In a new video, Marco Risch from Nerdkultur talks about the end of the first season of the series Andor, which is set in the Star Wars universe.
Who is Marco Risch? Since 2015, Marco Risch has been discussing analyses, reviews, and interviews about current movies and series on his YouTube channel Nerdkultur.
Additionally, he meets weekly with his colleague Yves Arievich to chat in the Podcast Nerd & Kultur about pop culture topics such as Star Wars, Marvel, and DC.
Both the YouTube channel and the podcast are part of the Webedia network, which also includes MeinMMO.
In a new YouTube video, Marco talks about the end of the first season of Andor and what the finale signifies.
Maarva’s Speech After Death
The last two episodes of Andor start with references to Star Wars, as Marco explains. For instance, one can see the Cantwell-class Star Destroyer. Colin Cantwell originally designed it for Episode 4, but it made its first proper appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story and then in Andor Season 1. This episode also contains allusions to the Millennium Falcon and lightsabers.
A transition in the episode shows, however: Visually, it separates itself from the known Star Wars. Marco shows that, contrary to classic Star Wars conventions, a soft scene transition is used. You see Cassian hanging against a wall and then slowly transition to the death of his foster mother.
Similar to Cassian, the death itself is not shown. As at the beginning of the series, the chime signals the start of the revolt. The many characters slowly come together, and the grand finale is heralded.
Although Maarva, Cassian’s foster mother, is dead, she delivers Marco’s favorite monologue of the series. Through a hologram, she gives a speech. As Marco explains, showrunner Tony Gilroy emphasized that it is a moral speech. Like the whole series, it is not about an inherently political perspective.
Another reason why this speech is so special to Marco is Maarva’s anger. She says: Fight The Empire
(in English: Fight The Empire
). In the original recording, however, she was supposed to say Fuck the Empire
(in English: Fuck the Empire
). This anger is noticeable in her pronunciation without the curse.
The Camera Visualizes the Characters’ States
Marco highlights the camera in the last two episodes. In his video, he explains the camera tricks that establish the characters’ statuses. In the finale, unlike in the previous episodes, the faces of the characters are isolated. Close-ups not only show who stands where
, they also depict the relationship to other characters. You can see whether they want to share an image or not.
As an example, he mentions Vel and Kleya. The visual language shows their differing views. The camera and the movements of the characters create a dynamic composition that tells a situation without actively narrating it.
Marco emphasizes that this is the art of visual storytelling. One does not need to recognize it, but you feel the reciprocal relationships across multiple planets
.
The Fates and Decisions of the Characters
The characters work towards their end. In the next segment of the video, Marco talks about the Death Star, which ultimately is the endpoint that the series works towards. But he also addresses another theme: No matter what the characters do, they are working towards their end.
As an example, he mentions the character Dedra. She makes the same mistakes as Syril at the beginning of the series. According to Marco, the season finale not only shows radicalization but also alliances and broken collaborations. The consequences arise from the characters’ own decisions.
In the last section of the video, Marco discusses Luthen, whose decisions lead to a long war. The greater good is set aside. Luthen sees the consequences of his decisions.
The first season ends with a monologue, again from a dead person. Cassian plays Nemik’s manifesto, and in a sequence, you see the many characters from Andor. It is about hope and the call to rebellion, and ultimately about the one who becomes the hero of it all.
Although the series has already ended, it offers, like the franchise itself, many opportunities for analysis. In a previous video, Marco discussed an earlier storyline in Andor and the sacrifices that had to be made: The Greatest Sacrifice in the History of Star Wars
