"Messenger" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American science fiction political spy thriller drama television series "Andor". It is the nineteenth episode of the series overall; it was written by Dan Gilroy and directed by Janus Metz.
The episode is set in BBY 2, a year after the events of the previous episode.
"Messenger" was released on Disney+ on May 6, 2025 as part of a three-episode block also including "Who Are You?" and "Welcome to the Rebellion", and received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences alike.
Plot.
One year later, the Rebels have begun coordinating military operations on Yavin IV, where Cassian and Bix now live. Wilmon tells them that Dedra is on Ghorman—whose rebel activities have been portrayed by state-sponsored media as terrorism instigated by outside agitators—and encourages Cassian to help assassinate her. Despite his concerns over the mission being from Luthen, Cassian agrees and travels with Wilmon to Ghorman. Bix is told by a Force healer that Cassian will be vital to the Rebellion. On Ghorman, Dedra finds her position temporarily supplanted by Captain Kaido, sent by Partagaz to oversee the Imperial subjugation of the planet, while Syril begins to doubt Dedra's line on outside agitators, given his interactions with the rebels.
Production.
Writing.
The episode was written by Dan Gilroy, in his fourth writing credit for the show, and directed by Janus Metz, prior to directing the following two episodes of the series. The episodes of "Andor"'s second season, like those of its first, are split up into blocks, or story arcs, of three episodes; however, unlike in season one, each arc begins with a time skip of one year from the previous episode. Series showrunner Tony Gilroy decided to structure the season this way after concluding that the original five-season plan for the show was unfeasible, and needing some way to bridge the four years between season 1 and "Rogue One" (2016) in a single season. As proof of concept, he wrote the first and last episodes of each would-be arc, and eventually decided on this structure for the season.
Music.
The original score for "Messenger", as with nine other episodes of the season's twelve, was composed by Brandon Roberts, replacing Nicholas Britell, the composer for the show's first season, due to scheduling conflicts.
The soundtrack for the episode was released alongside that of the other two episodes in its block on May 9, 2025 via Walt Disney Records as part of the third of four volumes of the second season's original score.
Release.
"Messenger" was released on Disney+ on May 6, 2025 as part of a three-episode block, alongside "Who Are You?" and "Welcome to the Rebellion".
Reception.
Critical response.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 86% approval rating, based on 7 reviews.
William Hughes of "The A.V. Club" gave a positive review, writing "Diego Luna doesn't get to have a ton of fun this episode, but Cassian clearly gets a kick out of screwing with Wilmon, big brother-style, when they leave for Ghorman." Mike Redmond of "Pajiba" gave a negative review, summarizing that "I'm going to put my cards on the table here: I am confounded by the creative choices made in this latest chapter, possibly even infuriated".