The first season of Andor, a Star Wars series on Disney+, has concluded with an emotional and dramatic conclusion befitting the show’s tone and setting while also planting the seeds for what we might expect in the second season. This latest venture’s gritty, the grounded premise has proven to be exciting sci-fi television, revealing a depth of humanity and the embers of the Rebellion’s flame that is rarely seen in the franchise.
The show has done a great job so far with its three-episode story arcs. It ensured that the key moments from Cassian Andor’s development throughout the season would lead to its finale. The forthcoming and final 12-episode second season should be quite an exciting event, thanks to the intriguing plotlines involving the complicated political webs Mon Mothma finds herself traversing and the sinister shadow games Luthen Rael plays.
The emergence of a rebel hero
Cassian was introduced in the pilot as a skilled but jaded and cynical thief, and while he has matured, that impression remains. In order to ensure his own existence, Cassian had long since given up hope that the galaxy would ever be freed from the Empire’s suffocating grip.
It is a far cry from his absolute commitment to the Rebellion in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but the season 1 conclusion does a great job of setting up a reborn freedom fighter for the next season 2. Throughout the series, Luthen makes it obvious that, although he is on the heroes’ side, he is essentially the antithesis of Emperor Palpatine.
He is unafraid to use the cold calculation to aid the Rebellion, which means Cassian is replaceable if necessary. The last season of Andor will get us much nearer to the Rebel spy from the aforementioned Rogue One, as evidenced by Cassian’s ultimatum to Luthen to either murder him to knot loose ends or to employ him simply.
His devotion to the Rebellion has been beautifully highlighted by the Aldhani expedition and the jail breakout on Narkina 5. However, his mother’s tragic death and her emotionally resonant final words to him were almost certain to have kindled the fire within him.
This change in character could lead to even more intricate and nail-biting plot arcs in season 2 of Andor, which has already produced some fascinating spy-themed adventures in season 1 despite the show’s lead guy not being completely down for the cause.
The stakes of Mon Mothma’s political career increase
Over 40 years after the release of the first Star Wars trilogy, Andor had developed into a compelling figure—something few would have imagined when the character was first introduced. Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma from Rogue One returns in Episode 12, and the stakes in her dramatic political storyline, reminiscent of Game of Thrones, have been significantly raised.
Although Mon Mothma had been quietly building the groundwork for the Rebellion as a Senator with Luthen, she found it increasingly perilous to maintain her political ploys in the open as the season continued.
Coming into season 2, the walls will close in further, with her needing to transfer around a huge amount of money discreetly to progress the Rebellion into the next phase. It would be her one more move reminiscent of a medieval fantasy by marrying off her daughter.
And that’s just what we’ve seen over the past few episodes; the series finale revealed an even darker aspect of Mothma’s past that could come back to haunt her politically. Because her chauffeur was secretly working for the Empire, it was said that her husband, a gambler, could become a public relations nightmare for her and the Rebel cause.
In season 2, Mon Mothma’s story sets up a political chess game that could draw Luthen out of hiding. The bureaucratic tedium of the prequels has given way to the riveting political drama of Andor, setting the ground for Mothma to develop into a multifaceted figure in the final season’s struggle, especially in light of her growing excitement for the ever-increasing Rebellion.
ISB’s looming threat and the Death Star construction
After the season finale, Andor’s strength as a Star Wars program, sci-fi show, and TV show, in general, is reinforced by the fact that it doesn’t rely heavily on the fan service that has hampered so much of the Marvel Studios and other Star Wars content on Disney+.
However, a thrilling and ominous post-credit scene teased the future season’s conflict in the last episode. The season-ending shot reveals the Death Star being built in the void between the Outer Rim worlds.
Since this is really a prequel to a prequel, we already know where that leads. However, the Death Star’s development raises intriguing questions about the challenges our grass-roots Rebel heroes will face.
The Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) will undoubtedly up its attempts to track Cassian Andor and anyone linked with the Rebellion now that they have the Empire squarely on their minds.
In particular, that includes Dedra Meero and Syril Karn. It’s fantastic to see the show doubling down on these two adversaries as totalitarian dangers, especially since they were so unusual compared to the regular over-the-top franchise bad guys.
Episode 12’s climactic funeral riot hinted at the beginning of a grim new partnership between two ambitious enemies. Their emergence as an even bigger danger should provide a natural and dramatic new fight for season 2. The only thing that could go wrong here is if the writers stop utilizing these characters as allegories of fascistic hunger for power and instead decide to redeem them cheaply.
Season 1 has done a tremendous job of setting up the many moving parts of Season 2. They all look like they will contribute to a satisfying conclusion to the best live-action Star Wars series since The Mandalorian.
