What I like best about Andorlive action Disney+ The Star Wars series, whose season 2 will return on April 22, 2025, has always explored the dangers of authoritarianism and the importance of sacrifice to resist fascism. the show it’s as much a complex political thriller, with modern relevance, as it is a flashy space opera set in a galaxy far, far away.

Created and produced by Tony Gilroy, co-writer of the 2016 Star Wars prequel film Thief One, AndorThe first season took place over a year in the life of the main character – Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a petty criminal with a heroic destiny who eventually joins the fledgling Rebel Alliance to face the Galactic Empire. The latter, of course, is the totalitarian regime that either co-opts and controls or completely erases everything and everyone in the galaxy.

There are no lightsabers, no Jedi, and no impressive displays of the Force in Andor. It’s about ordinary rebels, good people and shady characters alike, who unite in a common cause against a dictatorial regime and a war machine – and in defiance of the longest and most difficult odds. And here are five reasons why I think the series is not only the best Disney+ has released so far, but also one of the best TV shows, period, of the last decade.

A strong focus on political intrigue

Image source: Disney+

The 12 episodes of the second season will span four years, divided into three episodes, and will take viewers to the heart of the events of Thief One. Expect the new season to continue to focus on intrigues in the Senate and the establishment leaning more toward the regime while pockets of high-profile resistance figures remain silent and secretly support and foment rebellion increasing.

This is the work that takes place in the corridors of power, while on the ordinary lands of ordinary planets across the galaxy, the working class and the disenfranchised slowly come face to face with the oppression of the Empire, which watches over them all and brings systematic violence against anyone who thinks outside the box.

Andor humanizes the otherwise abstract Empire

On a related note, it’s also worth pointing out that in every other installment of the Star Wars franchise, “The Empire” is essentially caricatured as a malevolent, non-specific force of villains. It’s the “what”, while why the Empire does what it does and how is sort of generically implied. Star Wars, until Andorprimarily focused on getting the audience invested in the hero’s journey, not the mechanics of galactic dictatorship.

Andorhowever, delves deeper into the bureaucracy that allows the Empire’s fascism to flourish, and develops flesh-and-blood characters like Dedra Meero and Syril Karn – ambitious officers of the Empire who help make its daily cruelty possible. Many Star Wars films are goofy and simply forgettable; Andordoes, however, offer a chilling exposition of how fascism arises and thrives.

The rebels present themselves as complex and pragmatic actors

Once again, breaking the Star Wars mold here is the show’s way of avoiding presenting the “good guys” as monolithic and morally blameless. A character like Luthern Rael, in particular, is a great example of AndorThe heroes of are shown as willing to compromise and even put people in harm’s way in the service of the greater good (just listen to Luthen’s speech “What Am I Sacrificing?” below for remember his bad statements, as well as his coldness and threatening edge).

Luthen, in fact, is probably my favorite character in the series. A pragmatic master strategist, he operates in the shadows, leads secret missions, and even runs a seemingly legitimate antiques store on Coruscant, which is really just a cover for his work to destabilize the Empire. He fully understands the costs of war and does not hesitate to deceive or manipulate anyone in order to achieve his ends.

Andor’s tone is harsher and more mature than any other Star Wars release.

When you have a version of Star Wars that literally opens in a brothel – turns out yes, they do in the otherwise PG-rated galaxy – you know you’re dealing with the most mature outing in the franchise, never mind. that no adult activities are actually featured in said brothel.

Compared to the great escape inherent in so many of Star Wars’ more fanciful films, Andor is distinguished by its darker and more sober visual and narrative style. There is a deliberative, heavy tension to the episodes, which immerses viewers in the true emotional and physical cost of resisting a fascist empire. This makes AndorOverall, a more personal and even relevant piece of science fiction, with Maarva’s funeral speech towards the end a perfect encapsulation of the importance of freedom and the fight against tyranny.

The show is timely and relevant

Finally, Andor may be set in the far reaches of space, in a past that mixes futuristic elements like hypersonic space travel with ancient myths and lore, but the series actually has a lot in common with modern-day viewers .

Andor implicitly invites viewers to reckon with their own imperfect world, the insidious march of authoritarianism and the erosion of civil rights. Fighting for power structures that elevate the common man instead of oppressing them is a battle that can be fought in space, in science fiction, and in the cities of our own world. Because there always comes a time in the onslaught of tyranny when men and women have had enough and are tired of being crushed under the heel of an oppressor. Andor is a show about what happens next.