Without getting too much into it, Star Wars fans know the basis of the Cassian Andor character portrayed by Diego Luna. He hooks up with Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) at the beginning of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, directed by Garreth Edwards and written by Tony Gilroy. The premise of the film is they go on a life or death mission to steal the Death Star plans so the rebellion can know what they’re up against in Star Wars: A New Hope, which starts the Skywalker Saga. By now, everybody knows how those films ended, and specifically Rogue One. The planet Skarriff blows up, and everybody on it dies. That was the end of Cassian Andor. The beginning was yet to be told.

Tony Gilroy was tasked with creating a backstory for this loveable Rogue. That’s where Season One of Andor came in. It showed where this character started and how he made his acquaintances with some of the series regulars we all know today. Season One took place five years before the death of Cassian Andor and gave fans of the character an idea of what this man was about. It showed his motivations  and why he joined the rebellion to begin with. Season Two picks up four years before his death and has an episode countdown starting with BBY4 and ending ingredients with BBY1 that refers to the impending doom approaching this amazing character. 

The first arc of Season Two of Andor deals with Cassian infiltrating a test base on Aldani where he Steals a Tie Fighter and barely escapes with his life, before eventually landing on an unknown planet where he was supposed to meet up with a rebel contact. Things don’t go as planned. Instead, he is kidnapped and held prisoner by two factions who don’t get along with each other. There is a lot of banter and comedy relief here. These two factions are a bunch of idiots. I laughed quite a bit at their incompetence. Cassian is how the viewers see through all of this, and he feels the same way as we do watching at home. This tie fighter Cassian Steals plays a key role in the overall story going forward. The first arc also focuses on Mon Mothra (Genovieve O’Rielly) quite a bit as well. 

Another of the main characters the series focuses on is Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard), an iniquities salesman.  Who is a key member of the underground who enlisted Andor in his  agenda to help him take down the Empire.  Skarsgard is fantastic in this role. He balances the role of aristocrat and rebels scoundrel perfectly well. In fact, his own friends he deals with on a regular basis, he can’t tell if he’s on their side or not. That is a great performance if you ask me.. Skarsgard has been doing a lot of good work lately, but this may be my favorite character of his thus far.

Another actor who I’ve loved in quite a few things over the years is Ben Mendelsohn, who once again reprised his role as  Director Orson Krennic, the man behind the big plan to create the ultimate weapon of destruction, the Death Star. He has played his share of villains in his career, but I’m partial to this character because I love Rogue One: A Star Wars Story so much. He is equally evil and sinister in season 2 of Andor. You can see where his motivations are going and why his evil machinations are so important to him. Letting the plans get out about his weapon is not a very good scenario for him. We see where that ends up in the film. No use talking about that any further. Mendelsohn is a fantastic actor and plays a villain so well.

With this season being split into four parts, the separate stories all  have their own relevance to the overall story. There are subplots within those story arcs, but fans of the show know where this is ultimately going in the end. Some characters that were introduced in season one get their comeuppance and also get left behind in season 2.  A couple of characters we’ve felt resentment for in the previous season, like Officer Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) and Imperial Officer Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) , we care about in this season. Say what you will, but it’s nice to root for the villain sometimes. Not all the time, but in Star Wars, it’s okay. These two were two of my favorite characters in the show. Their fate was inevitable,  but I still wish they had a better ending overall.

One of the reasons I love this season and the previous season so much is that it looked like Star Wars. Where other shows, despite being in the Star Wars Universe, didn’t look as well as this one does. Whether it be on Coruscant in fancy ballrooms and the various locations on that planet or in grainy fields on another planet, the volume played a part in this season quite a bit. The production design showed up a lot as well. The sets were exquisitely done no matter where the show took place. The look of this show is such a huge plus for it. Other showrunners and filmmakers should look at this series and aspire to be this good-looking regarding production design and cinematography. 

The thing I love the most about Andor is the underbelly of the series. The rebel alliance stuff is so interesting to me. I’ve always been a fan of the underbelly of the Star WarsUniverse.. This show gets that side of Star Wars perfectly.  Even the ritzy side is part of that dark side. It all plays into the underbelly. Gilroy is able to show viewers this side with characters like Sol Gerara  and his faction of the rebellion.  When the show goes to the dark corners or of a  planet on the fringes of the galaxy where the underbelly really rears its ugly head and when it hits its stride. That’s the true nature of this series and its genesis.

When I was a kid, I was introduced to Star Wars at a young age. I saw Star Wars on HBO in its infancy and saw The Empire Strikes Back when I was six years old. I was instantly in love with this series of films from that point on. Most of what I’ve seen over the years I’ve liked, but even I have to be honest and say what I feel regarding if I don’t like something or not. I am the first person that will say if I love something, and I can genuinely say I absolutely love Andor. The first season was such a great example of what Star Wars can be. Season 2 of Andor was equally as good. It’s not as good as Season 1, but it’s pretty darn good in its own right. Gilroy and company from the other directors, all the actors, and everybody else who worked the show did a great job. The cast is very extensive,  but Deigo Luna has to be praised. He was fantastic in both seasons of Andor. He deserves more chances in Hollywood.  I loved watching him in both seasons.  Season 2 of Andor is a great addition to the Star Wars mythos and should go down as one of the best things Lucasfilm has created thus far. It’s just bittersweet that it’s over.

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen