I'm gonna be straight with you about these final three episodes of Andor season 2, they're good television but they ain't the explosive finale I was hoping for after those incredible episodes 7-9 bach that had me wanting MOAR Star Wars. Don't get me wrong this is still some of the best Star Wars content I have seen in the past years both Mandalorian and Andor constantly delivering, the acting is phenomenal, the production values are through the roof makes you feel each episode almost if not a movie and the character development is palpable but something about these last episodes felt like they were more concerned with setting up Rogue One than giving us a satisfying conclusion to the story I have been following for two seasons, the Rogue One thing is because thats what was everywhere, not that I'm a big Star Wars wiki. The whole thing starts one year after the Gorman massacre in 1 BBY now which means it's literally months away from the events of Rogue One and you can feel the weight of that connection. Luthen and Kleya are still running their rebel network from Coruscant but everything is about to come crashing down because Dedra has finally figured out who Luthen really is, she has been tracking Project Axis for so long that it has become her obsession and when Lonni Jung rings the "big bell" emergency signal, you know shit is about to hit the fan. The problem is while all this setup is masterfully done, it lacks the punch or excitement that made those Aldhani and Gorman episodes so damn good, it feels more like a chess game moving pieces into position rather than the explosive climax I was looking for, the series as I mention before really leaves you wanting more, if they do another Season that interconnects would feel more like a rebranding tbh, something in between those lines Andor 2.0.
Platform: Disney+
The meat of episode 10 goes around Luthen's final meeting with Lonni Jung, who has been using Dedra's security codes to dig through classified files and has stumbled upon the Empire's biggest secret, the Death Star project. Jung's basically burned his cover completely, he knows Dedra is onto him and he's desperate to get his family to safety but Luthen being Luthen decides to kill him instead of helping him escape because that is apparently the only way to keep everyone safe. It is a cold move that shows just how far Luthen has fallen into this dark world of rebellion, he's become someone who can murder an ally without blinking an eye and while Stellan Skarsgard sells the hell out of this moment, it doesn't feel as impactful as it should. The real showdown happens when Dedra finally confronts Luthen at his antique shop, she has been dreaming about this moment for years and when she pulls out that Imperial starpath unit from season one, you can see the satisfaction on her face, but Luthen not going down without a fight, he tells her the rebellion has spread everywhere now, it's not just him anymore, it's a galaxy wide movement that can't be stopped, then he tries to kill himself with some ancient Jedi blade rather than be captured, he should have gone for his heart instead or throat, honestly was very dumb attempt of suicide. The whole sequence is very well shot and acted but it lacks the emotional weight it should have because I knew from the beginning that Luthen's not making it out of this alive. The episode does great with Kleya's backstory through flashbacks, showing us how she and Luthen met when he was still an Imperial sergeant named Lear who saved her during some brutal pacification mission, it's heartbreaking stuff that explains their father daughter relationship but it feels rushed and could have used more time to breathe.
Episode 11 shifts gears and focus on the aftermath of Luthen's capture with Krennic interrogating Dedra about how much she knows about the Death Star project and this is where the episode really shines because Ben Mendelsohn is absolutely terrifying as Krennic when he is pissed off. Turns out Dedra's been reading classified files that were accidentally forwarded to her, which is honestly hilarious because the Empire's downfall basically starts with a clerical error, just like someone hit "reply all" on the wrong email and now the rebels know about their superweapon, just to think about it makes you laugh. Krennic is furious because Dedra went rogue to capture Luthen, she broke protocol to feed her own ego and now she has compromised the entire Death Star project so they throw her in prison just like they did to Cassian back in season one and damn that was so satisfying to watch. Meanwhile Kleya is hiding in the old safehouse trying to contact the rebellion and when Cassian gets her message, he immediately drops everything to come rescue her and that too was a badass to the bones scenes, bringing Melshi and K-2SO along for the ride. Not gona lie, this last three episodes had their moments of glory, both the rebels and the Empire close in on Kleya's location but the action sequence that follows feels a bit underwhelming compared to the prison break or the Aldhani heist, K-2SO gets some great moments tossing stormtroopers around like ragdolls but it's over too quickly and doesn't have the same weight as previous action scenes. What bothers me most about this episode is how it sets up all these great character moments but doesn't give them room to breathe, Partagaz listening to Nemik's manifesto and realizing his life's work was meaningless could have been a powerful scene but it's rushed and feels more like checking a box than exploring the character's psychology.
Episode 12 feels like its trying to pack up everything and move into Rogue One, shows over move on and this is where the series really feels like its struggling to bring closure like trying to please both at once. Cassian brings Kleya to Yavin 4 where the rebel leadership is skeptical about Luthen's intelligence, they have never trusted him and his methods, even though none of them would exist without his network, it's frustrating to watch these characters dismiss the man who basically created their rebellion. Mon Mothma looks great in her Rogue One outfit and seeing her interact with Saw Gerrera over hologram is cool but these scenes feel more like forced fan service than organic story, the episode is just trying to check boxes to make sure everything lines up with the movies rather than focusing on the characters we have been following for two seasons. The revelation that Bix was pregnant when she left Cassian is supposed to be this big emotional moment and while it's beautifully shot with her walking through the grain fields holding their child, for me it also feels void because we haven't spent enough time with their relationship this season. Seeing Dedra in prison wearing the same uniform Cassian wore is poetic justice but these moments dont feel at all like climax, just events we were all expecting to happen and enjoy, they're wrapping up loose ends rather than delivering proper closure. The episode ends with Cassian heading off to meet Tivik on Kafrene, which is literally the opening scene of Rogue One and that connection is satisfying on an intellectual level but it doesn't feel like a proper ending to the story we have been watching, it's more like "tune in next time" except we know exactly what happens next because we've already seen the movie.
In conclusion the final episodes are not bad for a TV series by any means, the performances are incredible across the board, the production design is stunning and the writing is still miles ahead of most Star Wars content, in my opinion Andor is the best Star Wars TV series we had and I think only having two season might save it from its demise, Andor does suffer from being too beholden to existing continuity. Instead of giving us a satisfying conclusion to Luthen's story, we got this rushed death only satisfies the plog of what they planning to bring ahead, instead of exploring the emotional fallout of everything that's happened, we get setup for a movie that already happen irl and instead of the explosive action sequences that made season one so damn good, we get careful maneuvering to make sure nothing contradicts established canon, I guess this is the kind of situations when you want to stick to lore and events in the future of a story that already happen irl for the fans to watch. The whole thing feels like it's playing it safe when it should be taking risks and that's frustrating because this series has shown it can deliver incredible television content when it's not worried about connecting to other movies but I guess that was season one. They really created something special with Andor, they proved that Star Wars can be mature, complex and deep emotions but these final episodes feel like they are more of a concerned procedure with strict rules than being a good ending. I wanted to see Palpatine or Vader show up, just a little cameo, I wanted some massive action sequence that would match the Aldhani heist, I wanted an ending that felt like a conclusion rather than a transition. It's still better than most of what Disney has given us and I will probably rewatch the whole series but I still think it deserve a better ending.
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