Star Wars is not just about the Force

Fundamentally, Star Wars is about hope. Sometimes, concepts like the Force and the Jedi serve as symbols of that hope. So it’s understandable that, when shows like Andor fail to even mention the Force or Jedi at all, some fans are turned off by this.

That’s OK, to be clear. But let’s not mistake this for the show not understanding Star Wars, not feeling like Star Wars, or not being worth the praise it’s receiving.

There are fans who scoff at any piece of Star Wars media that does not prominently feature Jedi or mention the Force … and though everyone has and is fully entitled to their preferences, just because the Force isn’t the focal point of a story doesn’t mean it’s any less worthy of being part of the larger Star Wars canon.

Star Wars is about so much more than Force-users, or how the Force connects all living things. It remained a primary subject of the episodic Skywalker Saga films and continues to remain thematic in plenty of comics, books, and TV shows.

But Andor may be proof that Star Wars stories that don’t feature these things can actually succeed and are actually liked by plenty of viewers and fans.

Star Wars can mean something different to every person who consumes a piece of media set in or related to a galaxy far, far away — that’s the way it should be. But there’s no need to knock down a story that doesn’t cater to your own personal desires simply because you aren’t getting out of it what you want. (Unless, of course, it’s causing actual harm that warrants this level of criticism.)

If you personally prefer stories that center on Jedi and the Force, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Star Wars media is a buffet, and all that — each of us are free to pick and choose what we enjoy consuming and leave the rest for others to take who will enjoy it more.

But even in cases such as Andor, it’s still Star Wars. It still matters, and it still deserves praise even when it’s different.

New episodes of Andor drop every Wednesday exclusively on Disney+.

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