I grew up watching Star Wars a few years before the prequels came out.
I loved it! I was a big Star Wars fan. I honestly almost completely lost interest in it after I became an even bigger Trek fan.
I’ve been playing Lego Star Wars and it’s been fun, but it made me realize that the stories all seem surface deep to me.
I get the movies from the 70s were not going to deep dive in Luke’s training, but in each film it’s just like, “And… you’re a Jedi master now.”
There are other races and we do not get to really learn much about them. I guess the Mandalorian filled that out some, but I couldn’t get into that show.
I guess this is more of a rant about how Star Wars feels like and empty shell of a series than something with more substance.
I really wish, that there was something that went deeper.
I have not watched all the Disney+ shows yet, but I might start Ahsoka or Andor tonight. I watched Obi Wan and liked it, I tried Mando 2 times and did not like it one bit.
I loved the Shadows of the Empire book.
Andor falls into the same category as Knights of the Old Republic 2: it’s amongst the best Star Wars despite (or rather because) it not being very Star Wars-y.
Much like KOTOR 2 deconstructed Jedi, the Force, and their roles in the universe, Andor deconstructs and elaborates on how the universe would work as shown: instead of waving everything away into the background to focus on a Chosen One with space magic, you get to see how normal people live in a messed up universe like that. It’s also depressingly relevant with its focus on the slide into an authoritarian regime and how people respond and adapt.
If you go in expecting the normal black-and-white power fantasy you’ll probably be disappointed, but if you’re looking for a masterful character-driven drama with morally gray protagonists and antagonists then you’ll be riveted.
(Another thing both have in common is the beginning can be a bit of a slog - try to make it past episode 3 before calling it quits.)