Andor: Season 2 – Star Wars At Its Finest (Early Review)

Who would have thought in 2016, leaving the theater after seeing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, that Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) would get his own series with multiple seasons? At this point, almost every character in the Star Wars canon has received some spin-off or follow-up to their introduction in book form or a mini arc in an animated series or an appearance in a video game, from major characters like the Emperor to minor side characters like Captain Phasma, who even got her own origin story novel. And yet, soon after the launch of Disney+ in 2019, a series centered around him was announced. The surprising aspect of it? It turned out to be the best Star Wars series in years.

Season 2, premiering this week, picks up one year after the events of the first season, where the seeds of the growing rebellion against the Empire have begun to reap a greater, louder voice against their oppressors, all while the Empire themselves tighten their grip on the galaxy and continue their work on a project that when completed, could bring upon a catastrophic force that could destroy everyone once and for all. Whereas the first season took place over a year, Season 2 is divided into four years, building into the beginning of Rogue One and the mission to follow.

On the surface, covering four years in a span of 12 episodes sounds daunting, even downright concerning, as several shifts can take place in terms of tone and structure that might result in a loss of character development and momentum. It is then a major credit to creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy, who also co-wrote Rogue One with Chris Weitz, that the season is as seamless as it is, not missing a beat in the story as it traverses these four years and explores Cassian’s efforts to take on the Empire, all while giving every character he interacts with and has relationships with more time to make their stories matter as well.

In many ways, Season 2 is far darker and more mature than the first, tackling its themes of fascism, political and civil unrest and unrelenting hopelessness in much more scathing ways that Star Wars has never done before. In Andor, no Jedi are coming to save the day or take on legions of Stormtroopers with a lightsaber and Force abilities. Here, people merely have their words and whatever they can grab with their hands to fight back. In Andor, a laser blast from a rifle can’t be stopped mid-air. If someone gets shot here, they die. The grounded nature of the series–and Rogue One by extension–is what makes the Empire’s activities feel more devastating to witness, all as people in the galaxy are trying to do the one thing no one in power wants them to: speak up. Something about Andor feels incredibly timely, and poignant in its approach to how it looks at a destabilizing galaxy that feels like it’s about to blow at any given moment, and to have people question so many decisions being made by the Empire, who continue to cast a smokescreen over their more heinous work with a weapon yet to be revealed that could do greater damage is a bleak sight.

This leads to outstanding performances across the board, as Luna once again plays Cassian to perfection, particularly as his emotional state is increasingly compromised by the actions he takes as a rebel to keep the Empire on its toes, often witnessing horrors or even committing some by killing targets and potential risks and trying to keep going despite them. His relationship with Bix (Adria Arjona) makes this hit harder in scenes. Arjona is fantastic in Season 2, having considerably more to do than in the show’s first run, and given an emotional core to her arc that puts her through the ringer quite often. As the efforts expand with the Rebellion, more time is also given to Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard), who are both extraordinary once again, with O’Reilly giving her finest performance in the saga yet, as the senator is backed into a corner more and more with each passing moment, desperately trying to find a way to finally say that the Emperor’s actions are corrupt and need to be challenged. A magnificent sequence where she ends up on a dance floor and moves through the space in a blur trying to manage it all stays with you long after the credits roll.

On the flip side, the Imperial storytelling remains top notch as well, as Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) continue their efforts to reach the higher ranks of the Empire and make up for their failure to capture Cassian and Rael (codename “Axis”) by keeping the larger mission of the Empire a priority. This is accentuated by the arrival of Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn, reprising his role from Rogue One), who looms over the proceedings of this season like a specter. It is fascinating seeing Krennic in a more commanding role, given his sidelining eventually by Governor Tarkin and Darth Vader in the movie, but his presence makes for an unnerving aspect of Season 2 amidst the rebels. Andor is careful, however, to not create a sympathetic image of the Empire, and instead conveying them to be far more fascistic and evil than ever before. Lack of Jedi and the Force usage aside, as aforementioned, it feels terrifying seeing a squad of Stormtroopers rushing a crowd and knowing that this time, their aim can be true and kill as many people as they are ordered to, leading to one showstopping and horrifying sequence where that exact display of power is shown.

As the years progress and the events begin to have a resonance that will no doubt reframe and recontextualize how Rogue One is seen in the future, it is remarkable how Gilroy and co. maintain a level of storytelling detail that relies less on references and nostalgia, and more on the moments that make the fight matter more than ever, retroactively making scenes like Vader rampaging his way through a cruiser at the end of Rogue One feel like a dessert and a reward after following along on the rest of the journey. The series is also careful to include aspects from Rogue One as long as they add significance to the story. Seeing K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) once again is a refreshing sight, retaining much of the droid’s dry sense of humor and relentless charge through enemies as and when it is needed, while Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) is shown to devolve into his more extremist ways and become the version of the character first introduced in the film. This seamlessness is what makes the season more effective.

Certain moments with Cassian in particular feel like they have more significance now, such as a minor flinch here or a quiet reaction there. A cloud looms over much of his character as the season progresses, and he rides the line of being a hero and being a morally gray rebel who will have to adopt the methods of the oppressors to sometimes make a point. When all this comes to a crescendo in Rogue One, especially as he has to work with a team and carry out a mission, the impact is felt in more powerful ways.

Andor represents the best of what Star Wars has to offer. Its powerful storytelling, backed with incredible performances, excellent action sequences and visuals and a breakneck pace as Cassian’s journey traverses years make for spectacular television, and one of the year’s finest series. It effectively raises the bar for Star Wars going forward, and the expectations for future projects. With Season 2, the series effectively joins the ranks of the original trilogy as the franchise’s finest offerings, and elevates Rogue One in the process and makes this pocket of Star Wars with Andor one of its strongest, while sounding an alarm on a thought that will resonate with everyone doubting the world and holding on to hope for a better tomorrow: rebellions are built on hope.

Score: 100/100

*still courtesy of Lucasfilm*

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Shaurya Chawla