After mixed offerings from the franchise in recent years, the Disney series remains a hit.
★★★★½
SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Andor season two.
Many likely did not have the highest expectations for Star Wars: Andor when it first debuted back in 2022. The show, which told the backstory of rebel operative Cassian Andor – a secondary character from the 2016 spin-off film, Rogue One – gave all the signs of being just another example of Disney mining an established IP for all its worth. Upon its release however, the show blew away critics and fans alike, garnering widespread praise for its grounded, adult take on the Star Wars mythos.
The show leant fully into Rogue One’s premise of depicting the ordinary rebels in their struggle against the Galactic Empire, eschewing many of the usual hallmarks of the franchise – such as Jedi, lightsabers, or the Force – for a gritty, dystopian spy thriller, which portrays a more morally complex side to the Star Wars universe than we typically see.
Season two, which finally released this month on Disney+, more than lives up to the quality of the first, and in many places outshines it. It builds on everything that made season one great, with some incredible writing, performances, cinematography, and score. Crucially, this season remains just as willing to give its characters real depth and complexity, tackling serious themes with a maturity that is unmatched across the rest of the franchise.
As before, this season is divided into several different story arcs, each taking place over roughly three episodes and set a year apart. The original five-year plan for the show was condensed to cover just one season, but the result never feels rushed. The writing and pacing are incredibly efficient throughout, with each storyline building off what came prior. Throughout, Andor trusts the audience to fill in the gaps themselves, with everything we need to know being shown naturally through its writing and performances.
The season starts with Cassian (played by Diego Luna) now fully committed to the Rebellion, whilst still coming into conflict with fellow insurgents as well as with the Empire. Alongside Cassian’s progress within the growing underground movement, this season spends much of its first half slowly building up to the massacre on the planet Ghorman, a storyline that dominates the seasons third arc, and which most effectively delivers on the shows vision of a more adult take on this universe.
Throughout the original Star Wars films, the Empire had always been portrayed as essentially fascist in character, from its soldiers being termed Stormtroopers, to its backstory of being a failed republic, and visual language referencing imagery from Triumph of the Will. It’s here however where we see the franchise truly exploring the full implications of this.
Right from the get-go, in episode one, One Year Later, the audience is told where this plotline is leading, with Imperial officers casually discussing their plans for Ghorman in what writer and showrunner Tony Gilroy has acknowledged is a direct reference to the 2001 film Conspiracy – a dramatization of the Wannsee conference, the infamous meeting at which the details of the Holocaust were formulated.
Episode eight, Who Are You, in which these plans are finally put into motion, is like nothing else in the franchise. Much of it feels reminiscent of moments like the Red Wedding, from Game of Thrones, with the tension gradually mounting as we watch hundreds of people walking into what we already know to be a carefully orchestrated trap. This entire sequence is brilliantly realised, from the scenes in which Imperial stooge Syril (Kyle Soller) realises the true extent of what he has helped to engineer, to the Empire deliberately firing on their own men, knowing full well what the effects will be. The Stormtroopers – so often the butt of jokes about their poor aim – have never been as intimidating as they are here, as we see them surrounding the crowds, cutting off all exits before opening fire. The different forms of guilt expressed by both Syril and his partner, the otherwise fiercely committed Dedra (Denise Gough), are wonderfully captured by both actors, each bringing a real nuance to their characters, as one almost walks away whilst the other doubles down.
Tony Gilroy has stated that his writing was inspired by revolutions throughout history, intending that the series should feel timeless rather than being attached to any specific current events. That being said, it is impossible to watch the scenes in which we see terrorism used as a pretext for genocide, or where Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) calls this out for what it is and decries “the death of truth,” and not recognise the clear allusions to events in Gaza, and to the current Trump presidency. In an age when virtually everything is dubbed as ‘woke’, usually for the most superficial of talking points, Andor stands out for actually attempting to provide meaningful political commentary, whilst still serving the wider story.
The final arc of the season serves to wrap up the show’s loose ends and tie into Rogue One, something it accomplishes seamlessly. The appearance of characters like K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) in such an otherwise grounded story might have been jarring, as is the case with some of the other non-human characters popping up throughout. For the most part however, his inclusion gels naturally with the rest of the storyline.
Meanwhile, the additional backstories given to original characters like Luthen (Stellan Skarsgard) and Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) work exceptionally well for resolving their arcs, with Dulau particularly impressing in her first major role out of Drama school. As with the very best prequels, such as Better Call Saul, the show is able to completely recontextualise much that came before, and to provide a real sense of everything coming full circle.
As established franchises increasingly seem to dominate modern television, Andor should be the gold standard going forwards on how to do this right. Instead of just repackaging what’s been given to us before, it uses its universe as a foundation on which to tell its own original story, one that can still appeal to those who are not themselves fans, as well as those who have grown up alongside Star Wars, and had been waiting for it to do the same.
The Verdict
Star Wars: Andor is bold, ambitious storytelling that feels a million miles from what the franchise has been most known for. Whilst this may be jarring for some long-time fans, the series is one that will stand out as a thoughtful and tense piece of science fiction in its own right, and which future productions can learn much from.
Both seasons of Andor are now available to watch in their entirety on Disney+.
Words by Daniel Goldstraw
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