‘Andor’ Season 2 Review: A Thrilling Conclusion to the Prestige Series of the ‘Star Wars’ Television Canon [A]

“We’re in a war. Not everyone knows it yet but it’s happening,” Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) tells Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) in the new season of Andor, which finds the pair of rebels living as both fugitives and refugees after season ending violence on their home world of Ferrix.

The line itself, part of a casual conversation between the two about their place in the growing rebel alliance, is one of many nods the Star Wars TV series gives to our own precarious political climate, and reminds us that this galaxy — despite being far, far away — has always hit very close to home.

Jumping back into the story a year later, we find Cassian running spy missions for Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), attempting to gather intelligence on the empire and its spreading fascism. While he is away, Bix and fellow Ferrix survivors Wilmon (Muhannad Ben Amor), Brasso (Joplin Sibtain) and B2EMO (Dave Chapman) have taken refuge as farm workers on the agricultural planet of Mina-Rau. The serenity they find there has helped them start to rebuild their lives, although there are constant reminders that there is nowhere to hide from the reach of the empire. Watching the plight of our own immigrants in recent months only heightens the fear we feel for Bix, Wil, and Brasso when imperial troops show up for surprise inspections, demanding papers and making certain threats under the guise of protection.

Elsewhere in the galaxy, Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) is paying the personal price of her ill-advised deal to fund the rebellion by marrying her 15-year-old daughter Leida off to the son of Davo Sculdun (Richard Dillane). As the wedding festivities demand her attention, so do her senate duties as she learns about a growing threat on the textile planet of Ghorman. For a character who has existed in many iterations of the sprawling Star Wars universe, seeing Mothma in her home world of Chandrila deepens our connection to her and makes even more clear how much she has to lose if her leadership in the rebellion comes to light. She stands to sacrifice so much in the fight for freedom, and this is what makes her such a strong leader. She never asks more of anyone than she is willing to give of herself.

We also see what is happening with the empire, and our eyes into that side of the story continue to belong to Dedra Meero (the spectacular Denise Gough) and Syril Karn (an even more compelling Kyle Soller). The two have forged a surprising relationship, even as her reputation in the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) suffered a hit following the disastrous Ferrix plan. When they host dinner for Syril’s overbearing mother Eedy (the always entertaining Kathryn Hunter), they are perfectly matched. Dedra stands up for Syril in ways no one, especially his mother, has ever done. It is a credit to the show’s great writing and to strong performances from Gough and Soller that we can find ourselves rooting for these two even though they are undoubtedly fighting for the wrong side. Our hope for them can only extend so far, though, as they are still very loyal to their missions of tracking down Cassian and Luthen.

Originally envisioned as a five-season prequel series to the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Andor debuted in 2022 to massive and somewhat surprising critical and audience acclaim. But, being such an expensive and time-consuming project, the four remaining seasons were whittled down to one, making the second season also the last. And what a spectacular finale it is.

Creator Tony Gilroy uses his time wisely and well. Releasing three episodes per week over the course of four weeks makes Andor’s second season feel like the sort of event television we rarely get to see anymore. Each collection of new episodes covers a few days in the next year as we move closer to Rogue One. It makes for creative, concise, and urgent storytelling. Though there isn’t time to dwell on questions raised in season one (like “who is Uncle Harlow?”), what we get instead is a collection of moments, experiences, and stories that show us how any person, no matter their status or stature, can become a hero. Everyone has a part to play in the larger history. 

And everyone has the chance to become the villain in someone’s story, too. One of the many things that makes Andor one of the best series in recent memory is its willingness to show the complicated nature of people. Syril and Dedra, two deeply loyal members of the regime, experience degrees of disillusionment. Syril gets promoted to an outpost on Ghorman, but his proximity to the people there forces him to see the reality that the empire is exploiting the planet for something much more sinister than its magnificent silk. Back home on Coruscant, Dedra also sees cracks in the organization she has devoted her life to. Even when faced with the truth, neither is the type to jump in and join the rebellion. They have choices to make and will face consequences no matter what they do.The beauty of the writing is that it doesn’t shy away from letting characters be messy, difficult, and conflicted.

A lot of modern television reflects our current, challenging political complications, the ugliness of hate and bigotry and the way the wealthy and powerful weaponize those things for their own economic advantage.  But perhaps no other series this year confronts our real world as boldly or as accurately as Andor. Reprising his villainous Rogue One role, Ben Mendelsohn joins the show as Orson Krennic, the Director of the Imperial Military Department overseeing the construction of the Death Star. Krennic is the perfect embodiment of the horrors we are seeing play out on our news feeds daily. He fabricates conflict, riles his people up against an imagined threat, and then uses their hate and fear to get what he wants. 

The parallels to our time are clear and not accidental. Mothma fights on behalf of the Ghormans despite dwindling support. “If we do not stand together we will be crushed,” she says while her senate colleagues refuse to vote against the emperor for fear of what he will do to them. Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera has his own opinion of how to fight against the empire, but his extreme views make him an outsider. Other pockets of rebel forces have their own tactics and the disconnect between the different groups make it impossible to find a unified way forward.

At the start of all of this, Cassian Andor was just a guy trying to make it in the world and would eventually go on to become one of the bravest heroes in the war against evil. Along the way, he collects allies and friends and without ever setting out to be an example, he becomes one anyway. As good as Diego Luna was in the first season, he is even better this time around. His hero’s journey is beautiful to watch, and heartbreaking because we know where it will end. And yet, there is still so much hope and optimism in watching him forge ahead. 

In addition to Luna, Arjona, and the other great performances this season, the production value is also even better the second time around. We are introduced to new locales, some through advancement of the story into new spaces such as a rebel base in Yavin, Mothma’s sprawling home in Chandrila, the endless farms of Mina-Rau, and the prosperous cities of Ghorman. Because of the passage of time, we also experience some fascinating details like the slow decay of a safehouse in Coruscant, revisited over the years by different haven-seekers. Luke Hull’s production design is magnificent and continues to make every corner of the galaxy look lived-in and real. This is further enhanced by filming in real locations including the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain, which deepen the sense of culture, architecture and history in the galaxy’s capital of Coruscant. Rather than relying on green screen and CGI, the production visited two dozen locations in addition to the more than 140 practical sets built on the stages at Pinewood Studios.

The costume design is likewise bigger, richer, and more expansive. Costume designer Michael Wilkinson was responsible for more than 700 costumes to clothe characters across a wide range of time and place. The wedding fashions and gowns alone are exquisite, though the senator/mother of the bride is inarguably the best dressed with an endless and enviable wardrobe. When Mothma offers her daughter a way out of the impending marriage, one can imagine the teenager being willing to go through with it for no other reason than the gold detailing in her stunning white gown. It is not just the fancy clothes of the wealthy and well connected that are eye-catching. The shifting trends in clothes and hairstyles assist in marking the passage of time and offer subtle insights into some characters and their priorities.

Andor is the very definition of prestige television. With the first season, it set a new standard of what a Star Wars series — and any series — could be. With the second, it continues to find new ways to stretch and creatively explore what prequel storytelling can do. It is a riveting and perfect arc from the beginning of Cassian’s story in season one to the end of it in Rogue One. Gilroy, Luna, and their team have crafted a remarkably cinematic television experience.

Grade: A

The 12-episode second and final season of Andor debuts on Disney+ on April 22 with episodes 1-3, and three new episodes every Tuesday until the May 13 finale.

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Karen Peterson

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