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Now that Andor season 2 has come to an end on Disney Plus, viewers are doing the math to work out just how long the Death Star was in action (or fully operational, you could say…) – and, well, it's not very long.
The second (and final) season's finale sets up Cassian and co.'s mission to steal the plans for the Death Star, which the Rebellion has learned the existence of thanks to information from Luthen Rael's network of spies over the course of Andor season 2. These plans, which include details of a vulnerability covertly added to the superweapon's design by engineer Galen Erso, allow Luke Skywalker to successfully destroy the Death Star in the final act of Star Wars: A New Hope.
However, when you look at the timeframe of Andor season 2, Rogue One, and A New Hope, it doesn't seem like the Death Star was actually out in the field for very long…
"So, after watching Andor S2, and realizing this show wraps up immediately before [Rogue One]. And now doing the math, if I’m not incorrect The Death Star only operated for less than a month, after over a decade of construction Right?" one fan wrote on Reddit.
"Not even a month. More like a few days at most," another viewer replied. "And it had been under construction for at least 19 years. Plans for it had existed for at least 23 years, even before the reign of the Empire began."
"And Palpatine's entire long-term strategy revolved around the Death Star," someone else added. "He finally felt comfortable dissolving the Senate with the Death Star at hand... Only to lose it in a matter of days."
Of course, the Death Star still did plenty of damage in those few days, destroying Princess Leia's home planet of Alderaan in A New Hope and Jedha City in Rogue One. A second Death Star is being built during Return of the Jedi, but it's destroyed while still under construction.
All episodes of Andor season 2 are now streaming on Disney Plus. For more on the show, check out our guide to the Andor season 2 ending explained and our Andor season 2 review.
