The Standard By Which All Future Star Wars Will Be Measured

The first reactions to Andor season 2 are in. After the first season premiered in 2022 to strong reviews from critics, new episodes will finally make their way to Disney+ on April 22. To let hype build even higher, a Star Wars Celebration panel dedicated to Andor showed the audience the entire first episode. With ScreenRant‘s Molly Brizzell and James Hunt on the ground, SR reported on all the Andor season 2 reveals from the event.

Timed with that panel, members of the press who had early access to Andor season 2 were allowed to share their reactions on social media – among them ScreenRant‘s Senior Star Wars Editor Tom Bacon:

Tom, who’s seen just about everything Star Wars there is, has nothing but good things to say. In fact, he calls the third batch of episodes “a solid contender for my favorite Star Wars story… ever.”

The aforementioned Molly Brizzell, who is one of SR‘s on-the-ground reporters at Star Wars Celebration, also shared her reaction to the full season. She’s less reluctant to crown Andor “without question, the best Star Wars that has ever been made.”

Empire‘s Amon Warmann notes that while the first five episodes are “good,” the season “kicks into another gear entirely” from episode 6 on. “It’s the standard by which all future Star Wars will be measured. Superb TV.“

Lest anyone worry that Andor season 2’s release strategy makes it another case of movies masquerading as television, Brendan Hodges assures that it’s more “an intricately designed season of Star Wars…” In fact, he calls it “one of the best seasons of TV in years.”

Germain Lussier, echoing the sentiment that Andor season 2 is peak Star Wars and also “a triumph of storytelling in general,” highlighted his range of emotional responses to the various episodes. “Everything you want & more. It’s a miracle.“

Jacob Fisher of DiscussingFilm calls out Andor‘s creatives by name. Tony Gilroy has made “another tremendous season of TV,” while star Diego Luna “joins the echelon of top Star Wars performances here easily.”

Star Wars fans might be expecting the show to have an impact on how they see Rogue One on rewatch, but Rafael Motamayor insists that Andor season 2 makes “even Rebels better.“

Collider‘s Perri Nemiroff calls the new episodes “phenomenal,” and says she can “wholeheartedly” endorse them as “the best season of Star Wars TV I have ever seen.“

Jordan King, “saying the obvious,” is another person to highlight Andor season 2 as not just great Star Wars, but “all-time” great television. He highlights one arc in particular as “astonishing,” and teases that the show is “emotional in ways you won’t see coming.”

The Hollywood Reporter‘s Brian Davids namechecks Better Call Saul in calling Andor “one of the most enriching prequels of all time,” a legacy that started in season 1 and is “cemented” with season 2.

Daniel Baptista broke out the all-caps button in his Andor reaction, calling season 2 “THRILLING, UNFORGETTABLE, and without a doubt, the GREATEST Star Wars story ever put to screen.” The finale, in particular, is highlighted as a standout.

Tara Bennett, eager to finally share thoughts, describes season 2 as “more of an ensemble piece” that deepens character arcs beyond just Cassian’s.

What These Reactions Mean For Andor Season 2

The Bar For Star Wars TV Was Just Raised – Again

While debate continues to rage over what a Star Wars TV show should be, it was immediately clear upon seeing Andor season 1 that the series was attempting something different. The Jedi-less, intrigue-rich thriller about the seeding of the Rebellion against the Empire has its detractors, but creator Tony Gilroy’s grounded approach won over many, Star Wars fans and TV critics alike. Anticipation was already high heading into season 2, not least because it will be the show’s last, leading directly into the events of Rogue One.

These first reactions suggest Andor season 2 has more than delivered on the promise of those initial episodes. Not only does everyone highlight its quality, ranking it among the best in the Star Wars franchise and even on par with the best TV of the year (or ever), but multiple early viewers say it does what the best prequel stories do: make the original even richer. Audiences who loved Rogue One the first time around were certainly hopeful the series would deepen the film, but that some of the posts above say Andor adds to Rebels and even the original trilogy is quite an achievement.

And it’s not only TV journalists that are impressed. While they might not’ve seen the full season yet, SR‘s Brizzell shared that the attendees of Star Wars Celebration’s Andor panel cheered at numerous points throughout the first screening of the season 2 premiere. More telling, though – the Ferrix crew’s introduction wasn’t met with applause, because their first scene was so tense. There’s maybe no stronger sign of enrapturing storytelling than a room full of the biggest Star Wars fans alive stunned into silence.

Our Take On Andor Season 2’s First Reactions

Does The Show Really Have To End?

Full disclosure: I absolutely loved Andor season 1. In terms of a Star Wars ranking, I would have a hard time placing it above Empire Strikes Back, but I have no reservations about saying it’s the best writing the franchise has ever seen. So the ecstatic early reactions, especially from some of my trusted colleagues, have me more excited for Andor season 2 than I already was.

But my true response is a bit bittersweet. I can understand Gilroy and Luna not wanting to chain themselves to the series for more than a decade, as their original five-season plan would have done, but I wish I didn’t have to say goodbye to the show just yet. Still, if it does have to end, I’m overjoyed to hear it goes out on an absolute high.

Andor

Release Date

2022 – 2025-00-00

Network

Disney+

Showrunner

Tony Gilroy

Directors

Susanna White

Writers

Dan Gilroy