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If youyou don’tdon’t likelike Andor seasonseason 2,2, youyou don’tdon’t likelike goodgood TVTV
As the warmer summer months get underway and a sense of fun pervades the air, it is high time I discussed the pop culture phenomenon that had me glued to my seat and questioning everything: Andor season 2! This season paid off the build-up of season one, and gave us an iconic moment from a particular familiar character. Do we finally have a contender which threatens to topple BRAT as the vibe of the summer? This epic finale truly pushed the boundaries. It redefined what we can expect from Star Wars. Hopefully.
And so, without further ado, here’s a rundown of the main takeaways we all loved about this season, and why Star Wars has never been so good!
WARNING: Spoilers and heavy themes discussed below!
Characters discussed in order of first mention:
- Diego Luna plays Cassion Andor
- Genevieve O’Reilly plays Mon Mothma
- Stellan Skarsgård plays Luthen Rael
- Denise Gough plays Dedra
- Kyle Soller plays Syril
- Ben Mendelsohn plays Director Krennic (also in ‘Rogue One’, 2016)
- Joplin Sibtain plays Brasso
Andor Season 2: Tension builds
The first three-episode arc of the season reintroduces us to the deeply complex characters who managed to hold our attention throughout the first season. Cassion Andor has stolen a prototype imperial fighter and crash-landed on a very important moon. The wedding of Mon Mothma’s daughter is underway, with Luthen Rael in attendance. Dedra and Syril continue their cold romance as they pursue careers under the burgeoning Empire. Finally, Director Krennic arrives to unveil a campaign of alienation and terror against the planet Ghorman.
The Empire looms
Things soon escalate. Andor and his friends lose one of their own, Brasso, before Andor himself reaches the front lines of the increasingly volatile situation on Ghorman. Mon Mothma struggles to reconcile her liberal principles with the increasingly desperate situation her opposition finds itself in. Initially distancing herself from the harsh realities of the early rebellion movement, personified by Luthen, she soon realises that she too must take a stand once and for all. Dedra and Sidney, meanwhile, feel increasingly like mice caught in a maze. They subdue their own consciences in favour of pursuing the Empire’s goals. Soon, all roads converge on Ghorman.
Andor Season 2: THAT scene
I can’t reveal my own interpretation of the quality and direction of this series without first highlighting what I consider to be one of the most intriguing and seminal moments in Star Wars to date: Mon Mothma getting drunk at her daughter’s wedding. In a paradoxical state of careless despair, she dances, no holds barred, to a brilliantly catchy club remix of season one’s ‘Niamos.’
Seeing a character who embodies grace, composure, moderation, and diplomacy decide to let go and release all her grief, anger, and fear proved remarkably poignant. Yet it seemed to capture something else. It quickly took on a life of its own. Disney uploaded an hour-long edit of the scene, Instagram reels mined it for relatable material, articles appeared dissecting the psychology of Mon Mothma (not least from Kate O’Reilly herself!), and DJs began to mix the song themselves. One especially memorable example compared Mon Mothma’s drinking and dancing as a coping mechanism to that of the LGBT community, which similarly feels increasingly under threat.
Every time I hear it, the song elicits the same feeling of wanton frivolity, the need to let go. As Reilly’s masterful acting shows, there is nothing hollow about it. The whole scene, jarring almost violently against the cold, quiet stillness of Andor and his friends as they grieve, creates a dissonance that has us all reaching for Spotify. It seems we are all eager to lose ourselves in the same feeling of emotional whiplash.
Andor Season 2: Conclusions
This season exemplifies everything that Star Wars can be when done right. No meaningless cameos, no overreliance on the increasingly convoluted logic of the force, or the black and white morality of Sith versus Jedi. Only cold, complex politics, mixed with the everyday life of a people turned increasingly desperate by a despotic regime. You cannot help but want to examine your own views and feelings as you watch, and realise that rebellion is the only way to destroy ‘the monster we’ve helped create’.
Everything, from the acting, directing, writing, dialogue, and soundtrack, works together to create a cutting-edge piece of media. It possesses that most rare quality of modern online streaming: it is unforgiving. It doesn’t hide the difficult questions or insult the viewer’s intelligence. Andor isn’t yet another attempt to oversaturate the market with overhyped projects that collapse under their own mediocrity. Andor is sharp, studied and measured. It knows the boundaries of its own ambition. It tells its own story rather than relying on the nostalgia of others.
Watching Rogue One will never be the same again.
Andor season 2 is available to stream on Disney+.
Image credits: Courtesy of Disney.
