TV Show review
Review basis: 2 seasons · through May 13, 2025
September 21, 2022 · TV-14 · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Not currently streaming in United States
Review
Andor is a two-season Star Wars television series that follows thief-turned-rebel Cassian Andor as he joins the early fight against the Galactic Empire’s tyranny. Across both seasons it shows the slow build of resistance through heists, prison breaks, uprisings, and personal sacrifice while detailing Imperial bureaucracy, surveillance, prison labor, and propaganda. Political dialogue about oppression and rebellion runs throughout, a lesbian couple appears among the rebels, and the cast is diverse in ways that fit the story’s multi-world setting.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Andor.
Woke representation / casting
Diverse international cast including Latino leads in fitting outsider roles and a confirmed lesbian rebel couple with on-screen development; all elements align with the expansive Star Wars galaxy and ensemble rebellion story without forced mismatches or signaling.
Woke political dialogue
Frequent and detailed discussions of resistance, radicalization, bureaucratic tyranny, propaganda, and sacrifice fill multiple arcs and key speeches; serves as core narrative driver but stays within anti-authoritarian thriller framework rather than contemporary identity lectures.
Identity-driven story themes
The lesbian relationship between Vel and Cinta receives some screen time and emotional weight as part of their rebel lives, adding visible queer representation; however, it remains secondary to the broader themes of oppression and collective action with no identity-based plotlines or messaging.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Extensive focus on the Empire’s surveillance state, prison industrial complex, corporate enforcement, and media distortion of dissent as tools of control; evokes real historical fascism and exploitation but avoids modern activist framings of patriarchy, whiteness, or Western cultural guilt.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Scattered fan criticism of overt politics and one graphic trauma scene in Season 2, with some creators facing backlash for negative takes; overall far less controversy than other Disney Star Wars projects and no prominent accusations of DEI or identity politics agendas.
Creator track record context
Core team led by Tony Gilroy draws from political thriller backgrounds with anti-authoritarian and institutional power themes; personal left-leaning views noted for Gilroy, but supporting writers and crew show standard industry profiles without strong activist or identity-driven histories.
Production
