From the beginning, the sheer scale of “Andor” has not been lost on its cast, writers, crew, or viewers. This is a planet-hopping, plot-packed, character-laden whirlwind of a story, but as with the first season, it’s the little things that get you first. Never before has the lived-in aesthetic that so helped early “Star Wars” stories attain verisimilitude achieved so much in such a far-reaching way. “Andor” will tell you how these characters eat, cook, and even commute to work — and it will do it all while keeping the plot moving and delicately shading in the lives of its huge ensemble cast. It’s a deeply, fascinatingly immersive show, and every episode there’s something — like Syril’s bowl of what looked like cereal in the first season — that keeps you looking deeper. When we talk about things that “feel” like they’re “Star Wars,” that’s a big part of it, and “Andor” exudes it through its entire production design.

The same feeling of crackling, seasoned life that looms in each of the show’s many stunning sets is also still very evident in its cast. Diego Luna, still the natural leader of the group as the title character, finds new depths in Cassian, things he can convey with a look in those deep, sad eyes, or a simple gesture in the middle of an action sequence. He’s a character who’s growing and changing, and while we know where he started and where he ends up, the middle ground is much more complicated, far from a straight psychological and emotional line. Luna is able to not just play that mystery, but make us believe it deeply, the same way we believe his love for Bix or his arm’s length respect for Luthen. As for the ensemble around Luna, everyone is still operating at the top of their game, particularly Stellan Skarsgård and Genevieve O’Reilly, who make the most of the show’s many time jumps and location hops to really stretch out their characters and bring them just as much detail as Luna.

Above all, though, the most thrilling and impressive element of “Andor” Season 2 is its writing. With Tony Gilroy at the helm of the whole series, the new season is broken up into three-episode blocks set in different time periods, with Gilroy himself scripting the first block, Beau Willmon the second, Dan Gilroy the third, and Tom Bissell the fourth and final. This divvying up of duties, which carries through to the directorial team as well, means that each writer can focus on telling a different leg of the overarching plot, which sees Cassian and the scattered Rebels coalesce into more of a true Alliance. It’s a remarkable exercise in dividing and conquering, giving the viewer discreet and satisfying chapters of a larger story while also building something bigger with the season-long plot.

Throughout its original run, “Andor” was praised for its complexity and maturity, its ability to project a grown-up feeling in “Star Wars” without ever resorting to grimdark cliches. All of that is still here and arguably even better in the second season, but what makes these 12 episodes truly shine isn’t just the plotting, or the dialogue, or the careful way the show balances “Star Wars” action with an honest attempt to do something new in this world. No, what makes “Andor” Season 2 so very special is the emotional payoff it brings to bear on all that hype. This is, just as it was before, a show about tired, desperate, frightened people just trying to hold on to something worth saving, and while the cloak-and-dagger thrills of the show never leave us, it’s that feeling that persists the longest, keeps us hanging onto every scene. This show, steeped in authoritarian tactics and darkness, could not have returned at a better time, and yet “Andor” does not preach to us, does not talk down, does not resort to easy black-and-white morality. It’s earnest, honest almost to a fault, and determined to remain true to these fighters, these people who refuse to quit, who can tell us something powerful about the world we’re in now. For those reasons, and many others, it’s the best “Star Wars” series by far, a triumph for Lucasfilm, and a masterwork within one of genre’s most venerated franchises.

“Andor” Season 2 premieres April 22 on Disney+.