I’ve enjoyed every episode of Andor’s season one.

The writing is adult, meaning it is nuanced, the character development rich and complex, and all the interwoven plot lines compelling. For the first time in a long time I’ve looked forward to each and every episode in a show. That’s because, in addition to the stellar writing and acting, there is no Vader, no Skywalker(s) and company, no Tatooine, no Force. Instead it’s the gritty story of regular believable people trying to make a hardscrabble living and having to now rebel against an Empire that’s trying to take away what little they have. I came away from each episode fully supportive of most of the characters in their fight against immense odds. Andor is a breath of fresh air in a Star Wars universe gone woefully stale.

I touched upon it in the prior paragraph, but let me say it again: the acting from every actor, across every episode, was fantastic. Of course, fantastic acting can’t happen unless there’s fantastic writing to give those actors material to work with. I read a number of negative criticisms about how slow some of the episodes were, especially the first two. No, that’s not slow, that’s deep world building. This shows where Andor came from and what shaped him as a child to behave as an adult. Each episode is showing, step by step, the events that occurred to him and around him to shape and guide him to the finale episode where, at the very end, his character says to Luthen Rael (played by Stellan Skarsgård), “Kill me… or take me in.” At which point Luthen slowly smiles at Andor with the realization he’s recruited the best rebel fighter he’s discovered so far. I knew this was coming, but watching it unfold believably across all the episodes made it so strong when Andor finally spoke it.

Another character I quickly got invested in was Kino Loy, portrayed by Andy Serkis. He was a prisoner on the same penal planet that Andor was sent to four episodes before the finale. When the prisoners finally learn that they’ve been lied to and will not ever be released, it was Kino Loy that finally realized what needed to be done, and led his floor of fellow prisoners on a revolt, and then escape. The real heart breaker was the moment when Andor and Kino were at the exit, where escape meant jumping into water and swimming away. That’s when Kino told Andor he couldn’t swim. Andor was surprised and unfortunately froze briefly in surprise, only to be pushed out into the water by the other escaping prisoners. We have no idea what happened to Kino, and for me that’s a thread that wasn’t tied up in the finale.

I will probably watch this entire series again, just to see what I might have missed and to better tighten up all the plot lines. And I’ll enjoy it all over again.