Arts & Culture

Andor
Where: Disney+
What: Series, Season 2, 12 episodes, 55 mins.
When: Tue., April 22, first three episodes; three new episodes weekly after
Genre: Star Wars
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: The “Thinking Person’s” Star Wars story thread brings strong characterization and insightful narrative to the space opera.

SPEAKING WITH NEXT  on the day Andor, Season 2 premiered on Disney+ (Tue., Apr 22) star Stellan Skarsgård, rebel Luthen Real in the show, refers to the series as “Star Wars for grown-ups” — and that works.

In Season 2, Andor continues as the “thinking person’s” Star Wars story, more concerned with narrative nuance and character development than flashy special effects and things blowing up real good. We’re back plumbing the back story of reluctant but highly effective revolutionary Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as well as many of the characters in this universe, having met them in Season 1 or the big screen effort Rouge One: A Star Wars Story, for which all of this is the back story.

We even learn the origin of beloved robo-sidekick K0250, this edition of Star Wars’s R2D2.

Andor’s relationship with fellow rebel Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) deepens and, yes, we learn her back story. Fortunately, they’re all good stories and they weave smoothy into this carefully constructed seriesm which manages to load enough detail to satisfy any nerd while not creating a roadblock top entry for the more casual fan.

Part of why you don’t have to be a mega fan — though they will love it — is the characters and performances are so strong, especially from Cassian and fellow rebels Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), a Senator and clandestine supporter of the revolt, as well as hot-headed revolutionary Luthen Rael. Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) are easy to dislike Bad Guys who play their roles with more complexity usually afforded villains.

The art direction is stunning with the various planets gorgeously rendered, and we are granted some cool space stuff, often with Cassian at the helm of a hijacked craft dashing across the universe or escaping a crumbling planet.

The season’s 12 episodes form four sets of self-contained “chapters,” each set in a different year. The series is being released in these three-episode units, starting with the season debut, with three new episodes weekly.

Though filmed about two years ago, and written well before that, Andor Season 2 is remarkably, even painfully, prescient — easily a metaphor for so much of what is happening today as we witness genocides, the growth of fascism, the demonizing of minorities and many more dark “futures” presented in Andor that appear ripped from today’s headlines.

Fortunately, Andor, like Star Was at its best, offers hope, even against the worst odds. And hope is a gift in dark times, like those depicted in Andor or the ones we are living in today. In both worlds, having hope itself is an act of rebellion, a refusal to acquiesce to dictators and despair. Andor depicts that and so much more through this series’ final 12 episodes, leaving us to hope they can create another Star Wars spinoff that similarly values plot and character above merely blowing stuff up.

— Watch for NEXT’s upcoming, exclusive in-person interviews with Andor stars Genevieve O’Reilly (Mon Mothma) and Stellan Sarsgård (Luthen Real).