| “ | What is my sacrifice? I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life, to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror, or an audience or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice? EVERYTHING! | „ |
| ~ Luthen Rael to Lonni Jung. |
Luthen Rael is the deuteragonist of the 2022 Disney+ Star Wars series Andor.
One of the founding members of the Rebellion, Luthen and his affiliates are among, if not the very first people in the galaxy to actively make their stand against the cruelty and tyranny of the Empire. Forming and orchestrating the fledgling rebellion movement in the galaxy, Luthen is ruthless and uncompromising, but everything he does is for the greater good, and for the hope of liberating everyone from The Empire's chains.
He is portrayed by Stellan Skarsgard, who also plays Erik Selvig in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Father Lankester Merrin in The Exorcist prequels and Bootstrap Bill Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
Biography[]
Luthen Rael is the owner of a rare artifact and antique shop on Coruscant, but this is all but one of his many disguises. Who he is really, is one of the founding members of the Rebel Alliance and the very first to begin forming the rebel network. Over the years he would covertly wage war against the Empire, using tactics that would gradually escalate in intensity in order to both make the movement grow stronger, and keep it moving forward.
Personality[]
Luthen's drive, commitment, and discipline, to do whatever it takes to fight The Empire, no matter how controversial or cruel it makes him, defines him. He is not without pity nor is he a psychopath, he understands the moral wrongness of his actions and he believes himself to be condemned for them, but he also knows everything he does is to create a better future. He is typically highly cautious, only communicating via comlinks or intermediaries, however, if he believed a particular possible recruit holds significant potential, he is willing to risk his own discovery to acquire that potential.
When he first became a rebel, he confessed there was some ego to the equation, and perhaps that ego sought gratitude for his deeds, but years of his covert war against The Empire have jaded him extensively. He knows he's become a monster, and he's willing to remain a monster, because sometimes fire must be fought with fire, though it does sometimes pain him knowing the sacrifices of others he has to make (as he's long come to peace with the sacrifices he himself makes). Luthen had also accepted that the peaceful, free Galaxy that he aimed to replace the Empire with was one that he wouldn't belong in, yet he remained committed to making it reality for everyone else.
While he can be ruthless in preventing the Rebellion's exposure, such as allowing the deaths of men even when having information that could prevent that fate, threatening family members or even directly murdering people who could identify him, he isn't single-minded about a decision, thus he can be open to reason enough to forgo an assassination if the target had displayed a loyalty to the cause and further potential to cultivate in order to build the regiment to overthrow the Empire.
External Links[]
- Luthen Rael on the Star Wars Wiki
- Luthen Rael on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki
