Andor: Season 2 Review

The second season of the Star Wars spinoff Andor is a richly complex and compelling affair, one that requires a lot of its audience, but rewards their investment.

The hardest problem it faces is knowing how it all plays out in its conclusion, given that it builds to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - though that said, the unpredictable nature of how some of it plays out makes for some truly strong viewing.

Though a lot of what Andor does feels like it inhabits a world outside of Star Wars - and the scope from the beginning through to its end is massive. Picking up threads from the end of season one, the story finds Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) separated from his friends and dallying with the idea of becoming a larger part of the Rebellion. But it's not until the final third of the season that this comes to fruition in a deeply upsetting manner.

Transgressing through themes of betrayal, trust, insurrection, a lack of faith in authority and a rise of fascism and evil of the Empire (with some prescient parallels in today's America), it's a heady mix which makes for intelligent storytelling.

Yet creator Tony Gilroy's fashioned something that's deeply resonant in parts, due to strong storytelling and some real edge of the seat set pieces. Moments that thrill throughout are double-edged, coming as they do with either a sense of tragedy or the highs of a success that's barely earned - or will barely last.

Visually, the series is just stunning. Different worlds feel lived in in different ways, but some of them stand alone for their sleek and sparse architecture. Certainly, in the final strait of the series, the emotionally charged threads pay off in unexpected and hard ways that are part of the investment in the season's 12 episodes.

What's most obvious about Andor Season 2 is the ambition of scope, something which Gilroy has paid off wonderfully. Yet it's the performances of Luna, Adria Arjona, Genevieve O'Reilly, Stellan Skarsgard and Denise Gough that will pull you deeply in - each of them delivers a masterclass in subtlety, frustration, ecstasy and their own arc.

There's plenty of discussion around what price for being part of a rebellion, but wisely, Andor Season 2 also looks at the human cost of being part of the other side as well. But the human cost throughout is utterly tragic, a reminder of the sacrifices made by those for causes - and the consequences and ripples of their doing so.

Andor Season 2 may be one of the best Star Wars entrants yet - a deeply mature piece of movie-level storytelling that will stand the test of time of the Lucasfilm ambitions in the 21st century. You may know how it plays out and what it leads to, but the journey there is one hell of a ride more than worth taking.

Andor Season 2 premieres on Disney+ on Tuesday, April 22 with three episodes.
12 episodes of 12 episodes of season two were viewed for the purpose of this review.