As we first reported on SFFGazette.com, the reviews are in for Andor season 2, and they're just as positive as those for the show's first season.
There are a few familiar complaints, mostly about the pacing and the fact that we know how Cassian Andor's story ends, but nothing which is really cause for concern. In fact, the general consensus is that Lucasfilm has delivered another masterpiece.
As you'll see below, the majority of critics agree that the series ranks as the best Star Wars content produced by the studio during its Disney-owned era.
A Rotten Tomatoes score has also been generated; as we write this, Andor season 2 has a 98% rating based on 42 reviews and has already been given "Certified Fresh" status. Season 1 has 96%, meaning the show remains the best-reviewed Star Wars TV show.
"In its second season, Andor shows us what a good story can accomplish — its capacity to dull empathy or amplify it, to placate people or awaken them," reads The Hollywood Reporter's verdict. "The series leaves up to us, as it must, what we now wish to do with that knowledge."
According to Variety, "'Andor' is richly satisfying as a complete work, though it leaves 'Star Wars' as a whole at a crossroads after the impending departure of Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy. But Gilroy and his collaborators leave behind them a map for how the franchise could move forward." The Wrap, meanwhile, calls it a "TV Masterpiece."
Empire's 5* verdict states, "Beautifully made, cleverly structured and genuinely moving, Andor Season 2 solidifies Tony Gilroy’s spin-off as one of the greats. This is Star Wars — and small-screen storytelling in general — at its best."
Total Film goes with 4* and writes, "Andor season 2 is just as excellent as its predecessor, and at times it even surpasses it. The unique structure builds forward momentum towards a pivotal disaster in Star Wars history, while the shadow of the Death Star looms large in a poignant and thrilling story that will change the way you watch Rogue One."
"At the end of Andor's two-season run," TV Guide explains, "we need to recognize the rare gift that we've been given as viewers, delivering a standard of adult drama we're unlikely to see from Star Wars again."
Adds io9, "Andor is a gift, an all-encompassing essential and important piece of modern mythology that reflects the world we live in now just as George Lucas’ Star Wars films always intended to."
Finally, Vulture concludes, "Andor is capital well spent. This second season doesn’t just cement the show’s standing as the best Star Wars project ever made. It’s also the rare spinoff that deepens the best parts of the franchise around it."
Despite the frequent complaints surrounding Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's handling of the Star Wars franchise, this is another big win for the studio that comes right after an exciting Star Wars Celebration event in Japan.
The second season of Andor takes place as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.
Andor sets the clock back five years from the events of Rogue One to tell the story of the film’s hero, Cassian Andor, and his transformation from a disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny.
The first three episodes of Andor season 2 will premiere on April 22.