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Star Wars series Andor, which recently concluded its second and final season, has achieved a unique ratings record on IMDb as fans heap praise on the Disney+ sci-fi series.
Warning: The rest of this article contains spoilers for Andor
The prequel series, which focuses on drifter turned revolutionary Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), recently aired the final episode of its second season, finishing as the story set up the events of the 2016 film Rogue One.
Since it began in 2022, the show has been widely lauded by critics, with fans hailing parts of the series as some of the “greatest episodes of television of all time” and perhaps the best storytelling in the history of George Lucas’s beloved sci-fi franchise.
Andor now holds a special place in TV history as it is the only show on the review aggregate website IMDb to have five episodes in a row with a rating of 9.5 or higher.
That success has come courtesy of season two’s final five episodes, which at the time of writing hold the following ratings:
Episode 8: “Who Are You?” - 9.8
Episode 9: “Welcome to the Rebellion” - 9.7
Episode 10: “Make it Stop” - 9.6
Episode 11: “Who Else Knows?” - 9.5
Episode 12: “Jedha, Kyber, Erso” - 9.6
Forbes notes that the likes of Breaking Bad and Chornobyl came close to realising this record before Andor, but never managed five high scores in a row.
This five-episode run connects the massacre of rebels on the planet of Ghorman with the events that begin the story of Rogue One.
Season two also holds an impressive score of 98 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes from 178 reviews so far. While the scores on both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes could change over time, this is still a remarkable achievement for any TV show.
Following Andor’s finale, fans applauded a subtle nod to the original Star Wars film (1977) that arrives during the end credits of the episode.
In the last instalment, Andor is on his way to the Rings of Kafrene to meet an informant who claims to have important information about the Empire. In Rogue One, viewers see him meet Tivik (Daniel Mays) who explains that the Empire is devising a “planet killer” weapon: the Death Star.
As the Andor credits roll for a final time, the score by composer Brandon Roberts segues into the classic Star Wars music by John Williams. Specifically, it is the score from the end of the original 1977 Star Wars movie, now known as Star Wars: A New Hope.
This is the first time Williams’ music has been used in Andor, and a deliberate nod to the fact that Andor’s actions will, in time, make it possible for Luke Skywalker to destroy the Death Star.