Andor Season 2 Review: Star Wars' Best, Boldest Experiment Ends With A Bang

I'm not exactly stepping out on a ledge when I say that "Star Wars" finds itself at something of an intergalactic crossroads these days. There hasn't been a single film released on the big screen since the Before Times of 2019 with the disastrous "The Rise of Skywalker," a massive enough dud to scare Lucasfilm off from any further theatrical plans indefinitely. Meanwhile, the otherwise reliable confines of Disney+ streaming endured a bumpy stretch between the forgettable "The Book of Boba Fett," the obligatory "Obi-Wan Kenobi," the abruptly-canceled "The Acolyte," and even the underwhelming third season of "The Mandalorian." And just in case those blaring klaxon alerts were all too subtle, I'm currently writing these words after this year's Star Wars Celebration event in Japan tripled down on the safe shores of new efforts from "Deadpool & Wolverine" director Shawn Levy and "Star Wars" TV director Dave Filoni — hardly needle-movers in any sense of the word.

It'd be tempting to dismiss the entirety of the post-"The Last Jedi" franchise as one utterly terrified of risks, perpetually frozen in the carbonite of fan-servicing nostalgia, overrun by creative leads content to simply smash action figures together in an endless attempt to recreate their childhoods ... that is, if it weren't for the existence of "Andor." Here, at least, remains one production still fanning the dying flames of George Lucas' original, trailblazing ethos. Brazen, unrepentantly political, and refreshingly grown-up, the first season frequently took on the identity of its own title character while providing a much-needed shock to the system. And, against all odds, it managed to go even further. Creator Tony Gilroy and his team grabbed the entire Disney operation by its shoulders, shook it to its core, and made "Star Wars" feel alive again.

Out of that long shadow emerges the second and final season of "Andor," which lives up to and blows away the Skywalker-high expectations it set for itself. These 12 episodes (all of which were screened for critics in an early show of confidence) aren't merely a fun expansion of "Rogue One" lore or an excuse to fill up the backchannels of Wookieepedia. They're good television period, a vital journey worth telling to jaw-dropping completion, and a prime example of what happens when talented storytellers are given the time and space to follow their creative instincts wherever they take them. Like "The Empire Strikes Back" before it, this series takes the preconceptions audiences have about mainstream art and actually dares to challenge them. Above all else, "Andor" season 2 is "Star Wars" at it best, boldest, and most experimental — and it's unlike anything we've ever seen from this galaxy far, far away.

"Andor" defies expectations as early as the season 2 premiere — and even before it, in fact. The creative team famously scrapped their original plans for a five-season narrative and instead condensed years of in-universe events into these final dozen episodes, opting for the most unusual (and unprecedented) of release strategies in this streaming era. Much like the first season, the entire storyline has been divided into four distinct arcs. Unlike before, however, these episodes will drop three episodes at a time on Disney+ every week with year-long time jumps in between, almost as four feature films unto themselves. But to everyone rightfully apprehensive from all those countless, eye-roll-worthy claims of turning serialized television into "one long movie," this might be season 2's greatest accomplishment of all: It actually earns that statement.

"Andor" season 2 begins a year after the events of the season 1 finale, when Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) forced his way into taking part of the nascent Rebellion against the galaxy-wide oppression of the Empire. Season 2 makes it clear that, with several years still to go before catching up to the events of "Rogue One," our favorite rebel is a long way off from becoming the doomed hero we ultimately know him to be. By now, he's an established veteran of the cause and a trusted lieutenant of the shadowy, enigmatic operative Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård). But, as these episodes make abundantly clear, rebellion alone is no longer enough. It needs to be organized, effective, and, most importantly of all, motivated in order to achieve their ultimate goal. If the first season was all about the spark that lights the fire (to steal a quintessential line from "The Last Jedi," in many ways a thematic companion to this), then season 2 is about that flaming turning into a raging inferno ... and the true costs revolution has for those involved. The results are nothing short of epic, tragic, and uncomfortably timely.

But what makes "Andor" a difficult watch at times is also what makes it so urgent and rewarding. Fans won't miss all the usual "Star Wars" traits they could possibly want, from a surprising amount of humor in the early going to creative choices that only make movies like "Rogue One" (and even "A New Hope") better in retrospect. But this remains a series that goes much further than any other franchise offering ever has, looking the fascism of the Empire right in the eye and showing it in all of its evil, rather than flinching away or merely gesturing towards it in the vaguest of terms. Boardroom meetings casually discussing plans for genocide will hit differently these days, as does infighting among fractured Rebel groups or Mon Mothma's (Genevieve O'Reilly) storyline of political helplessness in the face of unchecked authoritarianism. (Slightly spoilery trigger warning: It's worth noting that there's an attempted sexual assault in episode 3, a sequence more harrowing than any in this franchise to date.)

A potent political allegory, an adrenaline-pumping espionage thriller, and a Greek tragedy playing out in devastating slow motion, "Andor" is all of these at once — building to a conclusion that might be written in the stars, but which never feels anything less than the most original and exhilarating experience in "Star Wars" history.

To make it this far into a review before giving credit to the cast of unforgettable supporting characters and the incredible acting performances sprinkled throughout every sprawling subplot only speaks to just how high this season of "Andor" is operating on every single level. While the trajectory of Cassian is the anchor at the center of this story, going from a thief to a soldier to a true-blue Rebel leader in a truly brave portrayal by Diego Luna, he's surrounded at every turn by fascinating figures adding to the depth and breadth of storytelling on display. Skarsgård gets some of the finest moments he's ever had as Luthen (yes, even better than his "What do I sacrifice" monologue last time around), a character as complex and nuanced as this show has always been. But the spotlight extends much further, spanning the likes of Denise Gough as Supervisor Dedra Meero, Kyle Soller as simpering Imperial sympathizer Syril Karn, Genevieve O'Reilly as besieged Senator Mon Mothma, Adria Arjona as the deeply traumatized Bix Caleen, and Muhannad Ben Amor reprising his role as freedom fighter Wilmon. Gilroy and his team of directors (which include Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz, and Alonso Ruizpalacios) know full well that the strength of the writing only goes so far as the strength of the ensemble cast at their disposal.

But even as season 2 churns through the sheer amount of plot it has to get through in order to bring this in for a landing, it never once loses sight of the characters we've been following for three years now. Cassian's role as a Rebel leader is the reason we signed up for this prequel/spin-off series, but it's his intimate connections to friends like Bix, Brasso (Joplin Sibtain), and, of course, the lovable droid B2EMO (Dave Chapman) that grounds his arc in something tangible. Dedra Meero's rise up the Imperial ranks is perversely fascinating on its own, but watching her butt heads with her bosses (including Ben Mendelsohn's menacing Director Krennic, an appearance that sets a gold standard for cameos) lends a verisimilitude utterly unique to "Andor." And by the conclusion of the season, it should come as no surprise that each and every character — heroes and villains, major and minor alike — meets a fitting fate and a perfect send-off.

If the early episodes take a little while to get going and the regular time jumps every few episodes feel a little jarring, it's a small price to pay for an overall production that's so laser focused on telling a self-contained story. The rarity of a true ending in a franchise allergic to the very concept is what helps separate "Andor" from the rest of the pack, making each character turn and bold narrative choice hit with the weight of a sledgehammer. When a show can get this much dramatic mileage out of merely name-dropping someone like Emperor Palpatine or changing up the opening theme depending on the episode (Brandon Roberts does an able job of building on the original motifs by season 1 composer Nicholas Britell), you know you've got something special on your hands. Taken together, seasons 1 and 2 are that rare gem you can only hope artists can produce out of the blockbuster machine. Even if we never get another one like this, it will hardly matter. We'll always have "Andor," and that's a miracle in and of itself.

/Film Rating: 8.5 out of 10

The first three episodes of "Andor" season 2 premieres on Disney+ April 22, 2025.