Part 1: Luthen's Rising - The Choice

• Part 1: The Choice
• Part 2: The Sacrifice
• Part 3: The Legacy

This visual essay is broken into three parts, use the “Related” section to link between the parts. You are viewing part 1.

" I'll take the drop-off "

" So you can continue as you are? They'll use the same rope to hang you, whether it's a plasma coil, or a hundred million credits. "

" Look at me! You wanted to lead, this is what it comes to. "

" We need to pull together Saw! Whatever our final version of success looks like, there's no chance we can make it real on our own. "

" The Empire has been choking us so slowly, we're starting not to notice. The time has come to force there hand. "

" People will suffer!. "

" That's the plan. "

" When do we start fighting back!. "

" We have. "

" By walking away?!? "

" We fight to win. "

" And that means, we lose and lose and lose, until we're ready. "

" All you know now is how much you hate! You bank that, you hide that! You keep it alive until you know what to do with it. "

" And when I tell you to move, you move. "

" MOVE! "

“Is this the most important character in the history of film making? I think so, and here’s why.”

Spoilers: This essay pertains to the TV show Andor and is going to reveal information about a critical character in the series. If you don’t want that information revealed to you, stop reading this essay now.

Context: In this essay, I focus Luthen Rael, a Rebel spymaster for the rebellion. What you are about to see is a perspective on Luthen’s backstory in the empire before he becomes Luthen and what his sacrifice can tell us about our world. In this part of the story, Luthen is identified as Commander Lear. He reaches a crisis point where a difficult choice must be made…

" You're backing out... "

" You need to pay attention, life shows us what we stand to lose. Most people look away, we can't be like that. "

" Ok, it's a pretty place. None of that matters right now, you're just being sad "

" I need to know you are making a choice. I lived most of my life never realizing that was a possibility. "

I also lived most of my life without considering that my actions had consequences. I let life drag me into a future I didn’t want to be in. By not making real choices, life chose for me.

For the first time in my life, I understand that my lack of awareness, by avoiding hard decisions, is choice without power.

Life shows us what we stand to lose. Luthen had to face this truth when he was ordered to slaughter innocent people that wouldn’t go along with the Empire’s agenda.

In this part of the story, Luthen is identified as Commander Lear. He reaches a crisis point where a difficult choice must be made.

" We hear gunfire and screams in the distance... "

" Make it stop... "

" Rosh Ne Luts, Make it stop... "

" Rosh Ne Luts, Make it stop! "

Lear’s complicitness in evil ends the moment these words are uttered. Maybe this feeling was part of him all along. Maybe he was born into an evil family and didn’t have the will.

Somewhere in that body, there came a realization: Maybe he doesn’t know quite yet how it will happen, but the world cannot let this evil continue any longer.

And at that exact moment, he found a child hiding on his ship.

It dawned on him, this is the time to make a choice.

" SHHHHHhhhh! "

Lear became Luthen the moment this path came into existence. Continue on to the next part of this series.