Star Wars: Andor - Did [SPOILER] Secretly Carry A Lightsaber ... In Plain Sight?

For many, "Andor" represents the peak of "Star Wars" in the modern era. It focuses first and foremost on interesting characters without trying to throw in Easter eggs and references to other properties. The first season broke with other "Star Wars" trends without having any Jedi in the cast, but a new fan theory suggests a Jedi, or at least someone who's Force-sensitive, was hiding in plain sight.

Redditor u/Zalack posits how Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) could be a Jedi in hiding. Did Luthen have a lightsaber? Not visibly, but u/Zalack points to his cane, which is reminiscent of an activated lightsaber. It also has an extra large hilt, which could suggest it's housing the necessary components of a lightsaber. And when Luthen is asked what he has sacrificed, he states, "Calm." They explain, "It's such a Jedi answer. Such a unique word to choose as well. Not 'a normal life' or 'a peaceful life', but 'Calm'. No qualifiers. It's the emotion itself." While many Jedi survived Order 66 and continued fighting against oppression and carrying on its teachings, Luthen could represent a different path. Namely, he depicts a fallen Jedi, someone who's now willing to get down into the dirt to make the revolution happen.

Luthen is also more in tune with his emotions than other Jedi. He's passionate and angry, which are normally traits attributed to the dark side of the Force. Luthen could inhabit both sides of the Force, falling somewhere in the middle. That means Luthen in "Star Wars" could symbolize an essential component of overthrowing authoritarianism — resorting to violent means to achieve a more peaceful future.

For a long time, it was easy to differentiate between the good and bad guys in "Star Wars." Jedi were associated with the light side of the Force, while the villainous Sith used the dark side. However, just like in real life, things more often fall into shades of gray than mere black and white. "Andor" did an exceptional job of showing this and how good people sometimes do bad things for the greater good. Luthen is an embodiment of this, and even if he isn't a Jedi, fans think he has some connection to the Force.

One Redditor, u/DarthLorgus, presents an alternate, devastating theory, "I am more convinced that he had a child that was a Jedi. I think perhaps he is force sensitive himself, but not strong enough in the force to become a Jedi himself. I suspect the crystal was from his child's lightsaber. My thought is he was a high ranking Republic spy, possibly an asset that assisted the Jedi closely." Luthen had a blue kyber crystal in his possession, which he gave to Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as a down payment for a job. There are many ways he could've gotten it, and if his cane isn't actually a lightsaber, there has to be some other intriguing story of how he got it. Having a child who was perhaps killed in Order 66 would explain how he acquired the crystal and has such a strong hatred toward the Empire.

"Andor" is one of the best things "Star Wars" has done in recent memory, and anticipation is high for Season 2. More will be revealed when more episodes come out, which are currently slated to release in August 2024.