Andor Season 2, Episodes 1-3, titled “One Year Later,” “Sagrona Teema,” and “Harvest,” respectively, are in many ways a new beginning. For Cassian and us. This is almost a new character, one that fully buys into the Rebellion, unlike the one we saw last season. It makes sense, as Season 1 was the buildup to this, and Season 2 will be the real lead-up to Rogue One.
The episodes, which take place one year after Andor Season 1, aka in BBY4—or four years before Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, start doing the hard work of providing new context. It is, obviously, just the beginning of the story, but it’s clear how it’s all starting to take shape. When Andor Season 2 is done, it will be interesting to re-watch the original trilogy with this added context.
But that also means that Season 2 of Andor hits even harder than last season. Some messages truly resonate in the current political climate. And though some of the ideas have been present in Star Wars from the beginning—the Empire has never been a subtle metaphor—we perhaps need to be reminded of the need to fight the Empire now more than ever. And we need Cassian Andor telling us that “this makes it worth it” and “the Empire cannot win” as much as we need him telling us that this fight is us “coming home” to ourselves.
In many ways, Andor has always been a show about taking big swings and telling big stories with grounded characters. Season 2 starts off in the same way, just as skillfully as Season 1 did. Cassian is just as relatable as he was in the first season, and the little family he’s built in Mina-Rau is something we want him to keep, even if we deep down know he won’t. And while all of that is going on, the political machinations going on with Mon Mothma and Luthen Rael serve as an interesting backdrop for the story of an Empire that can make genocide a simple matter to be discussed at a casual meeting. It is what it is, the sides are clearly delineated, and there are people on both. Isn’t that the rub?
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THERE’S WORK TO BE DONE
For Cassian, for Mon, even for Dedra, who is doing the work we don’t want her to be doing—because Andor Season 2 continues to examine how the job is being done on both “sides.” Ironically, this is clearly the moment when Mon Mothma processes what this Rebellion entails. It’s not just about sacrificing her daughter for the greater good, though it’s hard to argue Leida understands the sacrifice, but about sacrificing her friend Tay Kolma.
Cassian has always understood the work to be done and the sacrifices. That’s why he takes but a beat to mourn Brasso and moves forward. And sure, he takes a risk coming back for his family to Mina-Rau. But considering all the work Cassian is putting in, it’s hard to blame him for it. He’s given up a lot for the Rebellion, and we know he’ll give up a lot more in the future. We know how much of what the Rebellion will go on to achieve depends on the work of unnamed heroes like him. Sacrifice and sacrifice and sacrifice that no one will ever know. How does the Rebellion win? In the end, the mountain of sacrifices, one over another, will never really be quantified. But they will all, together, make a difference.
But there’s a fine line, just as Mon Mothma tells Vel. You still have to be alive to continue making a difference. And that’s why it’s important for Cassian, for Bix, for Wilmon to walk away at the end. That’s why Mon needs to take that drink and that next one. It’s why she needs to look away as Luthen does what he needs to do. The work needs to continue to be done, and as horrible as it is, someone needs to do it. That’s why it’s about sacrifice sometimes, yes, but it’s not just about sacrificing for the sake of sacrifice.
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WE HAVE TO LIVE TO DO IT, DON’T WE?
Andor has always been very good at mixing the big ideas—like the one Rogue One was built on, the whole “Rebellions are built on hope,” thing, with the reality that Rebellions are also built on some pretty gnarly stuff. Andor, after all, starts with Cassian Andor casually killing two people. And in this hour, we see the series clearly show that there’s not really a moral high ground on the Rebellion side.
Except, you know, there is. Especially when you consider the Empire is having meetings about how to casually commit genocide on a planet just to get their resources. People do not matter to the Empire, not the way they matter to the Rebellion. So, do the ends justify the means? The question seems silly, but can the Rebellion really afford to be too pure if they want to win against an Empire that will stop at nothing to wipe them and everyone in the galaxy out of existence?
It’s such an interesting philosophical question. What is the lesser evil? What can or should we accept in the pursuit of something that is ultimately good? Andor has never actually pretended to have the answer. The show is just presenting the questions, and leaves it for us to decide what our personal answer is. All things considered, though, the world we live in invites a heavier hand in suggesting the very answer the show has always believed is up to every person.
Should entertainment provide the answers? Perhaps not. Are viewers always equipped to understand without handholding? Sadly, the answer to that might also be in the negative. And that is a problem that Andor cannot solve, but it should perhaps consider. But that a TV show can invite these questions, at a time when we desperately need them, is already a very good thing. Maybe not for everyone, but perhaps for enough people to make it worth it.
The first 3 episodes of Andor Season 2 are now available to stream on Disney+.
