Andor **** SPOILER Discussion ****

[catdlr]

Maybe some better (flatter) images?

[Blackstar]

I grabbed that off Twitter. That is from the updated version, which may not yet be available in the US (somebody posted a link to a German site). I cannot find the new edition on the Amazon US site yet.

[catdlr]

Why Andor's Ghorman Massacre Arc Is A MASTERPIECE

[Blackstar]

I am going to try and work myself into the right mood to rewatch the entire series. But one of the things that struck me at the time was that I don't think that anything anybody did during the Ghorman arc was going to change the outcome. The Empire needed that planet's resources, the fledgling resistance on the ground was week, and the Rebellion was incapable of opposing the Empire at the time and did not understand the importance of Ghorman. Nobody was going to prevent the Empire from destroying that society and strip mining the planet.

[catdlr]

I am going to try and work myself into the right mood to rewatch the entire series. But one of the things that struck me at the time was that I don't think that anything anybody did during the Ghorman arc was going to change the outcome. The Empire needed that planet's resources, the fledgling resistance on the ground was week, and the Rebellion was incapable of opposing the Empire at the time and did not understand the importance of Ghorman. Nobody was going to prevent the Empire from destroying that society and strip mining the planet.

Cassa's home planet was destroyed through extensive strip mining of its resources, leading to the complete annihilation of its population and exemplifying genocide. However, some children survived and went on to live, similar to the Padawans who were instructed to escape while their master (i.e., parents) was killed. This kind of planetary destruction and genocide happened frequently (as seen in the animated Clone Wars and Rebels), often without much fanfare, unlike what we saw in the case of Gorman.

The reason Gorman gained so much publicity and why there was a need to spread 'fake news' was due to Mon Mothma's relentless insistence on the Empire's encroachment on that planet since the "accident" memorialized in the square. (Mon mentions Gorman in the first season when we see her and her husband's first appearance in the dining room). This event raised public awareness about that planet and its people. As a result, if the Empire wanted to mine the necessary materials, it had to create a false narrative—similar to the justification for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq—to serve as a pretext for invasion and takeover.

I think if that "Gorman accident" had not happened, and Mon Moth not supported them because of that, the Empire would have stepped in, wiped out the population, taken what they needed, and then fabricated a story like they have used before, about a mining accident (i.e., Jeda in Rogue One)

What worked for Gorman was the sounds of rebellion from its citizens and the rise of rebellion observed by many in Coruscant and Mon's speech, which sowed seeds of doubt among the citizens about the rebellion's necessity. Yes, many perished, and the Empire achieved its objectives; however, the uprising planted the seeds of doubt, however small, enough to be nurtured into something greater—Hope.

Tony

( I would love to rewatch this with you - how, I don't know).

[ugordan]

One thing that made me go "huh?" was the statement that Ghorman had only 800 thousand inhabitants. Really? A whole planet with a blooming silk, fashion industry that is apparently famous galaxy-wide boils down to a medium-sized European city? I did not buy that. If they had said 800 million, then that would've been much more believable.

[Blackstar]

One thing that made me go "huh?" was the statement that Ghorman had only 800 thousand inhabitants. Really? A whole planet with a blooming silk, fashion industry that is apparently famous galaxy-wide boils down to a medium-sized European city? I did not buy that. If they had said 800 million, then that would've been much more believable.

I thought that it was intended to be like Liechtenstein, a small but wealthy territory.

[catdlr]

One thing that made me go "huh?" was the statement that Ghorman had only 800 thousand inhabitants. Really? A whole planet with a blooming silk, fashion industry that is apparently famous galaxy-wide boils down to a medium-sized European city? I did not buy that. If they had said 800 million, then that would've been much more believable.

I thought that it was intended to be like Liechtenstein, a small but wealthy territory.

During the siege, it was reported that other areas of the planet were also under attack.  The assumption was that there were more on this planet than just this one city.

Listen at 1:04 into this video.  The final word is incomplete. I inferred it to be 'the planet.' You do not observe any Imperial ships landing here at Palmo because they have already done so. My interpretation of that line was that the other Imperial assault ships were in space, awaiting the command to commence landing at other cities across the planet.

[catdlr]

This series has certainly brought out great reviews, here is another:

[Blackstar]

From Paul Byrne:

[Blackstar]

They like Andor:

https://www.vulture.com/tags/best-of-2025/

[Blackstar]

https://gizmodo.com/star-wars-original-version-rerelease-2000696337

[catdlr]

https://gizmodo.com/star-wars-original-version-rerelease-2000696337

The version I initially saw was the one released.  It will be fun to relive that.

[Coastal Ron]

https://gizmodo.com/star-wars-original-version-rerelease-2000696337

The version I initially saw was the one released.  It will be fun to relive that.

I saw the original Star Wars movie on day 2 of its general release, and we were first in line for the first morning showing (my friend got in for free for being the first the line  ).

Han shot first, and for good reason 

Interesting anecdote, once in the theater we got to talking with a Computer Science student at UCLA, and he was telling us about how you could create a "worm" program that would get passed along through copies of tapes (the predominate storage medium at the time). At the time he was talking about passing along something funny, not destructive, but I think we all know how that worked out...

[Blackstar]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2025/12/09/best-of-2025-television-shows-series/


2. ‘Andor’
A prequel to the 2016 film “Rogue One,” “Andor” tracks the adventures — and radicalization — of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), one of the doomed rebels on that mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. The show’s second season makes clear that this isn’t a hero’s journey. The series, which shrugs off the Jedi to focus on lower-ranking folk, is agonizingly clear-sighted about the sacrifices that go into a revolution. Few series can be wildly inspiring while sustaining this level of pessimism and ambivalence. The immorality of fascism is old news, but “Andor” doubles as a sobering thesis on the moral injuries those fighting it sustain as well.

[DwightM]

https://gizmodo.com/star-wars-original-version-rerelease-2000696337

The version I initially saw was the one released.  It will be fun to relive that.

snip
Han shot first, and for good reason 
snip

I've always disputed the "Han shot first" theory.  I am in the "only Han shot" camp .  Greedo never shot at all, which was the point.  I remember as a 9 year old in 1977 actually being startled and saying "cool" at that scene.  The "boring conversation anyway" line sealed him as my favorite character.

[catdlr]

It's not specific to Andor but a scene from Rogue One - rescored.

Escape From Jedha | Rescored Scene from 'Rogue One: The Andor Cut'

[Blackstar]

[Blackstar]

EC Henry does some cool stuff:

[Blackstar]