"Star Wars" Fails Its LGBTQ+ Audience Once Again With "Andor"

*Spoilers for Andor Season 1*

Star Wars is not a franchise known for its LGBTQ+ characters oregon themes. 

In fact, queerness successful Star Wars is astir nonexistent, with lone 1 live-action infinitesimal of queerness being shown successful immoderate of the movies, adjacent though "gay characters are coming to Star Wars," astatine least, according to J.J. Abrams, astir six years ago.

Andor, the latest Star Wars TV show, seemed to beryllium connected the verge of reconciling Disney and Star Wars' implicit erasure of queer characters, portion making an astonishing show. However, with the extremity of the archetypal season, erstwhile again, Star Wars leaves its LGBTQ+ characters to middling subtext and yet thing substantial.

The latest Star Wars amusement was expected to beryllium a remedy for the caller fatigue of the onslaught of middling Star Wars programs. Aside from The Mandalorian, which, portion great, has go fundamentally an excuse to merchantability Baby Yoda merch, The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi have failed to unrecorded up to their expectations.  

Andor, a prequel to 2016's Rogue One, follows successful the footsteps of Cassian Andor, who would assistance instrumentality down the Death Star and beryllium a captious portion of the Galactic Rebellion. Early successful the season, the amusement introduces precise committed rebels Vel and Cinta, who are "sharing a blanket." 

This off-handed remark ends up starring to immoderate agelong glances and hand-holding, but thing else. Despite the changeless hints, the 2 characters extremity up looking similar they hardly cognize each other, overmuch little are together. The 2 characters person galore moments that could've made them the archetypal lesbian mates in Star Wars, but it ne'er ended up happening.

Andor's deficiency of queerness undermines its full message

Critics and Star Wars fans person been raving astir Andor, which has provided a much grounded look astatine a franchise obsessed with abstraction wizards with laser swords. The amusement took a ground-roots attack to the communicative of the rebellion, showing the mean radical that created it, and the oppression that pushed them to bash so.

Yet, contempt however fantastic the amusement is, its themes extremity up coming disconnected hollow. It's hard to afloat admit a communicative astir overcoming oppression erstwhile it shoves its LGBTQ+ characters to the broadside successful a mode that is genuinely baffling. Andor is not acrophobic to amusement murder, suicide, and speech astir galore mature themes, but determination on the line, the creators decided that adjacent having their queer characters buss oregon amusement immoderate benignant of affirmation was excessively much. 

While the amusement is not acrophobic to instrumentality inspiration from real-life queer rebellions, similar a ceramic that becomes a large portion of the climax, it ne'er ends up having thing existent to accidental oregon spell on. The LGBTQ+ characters successful this amusement could've provided immoderate real-world parallels to the show's connection of oppression, but baited viewers for thing that would ne'er come.

Disney, the institution of firsts, does a caller benignant of first

Disney and Star Wars motives person ever been beauteous clear. Since buying Lucas Film and Star Wars, Disney had made definite that Star Wars volition foremost ever beryllium a franchise with merchandise to merchantability (like toys). Still, Andor was expected to beryllium different, with the amusement nary uncertainty being the archetypal TV amusement from the franchise for adults.

It did ever look ominous, though, that Disney, the institution known for their "firsts" wasn't parading their queer characters successful Andor to soak up each dollar and presumption they could. As the amusement went on, I hoped it was a motion that Disney was changing its ways, but it became each excessively wide that Disney had nary volition of showing meaningful LGBTQ+ characters.

Disney and Star Wars are repetition offenders, and moving retired of "family-friendly" excuses

Being an LGBTQ+ person, 1 of the astir communal coded-phrases you volition perceive astir queer characters successful media for kids is that LGBTQ+ themes are not "family-friendly." This excuse is often the archetypal you'll perceive erstwhile determination is immoderate queer erasure.

With the popularity of Star Wars toys, it isn't hard to ideate what media firestorm could hap if abruptly kids were playing with a cheery Jedi oregon lesbian Rebels. However, it's clip we determination past this faux-morality statement that queer characters are not "family-friendly," a conception solely based connected the thought that being LGBTQ+ is learned behavior, which is not true.

LGBTQ+ kids and adults merit to person immoderate meaningful practice successful 1 of the world's biggest franchises (that isn't a azygous 2nd buss betwixt 2 unnamed characters with nary lines). But aft however severely Disney handled Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill earlier this year, Disney inactive has miles of enactment up of it to gain the respect of its queer audience.

Andor is excessively little, excessively late

Andor was ne'er going to close the galore wrongs of Star Wars' past of deficiency of LGBTQ+ representation. But arsenic a queer fan, the thought of yet getting immoderate astonishing LGBTQ+ practice successful a franchise that I person watched my full beingness (Padme stans rise) was exciting, making each missed accidental sting adjacent more.

Ultimately, arsenic we proceed successful an property with an unprecedented magnitude of privilege and powerfulness arsenic LGBTQ+ people, expired breadstuff crumbs conscionable aren't going to chopped it anymore.