TL;DR – A reintroduction to our world and characters and the layers of issues they face.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Andor Review –

Things were not looking good for Star Wars on TV back in 2022, as the Mandalorian experiment seemed to be running out of steam, and a lot of their experiments were falling flat. So, I didn’t hold a lot of hope when it came time to watch a prequel to the very messy Rogue One. But goodness, if there was ever a time to be wrong, I am glad it was then. Andor was subversive, fascinating, and profoundly compelling, not something you expect to come out of the House of Mickey. Well, it is back for a second and final season, and I can’t wait to see what they cook up.     

So, to set the scene, it has been a year since the riots on Ferrix, and it is four years before the Battle of Yavin. Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) has joined the Rebellion and is in the process of infiltrating Test Facility 73 on the planet of Sienar. All across The Empire, the Rebellion is slowly growing, one act of disobedience at a time. The Empire is trying to find ways of crushing any chance of this coalescing into a significant power, but freedom will always be the better choice. Now, from here

I would say that it was an interesting choice starting the season on Sienar, but it worked so well because it gave us a chance right out of the gate to see how much that year had changed Andor. That opening conversation with Niya (Rachelle Diedericks) was electric because you can feel the risk that she is taking, and suddenly, Andor is the one who is making the same reassurances to her that were made to him not that long ago. You can feel that dichotomy shift, which is essential for the show and the narrative moving forward because we don’t have as much time for development as they planned, so they have to make each interaction count. I think there is one line from tonight’s episode that will live rent-free in my brain: “If I die tonight, was it worth it?” which I fear will be more relevant as we move on.

On the front, it was also fascinating to watch how Andor’s story in this first episode goes from utter confidence when he is talking to Niya to a series of complete calamities as the episode progresses. The stealing of the tie fighter was an abject mess as Andor accidentally Independence Day’s it into the back wall. Thanks to Rogue One, we know that Andor is going to be fine here, so the show gets to play around in that space a bit more. It also gives them space to engage in some interesting action beets. I did like how they incorporated the alarm and stormtroopers here. That calamity continues throughout his story as Andor gets stuck with a Resistance group that has caught the short end of the stick. I am fascinated to see where they will go from here, given the shemozzle the episode ends on.

One of the more fascinating plot lines from the First Season was how Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) was trying to good within a system that was becoming more and more dangerous to work in. She has money, influence, and power, but she is also often alone, trying to navigate a perilous ocean that could swallow her in an instant. Last season, she was forced into marrying her daughter off to someone she does not like, and this season, we start with that wedding as a focal point. There is this excellent tracing shot of Mon walking through the party, having to work with the crowd and keep oscillating, forced at bay. This first gives a glimpse of the astounding costumes they have made this season and also how good their location scouts were. Each conversation is laced with different layers of meaning, and I was captivated by every moment.

The last plot line, and maybe the one that was the most clunky in this setting, was a secret meeting (I laughed at the “don’t put this on your calendars” line) of top Empire functionaries. Look, it did mean that we got our reintroduction to Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), and look, I will always support more Mendo in our lives. Also, they were clearly drawing parallels between this meeting and a high-level Nazi meeting with the same level of threat and silliness whenever the name of The Emperor was referenced. However, at least for this first episode, this was the weaker plot line for a number of reasons, including the drive for ‘energy independence’ that just felt out of place in this context.

In the end, do we recommend Andor: One Year Later? I think it was a good introduction, as we get to see where nearly all our major players are at the start of this three-episode arc. But it was mostly an introduction, and I look forward to them moving the plot further in the next episode. Have you seen Andor yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Andor
Directed by – Ariel Kleiman
Written by – Tony Gilroy
Created by – Tony Gilroy
Based On – Star Wars by George Lucas
Production/Distribution Companies – LucasFilm & Disney+
Starring – Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly, Denise Gough, Adria Arjona, Faye Marsay, Elizabeth Dulau, Alastair Mackenzie, Joplin Sibtain, Muhannad Bhaier, Anton Lesser, Ben Miles, Richard Dillane, Sam Gilroy, Benjamin Norris & Ben Mendelsohn and Rachelle Diedericks, Dave Chapman, Claire Brown, Joshua James, Bronte Carmichael, Jonathan Coy, Suzanne Bertish, Pierro Niel-Mee, Laura Marcus, Sonny Poon Tip, Gloria Obianyo, Chicho Tche, Dylan Corbett-Bader, Fred Haig, Tom Durant-Pritchard, Jos Slovick, David Westhead, Samiah Khan, Jack Bandeira, David Olaniregun, Dylan Brady, Dylan Blore, Philip Hill-Pearson, Eva-Jame Willis, Declan Baxtor, Akie Kotabe, Finley Glasgow & Rosalind Halstead