Vel Sartha's Changing Wardrobe In Andor Reveals A Key Detail About The Star Wars Rebel [Exclusive]
This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Andor."
Anyone who's been watching "Andor" knows that the prequel/spin-off series has established itself to be less about the spectacle of it all and more about attention to detail. Chock-full of fascinating characters carefully written with complex motivations, uncertain loyalties, and all sorts of subtle nuances, both major and minor characters alike feel like a far cry from the "Star Wars" franchise's usual reliance on generalized archetypes. From Diego Luna's Cassian Andor to Stellan Skarsgård's chameleon-like Luthen Rael to Genevieve O'Reilly's Mon Mothma finally getting her chance to shine, series creator Tony Gilroy and his team of writers have imbued each and every figure with life and narrative purpose beyond anything viewers could've expected.
One such protagonist, the tough and scrappy rebel leader Vel Sartha (played by "Game of Thrones" veteran Faye Marsay), perhaps best embodies the ideals of the Rebellion — although even then, the reveal that she's related to Mon Mothma and the rest of her fabulously wealthy family certainly muddies our conception of the character even more. Thanks to her double life as both a rebel soldier and a rich, spoiled member of high society, we've seen several layers to Vel that makes her one of the show's most enigmatic characters yet.
/Film's Ethan Anderton spoke to actor Faye Marsay to get her own distinct perspective on how this figure wears different skins depending on her surroundings ... and how this sheds some key light on our understanding of Vel Sartha. Read on for all the details.
'You never know which one is the real Vel'
Since "Andor" is such an espionage-heavy series, it stands to reason that many of the characters (if not all) would operate from the shadows with no trustworthy indication of their true selves. Since her initial appearance on Aldhani, Vel has appeared undercover on Cassian's (adopted) home planet of Ferrix and again under a completely different disguise altogether on Coruscant when visiting her cousin Mon Mothma. But which one is the real Vel? According to the actor herself, that's a bit tricky.
In her recent interview with /Film, Faye Marsay opened up about playing such a shadowy individual who undergoes such a wide range of wardrobe changes. Noting her "completely different" styles from planet-to-planet in order to fit in where required, Marsay alludes to Vel as a reflective mirror of sorts:
"So you never know which one is the real Vel, and you never know which one she feels most comfortable in. To be honest, as the actor playing Vel, I'm not entirely sure of that. I think that she's so used to moving who she is around and around and around into different pockets of the galaxy that I think I couldn't say which would be her favorite. I think the costumes reflect more about where we are in the world as opposed to more information about Vel."
Intentionally written as a bit of a cypher, it makes sense that Vel would manage to survive for so long by shining a light right back at those trying to observe her — even us. With only a few more episodes to go in this season, this character clearly has an important (if mysterious) role to play before all is said and done.
New episodes of "Andor" stream on Disney+ every Wednesday.