Andor's Varada Sethu is no stranger to big franchises. Between Star Wars and Doctor Who, the actress has been killing it in two different galaxies. It's also not lost on her the important work she has been doing through the characters she plays, especially with marginalized groups. One she spoke of was her pride in being part of the first live-action LGBTQIA+ couple of Star Wars.
Speaking with The Guardian, Sethu shared about her Andor character Cinta:
"It meant a lot to me – I think the best thing about that part was that it wasn’t this huge deal, it was just normalised, nobody bats an eyelid. I believe that’s how it should be. Unfortunately, there are certain parts of the world where it’s illegal to be gay or to be queer in any way. It’s a fundamental part of someone, but it’s also so arbitrary, and sadly there’s still a ways to go. So anything that is moving towards highlighting how totally normal and fine it is to be queer, I’m on board with. It meant a lot to have that representation in the Star Wars world as well – the first, I think we were told, openly queer relationship in Star Wars.”
She's also right. All the headlines scream about the progress of Cinta and Vel, but it continues to shed a light on the work that still needs to be done with representation. Cinta is part of the first live-action couple, but as we have talked about at length before, they are not the first. The first on-screen couple is Star Wars Resistance's Orka and Flix, who has been buried by Disney. That's not hyperbole; people who worked on the show have confirmed that Disney wants to ignore their historic first on-screen couple.
This is not to erase the importance of Cinta and Vel, nor is it a knock on Sethu, who probably doesn't know every single detail about all Star Wars shows. She has a life and job and stuff. Heck, I'm the Site Expert for this Star Wars site, and I don't know everything about the franchise. What we should do is hold publications accountable to make sure their journalism is correct so we can praise all representation together. Orka and Flix walked so Cinta and Vel could run.
And they should all be celebrated. We need excellent queer representation in Star Wars. We need it in all media. It teaches and helps people. When people see themselves reflected in TV and film, it can literally save lives. The good queer representation in Star Wars shouldn't be hidden in the books and comics, which hit the smallest part of the fandom. It should also be on screen in both animation and live action, proud and out there.
Cinta and Vel are excellent characters in Andor. Now, let them kiss and actually openly be a couple on screen as you would with any of the other heterorsexual romances. If Bix can have an entire romance scene with her crappy boyfriend Timm where where her pants are literally off and on the floor, Cinta and Vel can at the very least share a kiss. Stop being cowards, Star Wars and Disney.
Andor returns on April 22