Fantastic opening, and I'm honestly so glad they're releasing these a whole arc at a time. I think one-by-one would have been a little too frustrating, given how little actually happens per episode. That's just in terms of plot progression of course; in terms of character and theme though, each episode is jam packed and very eloquently weaves all the various threads together.
Speaking of weaves; it's kind of fascinating how they've extrapolated all of Chandrilan culture from one braided costume piece on Caroline Blakiston's costume for 'Return of the Jedi'. The braids aren't just decorative, they're a symbol of Chandrilan customs, rituals, and faith in the Elder. I always appreciate when Star Wars takes the time to get into that kind of deep world building, even if it's mostly just implied.
As darkly comedic as Cassian's hostage situation was, it still speaks volumes as to the state of the rebellion in this time. They're still fractured, highly factionalised and desperate bunch, plagued by egomaniacal fuck-ups ready to tear each other apart the moment the single uniting figure of their cadre is out of the picture. Spending about as much energy on in-fighting as fighting the Empire.
Regarding the timeline; by my reckoning these episodes happened somewhere around the middle of season 2 of Rebels, so the Phoenix Cell may have just been chased off of Garel, but Chopper Base won't be established for a while yet. The next arc looks set to happen right around the season 3 premier. By then Ahsoka will be off the board (not that I thought a Fulcrum cameo was ever in the cards), and rebellion Y-Wings may start to be a thing.
Note that the events of 'Secret Cargo' seem like they should fall much closer to the 3rd arc than the second. That's interesting since it seems Ghorman is up next. I suppose the massacre could happen at the start of the 3rd arc, but that would seem a little odd; you'd think it's be the climax of the 2nd. On the other hand, Mon waiting almost a whole year to express her outrage at the incident then flee into exile seems equally odd.
Random notes: -
- First Live action appearance of the TIE Advance V1s, and appropriately around the time they started showing up as a production model in 'Rebels' (the GI's was a prototype IIRC.) Also appropriate that they'd show up at a Sienar testing facility, as that's likely the only kind of place you'd find them outside of the Inquisitorious!
- Kafrene gets name-dropped. Doubtless the show will end up visiting sooner or later (later for certain.)
- This TIE has to be the sturdiest damn ship Sienar has ever made! All that abuse and nary a dent!
- Another name drop for the Rakata, and another mention of their invasions; last season it was Kuat, this time it's Chandrila AND we get a much more specific timeframe.
- Speaking of which; there's an interesting confluence between a Chandrilan ritual and a Jedi one; the cutting of the braid as a rite of passage. The Knighting of a Padawan in the case of the Jedi, and the Chandrilan marriage ceremony. One could write this off as a coincidence if it were not for the aforementioned Rakata invasion dating Chandrilan culture to the pre-Old Republic/Dawn of the Jedi era. Hinting at a possible cultural connection between the two, however distant and forgotten (at least until the Mangold project bears fruit!)
- Small aside; but was I the only one that thought of Aphra when Davo mentioned "an adventure" in the process of acquiring that lost statue? Unlikely she'd be involved given she'd probably only be in her late teens around now . . . but still!
- Star Wars continues it's tradition of hand-made wooden toys. This time it's a bowcaser and an AT-ST marionette . . . though that second one feels like an odd choice in-context!
- I like how this show isn't spoon-feeding all the details and letting the audience join the dots. For example; we don't need to see Cinta merc Tay. It's enough that it's her replacing his usual driver. Unaliving people is what she does.
- I don't know why it never occured to me that Dedra would have to contend with Cyrill's mum . . . and I suppose that's mostly because it never occured to me that they'd actually be in a domestic relationship! Not mad about it, but if anyone is going to put her in her place, it'd have to be an ISB agent.
- I did not expect Erskin Semaj to show up, let alone this early! I guess it stands to reason given he'll be Mon's attache in her flight from Coruscant, she would have had to have known and trusted him for some time. It could also mean the chances of a direct cross-over with 'Secret Cargo' have gone up a little, but it could just as easily just mean they're tying into Rebels elements where it makes the most sense.
It's kind of weird seeing Kyle Soller and Denise Gough smiling and laughing, and joking around at Celebration. I've gotten used to seeing them in Andor and it's always a little for me when I see actors out of character when their personalities are so different from their characters.
As a general rule of thumb; the more villainous the character, the nicer the actor tends to be in real life. Actual arseholes can't play such characters on-screen because they never see themselves that way. Such people tend to play protagonists instead; they're usually well practiced at pretending to be nice people.
