Andor Season 2 has officially arrived. With it, comes the return of one of the most critically acclaimed projects in the entire Star Wars universe. The first six episodes of the twelve episode season are now streaming on Disney+. The remaining half of the episodes are set to come out over the next two weeks. Because of that, I want to take a look at the show so far, and how it’s been compared to the first season.
To begin, Season 1 of Andor was met with widespread acclaim. It earned a 96% critics score and an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. This made it one of the highest rated Star Wars projects. The shows approach helped it stand out from past Star Wars projects as well. Instead of focusing on the Skywalker Saga or the Jedi, Andor delivered a grounded, character-driven drama about the rebellion and their battle against Imperial rule. It was a slow-burn thriller. It didn’t focus on the big space fights or lightsaber battles, but instead on the individuals that helped take down the Empire. This approach was highly compelling to fans. The first season ended up setting a new benchmark for Star Wars could be on television.
Fast forward to Season 2, and the show has retained much of what made Season 1 so great. The acting remains exceptional, with strong performances from Diego Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly, and Stellan Skarsgård. The writing is also sharp and the dialogue remains realistic. However, one thing that might go unappreciated is the cinematography. The cinematography once again elevates the show to add a film-like polish. Rather than feeling like normal genre TV, Andor feels like it was filmed by Christopher Nolan or some other top-notch director. Critics have responded to all of this, giving the second season a 97% rating. However, the audience score has taken a noticeable dip to land at 79%. This drop is unsurprising as Andor is already a slow-burn, and the second season feels even larger in scope compared to the first.
While still strong overall, Season 2 hasn’t quite matched the intensity of the first season for me. For starters, the narrative has broadened quite a lot. They’ve added far more storylines and character arcs than what they had in Season 1. This makes the show feel unfocused at times since there’s a lot going on. Additionally, some of the storylines aren’t as compelling. In the first season, there was a clear focus on showing the audience the oppressive machinery of the Empire. We saw this in the Imperial prison storyline or simply how the Empire went about abusing their power. They then showed how the rebellion reacted to it. However, the second season hasn’t had this same level of intrigue for me. For example, Mon Mothma’s daughter Leida’s arranged marriage is a well-executed storyline that adds depth to Mothma’s character, but it doesn’t carry the same tension or stakes as past arcs. It can simply feel less important in the grander fight of the rebellion.
That said, Andor still remains one of the most thoughtful and deep Star Wars stories to date. Even when it slows down or spreads itself thin, its commitment to depth remains impressive. Personally, I’d give Season 2 a solid 9.1/10. It’s just shy of the perfect 10/10 first season, but it still remains one of my favorite Star Wars shows, and favorite TV shows period. I’m also hoping that in the last half of Season 2, it picks up some steam, and ends strongly. If you haven’t watched the show as of yet, do so. Now is the perfect time to start to watch Andor since it’s in its final season. The next three episodes of Andor release on Tuesday, 5/6 at 9pm ET.
