“Andor”: watching season 2. Arc 4: finale. Winners, losers and vanquished

The second and final season of “Andor” has come to an end on the Disney+ service. The last arc promised to be the most intense and intense, and watching it evoked exactly ten associations in us.

Density. The third and especially the fourth arc of the second season of Andor are worth studying in a screenwriting course. With a not very long running time (all episodes do not exceed forty minutes in pure time), the episodes turned out to be as eventful as possible. The tenth and eleventh episodes were especially distinguished, where there is literally not a single extra scene, and the action unfolds non-stop. The twelfth episode slows down towards the end, allowing viewers to enjoy the last two or three calm scenes with the participation of their favorite characters. But then the most charged finale again twists emotions to the maximum, leaving only two desires: either to rewatch the series from the very beginning, or to immediately turn on the film “Rogue One.”

Tension. Already in the third arc it was clear that the stakes were not just raised to the limit - everyone remaining at the gaming table went all-in, and now they can only take turns dropping out of the game. And in this regard, the tenth and eleventh episodes live up to all expectations and escalate the tension to the limit. True, since Andor is a prequel to Rogue One, the narrative reaches its climax not in the finale, but at the end of the eleventh episode, called “Who Else Knows?” At the beginning of the twelfth episode, the inevitable denouement follows, and then the plot smoothly leads us to the film by Gareth Edwards, which in retrospect looks like the third season of Andor. And yes, the fact that we knew in advance the fate of Andor himself and a number of other characters did not in the least prevent us from worrying as if we were relatives for those heroes who did not appear in “Outcast.”

Persistence.Andor was merciless to its characters, and only the most persistent made it to the finale. For some of them, the last arc prepared the most difficult tests. Not everyone dealt with them with dignity, and some even burst into tears in the imperial prison, but one character stands out from the general background. No, we’re not talking about Cassian Andor, but about Clay, Luten’s faithful assistant, who has saved the situation more than once throughout the season with her quick wits, quickness and composure. But given Kleya's track record, what she had to do in the finals makes me silently take my hat off to her. Kleya is truly one of those nameless heroines, without whom the Rebellion against the Empire would have died in its infancy. 

Mastery. One of the main advantages of “Andor” is its impressive cast, thanks to which even passable characters can get their fifteen minutes of fame. Forest Whitaker, Genevieve O'Reilly, and Kyle Soller shone in different episodes. In this arc, we already noted Elisabeth Dulau's Clay, but another gem of the finale was Ben Mendelsohn, who showed the perfect transition from absolute calm to bestial rage in just a couple of seconds.

History. Even though Andora's fourth arc wrapped up the series, set the stage for Rogue One, and was packed to the brim with action, writer Tom Bissell and director Alonso Ruizpalacios found time and space for a few flashbacks. They showed us the backstory of two important characters for the series and well explained the motives for their hatred of the Empire.

Payback. Not all the Andor characters, whose future remained unknown, played out the box, but the ending still revealed the fate of most of the characters. And, I must admit, most of them got what they deserved. 

Familiar faces. The closer the events of Rogue One and A New Hope became, the more familiar faces appeared in the narrative.And in the final episodes, there was a benefit performance of everyone’s favorite battle droid, who was so conveniently reprogrammed at the end of the last arc, as well as Ruscott Melshi, one of the fighters who helped Jyn and Cassian steal the Death Star plans. In the short time they had, the guys lit up as best they could and again made us regret that Andor was completed in two seasons instead of five.

Humor. Despite the extreme seriousness of the events taking place in the series, there is humor in the arc, and quite appropriate. And yes, K-2SO is largely responsible for it.

Hope. We all know how Rogue One ends. We all know that the sacrifice of the characters in the film will not be in vain in the end. We all understand that Cassian's heroic march through the rebel camp at the end of the series and his subsequent flight to the Rings of Kafrena is the first link in the chain of events that will lead to his death. And at the same time, the final frames of the series not only evoke sadness, but also give hope, even if for some characters it will be in vain. And the final scene unexpectedly echoes the scene on Tatooine from the ending of Revenge of the Sith, which just recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary.

Greatness. Honestly, the second season of Andor and the entire series in general is true premium television, the quality of which cannot be matched by any other Disney+ product. Of the Star Wars series, only the second season of Ahsoka is in the announcements, but it is as different from Andor as it is from the Death Star. And, to tell the truth, it is now completely unclear who should film what so that this show can at least reach the quality bar set by Andor. 

We are well aware that many viewers found the series drawn out, boring and lacking in lightsaber fights. But if the quality of series was measured by the number of duels with flash bombs, then the best Star Wars series would be “The Acolyte”! We would then live in a brave new world.

P. SAndor is said to have two sequels - Rogue One and A New Hope.Has anyone heard of them, are they worth watching? ?