TV Review: ‘Andor’ Season 2

‘Andor’ Season 2 receives 9 out of 10 stars.

Returning to Disney+ with the first three episodes of Season 2, ‘Star Wars’ series ‘Andor’ once more follows the struggle of the Rebel Alliance as it ramps up its conflict with the Galactic Empire as seen through the lens of rebel agent Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and an assortment of characters of both sides of the battle.

Season 2 has an interesting release pattern –– the 12 episodes are split across four batches of three, and there is a time jump between batches, covering the four years leading up to the events of ‘Rogue One,’ moving from 4 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin, as seen in ‘Star Wars’) to the immediate events of the movie.

Related Article: Diego Luna Talks Reprising ‘Rogue One’ Character in Disney+’s ‘Andor’

Will ‘Andor’ Season 2 Spark Your Interest?

With the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the first season of ‘Andor,’ the pressure on Season 2 is naturally huge, the expectation built further by the delay between seasons (the first run of episodes was all the way back in 2022).

But by any real metric, the new season handily maintains the quality level of the first, bringing real stakes, incredibly layered shades of gray and genuine humanity to the galaxy far, far away.

Still a much more mature take on the world of ‘Star Wars’ (which is to take nothing away from the entertainment value of shows such as ‘The Mandalorian’), ‘Andor’ represents top quality television.

Script and Direction

Tony Gilroy leads a writing team that also includes Beau Willimon and Dan Gilroy, and the assembled staff has crafted a thrilling, politically astute, emotional and superb second season.

While it has to handle various time jumps to accommodate the sheer breadth of its storytelling, the series does so with aplomb, managing to say a lot about the personal cost of rebellion and the banal efficiency of pure evil.

This is very far from a basic battle of good vs. bad, and if the action quotient is lower than other shows, when it does feature set pieces, they’re of similar quality.

On the directorial front, Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz and Alonso Ruizpalacios bring the same high quality in terms of scope, scale and style to the new episodes. Largely eschewing shooting on a volume stage and bringing many locations to life practically, ‘Andor’s visuals are entirely supportive of its high quality scripts.

Confidently recreating looks and locations we all know and love from the original ‘Star Wars’ while also introducing us to more new worlds, the lived-in feel of the galaxy is entirely present and correct.

Cast and Performances

Diego Luna is once more the heart and soul of the show, whether he’s on a mission, fighting for his life or spending time with Adria Arjona’s Bix Caleen, figuring out how to make a relationship work with such pressure upon them both.

Arjona is similarly great, handed an impressive PTSD storyline as Bix, still recovering from her treatment at the hands of Imperial torturers, reckons with her place in the resistance.

Also excellent? Stellan Skarsgård, who can turn any speech into a must-watch moment and remains superb as the morally slippery Luthen Rael. And Genevieve O’Reilly, while largely siloed in her own storyline, walks the line of political glad-handing and rebellious plotting without missing a beat.

And we’d be remiss if we didn’t praise the contributions of Alan Tudyk, who once more brings the world’s snarkiest droid to life with a combination of performance capture and the most endlessly frustrated attitude this side of ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide’s Marvin the Paranoid Android.

His buddy comedy chemistry with Luna is as great as ever, and he’s got a great line in putdowns.

Also? Ben Mendelsohn sweeps in and steal scenes as Orson Krennic, the hissable, cape-happy villain of ‘Rogue One,’ here an even more petty bureaucrat dedicated to getting the Death Star finished.

Final Thoughts

Some sequels feel unearned, but ‘Andor’s new run absolutely matches the sterling quality of the first and, even, in a few places, surpassing it. There might not be anything quite as memorable as the prison storyline from the original season, but it’s all still truly impressive.

Our only other gripe? Not enough of sarcastic reprogrammed Imperial Droid K-2SO, but that’s just a personal bugbear.

What’s the plot of ‘Andor’ Season 2?

The second season takes place as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance.

Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.

‘Andor’ sets the clock back five years from the events of 2016’s ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ to tell the story of the film’s hero and his transformation from disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny.

Who stars in ‘Andor’ Season 2?

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