Andor (Season 2)

If the first season of “Andor” was the birth of a rebel through Cassian Andor’s, reprised by Diego Luna, eventual awakening, the second season, released on Disney+ in April, reveals the birth of the rebellion. Sure, the rebellion was already in process. It needed to be in order for someone to choose to be amongst its ranks. However, there’s a difference between isolated moments of revolution with Luthen Rael, played by Stellan Skarsgard, being a puppet master and a full-fledged enterprise including the regiments and chain of command. The missions he gives Cassian, Vel (Faye Marsay), and Wilmon (Muhannad Ben Amor) on were just what was being inserted across the galaxy. The words of Karis Nemik, played by Alex Lawther, became a strategy inspiring others to seek freedom. Now, Tony Gilroy and company have put it all together.

Jared Mobarak said in his review, “The show probably would have gone five seasons if it had begun production around the time of Rogue One (the story upon whose back it serves as a prequel). Between the COVID shutdown, industry strikes, and a bursting streaming bubble, however, we should be grateful we even received two. Gilroy makes it work by devoting this latest run of twelve episodes into four equal chapters spanning a truncated period of real-ish-time events labeled by their year in relation to A New Hope: BBY 4 (Before the Battle of Yavin) through BBY 1.”

First come the effects of the previous season via a three-branched narrative showing Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) sending her daughter into marriage, Cass trying to survive the end of a mission to steal an Imperial spacecraft, and Bix (Adria Arjona) hoping to evade an Empire inspection in the fields where she, Wil, and Brasso (Joplin Sibtain) work as undocumented laborers. Next are the consequences of an expanding rebellion causing there to be too many things going at once for both Luthan and Dedra Meero, played by Denise Gough, their inevitable collision course coming into larger focus while Cass questions his want to keep pushing himself by sacrificing his life for the cause.

Mobarak said, “BBY 2 is the coup de grâce culminating in two of the best episodes of television this century courtesy of "Who Are You?" and "Welcome to the Rebellion". The former is named after a line channeling the "Mad Men" meme exchange between Don Draper and Michael Ginsberg with all the withering heat of "I don't think about you at all" as well as the revelation that, despite his many attempts at the contrary, Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) is nothing more than a cog in the machine. Its epic faux "first strike" turning into massacre (the parallels to Stephen Miller fabricating a reason to put federal law enforcement on the ground in Los Angeles right now are uncanny) leads to a powerful, galvanizing moment for the rebellion that can only be rivaled by Mon and Senator Organa's (now played by Benjamin Bratt) sacrifices within a tense exfiltration during the latter episode.”

Mobarak continued, “And the final block serves as the connective tissue to Rogue One—a beautifully orchestrated last hurrah for those who don't make it into that film and a rousing ramp up to the drama ahead for those who do. Yes, even K-2SO (Alan Tudyk). I'll admit to being worried that it didn't seem like there would be enough time to do it justice considering all that occurred during BBY 2, but the cast and crew get it done with elegant precision and high-octane suspense courtesy of both Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau) and Cass knowing what is at stake once they realize they might have finally compressed the information gap separating their efforts from those of Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn).”

Their ability to move so much story in so little time with these tightly inserted trios only works by giving audiences the respect they deserve as far as knowing we understand the connections without needing them spelled out (Mobarak said, “sorry, Netflix, not everyone wants "second screen" content with dialogue meant to keep us informed so we don't actually need to watch anything”). This shows how much they love these characters and they can handle the politics of both sides of a civil conflict that started with dictatorial tyranny (we also do seeing how much has happened in this county and beyond today). Mobarak said, “That they do so while also finding time to focus on smaller representations of that scenario (namely Kathryn Hunter's unforgettable, totalitarian mother) is our gain on an entertainment and educational level considering sympathizers must never be let off the hook.”

However, beyond the easy heroes and villains, “Andor” also gets to the core of a person like Syril – someone who might prove most interesting due to his thought about his place in the opposition. Because there’s a difference between him and ISB members like Debra and Partagaz, played by Anton Lesser. Mobarak noted, “He might be on the side of evil, but he exists there as an idealist earnestly pursuing a warped ideal fed to him since youth. They operate on ego and ambition, willingly trading their souls for a piece of the pie.” Syril operates on righteousness, thinking h is pursuit of justice is pure because he hasn’t seen that his justice is actually a way to strengthen his superiors’ injustice. It’s why Debra and Partagaz’s ends feel satisfying in their torture and Syril’s feels heartbreaking by contrast. Sadly, too many refuse to see the truth until it’s already too late.

This is not one of the best, or the best, spin-off of the “Star Wars” franchise, but it’s still one of the good ones. The second season ends off with a good segue into “Rouge One,” and it does feel very genuine and moving. It has a fire shown in the rebellion being ignited, so you can see this and enjoy it. Check it out if you have a Disney+. If you start off watching the prequel trilogy, then you can watch the two seasons of “Andor” before watching “Rouge One,” then start the original trilogy. See it for yourself and judge if you like it or not.

Tomorrow I will be looking at another Disney live-action remake that is still bad in “Disney Month 2025.”