Good But Not Great
Summary
Season 2 of Andor is every bit as talky as the first, but the second half really picks up and it’s when K2-SO appears that it feels like Star Wars again. It doesn’t have many memorable action scenes and is definitely a slog at times, but I can’t dismiss it as the acting is faultless as are the visuals. It leads seamlessly into Rogue One but it is rarely “fun” and lacks the sense of adventure that Star Wars used to have.
Plot: “Andor” Season 2 will see the characters and their relationships intensify as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.
Review: Have you ever watched the Star Wars movies and thought, “you know what this franchise needs? An attempted rape scene”. Well, then Andor season 2 is the show for you! I never thought I’d see the day when something like this happens in Star Wars and it’s incredibly jarring. I mean, Andor never felt like Star Wars to me anyway; there is no sense of fun or adventure and not much in the way of action either. Star Wars was mostly inspired by old fashioned adventure serials and this rarely feels like it.
I would have loved more space battles in this show. Like, a scene where they have to steal something and then some Star Destroyers appear; nothing like that happens. It’s a bunch of unlikeable characters talking and our main protagonist Cassian Andor isn’t especially sympathetic. This was even the case in Rogue One and I was always surprised when the least interesting character in the movie got his own spin-off. I’d have much rather seen Donnie Yen’s character Chirrut Îmwe going on various adventures with Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang) and some fight scenes thrown in for good measure.
The first episode of season 2 is cool with Cassian stealing a Tie Fighter, but then the next 2 are screamingly tedious and I had to force myself to continue watching. The scenes with Mon Mothma and the wedding seem to never end and could easily have been shortened.
It’s really when Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) is on screen that elevates these episodes as he is such a flawed character that really is no better than the people he’s fighting against. That’s what Andor is all about is showing the moral grey areas of the Rebels, but it would have helped if more of them were actually appealing in some way. I think Bix (Adria Arjona) is one of the better characters as she has to go through a lot in this series so we really feel for her.
Denise Gough is inspired as Dedra Meero who is wonderful at sneering and looking just plain mean however, the scenes with her and Syril talking with his mother are so infuriatingly dull mostly due to the mother being such a hideous character.
Anton Lesser plays one of the most interesting characters in Major Partagaz; he’s a higher up in the ISB but isn’t an evil man. Like the Rebels there are heroes and villains on both sides.
It’s great to see Ben Mendelsohn back as Krennic and he is far more intimidating here than he is in Rogue One; he’s really fleshed out and his scenes with Partagaz are fantastic.
I wish we could have at least got a hologram of the Emperor or Vader, but Palpatine’s presence is always felt as he’s mentioned regularly.
I see lots of people saying they love that there are no Jedi or Sith in this series, which is odd because that’s what makes Star Wars what it is. Without them it’s just a sci-fi show with lots of talking; with none of the mysticism it’s really just soulless.
Despite my many complaints this season really picks up in the second half and it’s when K2-SO comes into it that it starts to feel like Star Wars again. There are also some subtle Easter Eggs with one that references the show Rebels, but I’ll not spoil anything about that.
Everything flows perfectly into Rogue One setting it up where it just feels literally like a larger universe. Seeing Gohrman have such a prominent role in this season will please lore fans as we all know what happened there…
On the action front there is a great fight between Cassian and an opponent (who I won’t name) and it’s one of the highlights as it feels so desperate and full of hate. There are various shoot-outs and explosions but as I mentioned a severe lack of actual space battles is disappointing.
Overall, Andor: Season 2 has moments of greatness and the second half of the season really picks up and starts to feel like Star Wars again, but there is still far too much talking and the lack of any amazing action scenes is disappointing. Still, it leads perfectly into Rogue One and it’s nice to see some of the characters fleshed out more, so after watching these two seasons the movie will have more of an emotional impact.