Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Episode 8 of Andor.
From the beginning, Andor has been setting up the beginning of the Rebel Alliance. But Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) and Mon Mothma's (Genevieve O'Reilly) vision for the fight ahead isn't shared by every rebel. In fact, the two don't even see eye to eye. Mothma wants a rebellion with the least possible death toll. On the other hand, Rael knows the galaxy-wide suffering will inspire more to join the cause. The different ideas for the rebellion don't stop with these two, but Rael has seen that the only way for the rebels to pose a viable threat to the Empire is through cooperating with one another. For the sake of the cause, Rael attempts to create the unity the rebels lack. So Rael ventures out to meet with Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker).
Who is Saw Gerrera?
Saw Gerrera is familiar to fans of Star Wars. He appeared in the animated shows Star Wars: Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and Star Wars: Rebels. Also, Forest Whitaker previously played the role in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Saw has been rebelling since before the days of the Empire. As a young man, Saw fought to defend his home world from the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After the Empire's rise to power, Saw was quickly branded as their enemy. During The Bad Batch, he had already drawn the Empire's attention to himself and his rebel faction, as Clone Force 99 was sent after him. He continued to thwart the Empire, assisted by like-minded individuals and an occasional mercenary. Before Andor, Saw has saved, raised, and abandoned Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), who will become Cassian Andor's (Diego Luna) ally in Rogue One. Saw tends to be paranoid and overly cautious. He also believes in a more violent rebellion than most rebels. As such, he is generally considered an extremist. Rael must know Saw well in order to find him, as Saw stayed in well-guarded hideouts.
Rael and Saw's Conversation
When Rael approaches Saw, he doesn't admit to his involvement in the Aldhani theft. Instead, Rael pretends to believe Saw to be behind it. Why he would do this is unclear. Maybe it was to boost Saw's ego. But more likely, he wanted to use it as evidence that others are ready to fight the Empire. As they speak, Saw asks Rael why he stays behind the scenes, and Rael counters by asking Saw why he fights with people who agree with him. It is evident that these men have had similar conversations in the past. And that Rael knows how to deal with Saw. In fact, he brought supplies to bribe Saw into joining him.
Rael's plan is simple. Another rebel with whom Rael seems to be in contact, Anto Kreegyr, has found a weakness in an Imperial power station at Spellhaus. In order to blow it up, Kreegyr needs air support, which Saw could provide if convinced to do so. But Saw believes Kreegyr is slow and stupid, and refuses to risk his rebels for someone else's goal. Rael tries to entice him with the promise of hurting the Empire, but it isn't enough. So Rael tries logic, saying, "Whatever our final version of success looks like, there's no chance any of us can make it real on our own." But Saw wants no part in the cooperative effort Rael suggests. He sees one way the rebellion should go, and anyone who disagrees with that is an enemy, even if they oppose the Empire. Saw lists several disjointed rebel groups, none of whom see eye to eye: Separatists, Neo-Republicans, The Ghorman Front, The Partisan Alliance, Sectorists, Human Cultists, and Galaxy Partitionists. These are only the ones Saw has a name for and do not include Saw's Partisans (despite the similar name to the Partisan Alliance). Saw calls all the other rebel groups lost and refuses to work with them.
Though Saw and Rael seem to know each other to an extent, Saw asks Rael which group he aligns with. Saw gives no name but says, "We'll die with nothing if we don't put aside our petty differences." Saw won't be convinced. He laughs at the word petty and insists that only he has clarity of purpose. Likely the other groups would say they have the clarity no one else does. Saw refuses to go along with Rael's plan, preferring to work alone. Rael ends his pitch with the rebels as divided as they were when he started.
The Division Among Rebels
The term "rebels" encompasses a wide variety of ideas, as Saw points out. Some fight for the freedom of their own planet, while others have larger goals. Whatever the case, none see things exactly the same way and are unwilling to work together. Rael tells Saw that "oppression breeds rebellion," and the Empire has made no shortage of enemies. The Empire has created many rebels through their oppression. But these small groups can only accomplish so much on their own. Rael knows this and wants to unite them, but Saw will not listen because he is too focused on their different ideologies than their shared enemy.
Whatever Luthen Rael's ultimate goal for the rebellion is, he is taking it upon himself to build the Rebel Alliance. He even tells Saw that the Empire can help by getting angry and tightening restrictions. The worse things get, the more people will want to fight the Empire. Rael is not above allowing citizens to suffer if it furthers his cause. Until Rael can create the united rebellion of his dreams, he will aggravate the Empire in hopes of forcing the rebels together out of desperation.
Until these groups of rebels can unite in hatred toward the Empire, they cannot win. It is why the Rebel Alliance must be born. But not yet. It takes time to unite the factions of rebels in the Galaxy, though Rael has begun the work. He seems to know many of them, and unlike Saw, Rael doesn't isolate himself. So far, he has interacted with four separate rebel entities that don't seem to work together yet: Mon Mothma, Saw Gerrera, Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay), and the mysterious Anto Kreegyr. Luthen Rael manipulates all of them to create his rebellion. He also seems to recruit people to the cause, such as Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) and Cassian. Luthen Rael knows the unification of the rebels is crucial to their victory. And yet others have yet to catch on. By working behind the scenes, as Saw accuses him of, Rael is able to connect groups of rebels in a way few can. He has positioned himself to be instrumental in unifying the rebels. The work ahead of Rael is hard, but it is necessary to defeat the Empire.