By Kevin Slane
April 23, 2025
Since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, the power of the Star Wars brand has been diluted with each subsequent project. What was once guaranteed to be the most anticipated blockbuster of the summer in any calendar year has reached a point where Disney+ shows like “The Acolyte” can disappear without a trace, regardless of quality.
With that in mind, Tony Gilroy’s spinoff series “Andor” is a minor miracle: A streaming-exclusive show that is a prequel to a prequel to a decades-old trilogy that is absolutely essential viewing.
Season 1 of “Andor” was one of the best TV shows of 2022, a taut political thriller that dramatized the genesis of a rebellion through the eyes of ordinary people, most notably mercenary-turned-revolutionary Cassian Andor (Diego Luna).
Cassian begins Season 2 of “Andor” with a bang, blasting his way out of an Imperial facility with a stolen ship. He’s out on assignment for the shadowy rebel leader Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard), while his comrades, including Bix (Adria Arjona), anxiously await word.
Elsewhere, the primary plotline of Season 2 is unfolding in an Imperial boardroom. The textile planet Ghorman possesses a natural resource (found nowhere else in the galaxy) necessary for construction of the Empire’s unnamed superweapon. Deedra Meero (Denise Gough) played the game of Imperial office politics well enough in Season 1 to be tasked with ensuring the Ghorman project’s success, regardless of human toll.
Deedra Meero (Denise Gough) in “Andor” Season 2. – Lucasfilm
Ghorman is crucial to the Empire’s plans, but Lucien senses its importance to the resistance as well. The persecution of a peaceful mercantile planet known for its luxury goods could help sway the sympathies of Ghorman’s wealthy and powerful clientele – in other words, the social circle of Senator (and secret rebellion operative) Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly).
Though it’s never in question who the good and bad guys are, “Andor” finds shades of grey in both the Empire and the rebellion. Lucien is ruthless and unsympathetic in pursuing the movement’s goals, willing to sacrifice true believers if it suits the greater cause. And when last season’s most detestable Imperial officer Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) introduces his overbearing mother (Kathryn Hunter) to Deedra over dinner, you can’t help but laugh at the relatable domestic drama.
The rebellion’s foibles are played for comedy as well. Cassian’s mission in the first episode grinds to a halt when a dozen forest-dwelling rebels launch a 6-on-6 civil war over a minor disagreement. (Leftist infighting standing in the way of progress? In what universe would that ever happen?)
Gilroy and his co-writers (Beau Willimon, Tom Bissell, and brother Dan Gilroy) are clearly keen studies of history. The fledgling Ghorman guerillas look and sound like the World War II-era French Resistance, and their actions call to mind other revolutionary periods in Europe.
There are moments in Season 2 more relevant to present-day politics as well, if only by coincidence. Gilroy and co. may have written the scripts for Season 2 several years ago, but their portrayal of the Imperial manufacturing of consent is evergreen. History repeats itself, even in a galaxy far far away.
Considering that Gilroy originally conceived of “Andor” as a five-part story, it’s incredible what he has accomplished in two seasons. The series is neither rushed nor indulgent, and when the plot takes slight detours — a flashback here, a royal wedding there — they are thematically significant. Almost every episode leaves you anxious about the fate of its characters, even though anyone who has seen “Rogue One” knows the ultimate result.
Given that “A New Hope” was released 48 years ago, it’s shocking that Lucasfilm waited until now to release a Star Wars project aimed specifically at its millions of adult fans. Giving a marquee director like Gilroy (“The Bourne Identity,” “Michael Clayton”) the space to tell a blissfully Jedi-free story was a masterstroke for embattled Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
Taken as a whole, “Andor” is nothing less than the best piece of “Star Wars” entertainment since the original trilogy.
“Andor” Season 2 is streaming on Disney+, with new episodes debuting Tuesdays.
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
