It’s time to pick a side. Or at least that’s what we’ve been told in the lead-up to season 2 of Andor. We’ll find out soon enough for ourselves as the first three episodes of the prequel series to Rogue One drop on Tuesday.
Mark your calendars.
Andor returns for its final season. Don’t miss the three-episode premiere streaming April 22, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/dilaKJkrvk
— Star Wars (@starwars) April 8, 2025
As you can see above, Andor will be dropped in three-episode chunks over the course of four weeks. More so than any other Star Wars show, Andor season 1 featured specific arcs — introduction/Ferrix, the Aldhani heist, Narkina 5 and then finally the return to Ferrix – so in that way, the decision to drop the season 2 episodes in this fashion makes sense. However, it’s easy to feel in some ways like it’s being burned off in a rush. Ultimately, the nature of the episodes and the quality of the narrative will likely determine how fans feel about this schedule. However, if anyone has earned the benefit of the doubt, it’s Tony Gilroy, who produced arguably the most critically-acclaimed Star Wars TV series to date with this spy thriller mixed with political intrigue and nary a sign of a lightsaber or the Force.
What makes all that Gilroy, Diego Luna and others have accomplished in this series even more incredible is that we all know how Cassian Andor’s story ends — on the beach in Scarif, embracing Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso as the Death Star’s destruction rapidly approaches. So strap in for one more trip to Luthen’s den of antiquities and more adventure leading up to the advent of the Rebellion. And if you need to remember what happened in season 1, check out this handy recap.
Timing notes
Every episode in Andor season 1 came in at under an hour, with the longest episode clocking in at 56 minutes (Narkina 5 and Rix Road) and the shortest episode coming at 37 minutes (That Would Be Me). To its credit, there never really felt like there was filler in Andor season 1, everything served a purpose and propelled the story forward. When it comes to streaming TV series, the lack of a defined run time can be both a blessing and a curse. So it’s really to Gilroy and crew’s credit that they seemed to find the right rhythm to each episode and made every moment count and didn’t indulge themselves just because they could.
Notes
(Warning: Spoilers for season one of Andor ahead.)
- This weekend at Star Wars Celebration, Diego Luna noted that he’s been Cassian Andor for over a decade, which is pretty impressive when you consider that the character was killed off at the end of Rogue One. In season 1, Luthen accurately predicted that Cassian would eventually die at the Empire’s hands. So wouldn’t he rather make it count and hurt the bastards for real? Cassian joined Luthen’s loose rebels at that point, but never really was committed to the cause, still being more of a mercenary until his imprisonment on Narkina 5 and Maarva’s rebellious awakening just before she died put him on the path that led to Rogue One. Now he’s evolving into a leader of the Rebellion, fully investing in making sure the Empire does not win. He doesn’t need to be coaxed into taking up arms against the galatic oppressors. Given that this season is supposed to span several years in timeline, it will be interesting to see how much we get to see of the terrible things Andor notes he’s done on behalf of the Rebellion in Rogue One.
- In the season 1 finale, Rix Road, Cassian rescued Bix Caleen, who had been locked up in the Imperial-occupied hotel and was being tortured for information about Cassian. The Bix-Cassian relationship was a key fulcrum in season 1, and it will be interesting to see how it progresses with the two separated and Andor taking on more responsibility and assignments for the fledgling Rebellion. He did promise to come back for her, and as B2EMO noted Cassian always keeps his promises. Obviously, with all these characters, we have the events of Rogue One hanging over everything. We don’t see Bix in Rogue One, so where the series leaves her in the galaxy will be very interesting.
- Another important relationship with Andor is with K-2SO. He was Andor’s trusty right hand in Rogue One, but was not seen in Andor season 1. Gilroy noted at Celebration that it was very intentional that we don’t see K-2 in season 1, as it’s hard to carry him around in story, with Gilroy even pointing out how often in Rogue One K2 had to stay back. It has been confirmed that we will see how Andor and K-2SO meet this season and Gilroy says that once K2 is there, he’s there for good. Alan Tudyk is back in the role and said at Celebration that K2’s relationship with Cassian is foundational to the character. So it will be exciting to see how this pair meets and how the dynamic we’re already familiar with from Rogue One came to be.
- Speaking of characters from Rogue One, Ben Mendelsohn is back as the utterly hateable Director Orson Krennic. At the end of season 1, we saw that the manual labor being done at Narkina 5 (and likely other prisons like it) was in support of the construction of the Death Star. And given the Aldhani heist, the riot in Ferrix and other signs of the growing Rebellion, it makes sense for Krennic to enter the picture to nip this thing in the bud. It will be interesting to see how Krennic interacts with established ISB characters like Major Partagaz and Supervisor Dedra Meero. Krennic hasn’t always played well with others, so I could easily see him seeing an opportunity to burnish his own career at the expense of Partagaz and his minions at the ISB for all their failures in season 1.
- Speaking of Denise Gough’s Meero, she survived the riot in Ferrix at the end of season 1 thanks to the efforts of Syril Karn (Kyle Soller). After appearing to have nothing but disdain for Karn earlier in the season when he became smitten with her and began stalking her, she appears to share a moment with Karn after he saved her. They share a love for “justice,” at least justice in the eyes of the Empire, with Karn going so far as to tell her that she reminded him that justice … and beauty … still exist in the galaxy following his dismissal as a corporate deputy inspector following a disasterous raid on Ferrix at the start of season 1. It appears that Meero and Karn are an item, or at least something resembling one, at the start of season 2, although given her ambition and desire to climb the Imperial ladder, Gough has noted that the Empire is her real boyfriend and she doesn’t have room for a healthy relationship. At some point, will Meero use and discard Karn in her drive for advancement? It seems likely, but who can say for sure. Maybe this Dwight and Angela-esque couple will find true love in a galaxy far, far away.
- Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) brought Andor into the fold at the start of season 1 and then appeared ready to burn him by the end in order to prevent the possibility of Andor spilling any of his secrets. However, Andor caught up with Luthen and demanded that he either kill him as planned or bring him further into the Rebellion, seemingly making good on the promise Luthen said he saw in Andor earlier in the series. Luthen looks like he’s going to stay busy this season, dealing with the aspects of his double life and working both sides of the Rebellion — those getting their hands dirty like Andor and those fronting cash and seeking to help in other ways, like Mon Mothma. Like Bix, he is not in Rogue One, and of the two he feels like the more likely to not make it out of Andor alive. Afterall, if you already have Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), who also returns this season, Luthen becomes a little more expendable. But never count out the man who can work any room and always is a step ahead.
- And finally, we have what Star Wars’ social media called the mother of the Rebellion, Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly). Thankfully, Mon is a better mother to the Rebellion than her own daughter, since it appears she put the interests of the Rebellion and being able to continue funding it over the interests of her daughter at the end of season 1 when she allowed an introduction to the 14-year-old son of Davo Sculdun, a man she called a thug from back home in Chandrila. It appears to be leading to an arranged marriage, with Mothma noting that her daughter has taken an interest in her homeworld’s old ways. Hopefully, said arranged marriage works out better for her daughter than it worked for her, as her husband Perrin was perhaps the biggest heel of season 1, and that’s saying something. Perrin dismissed his wife’s work as “boring and sad” and generally seemed like a character with no redeeming qualities, although Gilory has said we’ll see more of his perspective in season 2. Either way, like Luthen the challenges of living a double life have the walls closing in on Mothma and it will be interesting to see how she finds the escape hatch that allows her to help shape the Rebellion and eventually the New Republic.
Can Andor season 2 live up the excellence of season 1? It seems like they have all the elements in place for what should be a fun final ride, so it’s easy to hope that Gilroy and crew can stick the landing. Afterall, rebellions are built on hope. May the Force be with you!
