If there's one series that stands out in the small world of Star Wars productions, it's Andor. After an extremely convincing first season, the second (and final) is finally arriving on Disney Plus. We were able to see it, here's what it's worth.
The ultra-calibrated industry of Hollywood blockbusters sometimes sees the emergence of small miracles. The first season of Andor was one of them. This Star Wars series had seduced with its mature tone, its time-consuming plot, as well as its strong characters. Qualities that contrasted with other increasingly mediocre content.
Andor quickly became one of the most beloved productions among fans, if not the most popular with the general public. This didn't stop Lucasfilm from launching a second season, with a record budget of almost $300 million. A strong show of confidence from Disney, which knows that such a series has a positive impact on its image. We were able to see this brand new season, and here's what we think.
Andor, the outsider of Disney Plus
Created by Tony Gilroy, Andor tells the story of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), the spy who is as rebellious as he is pragmatic, seen in the film Rogue One. The goal isn't really to dwell on his exploits, but rather to show the dictatorship of the Galactic Empire from his very down-to-earth point of view, far from the Jedi and other naive heroes.
The first season took place five years before Rogue One (and therefore A New Hope) and told us how Andor, a small-time scoundrel who cares nothing for politics, decides to enlist as a spy for a still-emerging rebellion. The second season, for its part, makes a bold choice by completely changing its structure. This time, we follow Andor through four missions of three episodes each, all set a year apart. In terms of chronology, they therefore link to Rogue One. A relevant choice, since each arc is almost a Star Wars film in its own right, with its heroes, unique characters, and iconic locations. However, they cannot be taken separately or watched out of order, given that they form a logical sequence that describes the rise of the rebellion.
One of the criticisms of Andor season 1 was its sometimes somewhat slow pace. An artistic choice that made sense, and that allowed the series to explode after slowly building up the pressure (the Aldhani heist, the prison break), but which was ill-suited to weekly broadcasting; some episodes were there only for exposition. Season 2 reshuffles the cards, since Disney Plus has chosen to broadcast one arc (three episodes) per week. Each of these arcs offers its moments of bravery, its own stakes, its dramas and a skillful build-up of tension, without sacrificing exposition. Exactly what season 1 already did, but better and much less frustrating. The result: events flow one after the other and we binge-watch the arcs in one go, unable to stop in our tracks.
A pace that isn't Andor
The series may bear its name, but Cassian Andor is not at the center of the plot; he's even a secondary character. This was already the case in the first season, but it's even more obvious here, with the spotlight always being on a multitude of protagonists, whether rebels or imperials. Cassian's missions are just a pretext to explore a galaxy crushed under Palpatine's thumb. This second season shows even more skillfully how an authoritarian regime gradually strangles populations and how the latter can fight back on their own scale, even if it means using abrupt methods. A gray area that stands out in a saga where the boundaries between good and evil have always been clearly defined.
When George Lucas created Star Wars in the 1970s, he modeled the Galactic Empire on the Third Reich, while distancing himself from its atrocities through a naive and optimistic adventure. Andor takes Lucas by surprise by opting for stark realism. To support its message, the series does not hesitate to draw on real historical events, drawing inspiration, for example, from the French Resistance, arbitrary massacres in the USSR, or the lethargy of Western politicians in the face of the rise of fascism. This was already the case in season 1, but this idea is further developed here, and with mastery.
Andor is the first Star Wars audiovisual content to make this choice, which shakes up (in a positive way) our perspectives on the other films. The series doesn't shy away from tackling difficult themes, such as rape as a weapon of war, torture, or genocide. Never before has a Star Wars film been so direct in its depiction of dictatorship and the insidious fear it instills in the hearts of every civilian. The absurd system of the Empire, inspired by real-life totalitarian regimes, is brilliantly portrayed, with its multi-layered secret services, its lies repeated so often that they become truths, its secret meetings that decide the lives of millions of people, its Kafkaesque bureaucracy, its complacent businessmen, and its kolkhozes that are insidiously monitored. Chilling.
This is where Andor season 2 excels, even more than the first. The Empire is no longer made up of a band of caricatured villains in uniform, like in the movies, but rather a threat that constantly makes us feel uneasy. A threat personified by the ruthless Dedra Meero (Denise Gough), an ISB agent who is as crazy as she is methodical. Every minute, we fear for our characters; each of their clumsiness could lead to death. Paradoxically, we also rejoice when our heroes put their morals aside by using the enemy's cruel methods. After this series, we never look at the original trilogy the same way again.
Add to that accurate writing and characters that are still as strong, with a production that doesn't hesitate to take a few moments to develop them. For example, we still appreciate the conflictual relationship between Syril and her mother, the pretenses between Luthen and Mon Mothma, or the close relationship between Andor and Bix. These are breaths of fresh air that help to keep the Empire's threat hovering over their heads.
A series that takes the Star Wars universe from behind
Although Andor has opted for the path of realism, it remains a Star Wars series. We feel an infinite respect for this universe on Gilroy's part, but also a desire to dust it off, and to do so without beating around the bush. We find some of the saga's strong ingredients, such as blaster battles or ship skirmishes, but in a way that is always "realistic," like Rogue One. The series hits hard from its first sequence with an action scene that glues us to the bottom of the couch.
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No lightsaber, no Jedi (the Force is treated only as a mystical oddity), Andor wants to be down to earth and treat its subject without spreading itself too thin. It's difficult to pose a serious threat when you know that at any moment, a hero in a robe can save the day with magical powers. Andor takes us to the unexplored corners of the galaxy, focusing on those who wouldn't even have been extras in the films. In short, ordinary people, credible people. We like that.
Moreover, the sets - numerous - are magnificent, but deliberately lack the epic grandiloquence of the films. Coruscant is a city mixing dirty concrete and crushing verticality where poverty and indecent luxury coexist. The jungle in which our hero gets lost in the first episode could pass for an adventure film setting, but quickly transforms into a green hell where one can die in an instant. This seemingly peaceful agricultural planet lives under the permanent yoke of overzealous imperial officials. Once again, this puts the whole saga into perspective. It's far from a gimmick, since it helps create emphasis with the characters we follow, tossed from one dangerous place to another to escape the invisible jaws of tyranny.
It's hard to fault anything whether it's Andor season 2, as it both masters its subject and brings a welcome freshness to it. Each arc is a little Star Wars film that we'll eagerly enjoy. We also applaud the more calibrated pace and the consistently top-notch writing. Last point? The actors, impeccable, with a special mention to Stellan Skarsgård, completely inhabited by his character of Luthen.
Andor is without a doubt the best thing that has happened to the Star Wars saga since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, or even since the original trilogy. Season 2 lives up to our expectations, as it has understood its subject while bringing a new light to it. A creation that pays vibrant homage to its source material and never hesitates to shake up its codes to better sublimate it. A season that far surpasses the first and brilliantly concludes a series that is decidedly unique in the Star Wars landscape.
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