Star Wars’ Andor hints at gay romance
"You love me because I show you what you need to see."
The latest episode of the Disney+ Andor, has given us a rare hint at a same-sex romance in the Star Wars galaxy.
In ‘Narkina 5’ we see the titular Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) wind up in a detention prison that seems to pit prisoners against one another as a way of subjugation.
This follows his successful heist against the Empire a couple of episodes prior which saw him, along with a few other Rebels, steal 80 million credits.
Meanwhile, the leader of the heist, Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay), is chasing Andor, who she knew as ‘Clem’ to tie up a… loose end. She’s accompanied by another survivor of their mission, Cinta Kaz (Varada Sethu)
Together, they stake out Andor’s old home on Ferrix Vel and Cinta discuss their mission. The latter offers to stay alone and wait for Andor to return.
When Vel points out Andor could be anywhere Cinta replies, “This is all we have right now. What’s the alternative?”
Vel questions whether she and Cinta have been apart long enough. Cinta says, “It’s not about us,” before reminding Vel they’re in “a fight to the death”.
After taking a jab at Vel being a “rich girl running away from her family” Cinta adds, “I told you upfront, the struggle will always come first. We take what’s left.”
“I’m a mirror Vel,” Cinta continues. “You love me because I show you what you need to see.”
The two then clasp hands.
Andor is giving us some of the first queer characters in Star Wars’ main canon.
The Rise of Skywalker gave us a blink and you’ll miss it kiss between a same-sex female couple. It was criticised for not being effective representation.
Meanwhile, the recent Padawan novel strongly implied that Obi-Wan Kenobi could be bisexual, an implication many fans loved.
And Star Wars as a franchise has defended its queer characters in the comics, which includes a non-binary Jedi Knight.
In June, Star Wars was lambasted online for becoming “political”. The official Star Wars Twitter account replied to one person saying, “Queer characters existing isn’t political”.
Andor is available to stream now on Disney+