#andor show writers send me tips for writing dialogue please and thank you

[persimminwrites]

let's talk about luthen on that bridge.

i have been thinking about (obsessing about) that scene since i first watched it. it was so impactful, so gut-wrenching, and it has stayed with me, almost haunting me.

luthen is hands down one of the most compelling, complex characters in star wars. every moment he's on screen i spend enthralled and waiting for what he will do or say next, so i wanted to break down that elevator scene with lonni a little bit to better understand why it impacted me so much.

one of the first things i noticed was there was no background score during this scene. the previous scene ends with resounding, triumphant music - then we cut to coruscant. there is some background music at the very beginning of the scene, but its's distant and soft, and as soon as lonni gets in the elevator and closes the doors, the only thing we hear is the sound design of coruscant. the stuttering rumble and jerking motion of the elevator. the electric flicker of the lights. the sound of lonni pressing the elevator buttons. lonni's breathing.

this break in music score, or the absence of it, marks this scene as starkly different from the previous scene. and even if we as viewers aren't consciously aware of the lack of background music, we still notice it unconsciously and all of this builds along with the visuals of the scene - the dim lighting, the close shots making us feel stuck in that small space with lonni - to a frightening tension when we hear luthen's voice.

one of the first things luthen mentions is lonni's daughter. he may say it in a casual manner, but it is anything but casual. its a threat. a reminder that even though they haven't spoken directly in a year, luthen knows. he knows everything about lonni. he knows his life. he knows his weaknesses.

this is also mirrored beautifully in the scene because lonni (and us as the viewer) can't see luthen. we don't know where he is. we don't know the final destination of the elevator, only a floor number. but luthen knows exactly where lonni is.

"it's not fair. you knowing. watching me. do you ever think how it might feel from my side?"

we know how it feels. the filmmakers show us by using the elevator trip as a proxy. lonni is trapped in a small space. we see close camera shots giving us the feeling of the small space. lonni is talking to luthen via the earpiece, but he can't see where he is. we never cut to luthen during this scene until the doors open, so we never see him either. lonni is visibly nervous. there is no film score to cover lonni's stuttering breath as he speaks. we are trapped in that space with lonni until finally the door opens and we see luthen for the first time.

he cuts an intimidating figure. cast in shadow. alone. covered in black billowing clothing. where have we seen that before?

now, i'm not saying that the filmmakers are trying to say that luthen is as evil as the sith or darth vader. however, we have an established connection in this universe to dark billowing clothing and evil. and i think the filmmakers intentionally clothed this character in that clothing to give a similar impact. luthen is unsettling. there is a sense of foreboding that surrounds him. and to me, this is a visual indicator (that luthen later verifies verbally) that luthen believes he is condemned - beyond saving.

"a double life? every day a performance? the stress of that? we need heros, lonni, and here you are."

when i first heard this line, i thought luthen might say 'we need heros like us' or something along those lines. but he very firmly separates himself and lonni. he draws a line and does not include himself when he speaks of heroes.

"i am condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them."

he does not align himself with his enemy. he does not say they are the same. but he has debased himself, lowered himself in the pursuit of justice against a terrible evil - forced to make terrible sacrifices and decisions for the goal of a better tomorrow.

"i've made my mind a sunless place."

"i share my dreams with ghosts."

"i'm damned for what I do."

each of these lines serves to show us that luthen believes he is beyond saving. i especially love the line 'i share my dreams with ghosts' for a number of reasons. it alludes to those who have died for the rebellion - luthen dreams for them because they are no longer able to dream themselves. it makes me think that luthen believes himself a ghost. and that he believes the people surrounding him, working with him in his spy network, are also ghosts - dead people walking. ive talked before about grief in andor and how i believe that many alliance spies are constantly grieving, even the people around them who are alive. but i believe this line from luthen takes it even further. i think instead of speaking to grief, it speaks to a grim acceptance of his reality and that as long as the empire rules, everyone is dead. only freedom can give them life.

when the conversation ends, luthen closes the elevator doors with the click of a button, and the doors close like a coffin (see this post) around lonni, burying him with his vow that he took long ago - a decisive hand motion that ends someone else's life. again, i think the filmmakers are making another parallel to the sith, who we often see aligned with or governing opressive empires, without actually condemning luthen and saying he is the same. it is a comparison that is meant to unsettle us and make us wary of him. he is ruthless and uncompromising.

but he is fighting for a sunrise he will never see. he is burning his decency in the hope that someday the heroes will triumph. he has sacrificed everything so that someday the people of this galaxy will have something.

as the scene ends, we cut to the next scene, and the score fills the background, again undercutting the stark lack of score in the previous scene.

this scene so beautifully illustrates an incredibly complex character. luthen is fighting on the side of the rebels, and in so much star wars media, the rebellion is shown as a bastion for good and for righteousness, fighting against oppressive evil. it is black and white. but luthen is not good. he is brutal and he is ruthless and as he states himself he has no decency. he is not a hero. this scene puts us in lonni's shoes. we feel how incredibly unsettling working under luthen is. we understand how dangerous he is and even though he fights for the rebellion - we cant help but feel a little afraid.

#hello. this post is brought to you by my andoe brainrot. please enjoy. #luthen is just !!!!!!!! wowowow #this show has such incREDIBLE character writing i want to scream #and the dialogue!!!!!! #andor show writers send me tips for writing dialogue please and thank you #luthen rael #lonni jung #cassian andor #andor #andor show #star wars #min says #min muses