The dust has begun to settle from this week’s Emmy nominations announcement, which saw some repeat nominees (Ayo Edebiri for “The Bear,” Gary Oldman for “Slow Horses”) alongside some new honorees (Stephen Graham for “Adolescence,” etc). For any awards list, there are always going to be worthy names that don’t make the cut, and I try not to get my hopes up too strongly about any performer in a competition I can’t really impact. But I’ll admit I was hoping Diego Luna would make it onto the outstanding actor list for his work in “Andor.”
The series, which wrapped up its run earlier this year, was a prequel to a prequel. That’s the sort of setup that should be the kiss of death for any show, creatively. When all of the events in a show lead up to a result the audience already knows about, writers have a higher bar to clear to imbue them with real drama.
And yet “Andor” did precisely that. It told the story of Luna’s Cassian Andor, first introduced to audiences (very old spoilers ahead) dying heroically to get the plans for the Death Star to Princess Leia at the end of “Rogue One.” Much of the story in “Andor” detailed why a rebellion might rise up in response to the Empire, a state of affairs that’s already accepted as fact in the original “Star Wars” movies. But “Andor” also showed us why Luna’s character became willing to die for his cause.
Luna was central to that storytelling. “Andor” wouldn’t be “Andor” without his ability to bring us along on an emotional journey that saw the character go from immature playboy to hardened soldier. Tony Gilroy’s series had a vast scope — the “Star Wars” saga may focus on assorted Skywalkers, but “Andor” filled in the building blocks of a revolution, from government bureaucrats to helpless bystanders to all the decisions that can lead to a rebellion. Cassian Andor played a part in that, but he also had to serve as an audience stand-in; our own knowledge about the Empire’s crimes grew alongside his. Luna managed to make him feel like a real person.
“Andor” did earn some honors, getting nominations for best drama series and for its writing and directing. It deserved them all. There were moments where I found myself blown away mid-episode by how powerfully the series depicted life in a fascist state. It’s the type of show you want to convince more people to watch, and I hope its sci-fi setting doesn’t discourage anyone from doing that. They’d be missing out on one of the best acting performances of the year.
Lisa Weidenfeld is an arts editor at the Globe.
Lisa Weidenfeld can be reached at lisa.weidenfeld@globe.com. Follow her on X @LisaWeidenfeld and Instagram @lisaweidenfeld.