Andor Season 2 Review
No matter what certain aspects of the fandom would have you believe, Star Wars has always been political. George Lucas conceived of it, among other things, as a way to explain complicated ideas and history to children, to build a mythology not only based on the ideas of Joseph Campbell but also current events.
One of the more enjoyable aspects of latter-day Star Wars is seeing all the bounces off the original material that some storytellers have made. Want Jedi action? Try The Clone Wars, Ahsoka, or Obi-Wan Kenobi. Gangsters, bounty hunters, and smugglers? Play Star Wars Outlaws or watch The Mandalorian. The cafeteria aspect of Star Wars means there’s something for everyone.
But even from a franchise that from the start has always been intended for children, many have wanted a more mature tone, a more adult experience (which means different things to different people). While some of the films and stories have had darker implications, Star Wars has rarely been timely when it comes to its politics, preferring to tell general stories to being specific, although one could argue that the Prequels make for an interesting commentary on our current landscape.
But when Andor first arrived in 2022, it felt timely and even prescient, much of that due to Tony Gilroy’s involvement. Gilroy is no stranger to political stories, and he injected Andor with a relevancy and an immediacy that made that show stand out from the other stories within the franchise. In a lot of ways, Andor Season 1 felt like a rallying cry against complacency and despair. If Lucas wanted to inspire children in 1977 to take a fresh look at the world we’re in, then Andor felt like it wanted to shake those now-adults to do the same.
If Andor Season 1 was the match to light the fires of the Galactic Rebellion, then Andor Season 2 lights the fuse to the powder keg. It’s triumphant Star Wars, and it proves something I’ve long suspected when it comes to this Saga that I’ve loved since I was a boy – for Star Wars to stay relevant, for it to still be as compelling and as powerful as it was in its early days, it needs, requires new voices to pick up the mantle that George Lucas laid down – not to be beholden to the past, but to be inspired by it to tell new stories in the present and the future. It’s the only way that Star Wars can survive.
Star Wars can become stagnant, telling the same stale, comfortable tropes to the exclusion of everything else, or it can adapt, learn to embrace change, and with it bring new fans and new perspectives. Star Wars isn’t a genre. It’s a place. For us to explore every facet of that place, we need storytellers who are willing to go to those worlds that are not safe, that have the potential to move us as the original films did, and to challenge us and bring us hope. It’s why I’ve loved this Saga since I was 7 years old, and now, because it has grown with me.
Andor Season 2 begins with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), pulling an unconventional heist on orders from Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) – to boost an experimental spacecraft from the heart of the Empire. His great love, Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona), is out of harm’s way, for now, and
Cassian, while desperate to make his way back to her, also knows he has a job to do. But the Empire is everywhere, and the pieces on the board that lead to the Galactic Civil War are moving, with or without him. When things go south for Andor, he must make a choice – serve the Rebellion or protect Bix. While the choices seem clear, the ramifications of those choices will affect everything.
As for Luthen, he is becoming increasingly compromised as the Rebellion begins to make itself known in the galaxy. Should he continue his work behind the scenes, or should he declare himself and risk everything? For Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), her choices are the same, and the window is closing rapidly.
As her daughter gets married on her home world of Chandrilla, Mon knows that if she chooses the Rebellion, she may never see her loved ones again, but events are happening that may force her hand – a family friend knows more than he should and threatens Mon Mothma’s place in the Senate and with her family.
The Empire is moving forward with its ultimate weapon, and Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) is summoned to a secret meeting with Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). The new weapon needs a particular alloy to complete the work, but unfortunately, it is only available on one planet – the Inner Rim world of Ghorman, a planet renowned for its fashion and art, and well beloved by the Galaxy.
Extracting the alloy from Ghorman would be devastating to the planet, and Krennic requires results. To that end, he enlists Dedra and her companion Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) to facilitate events on Ghorman. Both the Empire and the Rebellion have a great interest in what happens there, and as events escalate, what happens on Ghorman will have ramifications for the entire Galaxy.
The original intent for Andor was to take place over five seasons, with each season representing one year closer to the events of Rogue One and the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars: A New Hope. But budget and time forced showrunner Tony Gilroy‘s hand, and because of that, each year is given a three-episode arc. This works to the season’s benefit, however, as each of the three episodes feels like a complete story and its own movie.
The first three episodes allow us to get our bearings, and while it’s important in setting the tone and the story to come, unfortunately, there are a few missteps as the series tries to establish itself. It’s in the following six episodes that Andor Season 2 truly soars and finds its voice. Much like the first season’s prison episodes, the strongest story arcs are in the middle sections.
Those six episodes deal with the planet Ghorman, and without spoiling, I can say that Gilroy and Lucasfilm go into some brave and uncharted territory for Star Wars, and I honestly can’t believe that they had the courage to go there. It’s not something I expected from a major media corporation, to say the least. When I say that Andor Season 2 is timely, these episodes feel ripped straight from today’s headlines and are bound to be some of the most controversial moments of Star Wars yet.
I am both excited and reluctant to see what the fans make of it, because it very well could change how Star Wars is perceived from here on out. After seeing the season in its entirety, when Tony Gilroy says this is the most important work he’s ever done, I believe him. It is bold, unprecedented, and Gilroy firmly plants his feet in a stance that is sure to bring him no shortage of angry reactions from certain corners. But these dangerous times call for forceful voices and courageous stands.
Diego Luna should win an Emmy for his work here, but I realize just how much of an uphill battle that is for a Star Wars show. Luna puts Andor’s conflict front and center – his need to serve the Rebellion and to make the Galaxy a better place conflicts directly with his own wants and needs, particularly regarding Bix.
It’s a meaty, complicated role, and Diego Luna makes the most of it. Luna’s performance stands out, but everyone does phenomenal work. Stellan Skarsgård shows us just what the Rebellion costs Luthen, and Genevieve O’Reilly brings pathos to Mon Mothma, as she must make a choice no less important than Andor’s.
The supporting cast helps carry the show as well. I was particularly impressed with Denise Gough – it would be easy to paint Dedra as a simple antagonist/villain, but she is as complicated as our heroes, and her relationship with Syril is put to the test as events continue to build.
Many of the characters from Andor Season 1 return, and their arcs are intertwined with the main story in satisfying, often unexpected ways. Again, Andor Season 2 goes into uncharted territory for Star Wars, and these story choices feel genuine and not simply to check a box.
As Andor‘s story approaches Rogue One, and all the pieces are put into place, Season 2 never feels rote or predictable, even as we know where it is heading. Andor has a difficult job in not only closing in on Rogue One, but on the Saga as a whole, and while a few familiar aspects of Star Wars make their way into the narrative, it’s done in a way that feels fresh, new, and important to the story at hand.
There were many times during this season that I was moved to tears, then shock, and even anger, because Andor Season 2 is designed to provoke a reaction and inspire debate. It is not difficult to see a connection between the rise of the Empire and current events, and that is fully intentional. Andor Season 2 doesn’t pull any punches. It is devastating, rich with emotion, and full of great drama. Fans have long wanted Star Wars to be taken seriously, but I don’t think they anticipated the way Andor does it, not like this.
Andor joins The Empire Strikes Back, The Last Jedi, and Rogue One as top-tier Star Wars. You’re going to want to put on Rogue One when it’s done, because it plays very differently once all is revealed. You simply can’t get to the Original Trilogy without it, without knowing the cost of Rebellion, the lives and worlds sacrificed to fight tyranny and fascism, and it truly does put the Wars in Star Wars. It makes the other films and shows resonate even more, and it will be difficult for this franchise to top this.
The last moments of Andor Season 2 literally took my breath away, in a way that this Saga hasn’t done since Darth Vader revealed himself to Luke Skywalker on that scaffold on Bespin. The story of Cassian Andor deserves as much space as the story of Anakin Skywalker in the ongoing Saga, and Diego Luna, Tony Gilroy, and the rest of the cast and crew have created something that will stand the test of time forever.
It takes voices outside of Star Wars, those not bound to what has come before, to keep the Saga moving forward, which allows it to grow. Star Wars needs those new perspectives, and in Andor, we get them in a way that will shape the Saga for a long time to come. Andor, both Seasons 1 and 2, are essential Star Wars.
ANDOR SEASON 2 REVIEW SCORE: 9 OUT OF 10
The final season of the Emmy-nominated series will unfold over 12 episodes broken down into four chapters of three episodes each. The first chapter will premiere on April 22, with subsequent chapters debuting each week.
