Drama Review: Andor
- Very Average Joe
- May 15
- 6 min read
Title: Andor
Director(s): Tony Gilroy, Toby Haynes, Ariel Kleiman & Others
Screenwriter(s): Tony Gilroy, Dan Gilroy, Beau Willimon & Others
Studio: Lucasfilm
Released: 2022, 2025
Season 1 Runtime: 12 episodes, 38m–57m each.
Season 2 Runtime: 12 episodes, 46m–1h each.
Starring: Diego Luna, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Stellan Skarsgård, Denise Gough, Faye Marsay, Genevieve O’Reilly, Anton Lesser, Elizabeth Dulau
Andor follows the titular character’s journey to becoming a Rebel operative and then trying to survive various missions leading up to Rogue One (2016).
Season 1 opens in BBY 5 with Cassian (Diego Luna) searching for his sister on Morlana. Picked on by two corporate security officers, he half-accidentally kills one and is forced to finish off the other. He then has to run, but first returns home to Ferrix.
Whilst Diego Luna gives a good performance, the character is not particularly interesting in Rogue One, so this series is an opportunity to expand on him. The character is still not that interesting. He is the irresponsible guy who seems to always ask for favors without necessarily being able to repay them. He is not necessarily out to cheat people even if he is a thief, he is just hopeless which makes him a bit annoying.
Either way, along with the flashbacks to his childhood, the audience sees more of Cassian’s interactions and decisions, so he is fuller as a character.
Even if one doesn’t like Cassian, this is compensated by the other plot threads and characters. The overall pace of the first season is steady. It is not slow but it is unhurried, which is fitting to the genre.
Related to that, the worldbuilding occurs organically. On Ferrix, Cassian has friends and he appeals to Bix (Adria Arjona) who is in regular contact with a Rebel agent. So, through her, Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) is brought into the narrative. And later, through Luthen, we see how he operates, including on Coruscant. This brings in other associates such as Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) and the audience gets to see the tightrope she has to walk on Coruscant whilst secretly contributing to the Rebels.
On the other side, the double homicide has piqued the interest of an over-zealous inspector, Syril (Kyle Soller). Further up the Imperial chain, ISB Supervisor Lieutenant Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) is also searching, convinced that there is a hidden rebel movement.
Instead of the simplistic “goodie vs baddies”, one is exposed to the workings of the Empire and the Rebels. The Rebels aren’t as clean or organized as the original films portray them. Andor tries to make them morally grey and intriguing with moderate success whereas Rogue One also tried but mostly didn’t pull it off.
As for the Empire, one already knows of their arrogance and hardhanded tactics, but the series shows their bureaucracy and attitude up close in the lower ranks and away from Vader and Palpatine, which is amusing.
The weaknesses are the relatively minor points that could easily be fixed with a little more care in the writing. For example, ISB Major Lio Partagaz (Anton Lesser) initially isn’t convinced there is an organized rebellion, but not long after Dedra talks of her theory as if it had been worked on for a very long time.
Another example is that Cassian at times display his street-smarts but at other times is just annoyingly slow, stupid and stubborn. Granted, every hero has at least a little stubbornness and people don’t always make sense, but a little more consistency would be better.
The first season can be simplistically divided into three arcs. The first is Cassian being hunted as a homicide suspect. He is then recruited into a Rebel operation which forms the second arc. The third arc is somewhat contrived in that he ends up in a high-security labor prison due to avoidable stupidity.
Luthen and Mon Mothma’s threads are intriguing, the constant but not always clearly defined threat in the background providing dramatic tension. Skarsgård and O’Reilly give solid performances as expected.
Syril is brilliantly written and Soller does a wonderful job playing him. He is a capable detective and yet incompetent in the field. He is overzealous and can be harsh, but this stems from a naïvely simplistic sense of order and justice. He is like a precocious child who has a serious nature but is still an impressionable child in some respects. There are things about him which make him unlikable but one can still sympathize with him.
ISB officers Lio Partagaz and Dedra Meero are more straightforward. They are not the typically arrogant-but-merely-semi-competent imperial officer; both are actually capable. Although simply written, Lesser and Gough sell it with their coolness.
Visually, the design and visual effects are solid. Not surprisingly, there are the not-so-clean city-urban environments presumably inspired by Blade Runner (1982). It would be nice to see more of that in both seasons.
It is shot and edited nicely. There is a measured use of the close-up one-shots balanced with wide shots that are a little wider and/or held longer than usual, sometimes with unconventional angles. There is the occasional use of handheld and/or slow tracking shots. All heighten the reality of the situation without outright crossing over into the surreal. There are obvious influences from genres such as psychological thrillers and noir but it never becomes them.
Season 2 starts one year after the end of the first season and is divided into four 3-episode arcs, each jumping one year. It opens with Cassian stealing a TIE prototype that must be conveniently one of the physically toughest TIE fighters ever made.
This first arc has Cassian getting mixed up with a bunch of rebels who are clueless. Whilst this is presumably comic relief, it is a bit too silly. In any case, at least it does show that the rebel movement is disorganized and, intended or not, the groups and cells are actually isolated from one another. The so-called B-story of this arc follows Cassian’s three friends living on another planet on which the Empire is conducting an audit.
The next three arcs deal with the planet Ghorman that the Empire wants to take over for its natural resources and its aftermath. Dedra and Syril are assigned to handle the project, and the Ghor rebellion is just starting. The language resembles French, at least to non-French speakers, although there are hints of a German accent. This is probably because there is at least one German actor amongst the Ghor. The allusions to the French Resistance are obvious.
The structure is arguably a little contrived but is not inappropriate. Having taken the unhurried approach in the first season, this second and final season must not repeat that. This is partly to keep things fresh as well as lead into Rogue One.
Although it is understandable that Luthen’s games are not as apparent in Season 2, there could be a little more. The early days of the Rebel base on Yavin are shown, which is cool, but unfortunately how it started and its development are not.
Given the structure, some of the characters’ arcs conclude somewhat crudely and conveniently even if not abruptly. Either way, the cast continues their good performances.
Of particular note is that Luthen’s associate, Kleya, continues to be a presence. Relative newcomer Elizabeth Dulau does well at being “the cool and calculated chick”, unintimated by Luthen despite the age difference. Season 2 offers a little background to the two which it arguably doesn’t need given that nothing is provided in Season 1.
Visually, it is of a similar standard to Season 1. Despite having some notable action, the relatively arty shots are thankfully still there in Season 2.
Andor is easily the best Star Wars series so far which is sadly not that difficult. One of the reasons is simple: it mostly doesn’t try to be woke and it just tells the story. Sure, there is the mandatory lesbian couple which, to be fair, is not a focus—it is merely a token romance that doesn’t work anyway. And Cassian’s friends being hardworking illegals being hunted is a not-so-subtle point on current affairs.
Like the first season, there are minor points that can be better executed. For example, the ISB undercover agent targeting Mon Mothma, setting aside that she is trying way too hard to look cool, has to be the worst field agent ever by taking unnecessary action and ruining her mission. And then there is Force Heal taken from other series (even if it is not a major issue in this series).
On balance, other than a small number of minor issues, this is a solid series—moderately gritty and dark but not overly so. After all, one expects something decent from Tony Gilroy, the writer of the Bourne trilogy.
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