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This is a spoiler-free assessment of all 12 episodes of Andor season 2.
There’s no query that Andor season 2 is one in all my most anticipated exhibits of 2025. Ever since Disney introduced the discharge date for Andor‘s second and last season final November, I’ve been counting down the times till the critically acclaimed present’s return.
In the 2 and a half years for the reason that Star Wars TV sequence’ first season ended, my pleasure ranges have solely grown. That may’ve offered an issue if, like many a crashed starship within the well-known galaxy far, distant it inhabits, the political spy thriller did not stick the touchdown with its second and last installment.
Join me in respiration a sigh of reduction, then, that it does. Andor season 2 is a near-masterpiece that, a few faults apart, cements the present’s place as the very best piece of Star Wars live-action media for the reason that authentic film trilogy.
Rebel leaders, standing by
Initially choosing up occasions after its predecessor’s finale, Andor season 2 takes a special storytelling strategy to the Disney+ sequence’ first outing.
Where season 1 adopted its ensemble solid throughout a single yr, this season’s 12-episode run is split into 4 trilogy-style occasions. Each three-episode block depicts a selected occasion inside the 4 years main into Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – the 2016 movie that connects Andor to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Andor season 2 is… the very best piece of Star Wars live-action media for the reason that authentic film trilogy
Previously described as “very horny” time jumps by showrunner Tony Gilroy, episodes 1 to three cowl three days, 4 years earlier than Rogue One occurs. Then, chapters 4 to six depict a week-long occasion three years out from the aforementioned film. Next, entries 7 to 9 deal with a 14-day interval two years earlier than the Gareth Edwards-directed flick. Finally, episodes 10 to 12 happen within the 5 days main as much as Rogue One.
With each seasons reportedly costing an eye-watering $645 million, it is clear Disney, which has tightened the purse strings throughout Bob Iger’s second stint as CEO, wished to wrap up this expensively-assembled program.
That’s unhealthy information for followers who liked Andor‘s first season and craved extra of its thrilling, character-driven storytelling. It additionally offered a inventive conundrum for Gilroy and firm to beat – cram 4 seasons’ price of character evolution and plot development right into a dozen episodes.
Some teething issues in season 2’s first act however, it is a storytelling strategy that, hesitant although I used to be over how properly it’d work, I really warmed to. Sure, season 2 is fast-paced at occasions (I’ll get into this extra later as a part of my wider criticism of this season), however the fantastic thing about its four-year cycle is its potential to indicate the ever-evolving nature of the present’s key relationships at annual intervals.
Be it friendships, romances, uneasy alliances, or one other kind of interpersonal dynamic, season 2’s multi-year plot strategy – one largely devoid of filler materials – highlights the rollercoaster journey that every one goes on.
Sure, character dynamics can change inside TV present seasons whose occasions play out over weeks and months relatively than years. It’s a course of that labored wonders for Andor‘s first season, however armed with its multi-year format, the sequence’ sophomore outing not solely demonstrates how its tentpole moments affect these relationships but in addition the in-flux nature of its core dynamics in all of their soul-stirring, melodramatic, and tear-jerking glory.
The great thing about this season’s four-year cycle is the way it showcases the ever-evolving nature of the present’s key relationships
Predictably, loads of the shifting dynamics revolve round Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). As the present’s titular character, season 2 takes a purposeful strategy to analyzing the ebb and movement of his private associations.
Indeed, there’s underlying pressure, occasional levity, and soul-piercing drama to the bonds he shares with these he is closest to and works for, in addition to clear affection and/or respect amid the oft-times messiness of those dynamics. Understandably, that features ones he has actual stakes in, with Bix (Adria Arjona), Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), Wilmon (Muhanned Bhair), and, as confirmed by an look in Andor season 2’s first trailer, his eventual android bestie Okay-2SO.
That stated, whereas the sequence bears his title, season 2 is as a lot, if no more so, an ensemble piece than its predecessor was. (By the way in which, it is price watching the season 1 finale once more, or streaming final season’s 14-minute recap, to refamiliarize your self with the sheer variety of characters within the present. My head was spinning all through season 2’s opening salvo as I attempted to recollect who everybody was, what they have been doing, and the place they have been!)
Fascinated although I used to be by Cassian’s relationships with a few of Andor season 2’s solid, I discovered myself extra hooked by the politically dicey dynamics involving Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), who’s arguably this season’s stand-out. She’s definitely probably the most fascinating character in season 2’s first act and, spoilers however, episode 9 totally cements O’Reilly’s place as one of many best actors to grace the Star Wars universe.
The engrossingly uncomfortable dynamic between Galactic Empire officers Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) that slithers with reptilian delight, plus the compelling growth of Luthen’s fraught surrogate-style relationship with Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau), are equally worthy of reward. I by no means uninterested in seeing these specific dynamics play out and, given one other season or three, I’m positive they might’ve been much more intoxicating to look at.
Heirs to the Empire
Season 2 efficiently navigates its growth of, and name backs to, the broader Star Wars galaxy, too.
There is, regardless of what Gilroy beforehand urged, some character and plot-based winks to the digital camera, however they are not as egregious as references in different Star Wars initiatives.
In reality, whether or not it is the return of Rogue One‘s principal villain Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), who steals scenes together with his terrifying unpredictability, or refined nods to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One itself, they’re simply forgivable inclusions that truly enhanced my viewing expertise.
The addition of latest worlds additionally expands on the grandeur of Lucasfilm’s huge galaxy, which the Galactic Empire dominates throughout this time. The live-action debut of 1 planet is very key because it permits for the exploration of an emotionally devastating occasion that must also clear up fan confusion over stated incident’s Star Wars canonicity.
I will not tease a lot else about it for these with little data of wider Star Wars lore. Believe me once I say, although, that season 2 episode 8, which showcases this occasion in such soul-crushing vogue, is perhaps the very best – if that is the proper phrase to make use of – chapter for the reason that season 1 finale. If nothing else, it definitely rivals final season’s twelfth episode for sheer emotional affect, and I’m not afraid to confess that I shed a tear or two as its finish credit rolled.
Season 2 episode 8… rivals final season’s twelfth episode for sheer emotional affect
If there was an issue with among the best Disney+ exhibits’ last season – and this may barely contradict what I wrote earlier – it is the condensed and at occasions rushed really feel of a few of its 4 acts.
I respect it has been a expensive endeavor for Disney. I additionally perceive that showrunner Tony Gilroy had the unenviable activity of compressing 4 seasons’ price of content material into the present’s final installment. So, the truth that he achieved this seemingly unimaginable activity must be applauded.
Still, the sheer variety of narrative hoops that season 2 has to leap by means of, the quick-paced nature of some three-episode occasions, and the occasional sidelining of vital supporting characters make this season really feel a tad scattershot in its storytelling strategy.
Act 1, as an example, feels largely untethered and tonally completely different from its fellow volumes. The extreme cuts between scenes are sometimes jarring, whereas the shortage of narrative and character-based pay-off delivers an abrupt finish to season 2’s opening three-part chapter. It comes throughout as a standalone trilogy that feels misplaced amongst its brethren.
It’s not the one act marred by niggling points. Act 4 is extra carefully related to acts 2 and three than act 1 is, and performs the function of direct hyperlink to Rogue One. However, it is a little bit on the quick facet, and I’ll admit I used to be anticipating a bit extra suspense or shock worth in a three-parter the place the Rebel Alliance lastly learns concerning the Death Star.
Don’t get me flawed, some moments are genuinely thrilling, dramatic, action-packed, and heart-wrenchingly unhappy, and I definitely wasn’t unhappy with how season 2 ends. Indeed, its last scene will make you view Rogue One in a complete completely different mild. I simply assume that, with a couple of additional minutes right here and there, act 4 would’ve been even higher than it was.
My verdict
Watch On
Andor season 2 is a devastating and epic tour de power – one stuffed of potent political drama, weighty moral dilemmas, and fascinating character introspection – that rebels towards the notion that Star Wars is a lifeless franchise strolling.
In my view, nothing comes as near matching the awe, shock worth, and status nature of the unique movies – which turned Lucasfilm’s iconic sci-fi universe into the powerhouse franchise it’s at present – as this epic and expertly crafted present.
Would or not it’s even higher as a three-season occasion (a Star Wars trilogy, you say?) comprising eight episodes apiece to completely discover its characters, their dynamics, the affect of their choices, and assist issues really feel much less rushed? Yes, however that is the hand that Gilroy and firm have been dealt, and there isn’t any debate that they’ve pulled off an almighty activity in making one in all 2025’s new Star Wars exhibits as breathtakingly good as it’s.
In my Andor season 1 assessment, I labeled it “a blood-pumping spy thriller that is perhaps the very best Star Wars exhibits but”. Now, I’d change “is perhaps” with “is”. If Disney learns something from Andor, it is that there is a whole galaxy’s price of extra mature, inventive, and authentic tales that need to be explored.
The query now could be: will the House of Mouse be courageous sufficient to pursue comparable concepts? If it does they usually’re pretty much as good, if not higher, than Andor, I’ll be a Star Wars devotee for a very long time but.
Andor season 2 launches with a three-episode premiere on Tuesday, April 22 (US) and Wednesday, April 23 (UK and Australia). Three new episodes arrive every week till the present’s finale in mid-May.
