In my opinion, the first season of Star Wars' series about Cassian Andor did a phenomenal thing. It took a one-off character with a tragic fate and cleverly showed us how far he came to be the leader he died as. We saw Cassian rebelling before he was good at and gained a better understanding of what he went through in the name of justice. In Andor Season 2: A Special Look, viewers get to see his evolution into a man who is integral to the revolution.
What stands out most about Andor in Season 2?
One of the most striking things about the first season was the futility of it all. There were inspiring acts of resistance, but it did not stop the war or defeat the Empire. Cassian and his fellow prisoners escaped the forced labor, but their day-to-day work contributed to the construction of the Death Star. The Empire took some body blows, but still continued in its legacy of tyranny.
In this two-minute featurette, we see that the Empire is the one unable to stop something. Tides are turning, and this is the genius I'm looking forward to in Season 2. Each three-episode arc is going to cover a year of the time leading up to days before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While Cassian will continue evolving as a soldier and a leader, the different factions of the Alliance will find ways to unify as well.
Says Tony Gilroy, "Revolutionary movements are spontaneously happening all over the galaxy. How those come together is the stuff of our story." An exchange between Cassian and Mon Mothma articulates a key point. As Cassian insists that "The Empire cannot win," Mon Mothma responds, "Well, they haven't won yet."
There is great disruption in both the Season 2 trailer and this short segment on the season to come. In a chilling moment, we see a crowd and the closed captions label their cries as "shouting in Ghor" while stormtroopers wade into the crowd as Dedra Meero orders, "Proceed."
This is presumably a depiction of the Ghorman Massacre that will lead Mon Mothma to publicly stand against the Empire, and we even see her standing alone in a Senate box. On the other hand, we see the Empire's weakness exposed when the rebels strike and Director Krennic is heard to be asking, "Is the urgency of the situation not palpable?"
I am excited for this second season because we see the strengthening of the rebel cause and the inability of a galaxy-spanning dictatorship to stop it. We will see the way that matters of concern early in the second season might credibly escalate into the state of emergency that results in not just the dissolution of the Imperial Senate, but the heart-stopping victories at Scarif and Yavin to come.
The special look can be found on Disney+ or watch on YouTube below as we look forward to the season premiere on April 22.