Does the New “Andor” Episode on Disney+ Destroy a “Star Wars” Fan Theory?

It was suggested early on that Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) is not just another rebel, but is connected to other characters from the Star Wars universe. Little by little, clues emerged that she came from a wealthy family – this was also confirmed in Andor’s eighth episode, Narkina 5. Fan theory also developed early on that Vel is actually the daughter of Stellan Skarsgård’s rebel brain and organizer of terrorist attacks Lutheran Rael. The ninth episode “Nobody’s Listening” now airing seems to disprove that. For real?

» “Andor” on Disney+*

We learn about Vel in episode 9 of “Andor”

After we already knew from the trailers that the two women would meet, turns out to be Mon Mothma’s cousin in the new episode Vel (Genevieve O’Reilly). She is also from the planet Chandrila, which leads Mon’s husband Perrin (Alastair Mackenzie) to make a damning remark about how she has no husband and all she can do now is find widowers. Finally, in the previous episode, we learned that Chandrilans get married very, very young – while they are still in their teens.

But who Vel’s parents are remains a mystery. Luthen Rael is therefore still a candidate. We don’t know his ancestry, so we don’t know if he is also from Chandrila. He does not appear at all in the last episode, but is mentioned. A conversation between Vel and Mon revolves around what ‘he’ makes her do. The way Mon speaks shows how important Luthen is in Vel’s life too – because he is her father?

There’s a lot more to say about fan theory right now than before

That is of course still conceivable. The fan theory was not destroyed. It is extremely unlikely that Luthen is Mon’s brother. But it’s conceivable that he’s her brother-in-law, so maybe 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.

On the other hand, there is also a hint in this episode that speaks for us. Mon makes it clear that Vel must return to his old homeland. She hints that the family is concerned about her. She was even asked to find Vel, who had been missing for several months.

Of course, in this context, Mon can only refer to a mother who is separated from Luther. Those responsible for “Andor” may fool us a bit. At this point, however, there’s definitely more to be said about Luthen’s paternity than before.

Vel’s relationship with Luther is still important

Still, the exact nature of the relationship between Luthen and Vel, and thus between Luthen and Mon Mothma, is likely to become very, very important. It could also play a major role in the further radicalization of Mon. After all, we know that at some point she will have to go underground 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 the loss of loved ones. There is no trace of Vel and Luthen in later “Star Wars” stories – because they still die during the events of “Andor”?

Mon’s daughter Lieda (Bronte Carmichael) will probably also play a role in this regard. Her scenes are too present to be meaningless. In the non-canon Legends books, Lieda relives the later events of the original Star Wars trilogy. However, she does have a brother who dies during the Battle of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back.

The Star Wars team is known to like to borrow good ideas from the Legends stories. Possibly taking the idea of ​​a child’s death from Mon Mothma, pushing its emotional impact forward a few years and so into the events of “Andor”. So you see: Hard times are likely to lie ahead for Mon Mothma – and those around her are at great risk, no matter who is related to whom and how.