I do think the idea that he's a separatist is really interesting. And Jedi or Separatist, it must take some gall for him to go prancing around Coruscant right under Palpatine's nose!

I'm just not convinced that the Lonnie speech is a smoking gun, regardless. that said, I LOVE the arguments of speculation, lmao. I also think the show is smart enough never to really confirm it - it's just not that kind of show. My guess is that we'll be arguing about it for a LONG time.