"Who Are You?" | Andor Season 2, Episodes 7-10 Review
Andor Season 2 leveled up in every way, but I never expected to watch the best television episode I've ever seen on a Disney+ Star Wars show.
The first two weeks — six episodes — of Andor Season 2 were an excellent viewing experience; nothing life-altering, but one of the best scripts television has seen to follow the success of Season 1. Stakes began as low as a tale about a fascist government could, with an adventurous, sometimes fun first arc. The second arc raised the stakes, with Ghorman taking center stage. Episodes 7 through 9 were a masterclass in storytelling, unlike anything I’ve seen, though, and they wouldn’t have been possible without the tension built throughout the first six episodes. I’ll save the recap and explain how Tony Gilroy and company created a three-episode arc that will be burned into my brain for the rest of time. Spoilers for Andor ahead.
While Episode 7 is a superb setup episode that subtly introduces The Force into the story and allows viewers to consider Cassian Andor’s relationship to it, I’m going to focus on Episodes 8 and 9. Three things separate these two episodes from anything on television: the tightest script I’ve ever seen, an assumption that the viewer is intelligent, and the state of world conflict and the United States. From the introduction of the “rebellions are built on hope” line that overtook the Star Wars fandom when Rogue One was released, and its delivery from a bellhop-turned-concierge who sacrifices himself for the rebellion, to Rylanz asking Syril what “kind of being” he is, the dialogue is immaculate. This isn’t new for Andor — Luthen’s speech in the Season 1 finale remains one of the most well-written monologues in television history — but weaving that mastery into a battle episode is something the best television shows struggle with. That’s what Episode 8, titled “Who Are You?”, is at its core—a battle episode, depicting the horrors of a fascist regime in every way. From state-controlled media echoing the exact language used in a private conversation between two Imperial leaders, describing the Ghorman people as the instigators despite their innocence, to the murder of innocent protestors over natural resources, Gilroy and company hit close to home. Mon Mothma’s Senate speech that calls out Emperor Palpatine directly follows the brilliance of Episode 8, and it’s one of the most resonant messages I’ve ever heard.
Fellow Senators, friends, colleagues, allies, adversaries. I stand before you this morning with a heavy heart. I’ve spent my life in this chamber. I came here as a child. And as I look around now, I realize I have almost no memories that pre-date my arrival and few bonds of affection that cleave so tightly. Through these many years, I believe I have served my constituents honorably and upheld our code of conduct. This chamber is a cauldron of opinions and we’ve certainly all had our patience and tempers tested in pursuit of our ideals. Disagree as we might, I am hopeful that those of you who know me will vouch for my credibility in the days to come. I stand this morning with a difficult message. I believe we are in crisis. The distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest. This Chamber’s hold on the truth was finally lost on the Ghorman Plaza. What took place yesterday… what happened yesterday on Ghorman was unprovoked genocide! Yes! Genocide! And that truth has been exiled from this chamber! And the monster screaming the loudest? The monster we’ve helped create? The monster who will come for us all soon enough is Emperor Palpatine!
It’s worth noting that this show was written before America returned to its descent into fascism. Still, it’s impossible to watch this arc of episodes without feeling the parallels between The Empire and the United States. Maybe that “real” feeling pushes the brilliance of these two episodes to another level, and it’s hard to describe how challenging it was to sit through the massacre of innocent people, especially as the KX droids were deployed, flailing Ghorman protestors with a chilling disregard. But none of that matters without the character development and attention from previous arcs. Rylanz and Lezine’s horror and sadness when they realize what’s about to happen only impact viewers because of the time we spent learning about their political beliefs. Syril’s rage and subsequent devastation when Cassian doesn’t recognize him are enhanced by two seasons of focusing on the former’s obsession with the latter. Their fist-fight is also one of the most intensely choreographed hand-to-hand combat scenes in recent memory. There’s never been anyone in Star Wars, including George Lucas, as obsessed with rebellion as Tony Gilroy, which becomes clear with the framing of the massacre. From the sealing of exits as the crowd gathers, to the Stormtroopers’ arrival as reinforcement behind the green, expendable Imperial team, and extending into the generational divide between Rylanz and his ambitious daughter, the episode depicts rebellion more effectively than anything in the Star Wars live-action history.
“We Are The Ghor” is a shattering hymn perfectly depicting the Ghorman people. Their national pride is inspirational, and their inexperience is overwhelmingly difficult to watch, considering the known-by-viewer outcome of the events in Episode 8. While that song hasn’t left me since I watched it for the first time, the entire score is an example of expert tension-building and evocative motifs. Bix’s Message, the track that plays when Cassian watches Bix explain why she left him, plays similarly to Time by Hans Zimmer, Inception’s most notable track, with a quiet, despairing swell of chords just loud enough to draw tears from viewers invested in Bix and Cassian’s relationship.
This show can be described as a spy thriller, an adventure drama, a battle epic, and, now more prominently after Mon’s extraction, an action heist. It’s hard to overstate how difficult it is to evoke similar emotions from a shootout-infused battle epic and a dialogue-infused heist, but Gilroy and his team accomplished that. If you’ve seen Rogue One, you know Mon gets out and leads the team in Yavin, yet the tension as she and Cassian attempt escape, eventually descending the Senate Building steps, is enough to make your heart skip a beat.
Viewers knowing the outcome of this show, both because it serves as a prequel to a prequel and the well-known finality of the show after the 12th episode airs, was a massive barrier. The first few days after I watched this arc, I thought maybe I was hyperbolic in saying that this is the best Star Wars has ever been, including the prequels. The more I sit with it, and after a second watch, the more I believe Episode 8 is the best Star Wars and television has been. Episode 9 isn’t far behind, and Andor Season 2 is cemented as one of the best things to exist in television history, no matter what happens in the final three episodes.
I can’t recommend this show enough, and I wish it weren’t coming to a close next week. I’ll always cherish its impact on me, though, and I will never stop watching this three-episode arc.
Episodes 10-12 will be released at 9:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 13th, on Disney+.