Which 'Andor' Season Is Better? An Arc-by-Arc Comparison

I’ve been writing online for almost 20 years, so I should know better than to think that I can stop people from being mad by adding disclaimers at the start of an article. And, yet, I’m gonna do it anyway.

Let me make one thing abundantly clear: Andor is one of the best pieces of Star Wars since the Original Trilogy. Both seasons are prestige television at its finest. That said, it does not hurt the show to look under the hood and see how each of these powerhouses stack up against each other. There’s a preciousness around Andor in liberal/left-leaning corners that causes folks to bristle at any criticism. People have convinced themselves that it’s some sort of road map to fighting the Trump administration, and everyone needs to take some deep breaths.

Don’t get me wrong, Andor is poignant as hell and does a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of revolution. It is gorgeously written, but also, this story ends with our hero stealing the plans for a laser moon that blasts his entire body into smithereens. Taking things even further, does Donald Trump have a thermal exhaust port that you can fire a missile at? — Actually, don’t answer that. No one needs to go the gulag for an ass joke.

Anyway, if you’ve read my Season 2 recaps, then you’re well aware that I am biased towards Season 1. I’m not going to hide that. The first season set the bar extremely high, and don’t get me wrong, Season 2 did yeoman’s work trying to match that standard even while shackled with an unfortunate release schedule. In fact, we’re going to take a dive into how close it came, and hopefully, you’ll come away realizing that I didn’t hate Season 2 even though I got really mad about the Force stuff. (To dig my hole even further, I also wasn’t blown away by the Ghorman Massacre, so this should be fun.)

Just a brief note on methodology: I took each three episode arc and pitted them against each other in order. For once, this release schedule did me a favor because I didn’t have to do 12 different comparisons. Thanks, Disney bean-counters!

Premiere vs. Premiere

The first showdown sees the Andor Season 2 premiere immediately walking away with the gold. It hits the ground running, it’s full of kinetic energy, and Mon Mothma dancing to that banger while Cassian barely holds it together after Brasso’s death was this show firing on all cylinders. It was everything fans wanted after waiting over two years.

The Season 1 premiere was solid, but the reality is that a lot of people bounced off of it. “Boring,” was not an uncommon reaction, which I fully disagreed with. However, I’ll concede that the first three episodes are kind of a slow burn. There is some great stuff with Syril, but a lot of it is table-setting for the absolute masterpiece of a finale.

Winner: Season 2

Aldhani Heist vs. Syril’s Spy Game

This next matchup was surprisingly tough because I just assumed the Aldhani heist from Season 1 would mow right over the setup of the Ghorman Front. We’re introduced to Nemik’s manifesto, Vel, and Cinta all while barreling towards one hell of an action piece. Surely, Season 1 would be the champion, especially after the second arc in Season 2 ran interminably long. I even wrote that I felt chained to my couch — but then I started to think about it some more.

Season 2 was cooking with gas. We had Dedra and Syril’s weird little booty call right before he’s obliviously dunked on by Major Partagaz, Saw Gerrara’s rhydo-huffing monologue, Cinta’s death, and a propulsive theme of how Cassian is reaching a shit or get off the pot moment. When we exit this arc, there’s a fire in everyone’s belly, and if I isolate this arc to that feeling while ignoring how little it’s paid off, I come to an expected conclusion.

Winner: Draw

Narkina 5 Prison vs. Ghorman Massacre

Here’s where Season 2 starts to take a beating. If there’s a moment when it becomes crystal clear that Andor is a brutal and brilliant piece of story-telling, it’s Cassian’s descent into the Narkina 5 prison in Season 1. The symbolism is off the charts as prisoners are literally fed into the gears of the Imperial machine. That nightmare also became jarringly prescient thanks to Cassian being mistakenly detained and shipped to an off-site prison with little chance of return. The entire arc was peak Andor right down to Andy Serkis’ pitch-perfect performance as Kino and Luthen’s monologue. Yup, that was in there, too.

Season 2 steps into the ring with the Ghorman Massacre, and a lot of people were enthralled by this crucial piece of Star Wars lore. Here’s why it didn’t hit for me: It was Ferrix redux. We’ve already seen this type of Dickensian factory workers doing Les Miserables in space. Like everything in this show, it was beautifully executed and a testament to Andor’s craftsmanship, but we’ve done this before. Factor in Bix being inexplicably reduced to the doting girlfriend and a total abandonment of Wil’s radicalization (Saw Gerrara is shoved clear out of sight), and this one wasn’t even close.

Winner: Season 1

Revolt on Ferrix vs. Prelude to Rogue One

Once again, Season 2 is up against a Goliath. Not only does the Season 1 finale arc have the exquisite revolt on Ferrix, a painstakingly orchestrated crescendo built across every single episode, but it also has Mon Mothma living her worst fear. To keep the burgeoning Rebellion funded, she’s forced to sacrifice her own daughter by dooming her to an arranged marriage, a fate that Mon knows all too well.

However, Season 2 doesn’t arrive empty-handed. Elizabeth Dulau’s Kleya is fully unleashed in the finale arc, and she quickly earns her place right next to Genevieve O’Reilly as one of the show’s MVP. Episodes 10 and 11 are top-tier Andor before the show gets sucked into the unavoidable gravity well of Rogue One. Unfortunately, Andor spends its final moments inevitably setting up a movie where the story truly ends, and a climactic finish that does not make. It really is unfair to put that up against Ferrix, but here we are.

Winner: Season 1

You folks can do the math, Season 1 is our champion, according to this entirely subjective exercise that’s mostly the rantings of an opinionated weirdo. More importantly, I’m not trying to sap anyone’s enjoyment of the show because Andor is a masterpiece through and through. I guarantee it will be studied and referenced for years thanks to an unparalleled level of writing, acting, and set design. We’ve witnessed the Swiss watch of Star Wars, and it’s all thanks to Baby Yoda putting up insane numbers on yet another streaming platform.

Never forget.