Season 2 of “Andor” Inspires Rebellion

Andor – Season 2 (Tony Gilroy, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars

A fascist empire brooks no dissent, whether in science fiction or real life. In the Star Wars series Andor’s first season, we watched the titular character become radicalized as little by little the universe around him grew ever more authoritarian. In the second (and final) season, his odyssey continues, leading up to the sequences just before the start of the 2016 film Rogue One, itself an exploration of the events that set up the original Star Wars movie (from 1977, now called “Episode IV – A New Hope”). There’s no time like the present to gather lessons in rebellion.

As before, Diego Luna (Wander Darkly) stars as Cassian Andor, now an established member of the resistance. Episode 1 begins four years ahead of the “Battle of Yavin” (BBY), which for those not up on their Star Wars lore is the climactic combat at the end of the original film that leads to the destruction of the Death Star. This season is all about the construction of that planet-killing satellite and the horrific collateral damage inflicted on citizens of a “galaxy far, far away” in the Empire’s pursuits of materials needed to build it. Many people die; hopefully, their sacrifice is not in vain.

There’s a lot of storytelling here, twelve episodes once again. One of the best things about this series is the character development and the fact that one need not be a Star Wars aficionado to care about the stakes (the BBY countdown notwithstanding). There may be lasers and spaceships (and the occasional strange alien), but Andor traffics in universal human aspirations of community and liberty.

Another consistently engaging aspect of the show is that our lead protagonist never hesitates. There’s a threat? He shoots. He’s captured? He immediately starts thinking about how to escape. He’s a man of action who doesn’t waste time with weighing the morality of this or that choice (at least not while he’s choosing – reflection can come later). Luna shows us the thinking behind the adrenaline, and it’s thrilling to watch. If ever we are called upon in real life to fight autocracy, follow his lead.

The surviving ensemble of the first season returns for the sequel, including the Empire’s Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn, Freaky Tales), Dedra Meero (Denise Gough, Monday), and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), and the rebels’ Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård, I’ll Find You) and his assistant, Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau), Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), and Cassian’s life partner, Bix (Adria Arjona, Hit Man), among many, many others. The universe is vast, as is the cast. We continue plot threads from earlier and pursue new ones, as well.

The first episode begins one year after Season 1; as mentioned above, the time is BBY4. Cassian has been charged with stealing an Imperial TIE fighter; things quickly go south. Bix and others from Ferrix are hiding out on another planet (I won’t lie, I can’t keep the names of these places straight, nor do I feel that it matters), awaiting Cassian’s return while Imperial inspectors draw closer. Director Krennic reveals to a select group of bureaucrats (which includes Meero) that he has plans to mine the planet of Ghorman for a mineral that will fuel the Empire’s renewable energy program (hint hint: it’s for something else, which should not come as a surprise).

Ghorman is a well-to-do world (whose residents all speak a very French-sounding language, no doubt because the actors are French and the filmmakers are using AI to alter their words in post-production) known for its textiles, thanks to a native spider’s special silk. The residents will not take kindly to the exploitation of their resources. This drives much of the conflict for two-thirds of the season, as Luthen, Kleya, and their allies, working closely with Mon Mothma, try to determine the Empire’s true plans. In the final third of the season we wrestle with the aftermath of the Ghorman events and lay the groundwork for Rogue One.

The overarching theme is that it requires immense sacrifice to defeat dictators but that freedom is worth it. Overthrowing tyrants is hard; unfortunately, allowing them to take over is far easier, which was the through line of the Star Wars prequels (Episodes I-III). Beware what you give up without much thought, for recovery will cost you dearly. Whatever the occasional flaws of pacing and structure—and they exist, mostly around rushed subplots, abandoned characters, and frustrating ellipses—Andor is the perfect show for our exact moment in time. Sadly, if we take its warnings to heart, this means many of us will pay the highest cost for getting our republic back in the years ahead. May the Force be with us all.

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator, as well as Film Festival Today's Editor. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.