I am going to make a statement that Disney Star Wars discourse usually does not allow: Andor is a genuine masterpiece of television.
Why Andor works when other Star Wars shows fail:
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It treats the audience like adults. No fan service cameos. No "remember this?" moments. Just a story about real people living under fascism. Tony Gilroy wrote it like a John le Carre spy novel set in space.
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The Narkina 5 prison arc (Episodes 8-10). Andy Serkis as Kino Loy delivers the best single performance in all of Star Wars. His speech — "One way out" — is the most powerful scene in any Star Wars project, including the films.
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Luthen Rael. Stellan Skarsgard plays a rebel spymaster who sacrifices his morality to fight the Empire. His monologue about what he has sacrificed — "I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I will never see" — is Shakespearean.
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It earns its revolution. Every other Star Wars project tells you the Empire is bad. Andor SHOWS you. The bureaucracy, the casual cruelty, the way systems grind people down. You understand why someone would risk everything to fight.
Season 2 covers the remaining years before Rogue One. It will depict the formation of the Rebel Alliance and lead directly into the events of A New Hope.
Sources: Disney+, Tony Gilroy interviews with The Hollywood Reporter, Star Wars timeline placement