It makes perfect sense that one of the few Star Wars TV series to get a reprisal was Andor. Far from the lukewarm attempts to recapture the aesthetic or adhere to lore, Tony Gilroy’s prequel to a spin-off movie is far removed from the box Disney built for the franchise. The divorce from trying to keep particular characters and storylines in check has allowed for a more robust saga, one that is more about the rough rise of rebellion against fascism than the many ways lightsabers can be used in combat. Although more intricate and serious than any other Star Wars story, there is a faithfulness to how this series better embodies the war parallel that George Lucas drew from, making this the most compelling piece of Star Wars media in a long time.

Season two continued to explore how the rise against a tyrannical empire is messier than mythical. After the fallout of Ferrix, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is inspired to keep the fight against the Empire going. Having gone from a cynical scavenger to a willing rebel, he’s now more committed to dangerous spy missions with his allies, long-time friend Bix (Adria Arjona) and weathered rebel contact Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård). But while the Rebel Alliance advances its efforts, so too does the Galactic Empire. The returning antagonists of corporate inspector Syril (Kyle Soller) and Imperial figure Dedra (Denise Gough) are once more thrown into a grander Empire scheme that more forcefully pushes them to question their morality amid deception. They’ll also have to navigate a relationship as complex as the Empire, becoming more adept at leveraging rebel uprisings to their political advantage.

Even with this season speeding towards the events of Rogue One, there’s plenty of room within these additional 12 episodes to explore the more nuanced aspects of a rising fascist government. The disturbing parallels to the current state of politics hit hard with a show that treats this subject more with gritty rage than whiz-bang adventure. One of the more interesting arcs this season is how the politician Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) becomes increasingly disillusioned with politics, and she learns the hard way that senate speeches and political favors are never enough to quell fascism. Fascism requires fighting, and that fight will get messy. That fervor to fight comes out through characters like the returning Saw (Forest Whitaker), who gives perhaps the most rousing speech on fighting for a world you may never see. There’ve been similar monologues in season one, but not to a degree that feels so invigoratingly alive in delivery more than meaning. If season one was all about being inspired to fight, season two is about the importance of continuing that fight when times are tough.

Although this season perhaps spends even more time lining up the dominoes for more uprisings and the connecting film, there is significant weight placed on forming the basis and motivations for how violence erupts. Everything from Bix’s trauma of torture to Syril’s frustrations with his placement in the Empire is explored in a way that makes the big scenes of sci-fi action more emotionally engaging. Thankfully, the action doesn’t skimp on the grittiness that made the season one finale so engaging. Scenes of Stormtroopers once more shooting up communities with blasters are treated more like a hideous atrocity than a skirmish from The A-Team. While there is concern for survival, the aftermath becomes more compelling in terms of how characters will move on after such catastrophic events. Without giving too much away, there is a satisfying nature to how the show frames those who follow fascist rulers and drag their heels about questioning the morality of their career in cruelty.

Andor has been the best Star Wars TV show, and season two confirms this by bringing the anti-fascist tale to a robust conclusion. At a time when it feels like studio franchises are politically neutered to be commercially viable, we need shows like this now more than ever. There are so many retreads and prequels aiming to recapture the surface-level luster, but none of them offer the thematically resonant storytelling that transcends repeating the past in watered-down platitudes. There’s fire in Andor, and it’s a fire that needs to burn bright during a time when fascism is on the rise. This version of Star Wars is more refreshing for highlighting how not all sci-fi villains are wizards with laser swords. Some of them are corporate lackeys and corrupted officials. They can be taken down, but only with enough allies rallying together and a desire not to accept a hideous regime’s corruption and cruelty as too big to conquer. You don’t need a lightsaber or the Force to combat fascism, and Andor showcases how a revolution is worth fighting for.