Although the story of Andor, as good as it is, has been told multiple times, I think it bears repetition because of how mind-blowing it actually is. Rogue One was undoubtedly fantastic, and appreciation for the work done by Gareth Edwards and his team has only grown with each passing year. But I don’t think you’d look at a cast that has Felicity Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, and Forest Whitaker in it and decide to make an entire show around Diego Luna’s character, especially since they all died at the end of that film. On top of that, when the show was about to be released, excitement for anything new from the franchise was at an all-time low due to the laughably bad The Mandalorian Season 2, The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, as soon as we set foot into the incredibly detailed and complex world created by Tony Gilroy and his team, we knew we were in for a ride, and what a ride it was! Sadly, since we can’t have too much of a good thing, the series has come to a premature end. Still, it’s the best that Disney-Star Wars has to offer.
Tony Gilroy’s Andor Season 2, written by Tony and Dan Gilroy, Beau Willimon, and Tom Bissell, with the episodes being directed by Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz, and Alonso Ruizpalacios, is largely centered around Ghorman. The planet is widely known for producing high-quality textiles and an incident where Grand Moff Tarkin landed his ship on a bunch of innocent people because they refused to let him set foot on their world. Now, Orson Krennic has set his sights on Ghorman to mine for minerals that’ll be used in the Death Star, and he has tasked Dedra Meero with breaking whatever little act of resistance the Ghors are planning to display. Meanwhile, Luthen Rael thinks that making the wealthy Ghors a part of the Rebel Alliance will be beneficial. Hence, their fight against the might of the Galactic Empire needs to be supported, which is where Cassian Andor comes in, as he has to assess whether the Ghors really stand a fighting chance. However, his need to protect the love of his life, Bix Caleen, complicates things a lot. In addition to that, the hurdles faced by Syril Karn, Mon Mothma, Cinta Kaz, Vel Sartha, Kleya Marki, and Wilmon in their personal and professional lives are what form the crux of the story.
Disclaimer: This review of Andor Season 2 is based on all 12 episodes of the show that were provided to the press by JioHotstar.
I know that people will be watching this show over the course of 4 weeks, in batches of 3 episodes, but taking it all at once is certainly overwhelming, in a good way though. So, I don’t exactly know what to talk about first out of the insanely long list of praises that I want to heap on Andor Season 2. Well, let’s start with the dialogue writing: it’s borderline hypnotic, which is sort of surprising. I mean, the franchise has never been synonymous with verbose exchanges between characters, right? You have memorable lines. You have iconic catchphrases. Other than that, almost every other piece of dialogue is written in a way that’s easy enough for toddlers to follow while also having some lore-specific jargon for fans to point and shout at. But the Gilroys make it seem like you are listening to characters who have walked out of the sets of The West Wing, House of Cards, All the President’s Men, Network, Serpico, The Conversation, or any great political thriller and into that galaxy far, far away. It’d be wrong to just say that they “sound like real people”; it’s still theatrical and operatic, but the rhythm and flow of the dialogue compel you to pay attention. And once you’re done watching an episode, you feel that you’ve just watched something that takes itself and the audience’s IQ seriously.
The structure of Andor Season 2 is wildly different from that of Season 1. While the first season was clearly divided into 2 parts, with the first part being a heist thriller and the second being a jailbreak thriller, the second season, for the most part, plays out like a paranoid thriller with occasional bursts of gut-wrenching violence. So, each week has a three-episode arc that comes together to form the bigger picture. Now, after the colossal failure of Arcane Season 2, which used a similar storytelling method to finish its two-season run, I was skeptical about this show going down a similar path. But, to my surprise, none of it felt rushed, half-baked, or dissatisfying. The cast and crew have already explained why they needed to reduce their original 5-season plan down to 2 seasons, but the way in which they organically incorporate it into the narrative is perfect. I mean, it totally makes sense that after the events of Season 1, the Empire has become more aggressive, thereby robbing the Rebels of the “luxury” of planning their next move, which we are repeatedly reminded of through the dialogue. The sense of urgency, desperation, and chaos is so palpable. And the accuracy with which the show depicts how soul-crushing it is to fight fascists is frighteningly real.
It’s impossible to watch Andor Season 2 in a vacuum when it’s clearly evoking moments from real-life freedom movements of the past and those that are happening right now as you read this sentence. It’s wild that George Lucas made Star Wars as a reaction to the Vietnam War (specifically the USA’s involvement in it), and here we are, all these years later, still trying to find metaphors, meaning, and hope in Star Wars while people in real life are welcoming dictators with open arms and celebrating genocides (yes, plural). Self-censorship, spinelessness, surveillance, subservience, boot-licking, discrimination, and hate—basically everything that fascists want the general populace to practice so that they can stay in power—have become commonplace. So, saying that this show is somehow going to ignite the fire of rebellion in them and get them to resist any form of authoritarianism is pointless. But if there’s even a sliver of a chance that some people do get inspired to stand up to fascism in the smallest of ways after watching this show, well, I’ll take that as a win. Also, if you are aware of how Disney’s funds are used to exacerbate these troubling times, you’ll probably end up asking the people working for that company to take notes from the series.
Andor Season 2 looks amazing. The level of confidence displayed by the directors in each episode is stellar. The handling of the tone, the action sequences, and the moments of sweaty tension—it’s all splendid. Every frame looks masterful. The art direction, production design, costume design, set design, VFX, CGI, SFX, hair and make-up, and stunt work are flawless. The sound design and the score are impeccable. Every moment in this show made me want to hit the rewind button in order to appreciate it better. The performances from the entire cast are so good that it hurts that these characters are limited to just these 2 seasons. Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Kyle Soller, Stellan Skarsgard, Denise Gough, Adria Arjona, Varada Sethu, Faye Marsay, Jacob James Beswick, Elizabeth Dulau, Robert Emms, Muhanna Ben Amor, Ben Mendelsohn, Benjamin Bratt (an interesting recast, by the way), and everyone else who appears on the screen, even for a few seconds, have given career-best performances. That said, the one who takes the cake, in my opinion, is Genevieve O’Reilly. I mean, it’s crazy that this show has managed to make Mon Mothma, of all characters, feel so three-dimensional and relatable. And then you have Genevieve pouring her heart and soul into this role; that’s simply brilliant. A round of applause for the casting directors and the cast. They deserve all the accolades that are hopefully coming their way.
Even though I understand why Andor has to end like this, I am sad to see it go. I thought that I’d get to spend more time with these heroes and villains and cherish the fact that Tony Gilroy and his incredibly talented team somehow managed to pick a minor character from Rogue One and turn him into one of the most memorable and complex people in the franchise. But unfortunately, life doesn’t exactly work like that. All I can do is be thankful that I got to watch 2 seasons of the best content that Disney-Star Wars has to offer and hope that the cast and crew continue to make even better movies and shows in the future. I don’t really care about the general consensus on The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew because, after Andor, those are two of my favorite shows set in this universe. And with all the creative overhauls, smear campaigns against creators, and whatnot that are going on, I have a feeling that things are not going to get better for Star Wars than this. If it does, I’ll be incredibly surprised. Anyway, those are just my thoughts on Andor Season 2. Please, feel free to let me know your thoughts on the same in the comments section below.
