Andor is The Starwars Hero We Didn’t Know We Needed…Here’s Why…

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:04]Tell him what to do.

[00:00:05]It has to be you. Come on, Kino.

[00:00:08]You do this every day. Tell them what to do. Andor is not about Cassian Andor, which sounds crazy considering the show is literally named after him.

[00:00:21]But, hear me out.

[00:00:23]Look at this shot. We cut from a top view of the rugged-looking, crowded landscape of Ferrix, a sea of almost indistinguishable buildings, to a shot of Andor walking through what appears to be a scrapyard.

[00:00:39]This is clearly a forgotten place filled with irrelevant little people.

[00:00:45]And this scene frames Andor perfectly for what the show is really about.

[00:00:51]See, Cassian is a symbol, a symbol of the transition of the common man to role player in taking back the galaxy from the clutches of evil.

[00:01:00]We don't just follow Cassian's development, but also the much broader development of the movement that will bring down the Empire.

[00:01:08]And this makes Andor small. As of now, Captain Andor, you are forbidden [music] from accessing your ship and confined to quarters.

[00:01:19]Unlike some larger-than-life type heroes we often see, think Luke Skywalker, Aragorn, Maximus, Andor consists mainly of everyman heroes and even everyman [music] villains. But, Andor takes the everyman hero to another level, one we have yet to see on screen, giving us a [music] uniquely fresh type of protagonist who isn't just the average [music] everyman hero, but something I call the passive hero.

[00:01:54]I hope things work out for you.

[00:01:58]Rebellions are [music] built on hope.

[00:02:06]One of the hallmarks of a great show is character chemistry.

[00:02:10]When building a story with a range of characters, how the personalities of these characters complement one another is just as important as your plot. Maybe even more so, as it likely makes or breaks the story.

[00:02:24]Andor excels at this.

[00:02:27]Within its structure, we experience a restrained hero in the shape of Mon Mothma, an active hero in the shape of Luthen, and a passive hero in the shape of Cassian Andor.

[00:02:39]And you only need to watch one scene to see how these archetypes play out beautifully.

[00:02:44]They'll have to hang me, wouldn't they?

[00:02:46]Take me out Bricks Road and hang me in the square.

[00:02:50]Is that where they hung your father?

[00:02:53]Who are you?

[00:02:55]What is this?

[00:02:58]I said I know you.

[00:03:00]I know all about you. Luthen is the first and only character in the series that shows us just how small a player Cassian Andor is in a show named Andor.

[00:03:11]Through his first interaction with Cassian and the tone of the events that would follow, Tony Gilroy subtly sets the pace for what is ultimately a story about the part the forgotten little people played in bringing down the Empire.

[00:03:26]Cassian is immature, narrow-minded, borderline selfish, and simply after his own ends. The size of his ambition is capped at stealing, surviving, and protecting his loved ones. Luthen is here to use Cassian for an important mission.

[00:03:43]His humanity is not relevant. Luthen's only concern is that this tool is resourceful and will be a great addition to the other tools already on the mission. Luthen plays psychological tricks on Cassian by giving him an object of value to return after the heist in Aldhani. Something of an audition of Cassian's morality that doubles as a guarantee that he will see the mission through.

[00:04:10]Luthen doesn't consider Andor's humanity in terms of what is needed for a successful mission, but he uses his humanity to keep him in check. After Cassian takes his cut and skits out, Cassian goes from being a useful tool to a liability that can identify Luthen.

[00:04:28]>> [laughter] >> And God knows you don't want to be the guy that can identify Luthen.

[00:04:33]>> [laughter and snorts] >> So, Luthen sets out to kill him.

[00:04:38]There's a saying in Nigeria that goes, "Actor no dey die for film." Which means the lead character of the movie cannot be killed because then the movie would be over.

[00:04:48]That's how we know that even in tense near-death moments, the lead character must survive. Else, he won't be much of a lead.

[00:04:58]Tony Gilroy plays at subverting this expectation, not because Andor will be killed easily by Luthen, but to show you through Luthen's motivations how irrelevant Andor is in light of the scale of the enemy, which sets him up as a passive hero.

[00:05:16]You see, it is not just that Andor is reluctant to help the rebellion.

[00:05:21]He's intentionally written to seem disposable. Not to belittle him, but because disposability is the entirety of his reality.

[00:05:31]And this is a consistent theme [music] throughout the series.

[00:05:35]While Andor ought to be the central focus of the story, it often feels like you could take him out altogether and the narrative would continue seamlessly.

[00:05:46]That is not by accident. It is by design.

[00:05:50]You think he's small, you're thinking like a thief. I'm thinking like a soldier. Think like a leader. [music] Luthen is the main driving force behind the rebellion narratively, yet he is not the lead.

[00:06:01]Senator Mon Mothma is the center of Coruscant, the prey trapped within enemy territory.

[00:06:07]She's a strong enough character to build a story on.

[00:06:11]Yet, she is not the lead. The few times we see Andor come in contact with her, Welcome to the rebellion. the script reinforces his irrelevance. [music] They want her to make a speech.

[00:06:23]They want her coming in with a Yavin escort.

[00:06:26]They want to rewrite the story.

[00:06:28]We need it broadcast as far as possible.

[00:06:30]She's an all important voice of the rebellion, and Andor, he's just a trusted summoned hand who must protect her, whatever it takes.

[00:06:40]If we go all the way back to instances in season 1, Narkina 5 and the Ferrix revolution, again, the pattern is unmissable.

[00:06:50]Andor inspires the prison break, yet in the end, he isn't the most important person in the room.

[00:06:57]It is Kino Loy who must deliver the powerful speech that rallies the prisoners. There is one way out. That story arc is fulfilled again, not by Andor.

[00:07:11]Over at Ferrix, There was a darkness reaching like rust into everything to everything around us.

[00:07:18]We let it grow, and now it's here.

[00:07:20]Andor operates in the shadows, while his deceased mother's hologram leads the uprising against [music] the Empire.

[00:07:29]Time and time again, Andor remains something of a background character in [music] his own show.

[00:07:35]Be that a catalyst, Tell him what to do.

[00:07:38]a sword, or We're He's a messenger.

[00:07:44]There's some place [music] he needs to be.

[00:07:48]This is the art of the passive hero.

[00:07:51]And it's relatively fresh.

[00:07:53]The passive hero operates in service to the plot and his supporting characters rather than the other way round.

[00:08:01]To get a clear perspective, you only need to place Andor side by side with a character like Luke Skywalker, [music] whose heroism functions in the reverse.

[00:08:11]Characters like Kenobi one, Leia, Solo, and Lando exist for Luke's sake.

[00:08:19]Yes, they are strong characters with distinct personalities who are pivotal to the plot.

[00:08:25]But they never really eclipse Luke.

[00:08:28]They instead prop him up and take on assisting roles in his narrative.

[00:08:33]Luke remains front and center, unlike Andor.

[00:08:37]This is why Andor just hits different.

[00:08:41]He's the glue that keeps it all together.

[00:08:43]Yet, he is disposable.

[00:08:46]Tony Gilroy frames Andor as the embodiment of his Star Wars universe, and it works.

[00:08:52]It works because it is refreshing, because it is unique, because Andor's disposability is also important.

[00:09:01]If such an irrelevant person can play such a big role in ending the Empire's reign of terror, we ourselves have no further excuses to be complacent in [music] the face of evil.

[00:09:12]And that powerful character message is why Cassian Andor is one of my favorite characters [music] on TV.

[00:09:21]Who is he?

[00:09:24]A pilot.

[00:09:26]Soldier.

[00:09:32]Is that it? No.

[00:09:34]But I'll be in the mind house if you care to join me.