Who is Rebel Vel Sartha in the “Star Wars” series “Andor” really? After many clues, there is a big reveal in the very latest episode. Has this destroyed a popular fan theory about the Disney Plus series?
Early on, it was hinted that Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) is not just any rebel, but is connected to other characters in the “Star Wars” universe. Gradually, there were hints that she came from a rich background – this was confirmed in the eighth “Andor” episode “Narkina 5”. The fan theory that Vel is in fact the daughter of Stellan Skarsgård’s rebel string-puller and terrorist attack organiser Luthen Rael also developed early on. But the now aired ninth episode “No one is listening” seems to disprove that. Really?
THIS IS WHAT WE LEARN ABOUT VEL IN EPISODE 9 OF “ANDOR”
What it all comes down to is that episode 9 of Andor didn’t need a single blaster shot, lightsaber, or explosion to have me the most energized I’ve been for Star Wars in years. All it needed was character, tension, and a perfectly executed final line. That’s why we watch. pic.twitter.com/NFyorV8V73
– Matthew “Movies” Thomason (@ResDolph) November 3, 2022
After we already knew through the trailers that there will be a meeting of the two women, in the new episode Vel turns out to be Mon Mothma’s (Genevieve O’Reilly) cousin. She too is from the planet Chandrila, which leads Mon’s husband Perrin (Alastair Mackenzie) to make a biting comment about how she has no husband and can now only find widowers at most. After all, we learned in the previous episode that Chandrilans marry very, very young – still in their teens.
Who Vel’s parents are, however, remains mysterious. So Luthen Rael continues to be a candidate. We don’t know his origin, so we don’t know whether he might also be from Chandrila. In the latest episode he does not appear at all, but he is mentioned. A conversation between Vel and Mon is about what “he” makes them do. The way Mon speaks shows how important Luthen is in Vel’s life too – because he is her father?
CURRENTLY THERE IS CLEARLY MORE TO BE SAID AGAINST THE FAN THEORY THAN FOR IT
Of course it is still conceivable. The fan theory has not been destroyed. That Luthen is Mon’s brother is extremely unlikely. However, it is conceivable that he is her brother-in-law, so perhaps he was once married to her sister. Another possibility is that he only had an affair with Mon’s sister and thus became Vel’s father.
However, there is also a hint against this in this episode. Mon makes it clear that Vel should show up in the old country again. She hints that the family is worried about her. She was even asked to look for Vel, who had disappeared for several months.
Of course, in this context Mon can only refer to a mother living separately from Luthen. The people responsible for “Andor” could thus be leading us around by the nose a little. Currently, however, there is definitely more to be said against Luthen’s paternity than for it.
VEL’S RELATIONSHIP WITH LUTHEN WILL STILL BE IMPORTANT
Despite this, the exact nature of the relationship between Luthen and Vel and so between Luthen and Mon Mothma is still likely to become very, very important. It could also play a big role in the further radicalisation of Mon. After all, we know that she will have to go underground at some point and lead the rebel alliance from there. Many fans fear that she will take this step not only as the Senate continues to disintegrate in this episode, but also after losing loved ones. There is no trace of Vel and Luthen in later “Star Wars” stories – because they still die during the events of “Andor”?
Mons’ daughter Lieda (Bronte Carmichael) will probably also play a role in this context. Her scenes are too present not to become significant. In the so-called “Legends” books, which are not part of the canon, Lieda lives through the later events of the “Star Wars” original trilogy. However, she still has a brother who dies during the Battle of Hoth shown in “The Empire Strikes Back. “
Lieda is bound to become important too.
It is well known that the “Star Wars” team likes to take some good ideas from the “Legends” stories. Maybe they took the idea of the death of a child of Mon Mothma and put the emotional impact of it a few years forward into the events of “Andor”. So you see: Mon Mothma is probably facing hard times – and the people around her are very much at risk, regardless of who is related to whom and how.
