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  • Alternative Character Interpretation
    • Is By-the-Book Cop Syril a Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist who is just trying to uphold the law in the face of a lazy and borderline corrupt superior or just an elitist Inspector Javert enabling fascism with too much esprit de corps and no sense for the reality of the lower class? Later episodes suggest the latter, as he begins openly stalking an ISB officer that he thinks shares his obsession with justice in a way that's not unlike an obsessive crush.
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    • Was Chief Inspector Hyne just of the mind the dead sentries were both an Asshole Victim and half-assing his job or did he realize that their deaths could bring the Empire down on their territory, making things worse for literally everyone?
    • Was Skeen actually planning to betray the group and steal the money, or was he — in his previously-established paranoia — just giving Cassian yet another ill-advised "test"? And did Cassian shoot him out of genuine moral rage over his betrayal or because he suspected (wisely) that Skeen would just backstab him once he outlived his usefulness if he agreed, or both? There's also the matter of the final mission result that leaves only him, Cassian, and Val as the only three people who managed to escape Aldhani and are in capable condition. Had the mission gone off with no casualty and Lieutenant Gorn, Taramyn, and Cinta manage to escape the planet alive and Nemik is not injured, would Skeen be tempted to bail as he did? Did he only betray the others because he saw an opportunity? Or did he snap when Vel disagreed on finding a doctor to try to save Nemik (seemingly leaving him to his fate) and decided that it's time that he looks out for himself first? Or both? Some viewers have also seen ambiguity in Skeen stating that he "doesn't have a brother"- most have interpreted it as Skeen admitting that he fabricated the brother, which would add another dimension to Cassian's reaction because he's been desperately searching for his missing sister, but others have taken it to be a restatement of him no longer having a brother. Which is it, then?
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    • The fact that their fate is left completely up in the air after Episode 6 and the last time we see them is Cinta guarding them after tying them up, with explicit orders from Vel to shoot them if the alarm is raised, has led some fans to the grim theory that Cinta executed Jayhold's wife and child along with all the Imperial staff in the control room, since we don't see what happens to them but we do see Cinta leaving the base looking utterly traumatized. The fact that she seems to be very comfortable with murder afterwards, including coldly stabbing Corv in Episode 12, despite being the team's medic has only added fuel to the fire.
    • Episode seven and its revelation of the true purpose of the Aldhani heist brings in a lot of question about Luthen; is he a genuinely noble Pragmatic Hero doing only what's absolutely but tragically necessary to fight the Empire, or a ruthless and cutthroat Sociopathic Hero who is little better than the Empire because he doesn't care how many corpses and atrocities it takes to build his Rebellion? Strong arguments can be made for both sides, as while Luthen's justifications for his actions are all fairly reasonable, Mon Mothma makes similarly reasonable arguments that his actions were both morally objectionable and objectively bad ideas that will only make more problems in the long term. And while some of said actions are at least understandable (wanting to foment uprisings against the Empire's tyranny), others are not so understandable (ordering for Cassian to be murdered for "knowing too much" after he's risked his life repeatedly on Luthen's behalf). Notably, his conversation with Lonni in "One Way Out" seems to support both of these interpretations; he unhappily admits to being just as bad as the Empire he fights, but resorts to lows and manipulations because he genuinely believes that's the the only way the Rebellion stands a chance.
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    • When Cassian checks on Bix in "Announcement", Bix tells him that everyone in Ferrix would happily and immediately sell him out to the Empire on sight and that he shouldn't be on-planet, which Cassian reacts to with disbelief- "Your crazy boyfriend tries to kill me, and I'm the villain here?" This seems to defy everyone's relieved and happy response to seeing him in "Rix Road", even Pegla the junkyard manager, who Cassian had a spat with in the first episode, and it especially seems to fly in the face of the series' overall themes about the importance of community and collective action in the fight against tyranny. Did everyone suddenly feel bad for Cassian once Maarva died? Did the community actually dislike Cassian at that point and they gradually changed their tune with Salman Paak's execution and Bix's arrest in the following episodes? Could Bix have been lying to protect her friend and keep him safe?
  • And You Thought It Would Fail: When first announced and in the lead-up to its release, Andor was generally met with ambivalence by the fandom and larger audience, seen by many as the odd-man-out of the slate of Disney+ spin-offs released in-between seasons of the beloved The Mandalorian. Some even accused Lucasfilm of scraping the bottom of the barrel for spin-off ideas by making a series about a supporting character from a single movie who audiences already know died in its ending. Then release came and Andor ended up impressing everyone with its writing, direction, and production values, with positive word-of-mouth causing it to quickly be hailed as one of the best Disney+ spin-offs and the only one comparable in quality to The Mandalorian, to some even surpassing it.
  • Award Snub: Diego Luna getting nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Awards and Golden Globes was welcomed, Genevieve O'Reilly and Stellan Skarsgård missed out for acting nominations at those awards circuits.
  • Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The first time we see B2EMO is a very out-of-place Phantom Menace-esque scene compared to the rest of the show that follows when one of Pegla's dogs pisses on him and he shocks it with a taser. B2 never uses the taser again nor does the show ever stoop anywhere near to that level of Toilet Humor, especially in a show that's grittier and more adult so many baffled viewers were left wondering what was even the point of this scene beyond a quick moment of levity.
  • Catharsis Factor
    • "One Way Out" finally gives Cassian, Kino, and their fellow prisoners the chance to escape the horrors of Narkina 5 and turn the tables on the guards that have been tormenting them for God knows how long. Seeing them squirm for their lives as 5000 men flee from a lifetime of labor will make anyone watching immensely pleased.
    • After an entire season of seeing Dedra Meero getting her ways and everything she did to the people of Ferrix in her pursuit of Cassian, we finally get to see her plan to capture Cassian at Maarva's funeral fail miserably after the people of Ferrix rise up against her occupation. Though Syril manages to save her from the angry mob, it was clear that Meero is on the verge of breaking down after being nearly torn limb from limb by the furious crowd and that for all her wits and resourcefulness, she is certainly not as untouchable as she thinks she is. The fact that her rescue only comes at the hands of a man she previously dismissed as utterly worthless - (admittedly, with good reason) - only serves to further her glorious humiliation.
  • Crosses the Line Twice: Maarva's remains mixed into a brick for a wall in the season 1 finale, per Ferrix tradition? Solemn and a worthy tribute. Said brick being used moments later by Brasso to clock an Imperial soldier over the head? Hilarious and, knowing Maarva, something she'd quite approve of.
  • Draco in Leather Pants: More than a few fans take a liking to Lieutenant Dedra Meero of the ISB thanks to her professionalism, exceptional competency in contrast to average Imperial officers, and quite easy on the eyes, generating no small amount of Rooting for the Empire even though she's still a hardline supporter of a tyrannical regime that rules the galaxy with an iron fist and that she's not above pulling a Cold-Blooded Torture on civilians and even killing them afterward once they prove no longer useful so that they serve as examples to anyone who stands up against the Empire, and it's implied that she quite enjoyed it as well.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse
    • The Andor family's droid B2EMO is beloved for his endearingly sweet and occasionally sarcastic personality, his childlike innocence, and his unconditional love of his family, especially Cassian. The showrunners intentionally designed him to be akin to an old, beloved family dog who can talk, and his photo-sensors even somehow look like big, watery Puppy-Dog Eyes.
    • Karis Nemik, a young and idealistic member of Vel's group, won over fans quickly with his revolutionary philosophizing that he was turning into a manifesto and for having some of the best dialogue in the show, where he cuts to the meat of how the Empire operates and what their core weaknesses are. Which made his death that much more of a Tear Jerker.
    • Kino Loy, head prisoner on Cassian's level at Narkina 5, played by fan-favorite Andy Serkis has quickly gained fans for his brutal but pragmatic presence as an Imperial prisoner trying to play by the rules so he can work to his release only to find out he's never getting out, and then quickly turning into an ally for Cassian.
    • With his every appearance, Cassian's friend from Ferrix, Brasso, has gained many fans just for being a great bro that we all probably wish we had. He deftly helps Cassian craft an alibi in a way that simultaneously suggests he has a lot of practice at this and will still do it despite clearly being tired of Cassian's shit, and his tying down the Corpos' shuttle winds up being the lynchpin that helps his friend escape. He helps care for Maarva despite not even being related to her, stands in the way of Stormtroopers to bide time for Bix to escape, and best of all, he treats a distraught B2EMO with respect and kindness and even spends the night with him just so the droid won't be alone. This culminates with "Rix Road", when he metaphorically throws the first punch in the Ferrix uprising by bashing an Imperial's head in with a funerary brick.
    • The Time Grappler, aka "Ferrix Belltower Guy", was already popular from his brief appearance in the second episode, but his popularity skyrocketed after he memorably kicked a Stormtrooper sent to kill him off the tower without even dropping his hammers.
    • Despite him being a thuggish Black Shirt and Professional Buttkisser for Pre-Mor authority, many viewers have admitted to finding Sergeant Mosk surprisingly endearing thanks to his actor's oddly charming performance, surprisingly good command leadership for a corpo rent-a-cop, and genuine friendship dynamic and loyalty to Inspector Karn, not to mention being the first person in Star Wars to say the word "shit". Many fans were dismayed when Alex Ferns stated he wouldn't be coming back for Season 2.
  • Epileptic Trees
    • After a brief appearance by a helmet inside the antique store looking exactly like that of Galen Marek, aka Starkiller, fans became convinced the series would recanonize the character given Andor's heavy ties to the birth of the Rebel Alliance.
    • Despite the show's otherwise low amount of open tie-ins to other Star Wars media, it's popular to theorize that Luthen Rael was a former Jedi or even a named past character of some kind, or was at least personally connected to the Jedi in some way, such as having a Jedi friend or loved one who was killed in the Purge. The most common theory is that he's actually Antron Bach or Jedi Master Uvell under a new name; in the latter's case, surviving the Great Jedi Purge caused him to become disillusioned with his Jedi ideals and believe that the only way to fight the Empire effectively was by using their own dirty tactics.
  • Evil Is Cool: The Empire, notably Lieutenant Dedra Meero of the Imperial Security Bureau, is shown at their best here for being able to run a horrendously evil regime and keep any sort of sympathizers in line under the most nightmarish conditions like indefinitely holding prisoners on Narkina 5 and killing anyone who finds out or tormenting Bix with a Brown Note, showcasing a greater level of competency than they usually do, and doing all of this without the usual presence of Vader or Palpatine.
  • Fan Nickname: Many fans have taken to referring to Syril Karn as Cereal Karn, because he's eating (or rather picking at) a bowl of cereal with blue milk for nearly all of his post-Ferrix scenes.
  • He Really Can Act: Andy Serkis's portrayal of Kino Loy in this series won over several people who were otherwise dismissive of his previous role as Snoke from the Sequel Trilogy. His genuine compassion for the prisoners that are working for him hidden behind a Drill Sergeant Nasty attitude was already endearing, but his subsequent collaboration with Cassian spurred from wanting them all to escape and live happier lives is nothing short of inspiring, even if he's sadly unable to accompany them all to the end. And Serkis manages to sell every single moment of this without being a motion-captured character for once.
  • Hype Backlash: While the show was met with critical acclaim, there are a few fans who don't quite agree that Andor is as great as others are saying it is. The series' significant lack of levity and very dark tone is a very prominent criticism, with some viewers feeling it goes a step too far and borders on Too Bleak, Stopped Caring territory, something not helped by the fact that Cassian himself is Doomed by Canon. The show is also gaining a bit of a reputation for attracting a very arrogant and snobbish breed of Vocal Minority who insist on tearing down the rest of the franchise to hype up Andor as "superior" and present it as if it's "Star Wars for People who hate Star Wars", seemingly ignorant of how incredibly steeped in Star Wars lore and worldbuilding the series is. This in turn has caused a number of people to point out that a lot of the things Andor is praised for as if it invented them have actually been done by the franchise before, or are even directly lifted from older stories.
  • Love to Hate: Few fans will disagree about Sergeant Mosk being a sycophantic Black Shirt, but the humorous way that he acts as the overzealous Karn's only supporter and his relative degree of competence still makes him entertaining to many people.
  • Memetic Badass:
    • Maarva Andor. After "Rix Road", during which her character has died and her remains have been cast into a funerary stone, her last speech to the Ferrixians present for her funeral directly calls out the Empire, explicitly calls them "bastards" instead of censoring it or invoking Pardon My Klingon, and then demands they fight the Empire. And then once the riot breaks out, her funerary stone is used to smash the face of an Imperial soldier, leading many to express that she would definitely have wanted it this way, or that they wished their deaths could be half as badass as hers.
    • The Time Grappler, who Sparta-kicked a Stormtrooper off of the Anvil Tower without dropping either of his hammers, all while continuing to hammer away at the anvil to keep the Ferrixians' morale up, has been the subject of memes and favorable comparisons to Leonidas and the like.
  • Memetic Loser: The scene in episode eleven where Luthen sarcastically accuses Benthic Two-Tubes of being a spy to distract Saw has caused poor Benthic to become a popular joking scapegoat in the fandom, leading to lots of jokes falsely blaming him for things he had nothing to do with and suggesting that everyone would throw him under the bus at a second's notice.
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • "Shit. We're under siege. They're everywhere." Explanation 
    • Did Quentin Tarantino help direct?Explanation 
    • Blaming Two Tubes.Explanation 
    • THIS! IS! FERRIX!Explanation 
    • Bricks and screws.Explanation 
  • Moral Event Horizon: Dedra Meero crosses it in "Narkina 5" and "Nobody's Listening!" when torturing Paak and Bix by forcing them to listen to the screams of children slaughtered by the Empire. And just to add an extra level of cruelty onto it, she also signs off on Paak being executed by hanging just so that the Empire can make an example of what happens to Rebel collaborators.
  • No Yay: During the events of "Rix Road", Syril narrowly manages to save Dedra from being beaten to death by the rioters by hauling her at blaster-point into an empty building, at which point she, not knowing who he is, pins him against a wall... Leaving the pair with their faces inches apart and breathing very heavily. This is rather uncomfortable, given that the idea of a torture-happy Space Nazi getting it on with her Manchild Monster Fanboy and stalker who she can have disappeared or killed at the drop of a hat is just plain wrong.
  • One-Scene Wonder:
    • For fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Admiral Yularen making a cameo declaring the Empire will impose harsher penalties on all systems following the payroll heist is both a treat and equally heartbreaking to see Anakin Skywalker's former right hand so fiercely loyal to the very evil he once fought against.
    • Forest Whitaker only has two scenes as Saw Gerrera in the first season, but both are incredibly well-acted, memorable, and demonstrate the sheer desperation and calculus required to pull off a successful revolution against an enemy of unfathomable size.
    • Dr. Gorst, the disturbingly cheery Imperial interrogator that Meero brings in to torture Bix Caleen, only has one scene, but actor Joshua James' unsettlingly jovial, almost nerdy performance - and the utterly horrific torture he inflicts on his victim - will make your skin crawl.
    • He only has one scene where he remains polite the whole time and never does anything overtly threatening, but Richard Dillane's performance more than lives up to the buildup from previous episodes as the nauseatingly sleazy Davo Sculdun.
  • Out of the Ghetto
    • Broke out of the Sci Fi Ghetto when the series and Diego Luna earned Critics' Choice Television Award nominations for Best Drama Series and Best Actor in a Drama Series, respectively.
    • Diego Luna also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama, making him only the second actor to receive a Golden Globe nomination for a Star Wars project since Alec Guinness in A New Hope, 45 years prior all the way back in 1977.
  • Periphery Demographic: Many fans of spy fiction and political thrillers, especially Tony Gilroy's other works, have come to enjoy Andor independent of its connection to Star Wars, due to its surprisingly grounded take on the inner workings of and struggle against a galactic empire. This, unfortunately, has in turn given it the reputation as "Star Wars for people who hate Star Wars".
  • Poison Oak Epileptic Trees: As both characters are played by the same actor and the character has an ambiguous but likely insurmountable fate, some fans have come to the crackpot theory that Kino stayed behind on the prison station instead of jumping into the water, was forcibly recaptured by the Empire, and for his crimes was taken to Exegol and cloned or transformed into Supreme Leader Snoke.
  • Rooting for the Empire: Initially, a number of fans were sympathetic toward Dedra Meero, who is clearly a product of her environment, a victim of a ruthlessly competitive workplace, and someone who is trying to ensure peace and stability. That stopped around the time of the show's tenth episode, where her overseeing of Bix's torture by forcing her to listen to the shrieking of alien children that the Empire killed establishes that she's just as bad as, if not worse than, the average Imperial.
  • Slow-Paced Beginning: The first two episodes are very slow-paced in an effort to establish the state of the world that Cassian lives in before amping up to a climactic, action-heavy third episode. Disney likely recognized this when they opted to release the first three episodes at the same time to show audiences where the series was headed.
  • Tough Act to Follow: "One Way Out" to "Daughter of Ferrix"; even though fans like both, some critics lamented that the latter set the series a few steps "back" towards conventional Star Wars.
  • Unexpected Character
    • While they don't physically appear and are only mentioned in a throwaway line, absolutely no one expected the Rakatans from Knights of the Old Republic to make it back into canon via Andor.
    • "Announcement" marks the appearance of Admiral Yularen, who hadn't appeared in live-action since A New Hope before receiving his expanded role on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
    • An actor variation occurs in "Narkina 5", as viewers were very much not expecting Andy Serkis to return to the franchise after the sequels, much less in a prominent role for the prison arc spanning the eighth, ninth, and tenth episodes.
  • Visual Effects of Awesome: The Eye of Aldhani is absolutely beautiful.
  • Win Back the Crowd: After the polarized critical reception toward The Book of Boba Fett and the polarized fan reception toward Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor got much better reviews in general, with many calling it one of the best works in the franchise since Disney bought it.
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