“Wait, Is This Series About Us?” Andor: A Star Wars Story Review

By Nico Aime

TRIGGER WARNING: Discussion of sexual violence in this article

Many people right now are searching for an escape from the uncertainty and insecurity that define our current moment. They are looking for a reprieve from reports of the further dismantling of democracy, increasing climate change-induced events, inhumane immigration enforcement, and rising wealth inequality. Some may choose to watch Love Island, yearning for a couple to root for with the expectation that they’ll fall hopelessly in love. I believe this is reflective of the audience’s desire to believe in something, and to see it succeed. When society seems to be fraying at the edges, it makes sense that people look for something to hold onto. And yet, does it make sense that we often try our best to ignore what’s happening? Maybe, there’s some way to escape on our digital screens that can push us forward, albeit slightly, towards finding a way out of the current state of affairs.

Andor: A Star Wars Story follows Captain Cassian Andor as he navigates becoming a pivotal player in the Rebel Alliance looking to challenge the power of the Galactic Empire. This series beautifully expands upon the simplistic yet recognizable Star Wars story: the ragtag, scruffy-looking rebels up against an Empire that is evil just for the sake of it. With the original trilogy having been inspired by the American War in Vietnam, this series brings Star Wars back to its roots by taking us on a journey of an unlikely, under-resourced group of individuals struggling to defeat a technologically-advanced imperial power. In doing so, Andor gives us a look at several important machinations of Empire and imperialism, and provides a sober picture of what rebellion can look like. 

Instead of focusing on the original protagonists of Luke Skywalker, Leia, Solo, and others, this series shows different sides of the Rebel Alliance: from politicians of the Imperial Senate, that appeal to a mainstream progressive audience in the galaxy, to a rogue set of radicals that unapologetically put the mantra “the ends justify the means” into practice. Sometimes up against a wall, this radical faction of the Rebel Alliance makes decisions that leave the average viewer, in addition to the other sectors of the Rebel alliance, feeling a bit unsettled. But, it’s all for the cause. Through seeing the different factions of the rebellion it becomes clear that everyone has a role to play in continuously agitating against the Empire’s authoritarian rule. 

It’s easy for viewers to see how the Empire exercises its authority to oppress people and exploit their labor. The Empire is depicted as a centralized bureaucratic unit that engages in mass surveillance and policing of the populations it controls. Within one arc of season 2, we follow Bix Caleen, a skilled mechanic, as she and others take shelter on the agricultural planet of Mina Rau. The Empire initiates an audit of agricultural output of the planet and begins to verify the visas and documentation of its agricultural workers. In a scene that has made way for much online discussion, an Imperial officer tries to sexually assault Bix Caleen. Thankfully, she is able to escape by fighting him off. In the course of trying to do so however, the officer threatens to expose her as an “illegal” to the Empire. On and off the screen, sexual violence is an act that officers and soldiers have carried out against women of populations they have subjugated. 

This incidence of sexual violence coincides with intense immigration sweeps, which has serious parallels to contemporary reality in the United States. In real life, people are being rounded up en masse by a militarized police force, arresting people without documents and unilaterally designating them as enemies of the state. As the U.S. becomes more emboldened in deporting and disappearing immigrants, it was instructive to see an “Empire” carry these out in the fictional series. The show demonstrates that the sweeps carried out by the Imperial officers are a technology of authoritarianism and imperial domination. In order to snuff out any people deemed as undesirable or anyone rebelling against the Empire, officers were sent to survey the population for documentation, in addition to ensuring their labor was adequately exploited. Documentation is the all important trump card, no pun intended, in order to legitimize the deployment of violence against people. 

Binging this series and scrolling through the news was frankly a surreal experience. When watching, I would find myself saying “yeah, the United States is clearly the Empire in this story.” And just like the Empire in Andor, the U.S. is not, as many mainstream politicians and pundits proclaim, “falling into fascism.” It is already there—a fully realized fascist and imperial power. 

Immigration enforcement is one of the issues that is currently defining the U.S.’s descent, or arrival, into outright fascism. Another, that also takes place in the series, is genocide. The Empire plans to create a weapon capable of destroying entire planets, but, in order to do this, it must obtain a resource that can be found on the planet of Ghorman. The Empire proceeds to occupy the planet, and in response, the people of Ghorman rebel. In the end, the Empire kills thousands of people, and attempts to censor any information getting out about these systematic killings. 

Through the course of this arc there are instances where the media puppets the Empire’s propaganda, blaming residents of Ghorman for resisting in a violent manner against the occupation of their land. In another instance, the Empire shuts off a broadcast of a courageous politician who speaks the truth, clearly calling the situation on Ghorman a genocide. I wish that there were more of those kinds of politicians in our reality, as Israel and the United States continue carrying out a full-scale genocide in Palestine. This arc in Andor serves as an effective allegory to the denial of genocide and the censorship that imperial powers engage in to ensure the broad public isn’t made aware of what’s actually going on. 

This series doesn’t provide the blueprint to defeating the ills of imperialism, capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy. What it does provide is a demonstration of how people who are different, maybe even disparate to the point of being at odds with one another, can struggle against a power that seems unbeatable. Far from the feel good story of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, this series offers the perspective that rebellions are messy and not the pure, nonviolent movements that we have grown up idealizing as the “right” way to rebel. It’s honest and true in the depths that people might have to go to effectively fight against the Empire. 

In this time of prevailing fascism, many people simply don’t know what to do. Many are scared, and some simply want to distract themselves from what’s going on. Some will uncritically watch this series and never think about how it connects to their political existence. Others will watch it and think “that’s cool, but we could never do that in real life.”  The show cannot itself spark a revolution that will turn the American Empire on its head. But it can raise the level of political consciousness for people who can then, if they so choose, go out into their communities and join the struggle. Andor: A Star Wars Story, through its masterful story-telling, thoughtful writing, and top-notch acting, shows that everyone can find a place struggling against the Empire. But you do need to find it. And how do you find it? The show suggests it starts with loosening the grip of cynicism and nihilism. After all, “rebellions are built on hope.”