3 weeks Ago By Lucas Hill-Paul
A critically acclaimed series on Disney+ is receiving even more rave reviews ahead of its eagerly anticipated second season. The first installment of the popular series was released back in 2022 and immediately became one of the streamer’s biggest critical hits. Although it wasn’t one of Disney’s most-watched streaming shows that year, the series has still generated a passionate cult following with millions of viewers on tenterhooks for the second and final outing.
We’re, of course, talking about Andor, the stunning prequel to 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which, in turn, preceded the 1977 classic, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Season two will pick up with fearless rebel Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna) four years before the pivotal mission to destroy the Death Star while the Rebel Alliance continues to amass more intel to take down the powerful Galactic Empire. Ahead of the new season’s premiere this week, the Star Wars spin-off, which already has an impressive 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 82 on Metacritic, was heralded as another “masterpiece” by creator Tony Gilroy.
Forbes summed it up in their review, calling season two “a masterpiece, some of the best Star Wars ever made”. They continued in their rave write-up: “This is not just a great Star Wars show, but a great political thriller regardless of its fictional universe or genre. “This is so much better than anything else we’ve seen in this universe.
And I include the original trilogy here. “While that holds powerful nostalgia over me, and while I love Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and the droids and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) all so much, and find their adventures thrilling and magical, Andor just takes all of this and strips away the epic hero’s journey and the magical Force and leaves us with a political thriller that is at once intense and deeply human.” IGN echoed the response, calling Andor’s final outing a “thrilling conclusion” in their 9/10 review.
“Andor is one of the very best things ever to come out of the Star Wars universe,” the review continued. “It’s a masterfully constructed political and espionage thriller unafraid to tackle real-world issues and challenge the oppressive nature of bureaucracy. It’s Jason Bourne and Michael Clayton stood side-by-side wearing Stormtrooper armour.
” TechRadar calls the season a “devastating near-masterpiece” and the show overall the “best piece of Star Wars live-action media since the original movie trilogy”. The Independent agreed, although admitted the first three episodes out this week kick things off with a “slow start”. “Star Wars’ grittiest spin-off flies high once more”, they wrote, confirming the second outing was “one final triumphant run”.
Finally, Empire gave the season five stars, claiming “It will make you fall in love with Star Wars, whether for the first time or the 50th.” Will you be making time for Andor’s gripping season premiere this week? Andor season 2 premieres Tuesday, April 22 on Disney+..
