Luthen Rael bared his soul in Episode 10 of Andor. And his recitation of his sacrifices, his intentional distancing of himself from morality and even humanity, is in line with my view of the pre-Luke Rebel Alliance: they are amoral and driven by their opposition to, maybe even hatred of, the Empire.
Luthen knows that his sacrifices are necessary to stop the Empire. But he recognizes his lost humanity in doing so.
And what do you sacrifice?
Luthen: Calm. Kindness. Kinship. Love.
I’ve given up all chance at inner peace. I’ve made my mind a sunless space. I share my dreams with ghosts. I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there’s only one conclusion, I’m damned for what I do. My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight, they’ve set me on a path from which there is no escape. I yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost and by the time I looked down there was no longer any ground beneath my feet.
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!
