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Andor is, perhaps, a Star Wars story born out of a different time period than the majority of the franchise. While the majority of more recent Star Wars purposefully leans into the space opera adventure elements of the franchise — The Mandalorian and Ahsoka are almost apolitical in their storytelling choices — Andor finds success drawing out the real-world political allegories and subtext of the lore it’s inherited. It’s far from the only political Star Wars that’s ever been made, however, and as we try to find things to fill time between episodes of Andor, perhaps it’s time to remember that. Friends, for your consideration: some Star Wars stories that played with politics.

This is For Your Consideration, in which we try to come to terms with the inescapable fact that, honestly, there’s too much out there to have time to watch, read, or hear everything — by making some suggestions about things that you might have overlooked but would enjoy, anyway. Think of it as recommendations from a well-meaning friend.

Star Wars: Episodes I-III: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith - Fear and Loathing for fun and profit

There’s been no shortage of people pointing out that the trade disagreements at the heart of the Prequel Trilogy that fans made fun of originally have new resonance thanks to what’s happening in the real world today, but the true political meat of the Prequels is watching how Palpatine manipulates events — and his own Galactic Senate — to become the despot Emperor everyone knew from the original trilogy. For all that the movies haven’t aged well (and they really haven’t), George Lucas’s focus on watching how fear can be hijacked by people with ambitious villains with ulterior motives is as sadly timely now as it was in the post-9/11 era surrounding these movies’ theatrical releases.

Available on: Disney+

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 5, Episodes 17-20: ‘Sabotage,’ ‘The Jedi Who Knew Too Much,’ ‘To Catch a Jedi.’ ‘The Wrong Jedi’ - Fear leads to the dark side

Set during the Prequel Trilogy, this four-part arc at the end of the animated series’ fifth season continues the exploration of the ways that fear and paranoia can be weaponized to undo communities at the heart of those movies: when an explosion destroys a Jedi Temple, the subsequent investigation gets derailed by suspicion, leading to a dramatic change in the status quo of the series as a whole. The roots of Ahsoka are laid here in these episodes, but more importantly, it’s an abject lesson in how important trust is inside communities — and what it means when that trust is broken, on both sides of the equation.

Available on: Disney+

Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Just asking questions with no clear answers

Hot take: The Last Jedi is not as good as everyone remembers it being, and rewatches make that clearer each time. That said, the movie’s clear desire to muddy the moral waters of the franchise — yes, the arms trade is funded by the bad guys and the good guys! — and point out the clear class structure that has been hidden in plain sight for decades makes it a fascinating artifact that still stands out as the best of the Sequel Trilogy by far. Who doesn’t love a good attempt to unpick your own mythology, especially when it’s full of such memorable visuals as this movie? File under: “It’s complicated” and “The Last Jedi walked so that Andor could run.”

Available on: Disney+

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