Sequels and prequels are individually difficult. The former have to carry on story threads and push characters into new places in satisfying ways, the latter have to thread the needle of being their own entity while directly leading into the events that viewers have already witnessed.  Andor season two then faces the difficulty of being both a sequel to its incredible first season and a prequel to the much-loved Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. 

It’s no mean feat, and while there is a lot to say about this season of television and this review will be as spoiler-free as possible, here is the main thing you need to know: if you liked season one, you are going to like season two.  Season two is very much the same show as season one, with some structural differences, but the same compelling characters, excellent production value, and overt political allegory to our current world.  

The main difference between season one and season two is that while season one spread several stories that took place over the course of a single year, 5 BBY (Before Battle of Yavin), season two tells four distinct stories, each set in the remaining years before the Battle of Yavin.  Each of these stories takes place over three episodes, and each of these banks of three episodes will be airing together.  Each of them could have been a film; they certainly had the production budget and people who care about the material both in front of and behind the camera, but the episodic structure they stick to means that the series goes to far greater depths than films likely could. 

Much like the first season told a variety of stories but always came back to Ferrix and the Empire’s increasing presence there, season two introduces a new planet called Ghorman.  Ghorman is a fashion planet, renowned for its textiles, and they have something the Empire wants. What that is doesn’t really matter, as the series progresses it once again shows the insidiousness of the imperial machine.  Characters return to Ghorman several times and in each subsequent year imperial presence and oppression is more overt. What makes this more interesting than many Star Wars past is that Ghorman is a rich planet.  It isn’t a backwater or a desert or an industrial facility, it’s a place of wealth and luxury.  The residents are well dressed and good-looking, and their native tongue sounds like a derivation of French.

All of this is of course intentional, with the not-French Ghor people forming a resistance against their not-Nazi Imperial invaders.  It’s cleverly handled and as over as Star Wars can get in drawing a real-world parallel. It’s also through the Ghor that we see how correct the manifesto written by Nemik in season one really was.  Tyranny requires constant effort and that effort is brought to bear on these people. To say much more would spoil too much, know that the politics of this series –and of Star Wars in general– have perhaps never been more relevant. 

The returning characters are just as compelling as we remember as well, with each of them passing through their own crucibles as we get closer to the end of the series, and as the rebellion begins to coalesce from being a number of loosely affiliated groups into the full-blown army we see in Rogue One and the original trilogy. 

Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) and Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) have to contend with their placement in the organisation changing, as does Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly).  While Luthen is as compelling as ever and Kleya has more to do this season, it’s Mon Mothma’s story that becomes one of the more interesting and easy to invest in.  Her position changes the most drastically, starting the season out as the wealthy senator fighting the system from the inside and ending as the rebellion leader we all remember.  Despite her wealth and status, she is perhaps the character more trapped by her circumstances; O’Reilly steals almost every scene she is in.  There is one wordless sequence in particular in which she is emotionally devastating as she dances at a party while other events playing out are intercut.  It’s masterful filmmaking.  

On a similar note, Faye Marsay returns as Vel, and she gets to deliver a devastating monologue at one point in the series that hammers home some of the series themes.  Adria Arjona’s Box has to deal with the fallout of having been tortured last season, and her performance is especially haunting as her character goes through an arc that is another direct parallel to the real world that I won’t spoil here.  Forest Whitaker is also back as Saw Gerrera, albeit in a limited capacity, and we get to see his transition into the cynical fanatic that he is in Rogue One. 

Dedra (Denise Gough) and Syril’s (Kyle Soller) relationship has progressed since he saved her at the end of season one, in both health and decidedly unhealthy ways.  Syril remains the Imperial fanboy, looking to be a part of the system and bring order but a little too hapless to do it, while Dedra’s star continues to rise at the ISB.  Through them, the series explores codependency and obsession, and the way it works them into each of the stories is both clever and organic.  Anton Lesser also returns as Partagaz, head of the ISB, and he delivers many of the best villain lines in the series.

The big additions to the cast for season two are, of course, Ben Mendelsohn and Alan Tudyk reprising their roles as Krennic and K-2SO.  Their integration into the series is very smart, in particular Mendelsohn, who could be a major distraction but instead mostly lives in the background and shows up to add threat to scenes that need a little push.  This show remains about the people on the ground in this conflict, and the series knows that he would never dirty his hands himself.

The star of the series is, of course, Diego Luna as Cassian Andor.  His arc is fascinating in season two.  Where season one saw his radicalization against the Empire and ending with him signing on as a full-time rebel, season two shows his transition into the cynical spy he is at the start of Rogue One.  Some have criticized Rogue One by pointing out that his character turns from cynic back believer rather quickly; Andor actually answers this criticism by showing his transition and making it believable that he would make that turn. To be clear, Andor season two actually makes Rogue One better because of the added character context.  Luna himself handles this transition with aplomb as well, and you can watch as his line deliveries and even body language change from story to story throughout the season.  

If there’s a major criticism to be made about Andor season two, it’s that it is, of course, trapped by being a prequel.  The characters all need to be in certain places at certain times for that to work, and you can see them pushing those pieces into place.  This is a minor quibble though, as the journey to get to this point is powerful, eloquent, and once again: shockingly relevant.  

Andor represents Star Wars at its very best. A story about the fight against tyranny, but a version of that that is starkly relevant to today’s political landscape. Sure, the bad guys are Space Nazi’s, but they attain power in ways that we are seeing play out today.  We see manipulation of the people to their own ends, we see how expendable everyday people are to them, and what lengths they’ll go to in order to get what they want.  It also shows what fighting against that kind of oppression means, and what it costs, on both sides. 

To put it another way, Andor is among the very best of Star Wars because it may well be the best that Star Wars has ever been.  The characters are compelling, the production value is excellent, and the story is an overtly political one that can just as easily be applied to our present as our history. This is what Star Wars should be, and it’s what makes Andor season two one of the best series of the year so far. 

Andor Season Two premieres with episodes 1 to 3 on April 22nd. Episodes 4 to 6 will air on April 29th, episodes 7 to 9 on May 6th, and episodes 10 to 12 on May 13th. We recommend watching each group of three together.

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