‘Andor’ Season 1 Is Streaming on Hulu, Should You Watch It? (Yes)

With Andor Season 2 just a little over a month away, Disney has made it easier than ever to catch up on Season 1. Right now, you can watch the full season in its entirety on Hulu, or get your beak wet with the first three episodes for free on YouTube.

Undoubtedly, you have questions, and lucky for you, I have answers.

Is Andor really the best Star Wars series on Disney+?

Yes, hands down. I’m always afraid of overhyping a show or movie, but Andor delivers. It has the goods and the juice.

Then why did nobody watch it?

Well… in a nutshell, the Star Wars fandom is dumb and full of terrors. That said, I did notice the consensus switched from “boring” (which it absolutely is not) to “masterpiece” when they were looking for a show to beat The Acolyte with. So, while Andor might not have crushed it in the ratings department out of the gate, it appears to have picked up steam in the two years since.

What if I didn’t like Rogue One?

Neither did I! I was not a huge fun of Rogue One, and to this day, I still bristle at the notion that it’s the best Star Wars movie under Disney. No one was more prepared to be bored to tears by Andor than me, so imagine my surprise when it slapped every single ass. It is an entirely different beast. While Rogue One aimed to be a Dirty Dozen-style war movie, Andor is a richly dense political drama that rightly belongs in the upper echelons of prestige TV. It’s beautifully written, acted, and shot thanks in no small part to eschewing the CGI shoebox known as The Volume for practical sets.

What is the show even about?

It’s a ground-level look at how the Empire maintains its control over local systems by leveraging corporations to do its bidding and keeping an intensely watchful eye on pockets of dissent via the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB). Cassian’s life gets smashed between those gears, and he finds himself reluctantly drawn into the burgeoning rebellion that Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) is painstakingly building with cold and calculating precision. No one’s life is above the cause as Luthen proves to be equally as ruthless as the Empire he’s fighting.

Alright, that sounds awesome, but is there an annoying kid with a manifesto that reminds me of every dork who says I should read Marx?

Sh*t. I’m not gonna lie to you, I was not a fan of Manifesto Boy when he first showed up. There’s nothing I hate more than masturbatory talk of revolution under a Democratic administration from people who think oppression is having to pay rent or slightly more for a burrito so their Chipotle driver can make a decent wage. That said, to Tony Gilroy’s credit, Manifesto Boy ends up being the heart and soul of the series, and I will not spoil how or why. Also, you’ve probably seen the memes, but the little bugger has become jarringly poignant. The kid was cooking.

How many episodes are there?

Twelve. Every one a banger. The first three are probably the weakest, but not entirely so, and it’s beautiful how crucial they are to the Season 1 finale. This show is a master class in longform storytelling.

Is there space sex?

Heavily implied! Heavily implied.

Jedi?

Never once mentioned.

Baby Yoda?

Now, you’re just making me mad.

What if I already watched Andor Season 1 but don’t want to watch it again before Season 2?

You’re covered there, too. Disney also dropped an official 14-minute recap, which for the record, would have been nice, Severance. I guzzle gallons of internet a day and can only keep so much stuff in my brain, you jerks.

Andor Season 2 premieres April 22 on Disney+.