The Global Division of Knowledge Gives Us "Andor"

Like a lot of Star Wars fans, I've been kind of disappointed in the franchise since Disney took it over. I liked The Force Awakens a lot and absolutely loved Rogue One. I thought The Last Jedi was interesting--a good movie on its own--but it created a lot of problems they didn't fix in The Rise of Skywalker (it seems pretty clear that "somehow, Palpatine has returned" wasn't where they were planning to go when they started the sequel trilogy). Solo was OK, and I would love to see a series or movie about Donald Glover as Lando. The Mandalorian started strong but faded even with the addition of live-action Bo-Katan Kryze, The Book of Boba Fett was mediocre, Ahsoka somehow fumbled the live-action premiere of Grand Admiral Thrawn, and The Acolyte was...well, in our house, we don't talk about The Acolyte.

Obi-Wan Kenobi had some truly great moments but ranged between underwhelming and disappointing (did we really need to see one of the galaxy's best Jedi playing the buffoon to spunky lil' Leia?). The Bad Batch also started strong, but it became clear they were trying to use it to write themselves out of the hole they dug with The Rise of Skywalker and didn't succeed. The various series of shorts--Tales of the Jedi, Tales of the Empire, Tales of the Underworld--have been fun, and I especially liked learning Cad Bane's backstory.

But it all pales in comparison to Andor, especially season 2. Many people were rightly skeptical of a show featuring a character who dies in a one-off movie, but it has been almost flawless. The characters are deep and complex, the story is a slow burn that gives us an inside look at "the banality of evil" in a Galactic Empire run by careerist, ladder-climbing bureaucrats and (sometimes) badly mistaken idealists. Reason's Andrew Heaton explains:

It's a truly great show that gives a new dimension to a compelling story that happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

And we wouldn't have it if it weren't for the wealth, technology, and creative possibilities that reasonably free global markets have created. We've come a long way. Last night, we watched 1989's Batman (with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson), and I was surprised at how primitive and schlocky it looked. Indeed, the kids enjoyed it in an "it's so bad it's good" way (which may not be completely fair). We've come a long way in a single generation because we accepted the Bourgeois Deal. We'll never know what we won't enjoy because of tariffs, price controls, immigration restrictions, and other impediments to the global division of knowledge. Occasionally, something truly brilliant will get through, like Andor. It's a good example of what a world of free people with free minds in free markets can produce, and it's what we can expect a lot more of if we reverse our illiberal course.