Andor kicks off its second major storyline with an episode titled “Aldhani,” an episode that introduces us to a whole new band of rebels. And with a new band of rebels comes a new rebel leader — a rebel leader who knows how to run a mission without all of the resources that we’ve come to associate with rebel factions. There’s no secret lair or matching puffy vests or translucent screens with green grids on them for these freedom fighters!
The woman in charge of this new group, a group that Cassian Andor is now begrudgingly a part of, is Vel Sartha. She’s a new character played by Faye Marsay, and she has a big part to play in the Disney+ Star Wars series. But who is Vel Sartha and where have you seen Faye Marsay before? Here’s what you need to know.
Who is Vel Sartha on Andor?
Vel Sartha is a rebel leader stationed on the planet Aldhani. Vel’s in charge of a mission that’s been in the works for months and is going down in three days: her and her tight team of ragtag rebels are going to rob this sector of the Empire of their entire quarterly payroll. The problem: the payroll is located at a heavily armed Imperial garrison. The solution: the team’s gonna use a truly spectacular sounding rare, celestial event to cover their getaway! And then there’s the wrinkle in the plans: Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) is forcing Vel to take on a new member of the team three days before the mission, and he’s a mystery dude named Cassian Andor (a.k.a. Clem, a.k.a. Diego Luna).
This is the first we’ve seen of Vel Sartha, but we can put a lot together via context clues. She’s clearly tough as nails and worthy of Luthen’s respect. And since Luthen is also made of nails, that only solidifies our impression of Vel. Another thing to remember: this isn’t the Rebellion that we’re used to seeing. The Rebellion that Luke Skywalker signed up with doesn’t exist yet, not entirely. Right now the rebellion against the Empire is made up of a bunch of random, independent cells scattered across the galaxy. They’ve yet to be unified, and we’ll have to wait and see if Vel will be part of that unification.
Who is Faye Marsay on Andor?
Faye Marsay plays Vel Sartha on Andor. Marsay is an English actor who you may recognize from — where else? — Game of Thrones. Just like every English actor, Marsay had a part to play in GoT; she played The Waif in Seasons 5 and 6 of the HBO drama. She played Anne Neville in The White Queen. She also appeared in the Season 3 Black Mirror episode “Hated in the Nation” and the AMC series McMafia. And across the pond, Marsay played the titular Nina in the 2016 BBC miniseries Love, Nina.
Since Episode 4 of Andor is the first of a three-episode storyline, we’ll definitely be seeing more of Vel Sartha in at least the next two episodes. Will the team’s mission succeed? I’ll be honest: probably not, at least not entirely, because this is a TV show and there has to be conflict! Let’s just hope that Vel can lead her team to some simulacrum of success and make it out alive.
New episodes of Andor premiere on Disney+ on Wednesdays.
Stream Andor on Disney+
