rose_griffes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rose_griffes) wrote2023-02-20 07:00 pm
rose_griffes) wrote2023-02-20 07:00 pm
Entry tags:
“I’ve been in this fight since I was six years old!”
One unpleasant side effect of enjoying how good Andor is: a revival of my burning rage at how badly Disney Star Wars botched the sequel trilogy--especially Finn and Rey. And while my DW is still an “I hate Rian Johnson's Star Wars film” safe space, the blame really lies with Bob Iger trying to rush things instead of giving the Star Wars team time to produce a solid foundation for a three-film series.
ANYWAY! Moving on.
One of the more common reactions I’ve seen from people who watched both Rogue One and season one of Andor is the wish that the show hadn’t retconned Cassian’s “grew up in the Rebellion” story from the film. And while I get it - and I’m not trying to convince people otherwise - that’s one thing that, ultimately, I decided was for the best.
1. We already have someone who grew up in the rebellion: Jyn! And look how that turned out! (Spoiler for Rogue One: not great.) It’s not exactly an idyllic childhood, right?
2. The show Andor added in SO MANY parallels between Cassian and Jyn’s stories. I’m okay with this one specific parallel being taken away.
3. I like the agency that this new backstory gives to Cassian. He’s going into the rebellion clear-eyed, by his own choice.
4. There are ways to smooth over the retcon. Been in the fight since he was six? Maybe that’s how old he was when the late Republic’s missteps and overreach led to the mining accident on Kenari. So he’s been pushing for both survival and revenge since then.
Again, not trying to persuade people who prefer the original version plus their various accompanying headcanons. It’s hard to give up Cassian speaking space Spanish! Plus, point number one about the horror story of growing up in the rebellion might be of great interest to many!
Before moving on: a big shout-out to all of you who prefer the original backstory for not whining about it in the pro-Andor-show spaces. I see you! Or rather, I don’t see you, and I definitely noticed and appreciate your tact.
So as I’ve rewatched Andor (I’m gonna run out of time soon! Not renewing Disney+ at the end of this month), I’ve really been struck by the almost-ending scene. Fan favorite Brasso is aboard the Breon Dayvan with B2EMO, Bix, Wilmon Paak, and Jezzi (a Daughter of Ferrix) piloting. They’re heading for Ganji moon. After that? Who knows! How will they survive?! THEY’RE AT GREAT RISK! The Empire will be after them soon--all of them!
And, uh... so. Fun fact, Pamela Nomvete, who plays Jezzi, was born in 1963, and Joplin Sibtain (Brasso) was born in 1969. That’s only six years difference! And now the two of them are on the run together, responsible for a minor human (Wilmon Paak is only 16), a sad dog-like droid, and a recently-tortured human (Bix) who literally can’t walk by herself at this point.
On the run! Together! Trying to take care of others! Together!
I’m shipping the two fiery, capable, caring older people, is what I’m saying.
Friends to lovers is a good trope - not my most favorite, but good. But “on the run together” is just fantastic. Especially when you add in things like cover identities and fake-dating or fake-marriage.
Unfortunately, there are some obstacles that make it unlikely that anyone (other than me? maybe? we’ll see?) writes these two as a romantic pairing.
1. Nomvete was only in three episodes. Jezzi was name-checked in episode one but we didn’t get a face for the name until episode ten. So THAT’S a big enough obstacle on its own.
2. Nomvete is older than Sibtain. And she’s a black woman who plays something of a caretaker role within the show. All traits that make fandom less likely to write her at all, much less pair her with someone younger.
Ah well. I make NO PROMISES for fic, but it’s fun to think about. But ugh, actually writing an on the run together story is hard! *whines* I’ve done it once, so I know! (Person of Interest fandom, Carter x Reese. My only novel-length fic. It’s good, you should read it and say nice things! Y’know... if you want.)
Gonna have to get rid of Jezzi's poncho, though. Ponchos: not sexy.
ANYWAY! Moving on.
One of the more common reactions I’ve seen from people who watched both Rogue One and season one of Andor is the wish that the show hadn’t retconned Cassian’s “grew up in the Rebellion” story from the film. And while I get it - and I’m not trying to convince people otherwise - that’s one thing that, ultimately, I decided was for the best.
1. We already have someone who grew up in the rebellion: Jyn! And look how that turned out! (Spoiler for Rogue One: not great.) It’s not exactly an idyllic childhood, right?
2. The show Andor added in SO MANY parallels between Cassian and Jyn’s stories. I’m okay with this one specific parallel being taken away.
3. I like the agency that this new backstory gives to Cassian. He’s going into the rebellion clear-eyed, by his own choice.
4. There are ways to smooth over the retcon. Been in the fight since he was six? Maybe that’s how old he was when the late Republic’s missteps and overreach led to the mining accident on Kenari. So he’s been pushing for both survival and revenge since then.
Again, not trying to persuade people who prefer the original version plus their various accompanying headcanons. It’s hard to give up Cassian speaking space Spanish! Plus, point number one about the horror story of growing up in the rebellion might be of great interest to many!
Before moving on: a big shout-out to all of you who prefer the original backstory for not whining about it in the pro-Andor-show spaces. I see you! Or rather, I don’t see you, and I definitely noticed and appreciate your tact.
So as I’ve rewatched Andor (I’m gonna run out of time soon! Not renewing Disney+ at the end of this month), I’ve really been struck by the almost-ending scene. Fan favorite Brasso is aboard the Breon Dayvan with B2EMO, Bix, Wilmon Paak, and Jezzi (a Daughter of Ferrix) piloting. They’re heading for Ganji moon. After that? Who knows! How will they survive?! THEY’RE AT GREAT RISK! The Empire will be after them soon--all of them!
And, uh... so. Fun fact, Pamela Nomvete, who plays Jezzi, was born in 1963, and Joplin Sibtain (Brasso) was born in 1969. That’s only six years difference! And now the two of them are on the run together, responsible for a minor human (Wilmon Paak is only 16), a sad dog-like droid, and a recently-tortured human (Bix) who literally can’t walk by herself at this point.
On the run! Together! Trying to take care of others! Together!
I’m shipping the two fiery, capable, caring older people, is what I’m saying.
Friends to lovers is a good trope - not my most favorite, but good. But “on the run together” is just fantastic. Especially when you add in things like cover identities and fake-dating or fake-marriage.
Unfortunately, there are some obstacles that make it unlikely that anyone (other than me? maybe? we’ll see?) writes these two as a romantic pairing.
1. Nomvete was only in three episodes. Jezzi was name-checked in episode one but we didn’t get a face for the name until episode ten. So THAT’S a big enough obstacle on its own.
2. Nomvete is older than Sibtain. And she’s a black woman who plays something of a caretaker role within the show. All traits that make fandom less likely to write her at all, much less pair her with someone younger.
Ah well. I make NO PROMISES for fic, but it’s fun to think about. But ugh, actually writing an on the run together story is hard! *whines* I’ve done it once, so I know! (Person of Interest fandom, Carter x Reese. My only novel-length fic. It’s good, you should read it and say nice things! Y’know... if you want.)
no subject
Regarding Cassian's backstory, I think we still don't know enough about Cassian's life before the beginning of Andor to assume that he wasn't involved in some rebellious activity (given what Maarva did which we actually saw). So it probably comes down to how the Rebellion is defined. I mean, just his age alone would mean he couldn't have grown up in it unless we count it as happening within years of the Empire's establishment.
Edit: Realized I posted this before I commented about Iger. I agree that the blame rests at least partially with him and the timeline for the film, but also with the decisions of who to hire to develop the new films. I get why they did it, given the amount of money they'd just sunk into Lucasfilm, only a new film series could start to recoup those costs -- and any new content was going to take a while to develop.
But I do regret that storytelling was not the primary thought for most of the films. While the TV shows may have been uneven, overall they've been better than the movies. Yet had it not been for the disappointment in film returns and issues they were having in who they were handing the movies over to (see the mess on Solo), we might not have gotten the TV development as soon as we did.
no subject
And yes, agreed that they chose the wrong people to be the main creative minds behind the sequel trilogy.