Review: Is Andor the Most Political Live-Action Star Wars Release?

Star Wars remains an epic tale of good vs. evil, but underneath the myth are ordinary human motivations.

Star Wars has always been an epic myth about a rebellion ("the Rebel Alliance") against a tyrannical government ("the Empire"). The initial installment of the series came out in 1977, in the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam War, and the series nodded to a scrappy-underdogs-vs.-powerful institutions political sensibility. But by and large, the actual politics were left unexplored.

A prequel trilogy that began in 1999 fleshed out some more of the backstory, including senate machinations and arcane disputes over trade policy, and the 2016 prequel Rogue One advanced some of the Vietnam vibes and hinted at factionalism among the rebels. Even still, these were political stories in name only; the particular substance of the disputes was beside the point.

Star Wars: Andor, a streaming series on Disney+, isn't exactly a congressional floor debate in Star Wars form, but it's arguably the most politically attuned live-action entry in the Star Wars franchise. Taking place five years before the events of Rogue One, it's the story of the origins of the Rebel Alliance, with an emphasis on alliance: As it turns out, anti-government rebels all have their own reasons for opposing tyranny, some political, some personal, some both. In Andor, Star Wars remains an epic tale of good vs. evil, but underneath the myth are ordinary human motivations.