Star War fans are … well, a word would be fanatical. I’m not one and skipped most of the spinoffs, but I enjoyed the Mandalorian offshoot, and now I can report that the two-season Andor (there will be no Season 3) is magnificent. While Season 1 was most impressive (see my review), Season 2 takes full advantage of its length (twelve episodes of just under an hour each) to slowly bake in a plot that cooks and cooks and cooks until the show is clearly not just about Andor the hero (Diego Luna nails the role and will be remembered for it), not just about a particular early episode in the longstanding rebellion against the (evil) Empire, not just a complex concoction of fine character studies, but eventually a rousing call to fight for freedom against tyranny. The current-day echoes are obvious. Season 2 includes some frighteningly tense battle and escape sequences and its plotting and direction are both flawless. Whereas I had minor quibbles about the scenery and music (oh that horrid old-time orchestral swelling nonsense the Star Wars franchise is fond of!) in Season 1, the finale season tempers both those aspects so that the viewing experience, long as it is, flows easily. All up, Andor is a must-see for anyone interested in science fiction complex and deep enough to compete with arthouse movies.
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