48 years after George Lucas first released the original Star Wars movie, Andor finally makes stormtroopers feel like a genuine threat again. Stormtroopers have historically been the lowest-ranking in the Imperial food chain. They’re grunts, no more than cannon fodder, and their dreadful aim is a frequently discussed topic among both casual and fervent Star Wars fans alike. Despite being integral to Star Wars’ iconography, their impact has been relatively minimal story-wise.

Of course, their terrible aim and general “uselessness” have allowed our favorite heroes to get away unscathed time and time again. There’s something to be said for making these dauntingly armed enforcers truly daunting, however, and now, decades after stormtroopers were first introduced in the original Star Wars movie, Andor has forced us to reckon with stormtroopers’ real (and terrifying) Imperial potential.

George Lucas Made The Mistake Of Treating Stormtroopers Like A Joke

Strangely, Obi-Wan Kenobi originally implied that stormtroopers were relatively skilled marksmen; he says as much in the first Star Wars movie, later retitled A New Hope. And yet, shortly after that, and throughout the rest of the original Star Wars trilogy, the stormtroopers are painfully easy to distract, defeat, or escape from. They haven’t provided any reason to be scared of them since. If all the franchise’s protagonists can survive a direct encounter with them, what is there to be afraid of?

This is a genuine shame, since the sheer volume of stormtroopers on any Imperial planet or space station should automatically make them relatively terrifying. Yet, as A New Hope and most subsequent Star Wars movies and shows proved, they could barely hit a target, even at close range. Stormtroopers are easy to manipulate, and their hand-to-hand combat leaves plenty to be desired. Star Wars hasn’t helped by constantly mocking and referencing stormtroopers’ severely lacking skills, either.

Star Wars Has Explicitly Mocked Stormtroopers For Their Weaknesses

Stormtrooper weaknesses have become a running joke in Star Wars. Who can forget The Mandalorian season 1, episode 8’s cold open, in which Taika Waititi depicts a scout trooper duo failing spectacularly at hitting a non-moving target while bickering and complaining about their boredom? Other characters in The Mandalorian have joked about this too. One former Imperial, Mayfield, is outraged when Din Djarin suggests his marksmanship was as bad as a stormtrooper’s, since he was previously an Imperial sharpshooter.

It's not just The Mandalorian, however. Star Wars Rebels also frequently made fun of stormtroopers. The of the Ghost crew have been able to sneak past dozens, if not hundreds, of stormtroopers on Imperial bases, stealing their armor and impersonating them as bumbling buffoons. Captain Rex, a former Republic clone trooper, consistently points out that everything about stormtroopers, from their armor to their training, is painfully lacking compared to clone troopers.

Presumably, the remaining Imperial remnants realized just how ineffective the Empire’s stormtrooper program truly was, as the First Order decided to take their villainy up a notch by kidnapping unsuspecting children from their homes, essentially brainwashing them from a young age. Even that extreme plan didn’t always work, as Finn, Jannah, and Jannah's entire company proved when they defected in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Now, however, Andor, especially season 2, has changed the game entirely.

Andor Finally Makes Stormtroopers Scary Again

Given Andor’s harrowing and realistic approach to portraying the Empire, it should be no surprise that Andor was the show to make stormtroopers frightening again. In Andor season 2’s first three-episode arc, a small group of stormtroopers manages to have a major impact on the story: one of their shots hits Brasso, one of Cassian Andor’s closest friends, knocking him off his speeder and killing him instantly. It’s one of the few times a key character hasn’t been protected by “plot armor” or a trooper’s canonically terrible aim.

One stormtrooper shot hits Brasso, one of Cassian Andor’s closest friends, knocking him off his speeder and killing him instantly. It’s one of the few times a key character hasn’t been protected by “plot armor” or a trooper’s canonically terrible aim.

Similarly, in the massacre of thousands of Ghorman protestors. Here, too, stormtroopers play a pivotal role. They are used to box the protestors in, preventing them from escaping the Ghorman Memorial Square. They’re not alone this time either, aided by other Imperial riot police, making it easier for the story to focus on their kill shots rather than their laughable mistakes.

The stormtroopers are still expendable. Their wild aim hasn’t suddenly become any better, but that almost makes the stormtroopers even more terrifying in this scenario. Anyone can be hit because their blaster shots only add to the chaos of the massacre, and because nearly everyone in Andor, aside from those few who make it to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is at risk.

Andor's series finale premieres Tuesday, May 13 at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST exclusively on Disney+.