Latest news with #ImperialSecurityBureau
Gizmodo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
In This Look Inside the New ‘Bad Batch' Novel, the Emperor's Name Counts for a Lot
From Rebels to Andor, we've met different types of people that make up the Empire's sinister intelligence forces in the Imperial Security Bureau. We've seen agents like Kallus realize the extent of their role in the Empire's evil, and agents like Dedra Meero consumed by the system they created. Now, in the latest Star Wars novel, we're going to meet an agent learning a very difficult lesson: the long arm of Imperial law doesn't apply to some people, whether they like it or not. That's the trouble facing ISB agent Sendril Crane in Lamar Giles' new Star Wars novel out this week, Sanctuary. A brand new tale starring Clone Force 99—better known as the ragtag heroes of The Bad Batch—Sanctuary is set during the events of the Clone Wars continuation's second season, after the Batch has found a new secretive home on the island world of Pabu. Tasked with a series of risky new missions by their ally, the treasure hunter Phee Genoa, the Batch find themselves immediately leaving the safe haven of their new home for a chance for money and potential exposure to agents of the Empire they all long to avoid. After things start going wrong and pressure mounts, Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Omega find themselves weighing the odds of their mercenary life when they're tasked with ferrying a young couple to safe harbor—as the shadow of the ISB stalks them all, threatening to bring not just the Bad Batch's passengers but all of Pabu into the spotlight at the worst possible time. You can get to know Crane a little in our exclusive excerpt from Sanctuary below, as he investigates the aftermath of one of the Batch's louder missions with Phee… only to discover that, for all the terror the ISB strikes in people at the heart of the Imperial regime, in some corners of the galaxy, a certain name dropped at a certain time can still count for an awful lot… especially when that name is Sheev Palpatine's. 'Parlin, Parlin! Is that the authorities? Thank goodness. I didn't expect them to get here so fast.' The woman, her luxurious gown sullied with dust and muck, her hair mussed, her hands shaking, emerged from the shadows of the entrance. Her eyes were wide with relief, but the look shifted to confusion. 'You aren't the local police. You're ISB.' 'Cellia Moten, I presume.' Crane kept his voice light. He wanted her to trust him. Easier to catch her in a lie that way. Under Imperial statutes, lying to an ISB agent was punishable by up to ninety days of detention. 'I am.' She extended her hand daintily, fingers down, the back toward the sky. Crane associated this gesture with royalty, beings who were accustomed to people grasping those fingers before kneeling or kissing rings. He remained upright while squeezing her fingers. It looked as awkward as it felt. Cellia retracted her hand, unfazed. 'Did the Dallow police send you?' 'No,' Crane said, his original line of questioning lost in his own confusion. 'Why would they?' 'Because I've been robbed!' 'You've been—' Crane was taken off guard here, though usually quick to control a situation, especially an interrogation, even if unofficial. He'd expected an inept adversary, but was this woman a victim? 'May we come in so you can tell us what happened?' The Kiffar tensed, but Cellia remained eager. 'Of course. Do excuse the mess. The thieves went on an absolute rampage.' She led them into the palace, and Crane was taken aback again. This wasn't a mess. It was a war zone. Evidence of blasterfire. Bombs. Was that a pool of green blood in the corner? Clone Force 99's work? From what he'd read, they were capable of this level of destruction. Crane's operatives murmured among themselves while more beings entered from the opposite end of the room. There were various species and some droids, all armed with illegal weapons. Military-grade hardware came with serious jail time should Crane decide to charge the wielders—a right he reserved while he ascertained what happened here. Cellia Moten said, 'I was tricked by con artists masquerading as antique dealers. They wormed their way into my home under the guise of a simple transaction. Once they were here, they threatened my life and the lives of my workers.' 'So you fought them,' Crane said—a statement, not a question. The evidence of a battle was unmistakable. 'We do not wither here.' 'What were you attempting to buy?' Drand asked. 'Pottery,' Cellia said, and nothing more. Crane would've preferred to be the sole interrogator here but took Drand's eagerness for a chance to examine their surroundings more closely. Several lavish models, now mostly blown to smithereens. Red veins in white marble still screamed opulence through the dust and debris. Floor to ceiling, none of the finishes would have been affordable on a hundred ISB salaries. Crane's sympathy for Cellia Moten's tumultuous day diminished as the running credit count in his head increased. 'What were they trying to take?' Crane asked. Cellia scoffed. 'There's nothing in here that isn't valuable.' 'I can tell.' Crane continued down the corridor, prompting Cellia, her guard, and Crane's team to follow. 'But, specifically, for the con artists, as you put it, to concoct a scheme convincing enough for you to shuttle them to your home, they must've had a specific payday in mind.' 'I can't speak to their motivations. I don't think like a criminal.' 'How many of them were there?' 'Three.' 'All clones?' Cellia took a moment before answering. 'One of them resembled a clone. Somewhat. Another was a pickpocket child. The third was a pirate known as Phee Genoa. I'm sure her name's somewhere in the extensive files of the ISB.' Even more players than Clone Force 99 and Gayla? A pirate? And a child? In the next grand room, there was more destruction. Crane pointed to a gaping hole in the wall. 'What happened here?' 'My security attempted to corner the thieves before they could harm me and escape with any valuables, but they blasted their way through the wall.' That . . . was a lie. The explosive charge was triggered on the exterior, and the evidence was clear. Crane was so pleased to utter his next words. 'Cellia Moten, by the authority of the Imperial Security Bureau, I'm placing you under— ' Cellia interrupted him. 'Does Sheev know you're here?' 'Sheev?' 'I'm sorry. Emperor Palpatine. We're old friends, and I forget most of you may not refer to him by— You know what, never mind. I'm going to contact him and let him know that . . . I'm sorry, what's your name again?' 'I'm Agent Sendril Crane.' To the Kiffar, she said, 'Yes. Parlin, please get in touch with Mas's of-fice and inform them that Agent Crane and his team are assisting a close friend in a most personal matter.' Had Crane heard her correctly. 'Mas?' Sheev Palpatine. Mas Amedda. Crane knew the names, of course, but in the way he knew the names of longtime holodrama stars. He could maybe argue a closer connection because of the ISB's inherent political roots. Still, Crane could barely fit the grand impression of the Emperor and his closest confidant in his head, let alone refer to them as casually as Sheev and Mas. Parlin tipped his chin to Cellia. 'I'll notify Grand Vizier Amedda right away, Mistress.' He left them at a clip, and Cellia met Crane with a smile that was just below malicious. 'Once the Emperor knows you're assisting one of his dearest companions, you'll be provided any additional resources you need to bring the vandals who desecrated my home to justice.' 'Thieves,' Crane said before he could think better of it. Cellia said, 'What was that?' 'Earlier, you said 'thieves,' not 'vandals.' ' She sucked her teeth and let the low click echo. 'Two things can be true.' Not two lies, Crane thought but controlled his tongue. He sensed the danger here. It didn't scare him—he didn't feel much fear anymore. It intrigued him. In a little more than a breath, he'd gone from attempting to arrest her on conspiracy charges to questioning his safety in her presence. Being in this home, with this woman, felt akin to drifting in deep waters with an unseen leviathan skulking just below the surface. Was she really an associate of the Emperor? She said, 'I am under the impression that a ranking agent like yourself is not so beholden to semantics that it distracts you from the necessary truths that you, me, and the galaxy depend upon. Correct?' Crane was slow to answer, somewhat in awe of her foreboding eloquence. 'Is that correct, Agent Crane?' Cellia asked, pressing. Crane chanced a glance at Drand, who gave the slightest nod. She'd found something in her search. It better be worthwhile for her sake. He told Cellia, 'Yes. Any friend of the Emperor is a friend of the bureau.' For now. Star Wars: Sanctuary hits shelves tomorrow, August 5. Head on over to Random House Worlds to see where you can snag a copy! Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Andor' Season 2 finale review: The Force is with Cassian and company in thrilling, tragic climax
What a smashing segue into Rogue One the finale of Andor Season 2 is! The bitter-sweet ending brings some character arcs to a close and leaves others open-ended, much like life itself, which very rarely ties up all loose ends in a pretty bow. Dropping three episodes weekly is immensely satisfying as it makes Season 2 like watching four mini-movies. A year after the wedding at Chandrila, the Imperial designs on Ghorman, and the escape from Mina-Rau, Cassian (Diego Luna) and Bix (Adria Arjona) are working for Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård). Still troubled by the torture she suffered, Bix has become a shadow of herself, drugging herself to a stupor. Andor Season 2 (English) Creator: Tony Gilroy Cast: Diego Luna, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O'Reilly, Denise Gough, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu, Elizabeth Dulau Episodes: 12 Runtime: 38 – 60 minutes Storyline: As the terrible truth of the Ghorman massacre and other Imperial actions come out, both sides pay a grave price The Ghorman massacre, which the Imperial forces spin as an insurrection is the final straw, for senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) and she makes a speech denouncing Emperor Palpatine. In a nail-bitingly tense sequence, Cassian helps her escape to Yavin IV, laconically commenting, 'Welcome to the rebellion.' The final three episodes that lead directly to Rogue One, sees the different narrative strands being pulled tighter together. The ambitious Imperial Security Bureau officer, Dedra Meero (Denise Gough), who was assigned to Ghorman by the director of advanced weapons research, Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), returns to hunt for her bête noir, the rebel agent, code named Axis, who is actually Luthen. Ghorman took a lot out of Dedra, personally as well, when her partner, the equally driven Syril Karn, (Kyle Soller) paid the ultimate price. As Dedra gets within a hair's breadth of uncovering Axis, Luthen sets up exit protocols. Though Cassian helps Bix get closure on her torturer, Dr Ghorst, she leaves Cassian urging him to continue working for the revolution, promising him she will find him after 'it is all over,' which we, as the audience know will not happen. As things fall apart, the Rebel Alliance grows stronger as does the Death Star, which Krennic says is a just a week away from being ready. Andor continues to thrill, with many Easter eggs, including, 'May the Force be with you', while still being solidly on the side of strong story telling. All character arcs are given their time, including Mothma's husband, Perrin (Alastair Mackenzie) who is shown drinking his troubles away in the back of a transport. Vel (Faye Marsay) Mothma's cousin puts her lover, Cinta's (Varada Sethu) loss behind her to further the cause. We learn of Luthen's and his efficient assistant, Kleya's (Elizabeth Dulau) past. There is no return to Cassian's home planet of Kenari even though he dreams of the green hillsides before it was destroyed by Imperial forces. The dialogues are full of quotable quotes from extremist leader Saw Gerrera's (Forest Whitaker), 'revolution is not for the sane' to Nemik's (Alex Lawther) 'tyranny requires constant effort.' The return of the reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), ensures some C3PO-type humour. The worlds are beautifully realised, with the gigantic, sterile buildings contrasting starkly with the spectacular wilds. The level of detailing, from costumes (Cassian makes for a natty designer on his undercover visit to Ghorman) to Ghor, the language spoken on Ghorman, is nothing short of marvellous. The visual as well as implied signatures are mind boggling from the tall impersonally beautiful buildings to the sterile prisons and anonymous apartments. The spiders of Ghorman, the Ghorlectipods, whose silk is used to create the fabulous Ghorman twill, are unable to stand against the might of Imperial misinformation and might. The spiders are also emblematic of the tangled webs, characters weave in the pursuit of perceived needful things, only to be trapped by them. Luna has created a very human rebel leader in Cassian and Skarsgård manages to keep the audience as well as the Imperials and rebels off kilter about his true intentions. All the cast, in their roles big or small, have us invested in their stories. Tony Gilroy, who wrote Rogue One with Chris Weitz, has created a spectacular show that tells of a rebel and a revolution and the role of a fascist government in birthing them. Andor is currently streaming on JioHotstar
Sydney Morning Herald
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Andor was one of the great TV triumphs of the decade. Here's why.
Andor has been one of the great television triumphs of this decade. The Disney+ series, which has concluded with the release of the second season's final episodes, was pitched as a prequel to the 2016 Star Wars film Rogue One, explaining how Rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) ended up on a heroic final mission. But as it's unfolded, the show, created by screenwriter and filmmaker Tony Gilroy, has become the main event. It's deeply intricate, thrilling, and heartbreaking. To mark the finale, here are nine things Andor got right. Warning: this story contains spoilers for the season two finale. It reinvented Star Wars Loading The many Star Wars films and subsequent television shows in George Lucas' blockbuster fantasy galaxy were made for children. Andor is the first project made for adults. Gilroy has described it as 'a definitive work about revolution', tracking Cassian's progress from apolitical thief to committed operative over five years while the rebellion takes shape and the authoritarian machinery of the Empire seeks to suppress it. Whether as a heist thriller, an espionage drama, or a study of guerilla warfare, the show leant into complicated, contested spaces. The Force was not with them Traditionally Stars Wars stories are about heroic, often super-powered individuals, beginning with Tatooine teenager turned Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, pulling off extraordinary feats. The space wizards are nowhere to be seen in Andor, with but a hint of their spiritual side quietly seeping into the second season. Ordinary people mattered in Andor. The show details how oppression slowly, inexorably builds, and the different ways that individuals choose to defy the Empire's fascistic control. Not everyone had to blow up the Death Star to be heard. The infrastructure mattered Andor showed the messy, slow-turning steps required to build a rebellion. The initial wave of dissidents and saboteurs had to be put to work. Funding had to be acquired. The politicians and the partisans had to move in tandem. The show's Rebel spymaster, Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard), choreographed an entire movement, and he did it while being evasive, cynical, and sometimes untrustworthy. The cost paid by various Rebels was always felt. As Luthen put it, 'I burn my decency for someone else's future.' The Empire had an org chart In parallel to the Rebels, Andor charted the workings of the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), the secret police tasked with negating democratic institutions, cracking down on dissent, and eventually using military might to destroy opposition. The Emperor, and his enforcer Darth Vader, were never seen. But some senior ISB officers attended meetings the dictator was at and brought orders back. Andor focused on the people who carried out those orders, whether out of zealotry, misplaced duty or simple workplace expectations. Obsessive ISB supervisor Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) became one of the show's most compelling characters. The real world was always present Loading It was impossible to watch Andor and not draw connections to real-life events. For some that meant looking to the war in Gaza, while others saw historic precedents. A major storyline in the second season was the Empire cracking down on the planet of Ghorman, with a view to seizing direct control for destructive mass mining. From the clothes to the language, Ghorman drew on France's experiences under Nazi occupation in World War II. There was no one correct interpretation, all were valid. What was unquestionable, however, was how harrowing the Empire's stage-managed massacre eventually was. It was a tactile experience One of the show's true unsung heroes was production designer Luke Hull. His work permeated every scene, invoking grand spaces that conveyed power and authority, but also makeshift bases and everyday residences. So many items had a casual, scuffed utility. This was a Star Wars experience where people had a home life, and the plausible homes that went with that. The science-fiction technology was often not overwhelming and screen-based, but rather mechanical. The communications console secretly operated by Luthen's unyielding offsider, Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau), was a mass of plugs and knobs. The actors got to feast Gilroy assembled an almighty writers' room, including his brother Dan (Nightcrawler) and Beau Willimon (House of Cards). The episodes had an urgent, uneasy momentum, but at the right point they would feature a memorable monologue. Cassian's adoptive mother, Maarva Andor (Fiona Shaw), delivered a posthumous anti-Empire speech that literally started a riot. My favourite? Forest Whitaker's paranoid militant Saw Gerrera huffing starship fuel and exhorting a young Rebel to embrace the madness of rebellion: 'You're right here, and you're ready to fight!' The pay-offs were sublime In season one, Cassian's first mission for Luthen is helping steal an imperial payroll. The participants include a young idealist, Karis Nemik (Alex Lawther), who is fighting the Empire by writing a manifesto that articulates its tactics. Like most of the team, Nemik doesn't make it, and his manuscript goes to Cassian. At the show's end, a senior ISB officer, sensing that their control is failing, ruefully listens to a recording that has been illegally circulating through the galaxy. It is Nemik reading his manifesto. Uncompromising to the end Loading The body count was always high in Andor. The odds were so often against the nascent rebels and the show's stormtroopers could actually shoot straight. From early on it was apparent that if a character hadn't featured in Rogue One, the odds were against them surviving the series. Luthen was clear in his belief that he wouldn't live to see his plans come to fruition, and when the time came the storytelling adhered to that. That Luthen killed his own agent inside the ISB, to preserve the top-secret material he'd just handed over, and then attempted to take his own life when Dedra came calling, was grim and fitting.
The Age
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Andor was one of the great TV triumphs of the decade. Here's why.
Andor has been one of the great television triumphs of this decade. The Disney+ series, which has concluded with the release of the second season's final episodes, was pitched as a prequel to the 2016 Star Wars film Rogue One, explaining how Rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) ended up on a heroic final mission. But as it's unfolded, the show, created by screenwriter and filmmaker Tony Gilroy, has become the main event. It's deeply intricate, thrilling, and heartbreaking. To mark the finale, here are nine things Andor got right. Warning: this story contains spoilers for the season two finale. It reinvented Star Wars Loading The many Star Wars films and subsequent television shows in George Lucas' blockbuster fantasy galaxy were made for children. Andor is the first project made for adults. Gilroy has described it as 'a definitive work about revolution', tracking Cassian's progress from apolitical thief to committed operative over five years while the rebellion takes shape and the authoritarian machinery of the Empire seeks to suppress it. Whether as a heist thriller, an espionage drama, or a study of guerilla warfare, the show leant into complicated, contested spaces. The Force was not with them Traditionally Stars Wars stories are about heroic, often super-powered individuals, beginning with Tatooine teenager turned Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, pulling off extraordinary feats. The space wizards are nowhere to be seen in Andor, with but a hint of their spiritual side quietly seeping into the second season. Ordinary people mattered in Andor. The show details how oppression slowly, inexorably builds, and the different ways that individuals choose to defy the Empire's fascistic control. Not everyone had to blow up the Death Star to be heard. The infrastructure mattered Andor showed the messy, slow-turning steps required to build a rebellion. The initial wave of dissidents and saboteurs had to be put to work. Funding had to be acquired. The politicians and the partisans had to move in tandem. The show's Rebel spymaster, Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard), choreographed an entire movement, and he did it while being evasive, cynical, and sometimes untrustworthy. The cost paid by various Rebels was always felt. As Luthen put it, 'I burn my decency for someone else's future.' The Empire had an org chart In parallel to the Rebels, Andor charted the workings of the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), the secret police tasked with negating democratic institutions, cracking down on dissent, and eventually using military might to destroy opposition. The Emperor, and his enforcer Darth Vader, were never seen. But some senior ISB officers attended meetings the dictator was at and brought orders back. Andor focused on the people who carried out those orders, whether out of zealotry, misplaced duty or simple workplace expectations. Obsessive ISB supervisor Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) became one of the show's most compelling characters. The real world was always present Loading It was impossible to watch Andor and not draw connections to real-life events. For some that meant looking to the war in Gaza, while others saw historic precedents. A major storyline in the second season was the Empire cracking down on the planet of Ghorman, with a view to seizing direct control for destructive mass mining. From the clothes to the language, Ghorman drew on France's experiences under Nazi occupation in World War II. There was no one correct interpretation, all were valid. What was unquestionable, however, was how harrowing the Empire's stage-managed massacre eventually was. It was a tactile experience One of the show's true unsung heroes was production designer Luke Hull. His work permeated every scene, invoking grand spaces that conveyed power and authority, but also makeshift bases and everyday residences. So many items had a casual, scuffed utility. This was a Star Wars experience where people had a home life, and the plausible homes that went with that. The science-fiction technology was often not overwhelming and screen-based, but rather mechanical. The communications console secretly operated by Luthen's unyielding offsider, Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau), was a mass of plugs and knobs. The actors got to feast Gilroy assembled an almighty writers' room, including his brother Dan (Nightcrawler) and Beau Willimon (House of Cards). The episodes had an urgent, uneasy momentum, but at the right point they would feature a memorable monologue. Cassian's adoptive mother, Maarva Andor (Fiona Shaw), delivered a posthumous anti-Empire speech that literally started a riot. My favourite? Forest Whitaker's paranoid militant Saw Gerrera huffing starship fuel and exhorting a young Rebel to embrace the madness of rebellion: 'You're right here, and you're ready to fight!' The pay-offs were sublime In season one, Cassian's first mission for Luthen is helping steal an imperial payroll. The participants include a young idealist, Karis Nemik (Alex Lawther), who is fighting the Empire by writing a manifesto that articulates its tactics. Like most of the team, Nemik doesn't make it, and his manuscript goes to Cassian. At the show's end, a senior ISB officer, sensing that their control is failing, ruefully listens to a recording that has been illegally circulating through the galaxy. It is Nemik reading his manifesto. Uncompromising to the end Loading The body count was always high in Andor. The odds were so often against the nascent rebels and the show's stormtroopers could actually shoot straight. From early on it was apparent that if a character hadn't featured in Rogue One, the odds were against them surviving the series. Luthen was clear in his belief that he wouldn't live to see his plans come to fruition, and when the time came the storytelling adhered to that. That Luthen killed his own agent inside the ISB, to preserve the top-secret material he'd just handed over, and then attempted to take his own life when Dedra came calling, was grim and fitting.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The inspiring end of "Andor" shows us how great rebellions begin
The second season of 'Andor' is a ticking clock counting down to the Galactic Civil War that launched 'Star Wars.' At 12 episodes, it leaves a person yearning for more time with Diego Luna's Cassian Andor while appreciating that the best TV series are insistently finite. Besides, since the story leads directly into the events of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,' it's really a 13-episode season with a spectacularly tragic finish. Cassian, Jyn Erso (played in the movie by Felicity Jones) and their off-the-books rebel band succeed in the mission and lose everything in the same planet-vaporizing flash. This spirit of loss prevails throughout each of these tautly rendered final episodes in which Cassian becomes the unsung hub around which the revolution spins. Luna's hero endures many along the way, as do Galactic Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), Cassian's handler now that he's a spy for the rebellion. The emotional scale of these losses varies, at first. But as the season cruises into its final hours, everyone's stakes narrow to the same conclusion of either taking moral comfort in serving the rebellion or dying under Imperial fascism. As one of the good guys grimly puts it, mounting a rebellion means resigning oneself to accepting loss after loss after loss until you finally pull out a victory. That 'Andor' mirrors our current political state is old news, although if the accuracy with which it chronicles fascism's rise in a galaxy far, far away felt closer in 2022, it now mirrors our present. Details of the title character's biography reflect prominent symptoms foretelling our full-blown case of autocracy. His early years are spent in places ravaged by the Empire's environmental degradation, first on Cassian's destroyed planet of origin, then on his adoptive home world of Ferrix, a rocky salvaging base. Later, he's disappeared to an Imperial prison work colony where he and other inmates are forced into industrial slavery while his friend Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) is captured and tortured. Season 2 picks up four years before the Battle of Yavin, or BBY 4, and we can already see that Cassian's competence as a spy is his curse. He grows to resent how much is being asked of him and can't shake the toll that risking innocent lives takes on his conscience. Where Season 1 shows how freedom fighters are made, not born, these new episodes depict how revolutions catch fire. They also depict the familiar reasons societies slide into totalitarianism, including the crucial role of weaponized disinformation. Cassian is connected to everything, mainly as a witness to developments that are beyond his control when he isn't getting his allies out of tight spots. Amid all that, he's also obligated to remain out of the Empire's crosshairs. What he doesn't know is that the woman hunting him, Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) supervisor Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) has a more pressing assignment now: the subjugation and destruction of the verdant, prosperous planet Ghorman. With Ghorman, the writers have the full layer cake of heartbreaking possibilities. The place is enviably beautiful, and its wealth comes from naturally sourced fabric production, making it a fashion and design destination. It looks like a cross between Switzerland and Paris, the kind of place no one would expect the Empire would dare seize. Like every other place the Empire ruins, its citizens don't understand why they can't live in peace. But Palpatine needs something from Ghorman, and it isn't a few bolts of its famous cloth. Cloaking his reasons in the euphemisms of 'energy independence' and an 'energy initiative,' the emperor's toady Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn, reprising his 'Rogue One' role) informs those he's recruited that Palpatine wants its mineral resources. The Empire's objective, he claims, is to 'transform the galactic economy and solidify imperial authority' by creating a source of stable, unlimited power. We know that power is only meant for the Death Star. Unspoken but shown is the fact that Ghorman's population is overwhelmingly white and cosmopolitan, not at all like the dusky working-class folk on shabby Ferrix. Therefore, to sell their culture's destruction to the ignorant masses, the Empire mounts a disinformation campaign designed to transform Ghorman and its people into terrorists. Season 2 feels like much more of an ensemble affair as showrunner Tony Gilroy expands the show's focus beyond one character's moral development to more thoroughly embroider others that are just as worthwhile. Luna remains an expert in conveying grit and melancholy without saying a word, and that stoicism carries every moment he's onscreen. Since Cassian's job is to change history without leaving fingerprints on the text, there's a kind of grim romance to him. Much of that has to do with the way he holds hope in one hand and fatalism in the other, but Cassian borrows plenty of sorrow from the people surrounding him. Bix and her Ferrix compatriots are now refugees — yes, more topical relevance — and the Empire has a passion for hunting undocumented workers. Skarsgård makes Luthen more rumpled and prone to rage about the grave he's dug for himself even as he preaches that fighting fascism requires radical sacrifice. As Imperial forces cross more lines, he realizes how little time he and his assistant Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) have before their spy network is discovered. Mon Mothma's journey is synonymous with Luthen's, although her tenuous position in a Senate dominated by Palpatine lickspittles would make her downfall much louder. Although this second season has its share of "Rogue One" cameos, including the return of Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera, it mostly brushes off the franchise's tendency to sentimentalize. This includes the further expansion of Mon Mothma, who has been part of the 'Star Wars' story from the beginning, mainly seen and barely heard from. O'Reilly nails how much of a headache it is to hide the stress of funding an insurgency behind endless smiles. She and Luthen also share a ruthless devotion to pragmatism, although he applies that to the worthiness of strangers' lives, whereas the good senator can't help but sell out her loved ones. Right now, the not-so-distant similarities between Imperial fascism and authoritarianism, American-style — disquieting as they are — might not be as bone-chilling as the domestic scenes between Dedra and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), who have somehow formed a relationship of professional and personal convenience. Mendelsohn and Anton Lesser, who plays Dedra's boss, Major Partagaz, have the luxury of playing to type here, with the former channeling his version of Imperial unctuousness and the latter lending a professorial chill to his acceptance of unconscionable orders. Gough and Soller's dynamic, however, strikes a different note. It's as if their duo doesn't entirely know how to perform affection, and this makes them oddly believable as a couple. Their shared scenes also emphasize the few degrees of humanity remaining in Syril that Dedra never had, leading us to wonder what each of them wants from the other. That question is part of what makes them apt faces for this totalitarian support structure — a white-collar power couple eager to secure promotions at a company that's really going places. They and others like them – primarily Syril's overbearing mother Eedy (Kathryn Hunter) – illustrate why people living in supposedly decent societies go along with fascism until it's unsustainable. Oppression pays well to those in its employ and can be tolerable to those who aren't, as long as it's not making their lives hell. Gilroy sets a nimble course in these episodes, covering four years to the first season's one. Given all the signposts the story's obligated to hit, the plot's cohesiveness is a minor miracle. You may not agree with that at times, such as the choice to resume Mon Mothma's subplot by miring her and her cousin Vel (Faye Marsay) in the humdrum task of overseeing her daughter's wedding. Court intrigue within this floral-laden setting sets up a later payoff when the senator becomes who she's meant to be. It's a pale substitute for the delicious tension inherent to deadly cloak-and-dagger exploits. But the writers are correct to skip past skirmishes that don't mean much to grant a close-up to the small moments that do. The Ghorman plot builds to that action, of course, although the inevitable culmination of the Empire forcing its hand is horrifying, especially in light of what's going on in our world now. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. I'm guessing Gilroy (or his brother Dan, who wrote other relevant episodes in this arc) didn't intend to draw direct parallels between this fiction and the destruction of Gaza — at least that's what their Disney bosses would claim. Colonizing forces have always viewed the people standing between them and the land they want like the Empire sees cultures standing in its way. But even daring to fictionalize some version of that atrocity raises 'Andor' above other spinoffs. It reminds us that "Star Wars" is the story of an insurgency, like many versions that have arisen throughout Earth's history. On the other side of those epics is the machinery rewriting those accounts to make the aggressors into heroes and the rebels into criminals. Like the Third Reich had its propaganda machine, 'Star Wars' has Imperial News, which operates a lot like Fox's infotainment beast by shamelessly broadcasting its lies across the star system. Maybe this would all be too depressing to bear if we didn't know that the good guys eventually triumph. Gripping as these closing chapters of 'Andor' are, they're also overwhelmingly heavy until an old friend from 'Rogue One,' K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) enters the fight and brings his snark and sarcasm along for the ride. His arrival also marks the beginning of this show's definitive ending, and we're right to mourn that we won't see more 'Andor.' Along with that, however, we can appreciate Gilroy's concise vision and willingness to do the most in fewer hours, ensuring 'Andor' concludes atop the very short list of the sharpest, smartest 'Star Wars' stories ever told. Season 2 of "Andor" premieres with three episodes on Tuesday, April 22, with three new episodes debuting weekly on Disney+.
