The first three episodes of Andor Season 2 release this coming Tuesday, April 22nd, on Disney+. The review embargo lifts before then, but the social media embargo is already lifted, and critics who have watched the entire season already are almost unanimously singing its praises.
The second season picks up roughly a year after the events of Season 1. Unlike the first season, which took place over the course of a relatively short period of time, Season 2 is spread out across four years. Each 3-episode block takes place over the course of a few days before jumping ahead another year, with each chapter nearing the events of Rogue One and A New Hope.
Like Season 1, the second is spread out across 12 episodes. Different pairs of writers and directors tackle each 3-episode chapter, and the entire season will stream on Disney+ across four weeks.
What Critics Are Saying About Andor Season 2
Critics, including yours truly, were given all twelve episodes of Season 2 ahead of release. The following rave social media reviews are based on the entirety of Season 2, which is often not the case with TV reviews and early access. Disney clearly has confidence in the latest Star Wars offering. Full reviews will drop next week.
“Andor season 2 is the best Star Wars story since the original trilogy,” writes Eammon Jacobs on Twitter. “Yes, I’m serious. The plot is a masterful, timeless mirror to our own world yet gives us intense action and haunting performances from Diego Luna, Adria Arjona, and Genevieve O’Reilly. I’m blown away by it.”
“Andor season 2 is a masterpiece,” writes Adam Siennica. “Not just the best Star Wars, but one of the best series in years. Emotional, intense, ambitious, deep, and intelligent – a powerful look at how dictatorship works. One of the story arcs 10/10! A breathtaking show of the Empire’s cruelty.”
“Andor Season Two is phenomenal,” writes Darren Mooney. “Andor is the best franchise television show since Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is easily one of the three best Star Wars things ever. The second season is thoughtful, methodical, ambitious, literate. Best thing I’ve seen on TV this year.”
Hunter Bolding writes: “At points watching Andor season two, you can draw parallels, or what I described as ‘this is too real’ to our own situation in the world right now. It’s raw, intense, and while different from season one, it is just as excellent. Episodes 8-12 are some of the best TV ever.”
“Andor social embargo is up,” writes Jordan King, “so I can say the obvious now: it is the best TV you will see this year, and cements the show’s place in my all-time Top 5. It’s mature, it’s knotty, it’s uncompromising, and it’s emotional in ways you won’t see coming. And *that* arc? Astonishing.”
“Andor season 2 is an exhilarating and ethically probing revolutionary spy thriller,” writes Brendan Hodges, “less a series of “four movies” than an intricately designed season of Star Wars on the nature of fascism and the need for rebellion — in all its forms. One of the best seasons of TV in years.”
Justin @ Star Wars Celebration writes: “Andor S2 is a MASTERCLASS in slow-burn storytelling — GROUNDED, GRIPPING, and deeply focused on the personal sacrifices behind the rebellion. The structure is ambitious, sometimes uneven, but ultimately powerful. This is proof Star Wars thrives through genre, not nostalgia.”
“I’ve seen ALL of Andor season 2 and it’s both Star Wars at its absolute best and a triumph of storytelling in general,” writes Germain Lussier. ” I cried, I cheered, I laughed, I gasped. It’s smart, sophisticated, propulsive, entertaining and hugely resonant. Everything you want & more. It’s a miracle.”
Then there’s my tweet on the matter:
“I’ve just finished watching the entire second season of Andor. It’s absolutely phenomenal. I’ll have a full review up next week. For now, all I can say is that it’s extremely well-crafted. Not just some of the best Star Wars ever made, but some of the best television period.”
I tweeted this teary-eyed, feeling rather caught up in the whole thing, emotional, moved, inspired, devastated. Not how one normally feels after watching a Star Wars offering, or at least not how I’ve felt about many of them outside the original trilogy and these two seasons of Andor. I’ll save more detailed thoughts for my full review, but if these tweets are getting you hyped for Andor’s second season: Good. You should be. The Star Wars universe has never been richer.
I wanted to watch Rogue One as soon as the second season ended, but it was too late to watch at full volume and not wake up kids, so I’ve saved that for today. In fact, I’m off to watch it right now. A part of me wishes they could have just remade the film into a full 12-episode Season 3 of Andor. I can only imagine how incredible it would be given the full Tony Gilroy treatment. Ah well, still the best Star Wars movie of the Disney-era, even if Andor remains the crown jewel.
P.S. Please give Tony Gilroy and his team more Star Wars projects! If only all of Star Wars was this incredible.
