I remember finishing the first season of Andor in 2022 thinking “Wait what? What kind of an ending is that?” before realizing it wasn’t a miniseries: we had a second and final season coming. And now here it is… in three episode chunks?
I’m sure there’s a reason behind this, but this format always frustrates me. It’s far easier to make time for one 45-minute episode a week than three, and tensions are usually kept higher when the distribution is more spread out. But hey, these first episodes go well together, and the opening two are so slow that I can understand the logic behind releasing them all together. It still feels like a lot, though!
The first episode of season 2, as the title says, takes us one year after the events of the previous season. Cassian is working as an undercover rebel agent, Bix and Brasso and Wil are hiding out as farmers, and Mon’s daughter Leida is getting married to Sculdo’s son. Luthen’s getting restless, Vel’s losing focus, and Tay’s teetering on the edge of rebellion and safety. Who will make the final push?
Episode 1
Going into this season, I antsily remembered what I heard about it back in the day: the final episode of Andor would end a week before the events of R1. But since season 1 took place five years prior to R1, and season 2 is starting only a year later… as the title card tells us, we’re still four years to 0 BBY. So, that’s interesting. It’s making me remember my fears in season 1 that Cassian would stay trapped in that white prison for several years at least.
The first episode begins with Cassian on a mission to steal a TIE fighter with help from a newly-turned rebel woman. Cassian’s “Look at me” line was sweet, and you have to love the parallel of him now encouraging others to fight the Empire. And then… the grand theft auto goes awry. (I looked up the plane equivalent for GTA and it just gave me “airplane hacking.”)
With Cassian failing to drive stick, we get glimpses of the rest of our problematic faves: Bix & Brasso & Wil & Bee are working undercover on a farm, and Leida has transitioned from “just met Sculdo’s son” in the final episode of season 1 to full on “getting married to said son” this year! It makes sense for Vel to be here, but Luthen… I don’t know, maybe you should’ve stayed home. At least Dedra’s climbing the ranks, so good for her, gaslight gatekeep girlboss your way to genocide.
But amid all the old characters, we’ve got a new face this season… Krennic! Just as the late appearance of a K2 droid in season 1 brought Cassian’s future fate to mind, the early reveal of Krennic serves as a stark reminder that Cassian’s destiny is prewritten. And, just as in Rebels, the ominous presence of the Death Star is powerfully felt. And get ready for a planet-wide gaslighting campaign, guys! Maybe Dedra’s more prepared for this role than I thought.
Meanwhile, Cassian gets a little derailed on his mission and becomes the prisoner of one of the most hilariously in-fighting-heavy rebel groups I’ve seen since Saw kidnapped Hera’s kids in season 4 of Rebels. I’m trying to trace the exact point where I realized Cassian wouldn’t be leaving this planet for a good couple of episodes. Don’t get me wrong; it’s good writing, but I need more character moments than plot ones.
And we get some in the next scene! Back to Vel and the painfully heteronormative culture of Chandrila. I initially mistook Kleya’s line to Vel as flirtation, but in retrospect, it’s more like a taunt. Luthen and Kleya don’t pull punches, do they?
(Also, this was the point where I started to get nervous about not seeing Cinta.)
While Mon is dodging Tay and feeling the regret of catalyzing her daughter’s wedding, Cassian’s danger level is increasing, especially with him being the only living pilot left on this planet…
End episode 1!
Episode 2
One of the strengths of Andor S1 came from its rich, revealing focus on every one of its diverse characters on either side of the war. So far, S2 is no exception. Amid Dedra losing freedom and Mon deflecting Perrin’s taunts about Tay, Bix and co are trying to slip beneath the Imperials’ radar, which isn’t going so well when one of them decides to be flirty and pushy. Uh oh.
Meanwhile, Cassian is trying to get back to her. I liked how this episode showed how much smarter Cassian is than his captors (even though they won’t listen). Annoying as it is, at least it’s an accurate representation of infighting!
Back on Chandrilla, wedding traditions are still underway for the child marriage, so that’s fun. And Mon has to call Cinta “your friend” when talking to Vel. Oof, that’s not very ally of you, Mon. This kicked up my fear of Cinta not being in this season at all, because have you ever seen a SW couple who got a happy ending? Let alone a queer one?
Well, speaking of couples… we have an unexpected toxic pairing here! Of all the people to start dating between seasons, Dedra and Syril certainly weren’t on my list! Yeah, I guess I could’ve seen it coming given the way their dynamic ended last season, but… damn, these two playing at a domestic relationship is really something else!
Amid all the other nonsense, Cassian finally manages to escape his captors and steal his ship while they’re trying to negotiate a truce. He survives via, as my live notes put it, “the deus ex machina beasts of Chekhov,” and I stand by that. Although I ended this episode feeling less triumphant for Cassian and more “wait, are all these guys gonna die now?”
Episode 3
In my live notes on the next page, you can see my real-time reaction to realizing Bix was alluding to Cassian in episode 2 when she said her “husband” was off-planet and would be returning soon. This led me into a very off-topic frenzy of desperately hoping Bix and Cassian didn’t get married between seasons 1 and 2. Yeah, that’d be kind of insane and you can assume either character would’ve mentioned that by this point, but I was nervous! And, ridiculously, it’s just because I’m a Cassian/Jyn fan, and those two are both canonically dead! I did this same thing in Tales of the Empire, dreading the gap between episodes 5 & 6 and praying to the Force that Barriss didn’t marry that unnamed Jedi survivor. I’m in 2025 and still rooting for Barrissoka.
Anyhow, that’s two shows removed from Andor! Let’s get back on topic.
The pre-wedding ceremonies concluded, Mon gives Leida a last chance escape of her marriage, citing her own mother’s anxieties on Mon’s wedding day. But… obviously Leida can’t take anything her mom says well. “I wish you were drunk” is cold as hell. I remember being so confused why Mon’s family was terrible in S1 before realizing arranged marriage is a cultural thing for them. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
The wedding events go on… for a while. The braid-cutting was nice – I remember reading about that as an Alderaan tradition in Lost Stars. And Mon clutching onto Vel’s hand, ouch.
Meanwhile, with all this shit going down, we have even MORE of it at the Meero-Karn household! Because Syril’s mom meeting Dedra as her son’s girlfriend is definitely a plotline we needed!
Despite my reservations, though, Dedra laying down the law with Eedy and standing up for Syril so strongly was unexpectedly impressive. Way to handle the in-laws, girl, damn! And that glimpse into Dedra’s childhood was a nice touch, too! But it looks like Syril could be close to snapping soon…
Switching over to a sadder scene, poor little Bee is getting left behind again. Ouch. And Wil, maybe you could be a little smarter when saying goodbye to your girlfriend? No? Okay. Oh man, the levels of stress I felt during this episode were unprecedented!
The Imperial creeper attacks Bix, Bix fights him off and kills him, and then she says “He tried to rape me” in the line that sent the Internet into a frenzy. Poor Bix, my God, why do things go so terribly for her every season?
Well, let’s go back to the wedding, surely things are more positive over there, right? No, Luthen’s having Tay assassinated because his usefulness has expired and he’s now a liability? Great, great. And who’s going to be doing the assassinating? CINTA? Yeah, of course, what a great time for Vel to lock eyes with her (ex?) girlfriend!
(I stand by my line in my live notes of Luthen being “like Saw with more structure and patience.”)
But Tay isn’t the only one slated to die today! Because of course, right before Cassian arrives, Brasso has to die in front of him! Even when I specifically asked him not to! And I really liked their cute friendship in S1! Can I blame Wil for this? I like him the least out of everyone.
Has anyone ever deserved a hug more than Bix and Cassian at this moment?
Despite my reservations on these opening episodes and the questionable pacing, episode 3 gives us one hell of an ending. The fast wedding music finally permeates the other scenes, with Vel escaping into her pain, Mon trying to dance through the knowledge of Tay’s death, and Cassian only partly completing the rescue mission of his friends. It’s a somber S2 starter for everyone.
Surely we’re maxed out on character death by this point, right? We won’t lose Bix or Bee or Vel or Cinta, right?
Well, at least we know Cassian will survive S2 –
For about a week.
Shit.
