ANDOR Deserved Major Emmy Award Win (Though It ALSO Deserved WAY More)

Andor was a special show whose second and final season featured some of the best writing, directing, production, and performances you will ever see from any TV series. It was so good that its otherwise impressive 14 Emmy Award nominations in 2025 were woefully incomplete. But in the end, the Television Academy at least managed to recognize Andor‘s greatest triumph. Dan Gilroy took home the win for Best Writing in a Drama series for “Welcome to the Rebellion,” the last installment in Andor‘s Ghorman Massacre arc. This major Emmy award win for Andor could not have been more deserved. Lucasfilm

The Empire’s calculated genocide of Ghorman during Andor‘s second season was brutal and heartbreaking. It was also television at its absolute apex. If you’ve seen the Ghorman Massacre arc, which the show began setting up in season two’s premiere, you know why. It was breathtaking. Literally and at numerous points. For all these reasons, it remains shocking that Diego Luna and Genevieve O’Reilly didn’t also earn Emmy nominations for their work on Andor, but it’s no surprise writer Dan Gilroy did. He penned all three episodes (7-8-9) in the arc.

“Welcome to the Rebellion” is stunning from start to finish, a rich and nuanced story that excels both in quiet moments and in big ones. Mon Mothma’s speech and escape might be the core of the episode, but the lead-up to that moment is fraught with distrust and sadness. The same is true of the fallout. Once safe, she realizes just how much Cassian Andor has also sacrificed. For years, she’s given everything of herself to the Rebellion in silence. The episode and arc then end with Adria Arjona’s devastating farewell to the love of her life, as Bix chooses the Rebellion over both of them. Her decision, impossibly painful for both her and Cassian, will ultimately save the galaxy far, far away… And her choice on Andor will finally see a Star Wars TV series winning a major Emmy award.

And as if all of that isn’t enough, episode nine accomplished something that should have been impossible. It features one of the most impressive bits of writing in television history. Gilroy managed to create dread and tension even though everyone knew both main characters would survive. Andor was a prequel where we always knew the fates of both Mon Mothma and Cassian Andor. But that didn’t matter as Cassian Andor tried to get Mon Mothma safely out of the Galactic Senate building. No one who knows Star Wars history should have felt any real worry during that sequence. Yet their desperate escape had us terrified they’d never make it out alive. That feat alone was worth at least one Emmy for Andor.

We wish Andor had taken home Best Drama at the 2025 Emmy Awards. We wish that Diego Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skarsgård, and Adria Arjona didn’t just get nominations, but that they’d heard their names called, too. But if Andor was only going home with one Emmy statue last night, thank goodness it recognized the Ghorman Massacre. It was the very best from one of the very best shows ever made.

Where Can You Watch Andor’s Emmy Award-Winning Episode?

Andor‘s Emmy Award-winning episode, “Welcome to the Rebellion,” streams on Disney+. “Welcome to the Rebellion” is the ninth episode of Andor season two. You can find it here.

The post ANDOR Deserved Major Emmy Award Win (Though It ALSO Deserved WAY More) appeared first on Nerdist.