TL;DR – A bittersweet symphony of hope and coming sadness.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Andor Review –

Well, we are here, it is the end of it all, yet we find ourselves in an interesting place. Unlike most series finales, Andor doesn’t need to stick the landing because the third act of Rogue One has already done that for them. This puts it in an interesting space where you can ask: how do you definitely end something that already has another ending? Well, that is what we will look at today.   

So, to set the scene, much like last week, we start our episode moments after Who Else Knows? ends. Cassian (Diego Luna) and Melshi (Duncan Pow) have made it to where Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) is hiding out. Unfortunately for them, the Empire is also tracking them, and Supervisor Heert (Jacob James Beswick) is but one floor away and closing in fast. Comms are down, so K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) can’t send a warning of the coming doom, as Stormtroopers start making their way down the hallway to the room where they are hiding. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

I came into this episode with almost a little internal conflict. There were so many characters’ stories to tie up and only forty minutes to do it in. I honestly had a great fear that they would stumble in sight of the finish line. However, I needn’t have worried, because everything that we have seen up to this point showed us they knew what they were doing, and now that I have had some time to process what I have watched, I think it is safe to say that they nailed it.

While not a whole lot happens in this episode from a plot perspective, that is okay, because all the plot needs to do is push Cassian to start on his fateful mission. What that means is that most of the episode is all about vibes, letting you live in these character moments, and goodness, was that the right choice. For example, Kleya had just gone through an unimaginable trauma and ended up seeking refuge in a place that she helped create, but is now an outcast to. That could have been the end of her story. Still, instead we get a small conversation with Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) to help ground her and then as we go, we see the slightest hints of her finding self-acceptance, and I think that was one of the many moments that broke me during this episode.    

Then there are the echoes of failure that spread throughout the Empire. Every single officer that has come up against Cassian has failed, and if there is something that the Empire cannot abide, it is failure. For some, like Heert, their failure was put in the immediate spotlight as their body was used as a human shield as K-2SO marched down the hallway. For some, the political shields that they have put up eventually come down. Anton Lesser is a fantastic actor, and his work with Major Partagaz is no exception. There is a moment when you feel he knows that his time is at an end, all the camera has to do is sit there and focus on his face, and we can see the ocean of turmoil flowing underneath and the inevitable ending.

For some, like Dedra Meero (Denise Gough), years of ‘messing around’ led to her entering her ‘find out’ phase. She is only in two brief scenes of this episode, but what an impact they were. Firstly, because Denise Gough absolutely nails the character in a way that you rarely see, years of guilt over her parents’ disloyalty and being underestimated by all her peers, only to find herself flaming out in abject failure. Then also, because the show decided to both dabble in some ultimate irony, and reference one of the most famous episodes of Season One in the choice of prison she ends up with. Of course, then, we must mention Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) because for some, their failure has yet to find a roost, but time is rapidly running out.           

Now, if I can segue away from characters for one moment, I want to talk a bit about the production. To begin with, the work they did fleshing out what the base of Yarvin would have looked like for all the grunts on the ground was stunning. It had this ability to look wet and dreary while also being homely and hopeful. That is such a narrow, tight walk to manoeuvre in, and they absolutely nailed it. Also, much like The Wild Robot last year, through Andor, I have discovered another musical composer, Brandon Roberts, whose work I will be following from here on out. He was masterful in working in what could be considered a constrained space. There were a lot of themes from Season One already in the can, and Star Wars has a musical legacy that is unmatched by almost anyone else. But he nailed every musical moment throughout the season, from the small, quiet laments to the big battle numbers to a final swan song or two. His work has brought me to tears on more than one occasion this season.  

At last, we can’t talk about Andor without talking about Andor. When I first watched Rogue One, I knew he was an interesting character. However, throughout these two seasons, Diego Luna has been able to craft a character through his performance that might go down as one of the best in the history of the franchise. He has a thoughtfulness in every moment that he brings to the character, which makes watching him so fascinating. All he had to do this week was drop off Kleya, let the council know what’s coming, and then start his mission. Yet every moment is filled with such pathos. Every moment he spends with K-2SO is a joy, every moment in the council chambers is filled with righteous anger, and every quiet moment is filled with dread. He took what could have been a very one-note character and filled it with so much depth. If that depth had not been there, then those moments, like with the Force Healer (Josie Walker), would not have hit as hard as they did.

In the end, do we recommend Andor: Jedha, Kyber, Erso? 100%. This is a series that is going to live in my soul for years to come. Indeed, it might be the high-water mark in Star Wars’ Disney Era. It was bold, brash, subversive, explosive, and constantly engaging. I don’t think we will see something like this for years to come. 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 – Alonso Ruizpalacios
Written by – Tom Bissell
Created by – Tony Gilroy
Based On – Star Wars by George Lucas
Production/Distribution Companies – LucasFilm & Disney+
Starring – Diego Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly, Denise Gough, Adria Arjona, Alan Tudyk, Benjamin Bratt, Faye Marsay, Elizabeth Dulau, Alastair Mackenzie, Muhannad Bhaier, Anton Lesser, Duncan Pow, Alistair Petrie, Jacob James Beswick, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Jonathan Aris, Ben Mendelsohn & Forest Whitaker and Dave Chapman, Zora Bishop, Andrew Brooke, Louis Martin, Terique Jarrett, Eric Maclennan, James Henri-Thomas, Stephen Stanton, Alex Lawther, Belle Swarc, Rosalind Halstead, Josie Walker & Claire Brown