Andor, S2 (Disney Plus)
This may seem like hyperbole but Andor Season 2 is the greatest season of television I have ever seen. Practically flawless in every department, this is so absurdly riveting across every minute of runtime that calling it riveting feels like an understatement. If the first half is excellent, it is the second half that is truly beyond compare, with the last five episodes comprising one of the most extraordinary consecutive runs of episodes in recent memory. This is a show so good that it seems to wrap up its central character’s journey perfectly by episode nine, yet continues for another three perfect episodes after this whilst somehow managing not to sour that seemingly perfect ending. Sure it may have had possibly the highest budget of any TV show in history, but Tony Gilroy has crafted a show that has radically altered the storytelling possibilities of a near fifty-year-long franchise.
Where Season 1 follows Cassian Andor’s life up until the point at which he chooses to become a rebel, this season charts the next four years of his life leading right up to the start of Rogue One (with three episode arcs for each of these four years, hence twelve episodes in total). I am a huge Star Wars fan, it is a universe that means a great deal to me, yet I find Rogue One to be the least interesting in the series, and Cassian one of the blandest characters in it. This show, and especially this season, has given this character a totally unprecedented amount of life, weaponising its status as a prequel, and our knowledge of Cassian’s eventual death in Rogue One, flawlessly, delivering tragedy and pathos in equally powerful measure. The unique structure of the season works wonders to show how time and the weight of the Empire’s control of the galaxy takes its toll on everyone. Every rebel struggles with the desire to rebel in some way, and every Empire sympathiser learns the true nature of fascism’s inhumanity. Every character has to sacrifice in some way for this fight, and you the lingering effect of that sacrifice is palpable throughout.
We see the rebellion slowly be built from the ground up and we see the long-gestating plans of the Empire manifest. Gilroy so excellently pulls from countless dictatorships across human history to illustrate the evils of this regime and of fascistic ideologies. It is timely yet embellishes a fictional universe in details so simultaneously grand and minute that this universe feels more real than ever. He makes Star Wars feel real again, as though these events that have been part of pop culture for so long actually have human weight and meaning. Every character struggles with their fight and every character is richly detailed in their motivations and loyalties, more so than perhaps any other character in Star Wars history. As a devout fan of the original film trilogy, even I must admit that this is the greatest storytelling Star Wars has ever seen. Every episode looks like every penny it cost, with stunning cinematography choices, jaw-dropping sets and costume design and most of all a soul-shaking musical score from Brandon Roberts. You are guaranteed to be levitating come the unbelievable final five minutes.
This is a show where every aspect of its existence seems to funnel into the most perfect ending imaginable. The product of a vision so huge yet minutely detailed, this is truly everything we could ever ask for from Star Wars. Every minute feels earned and has the most keenly felt emotional weight. It is truly extraordinary in every single way. I have never seen anything like it.
