Andor (2022-25)

Andor is the best show on TV. It is the most important show of our authoritarian times. Don't be turned off by the Star Wars universe of it all. It has nothing to do with Jedi or the Force. It has everything to do with rebellion. It's about the spirit of revolution, about what pushes ordinary people to finally awaken to oppression and to do something to combat injustice. There are small actions and large, but everyone pays a sacrifice. An iconic quote from Luthen: "I burn my life for a sunrise that I know I'll never see." It's at once devastating and inspiring. It may take place in a galaxy far far away but the emotion is genuinely rousing nonetheless because we can sympathize. We're living through our own empire; it's not hard to see echoes of Ghorman in Los Angeles, Narkina 5 in our prison-industrial complex, Mina-Rau in our farms populated by Central American immigrants for the harvest.

It's a political thriller--a series of heist movies organized in 3-episode arcs (save for a 4-2 combo at the end of season 1). This gives the show a truly cinematic quality. It's like watching a series of Star Wars movies in which time passes between arcs but you're able to fill in the gaps anyways quite deftly. The action and cinematography and production/costume design look as expensive as the show cost. Knowing where this all ends (Rogue One) does not detract in the least from the suspense inherent in Andor. I also like that the show does not solely focus on Cassian. We get the Empire's side too, from the bureaucracy of the ISB. We see both the banality of evil and even hints of how a bureaucrat like Syril could eventually come to see the light. We see the face of the rebellion, and the shadows, the money and the power, the nice and the mean. Mon Mothma's crusade in the senate 

Season 2 Episodes 8, 9 and 10 are three of the most breathtaking episodes in quick succession.  Season 1 Episodes 6, 10 and 12 are also stellar. I'll say other moments that stand out emotionally: Nemik's manifesto and Maarva's last conversation with Cassian, inspired by Aldhani without knowing Cassian's role there, and Bix's final scene. 

Chernobyl (2019)

The HBO miniseries was remarkably prescient. In 2019, it was a warning, of the inevitable dangers that were waiting around the corner for a society built on lies and more lies. Craig Mazin and Johan Renck could not have predicted the arrival of the Coronavirus, arguably the worst global disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. "Why worry about something that isn't going to happen?" Especially when we know it is bound to happen...In 2020, the warning goes unheeded. As those in power continue to lie to each other and to the public and to themselves, the pandemic worsens. And they devalue expertise. Is Anthony Fauci our Legasov? The coal miner refusing to wear the mask is scarily accurate.

The first three episodes are frustratingly excellent, while the final two episodes are admittedly a little slow, though make science quite interesting.  The depiction of the Soviet Union in all its flaws, and styles, and bleakness is striking. I found a line in episode 4 to hit particularly close to home: "What you are proposing is that Legasov humiliate a nation that is obsessed with not being humiliated?" Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have this in common with the Soviet Union, caring only about appearances but being completely deluded as to how they are actually perceived. They are societies  that don't care about their people, ready to cut corners and silence the truth at the cost of lives. Comparisons to the Soviet Union are not complimentary.

Quick aside, I don't think Chernobyl should have won all the Emmys over When They See Us. Both express exasperated frustration in their early episodes, but Ava Duvernay's series evolves into an emotional journey that takes it to another level.

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)

Terry Gilliam's long anticipated project has finally seen the light of day. Despite getting off to a slow first act, the movie is wildly funny. It is over two hours, and that's a bit too long. It's the middle act, following Don Quixote and Sancho Panza on their misadventures. It features two raucous performances from Jonathan Pryce and Adam Driver, but it's kind of repetitive. The production value looks really expensive, and very Spanish. Reality blends with insanity in what I describe as magical realism/surrealism. It's certainly an unusual movie, but it's very entertaining and well worth a watch.