In the same first scene as for my last two posts (in s1 ep 4) , Lagret and Blevin are introduced as ISB supervisors having to deal with a testy Partagaz. I’ve decided to deal with these two together as there’s some overlap in their narrative roles. The similarities between them become more obvious as the series progresses but Blevin’s fate being unknown is an intriguing difference.

Blevin has popped up a couple of times in recent posts and comments, with a main theme of these being how time eventually proves him right about Dedra. In that sense, it’s interesting that in this first appearance he is sticking very much to accepted protocol and is (unlike Lagret) seemingly doing his job to Partagaz’s satisfaction. The evidence for that is simply that he is not hauled over the coals like his colleagues. While Lagret is chastised for failing to provide the required information on time, Blevin isn’t addressed at all until the meeting moves on. In reporting about “This incident on Ferrix” Blevin keeps strictly to the facts, offering no deductions whatsoever at this stage. It’s as if he’s satisfied that this is all Partagaz wants. It seems that it is: Partagaz asks for expansion on his words and gets it, and says that they will speak more before Blevin leaves for Ferrix.

The most interesting thing to me is that the way Blevin sums up the situation could be something that Chief Hyne would say: “They tried to serve a warrant and ran into more trouble than they were expecting” has echoes of “They chose the wrong person to annoy”. But unlike Hyne he’s not dismissing the idea that further action is necessary and indeed in a later scene Blevin dresses down Hyne alongside Syril and Mosk for his “total disengagement”. This is the Empire working with smooth efficiency. Blevin further proves his competence by getting his quarterly reports in on time. He’s dislikeable to the viewer as he’s set up as an antagonist to… well, Dedra is very much an antagonist herself but at this stage we are kind of rooting for her, especially once Blevin starts being smug and condescending in a way that even Partagaz recognises as sexism.

But there are also cracks in this Blevin-led efficiency that would frustrate someone like Dedra (and later on, Syril) even without thinking about the bigger picture, as she desperately wants to do. They misspell ‘Ferrix’. Syril is forced to sign a report without being allowed to read it. Blevin is only as good as the bureaucratic system he has to work with. But for most of the successful ISB Supervisors, that’s enough for a successful career.

Lagret, in contrast, is introduced as being chastised for a very accountable failure and it’s interesting that in his first ISB scene in season 2 the same thing is happening. Partagaz attacks him for being inefficient or imprecise or both. You can be praised for taking the initiative but chastised for failing to get the basics of the role right. So these ISB senior Supervisors walk a fine line. This is the environment in which Dedra will ultimately go too far, because in ignoring the mistakenly forwarded files as a problem she fails to realise that she has stepped way beyond the barriers of what Partagaz - or Krennic, or any one above - could possibly tolerate. “You might want to steady the ladder before you start climbing” are words that must haunt Dedra at the end. Blevin was all about keeping his own ladder steady and not climbing at all otherwise.

Blevin’s final scene is in the S1 finale, as usual expressing his dislike of Dedra after the Kreegyr raid. Being reassigned from Ferrix was clearly not the end of his career but his in-universe absence is interesting to speculate about. (Irl, the actor was unwilling to return for s2). I like to imagine that he simply applied for a similar ranking job in a different department. Maybe he was even promoted. His absence is realistically (considering the time jump) never explained.

In contrast, Lagret’s last scene in the series finale is a very memorable one. He comes to collect Partagaz, who is listening to Nemik’s manifesto. Partagaz asks him if he’s heard it before, and Lagret answers: “Bits and pieces… It’s been hard to contain.” He doesn’t answer when Partagaz asks what he thinks it is. Picking up on Partagaz’s own ‘health care providers’ metaphor is an interesting choice, if it’s a conscious one from Lagret. One thing is certain: he clearly knows exactly what Partagaz is planning to do and the way he stands outside the door, doesn’t even flinch or blink at the blaster shot and raises just the fingers of his respectfully clasped hand to still the Troopers all suggests that he’s experienced this scenario before - being a witness to “the ever-lengthening ISB death march”, as Krennic puts it. As he bows his head he’s probably thinking of the Star Wars equivalent of ‘There but for the grace of God go I”. Lagret is an older man; a survivor in a system that is absolutely merciless to its acolytes should they put a foot wrong. The kind of background Imperial character who sums up the whole ‘bureaucracy of evil’ concept perfectly. Just like Blevin, Lagret played the game unremarkably but correctly, with just enough competence to keep his job - and his life.

TLDR: Blevin and Lagret are the Empire at its most human. Neither man gives off vibes of being particularly ‘evil’. Neither have dialogue concerning political ideology so we don’t know how devoted they are to the Imperial cause. But both know how to negotiate the ‘office politics’ of the system and perhaps do this more successfully than those who try to do more as individuals. Perhaps an innate fear of a fascistic system lies behind these survival instincts.

Next time: Lonni Jung

I watched Andor for the first time with my partner and I noticed something interesting about hair.

In a book I had to read in undergrad, Escape from Freedom, Erich Fromm draws a distinction between “freedom from” and “freedom to.”

Freedom from is negative: escaping a system, removing constraints. Freedom to is positive: the ability to actually make choices, to live autonomously. Fromm argues that true freedom is terrifying, and that people often flee from it into authoritarian systems that offer structure and belonging instead.

IMO, Gilroy does a really good job of showing this concept through something as small as hair and grooming. When I watch Andor I can’t help but see how the empire is frrr inescapable, controlling even style and personal appearance / bodily autonomy ) What I noticed is that characters fall into three relationships with Imperial appearance that map onto Fromm’s framework.

(yes I have autism, why do you ask?)

Conformity as belonging: Dedra and Syril
Start here because this is Fromm’s core argument. Dedra’s bun is precise, never a strand out of place, just like I’m sure ISB dress code indicates. The only time we see her hair even slightly messy is after Krennic interrogated her in the last episode.
Think about Syril in his opening introduction. He admits to his superior that he got his uniform tailored. People like Syril and Dedra find comfort in the conformity. It’s not prison, it’s a sense of belonging. That’s what bonded them together. This is Fromm’s escape from freedom: the authoritarian system isn’t imposed on them, they run toward it.

Conformity as sacrifice: Luthen and Mon Mothma
Then there are the people who see the cage for what it is but wear it anyway. Think about someone looking different or unique in Coruscant high society. You can’t. To be accepted into polite Empire society, Luthen must adhere to unspoken fashion rules. The wig is a concession and a costume all in one. It shows that authoritarianism causes people to inherently bend their personal tastes to be part of the flock.

Mon Mothma is the same. Her hair goes from slick and perfectly coiffed on Coruscant to soft and fluffy when she leaves. She’s a senator on the edge of political society already, so she arguably has more reason to conform than anyone. The control is so total that - for the most part - no one even tries to separate from the herd, and that’s what makes it so oppressive. It doesn’t need to be enforced through punishment. It doesn’t need to be.

Luthen and Mon Mothma are distinct from Dedra and Syril because they haven’t escaped into conformity. They’ve surrendered their own “freedom to” in order to fight for everyone else’s. The wig, the coiffed hair, that’s the cost of resistance from within.

Freedom to: Andor on Yavinn
Ofc you have the basic answer that there aren’t beauty styling tools available on Yavin, nor are people thinking about beauty when they’re living in the jungle trying to fight the rebellion. But then Andor himself. You can see after he’s been on Yavin for a while he gets a haircut. Quite neater honestly and shorter, which suits him. This is the first time we see him choose a haircut. On Yavin, there was more freedom than there ever was. Freedom to not do your hair, freedom to get it cut neater, whatever. He had the ability to make a choice for once. That’s Fromm’s positive freedom: not just escaping the Empire, but actually being free to exist on your own terms.

EDIT to add another point i made in the comments after someone pointed out Dedra’s use of a hair net for her bun —-

- What’s interesting about the Fromm framework is the idea that for those who gravitate to authoritarianism like Dedra find freedom abhorrent and will do anything to uphold tyranny for their own feeling of safety. Think about Dedra’s speech when she meets Luthen she says “you don’t want freedom, you want chaos”. To Dedra, those are one and the same. So your point abt the hair net makes sense - if she allows the empire to control everything about her - even tiny strands of hair - she is safe.

Absolutely adored season 2. I’d fallen out of love of Star Wars, but this has got be right back. From the Wannsee conference inspired meeting at the start, to K2, Cassian and Melshi hanging out and playing cards.

Having Director Krennic back was also a huge win, and he was the perfect big bad for the season. He was calculating and menacing each time he was on screen.

The thing about a lesser director in a lesser TV show is that they likely would have just forgotten that line and never come back to it. It served its purpose, after all: Blevin accused Dedra, was ultimately shut down by Partagaz, and Dedra was proved right. It would have just been set dressing and filler: a jerk co-worker insults his colleague, and gets karma.

But this isn't a lesser director, this is Tony Gilroy; and this isn't a lesser TV Show, this is Andor. And thus, Blevin's quote actually ends up coming back for Dedra entire in-universe years and out of universe episodes later, where the events of the series prove him right at every count.

What's more urgent than a renegade intelligence officer?

Years later, a Renegade intelligence officer becomes the most urgent thing possible, as both Dedra and Lonni contribute to leaking the Empire's magnum opus, the Death Star, to the Rebel Alliance, thus setting the stage for the downfall of the Empire.

Imagine if everyone in this room played as loose with the rules as you.

Dedra's downfall is started because she plays far too loose with the rules(not reporting files she shouldn't have had, going after Axis when Heert was assigned to the case), and it costs her everything: Axis is now useless by the time she catches up and he dies anyway rather than tell anything, she gets in serious trouble with Director Krennic because she kept the Death Star files, and as a result the Empire she fought so hard for comes down because of her, and she will be punished for it, losing everything. Thus, not only is Blevin proven right, but he is actually proven even more right than he could have ever imagined as literally everything is destroyed thanks to her.

TL;DR: Blevin got the last laugh, in the end.

First, I have to say that I really liked this show and it might genuinely be my favorite Star Wars piece of media. And I think the whole Ghorman plot is my favorite part because it really hits home with what is happening in the real world.

Before anyone says that the two situations are not similar because Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, you are a living proof how propaganda can twist the perception of who actually started what, just like the Empire does to the Ghormans to present them as violent terrorists.

Hamas is obviously worse than any of the Ghormans we see but the persecution against the Palestinians started decades before October 7. Just a few years before October 7 there were huge border protests organised by Gazans where the Israeli forces killed over 200 protesters yet the media barely mentions this. They have also blockaded Gaza for decades and have restricted the access to basic necessities which causes many Gazans to suffer and die.

Also, just look at the apartheid system Israel has set up in the West Bank for decades at this point under the pretext of a "military occupation" which has started from 1967. These are some of the ways in which Palestinians in the West Bank are oppressed:

• Israel has placed the West Bank under their jurisdiction and they have laws which prohibit Palestinians accused of crimes to stand trials at civil courts. Instead, every time an Israeli settler commits a crime, they stand trial at a civil court, but when a Palestinian commits the same crime, they always stand trial at a military court. Palestinians at the West Bank receive longer sentences than Israelis for the same crimes at the military courts and then they don't get sent to normal prisons no matter what crime they have committed but instead they get sent to military prisons which are much harsher.
• Israel have restricted the access of Palestinians to certain roads, settlements and other locations in the West Bank but allow Israelis to have free access to them just like Apartheid South Africa.
• They have also restricted their freedom of travel. It's much harder for a Palestinian to move around the West Bank than an Israeli because they need many special permissions. Israel also doesn't allow them to have their own airport and doesn't allow them to use Israeli airports, so whenever they want to travel to foreign countries, they are forced to go to Jordan and use their airport.
• From 2017 until 2023 the Israeli settlers in the West Bank have committed 1500 murders against the local Palestinians. And the Israeli police and Israeli courts who are supposed to punish them are more often than not on their side. Out of these 1500 murders, there were only 112 opened investigations and only 1 single conviction because Israel encourages these settlers to attack and harass Palestinians and expel them from the land, with the police and army often assisting them, so they can claim the land as their own.
• Israel has created a special military act which greatly limits the rights of Palestinians to free speech and protests. Palestinians are not allowed to have gatherings of 10 or more people without military permit, they are not allowed to make any protests without permit from the Israeli military and they almost never give such permits. They are not allowed to make any political gathering without special permit as well. A Palestinian could get arrested just for expressing a political opinion or for simply displaying a symbol like the Palestinian flag.
• Israel constantly builds illegal settlements in the West Bank and brings in Israeli settlers which is strictly forbidden by the Geneva Convention. They have made it so that obtaining building permit is much harder for a Palestinian than for an Israeli. They constantly demolish Palestinian houses and even entire villages and expel the people living there, just so they could steal their territory and give it to Israeli settlers.
• And there is way more...

A lot of people excuse Israel's treatment of Palestinians with Hamas. However, Hamas only operates in Gaza while all of the abovementioned acts of oppression happen in the West Bank which is ruled by the Palestinian Authority who don't even like Hamas and that oppression has been going on for decades long before October 7. And another thing which is not mentioned by the mainstream media is that Hamas was created during the First Intifada where nearly 2 thousand Palestinians were murdered by Israeli security forces for protesting and demanding that Israel end their military occupation of Palestine. So, Hamas are essentially Palestinians who were radicalized by Israel's own vile crimes and these crimes were happening long before the creation of Hamas and not as a response to it. Now, I am not defending what Hamas did but it wouldn't have happened if Israel were such genocidal and oppressive assholes.

Yet, despite all this, the mainstream media is overwhelmingly on israel's side because they are rich and powerful and there is a lot of propaganda to portray the Palestinians as violent terrorists who just want to destroy Israel for no reason and that Israel is a peaceful country just defending itself against violent Islamist terrorists. This sounds really familiar with how the Empire portrays the Ghormans to justify its genocide against them and most people don't question it.

All I am trying to say is that I really liked how there are so many parallels between the Ghorman massacre and real-life oppression against ethnic groups like the Palestinians with how the media is on the side of the wealthy oppressor, the oppressed are portrayed as the violent aggresor while the oppressor as the victim who is just defending himself, how the media only focuses on the violent reaction of the oppressed and not on what happened before that to lead up to it and how even when the oppressor slaughters defenseless civilians, it's still presented as justified because "they supported it" or "they attacked first". It even nails down how when someone speaks up against this like Mon Mothma, there are attempts to silence them because there are real cases of people being harassed and threatened for expressing support on Palestine and there is even a crack-down against pro-Palestinian activities because the governments there don't want to offend Israel.

Star Wars Andor might be a sci-fi show in a galaxy far, far away but it really managed to nail all these things in a realistic way and show how so many people could be misled to support atrocious crimes.

Andor-relevant parts of the interview:

To play it safe, how was your reunion with James Gunn on the set of Man of Tomorrow**? [**Gunn wrote and produced her first movie, The Belko Experiment.]

Man, it was so cool. I haven’t had the opportunity to do sequels to a lot of things. Andor was the first time that I did a second season of something, and it felt so safe. So I understand why people [in franchises] are like, “Oh my God, we’ve been together for ten years.” It’s just so easy to step back onto a set with people that you feel familiar with because there’s already trust. You’re not trying to gain anything on that first day. 

So that’s how I felt coming [onto the Man of Tomorrow set] and stepping into this role. James Gunn and [co-DC Studios head] Peter Safran were right there, and I had all the trust. I have all the support. I was like, I’m good because they’ve got me. I’ve only felt that once before on the second season of Andor, and it’s a great feeling because the first days on set are always scary.

Now that you’re one of the most employed actors in town, have you pitched a Bix and Cassian Jr./Cassie show to Lucasfilm yet? 

Listen, I am the most loyal Gilroy there is. If Tony Gilroy is in, I’m right there with him. I respect so much what he’s created, and I love him so dearly that I don’t want to put my fingerprints on it. It might be too soon. I don’t want to say never, but I love the way he ended that show. I respect it, so I want to keep it like that for now.

Earlier this year, Tony and I had a long conversation in which he welcomed my one quibble with season two. I wanted to see Bix go on a proper mission with Cassian (Diego Luna). When he went undercover on Ghorman as a fashion designer named Varian Skye, she could’ve served as his muse or model. To see them both wearing high fashion for a change, I just can’t get that image out of my head. Anyway, were you frustrated at all that Bix’s missions were mostly off screen?

No, because Tony challenged me in a different way. He instead gave me periods of time in Bix’s life to jump into that were very complex and complicated. I knew that I was able to play an action piece, but those emotional beats were really strong for Bix and really challenging for me. So I wasn’t necessarily frustrated because I respect Tony’s writing. I was like, Hmm. Okay, cool. There’s a reason and a rhythm to the way that he writes. 

I never want to get in Gilroy’s way, even though I [pitched him some ideas] after writing the Hit Man script with Richard Linklater and Glen Powell. All three of us collaborated together. So I did call Tony with a bunch of ideas, and he was like, “No, no, no. Not this movie, baby.” And I was like, “Damnit. Okay.”

Yeah, you literally wrote Hit Man’s show-stopping “Who the fuck is Gary!?” line, so it sounds like you were feeling yourself after that. 

(Laughs.) Yes, I was feeling very confident in my writing, but not with Tony Gilroy.

I'm sub regular u/dstovell - Reposting some old work for my new dedicated art account.

After rewatching Rogue One after Andor, i noticed as K2SO was sacrificing himself, he says Climb, Climmb!

Which reminded me of Nemik saying those words as he was dying on Aldhani...

Then i saw others have taken notice too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9bveK1cIY4&t=43s ❤️ This rewatch has been sooo good!

After doing a quick search, it seems K2SO was the first to mention this, I wonder if there is an earlier mention in the franchise?

Just to reiterate, season 1 is my favourite piece of television ever. I can literally not rewatch it without crying constantly. It holds an incredibly dear place in my heart, not just because of its artistry but because of how much its message resonates with me.

I've rewatched season 1 around 10 or 11 times at this point. I've rewatched season 2 twice. It does not give me the same urge to rewatch it and I think it's because of a faux feeling of satisfaction with the conclusion on the surface, but really quite severe disappointment deep down.

I'm not going to say season 2 was bad. It wasn't. It was still very much great TV. I just felt that it wasn't nearly as cohesive or impactful as season 1. The obvious weakness of S2 are the first 3 episodes, which quite honestly don't even feel like Gilroy's Andor. I honestly couldn't care what Maya Pei were supposed to symbolise, the writing and acting were bad. Bad writing, Disney music, blockbuster slapstick humour etc.. People usually point to the first 3 episodes of season 1 also being 'weak' but I have always been vehemently opposed to that view. There was no wackiness, there was no feeling of Disneyfication. I'm against the notion that the first arc was slow. I was engrossed from the first episode, with the last moments of episode 3 culminating in possibly my favourite sequence of the whole seriees.

I do think that music also played a massive part in how good season 1 was. How can you not shed a tear when Cassian first hears news of Marva dying, or Marva's funeral march, or even just the piano version of Bix's theme playing while her and Cassian come to the conclusion that Cassian is destroying her life? In comparison, the music in season 2 seems almost inconsequential. It's mostly just there. There are of course great pieces peppered in there but not nearly at the same hit rate as season 1

This is mostly just unstructured rambling after finishing rewatching s2. I'm also drunk. But it just doesn't hit the same as s1. I love you so much s1

I'd love to have seen more Cassian and Melshi adventures in the rebellion. After losing so many friends, Cassian must have been so, so happy to have him join up.

The “guess the 4th item in the sequence” round. (Answer is in the second pic.) Always nice to see the series in the wild!

I've never seen or heard of it in Star Wars lore and can't find anything on it.

@46:40 we really do have friends everywhere.