The second and final season of Star Wars: Andor will connect Cassian Andor's (Diego Luna) backstory with the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Last we saw the scavenger-turned-mercenary-turned-spy, he convinced Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) to make him a part of his secret rebel network. The new season will tell us how he goes from there to becoming a revered Intelligence Officer of the Rebel Alliance, working closely with Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly), Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits), and other Republic-loyalist Senators.
Given the hard-edged storytelling of both Rogue One and Andor, fans are used to seeing onscreen deaths that pull no punches. Be it Cassian's Aldhani allies or Jyn Erso's (Felicity Jones) mother or the entire Rogue One crew, people die without an emotional or heroic sendoff. Season 2 is expected to be no different.
There is a possibility that the first 20 minutes of Rogue One have already spoiled a major character's death in Andor season 2. Kindly note that there has been no confirmation of the same from the cast or the crew, and it is solely a speculation by the author. Keeping that in mind, let's get into it. And beware potential SPOILERS below!
Stellan Skarsgard's Luthen Rael could die in Andor season 2
The fact that Luthen Rael does not appear in Rogue One or the original Star Wars trilogy is in itself a sign that he possibly dies sometime between the show's ending and the movie's beginning. Let's explore it further.
After Rogue One star Jyn Erso is rescued from the Imperial labor camp on Wobani by Sergeant Ruescott Melshi (Duncan Pow) and his team, she is taken to the Rebel Alliance base on Yavin 4. The Council asks her to help them out in a matter pertaining to Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) in exchange for her freedom.
At this point, we already know the relationship between Jyn and Saw. The veteran renegade was a family friend of Jyn's parents, Lyra (Valene Kane) and Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen). When Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) comes knocking at Galen's doors on Lah'mu, he sends Jyn away to hide in a secret bunker and wait for Saw to find her.
Saw finds her and raises her as one of his own until she leaves and eventually gets captured by the Empire sometime before Rogue One. Meanwhile, her father, Galen, is taken away to continue his work on the Death Star. A trooper on Lah'mu shoots and kills his wife.
On the surface, Galen pretends to be a devoted scientist who is dejected after losing his wife and daughter, but who nonetheless remains loyal to the Empire. However, he secretly sabotages the weapon of mass destruction by building a critical weakness into the station's reactor. He incorporates a thermal exhaust port responsible for the laser function on the outer body of the globular weapon and connects it directly to an unstable port.
In 1 BBY, he sends a defecting Imperial pilot, Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), to Saw Gerrera with a message revealing this act of treason to the Empire. Saw's men apprehend Bodhi and take him to Saw, who we see is surviving on a pressure suit and a pair of prosthetic legs. He does not believe Bodhi and puts him in prison, but the news reaches the Rebel Alliance anyway.
When Jyn arrives at the Yavin base, she is asked to guide Cassian to Saw's den on Jedha so the rebels can get their hands on Galen's message. Cassian explains to her that they need someone to get them through Saw's door "without being killed." It becomes clear that the Rebellion is counting on Jyn's history with him to access the hologram the pilot carries without any casualties.
Jyn says what most fans would wonder (maybe not Clone Wars fans, but many others): "You're all rebels, aren't you?" Why would they need her to get to Saw if they were all on the same side, which is against the Empire?
Mon Mothma informs her that Saw broke out of the Rebel Alliance a while back and has been engaging in acts of "extremist" militancy that are causing them problems.
If you are watching Rogue One any time after Andor, this is where the revelation hits you: what could have happened that made it impossible for even Cassian to approach Saw without risking his life? In the TV show, we see that Luthen Rael has an amicable relationship with Saw. It is not friendly, but it is also not hostile.
Luthen gets free and frequent entry to Saw's base, albeit after a regulatory pat-down, and they share a mutual respect and often engage in trade of weapons and information. Saw even agrees to provide air support to neo-Separatist leader Anton Kreegyr, a man he did not like nor agree with, to help with Kreegyr's plan to raid the Spellhaus power station.
One would assume that with the Empire growing stronger by the year, there would only be more motivation for Saw to work closely with other rebel leaders, including Cassian, whom Luthen took under his wing. And one would be right, given what Mon Mothma tells us about Saw once being in the Alliance.
However, Saw snapping off Alliance ties and increasing hostile activities at their expense could be a hint that Luthen, who possibly acted as a bridge between the two parties, is no longer in the scene. It could always be the case that he decided to leave. But it is hard to believe he'd stop believing in or fighting for the cause after hearing his monologue in Andor season 1.
This author speculates that what Luthen feared for himself will come true in the second season, and he will die without seeing the sunrise he burned his life for.
It could also be possible that Luthen's demise causes the rift between Saw and Cassian (and the Rebel Alliance) in a situation where either of them takes a risk the other does not approve of. We may also find out how Saw lost his legs and why he needs a support suit to live.
New episodes of Andor season 2 will be released on Tuesdays from April 22 onwards in batches of three episodes per week.
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