Andor: Season 2

After Andor Season 1 . . .

Cassian Andor ponders his role—if any—in the Rebellion, as he and Bix eke out a difficult existence.

Luthen Rael and his assistant, Kreya, continue their mysterious mission and dubious methods.

Senator Mon Mothma navigates a double life of prestige and covert support for those who resist the Emperor.

Dedra Meero, Imperial Security Bureau, closes in on Luthen while learning not is all as it seems in Palpatine's Empire.

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Here, the 12 episodes are divided into four three-episode 'pieces', each set a year after the former and counting down to the Battle of Yavin (Star Wars Episode IV)—the first three are set in BBY 4, the second three in BBY 3, and so on. And obviously, it sets the stage for Rogue One.

Season 2 started slowly. I wasn't a fan after the first episode or two . . . but wow did it end up blowing me away. Like the first season, this one is about sacrifice, but it packs a bigger punch this time around. You know how it ends for most of the characters . . . but the show draws you in with suspense and struggle (both internal to characters and between those on the same side). And they do a good job portraying both noble actions and annoying flaws in characters on both sides—you know who the good guys are, but they do some extreme things, making you feel the complexity and difficulty of the time. 

The storytelling, both within a given episode and between them, skims along the wavetops (like a Hemingway novel)—a lot goes unsaid, implied, in the shadows. The subtlety was brilliantly done and a refreshing change from the "hand-holding" a lot of modern television shows do. 

In short, it is an unusual but refreshing Star Wars offering, and one most welcome. Now to re-watch Rogue One.

Rating: A