Finished a rewatch of S1 tonight and found myself wondering about something I had rejected out of hand until now: The idea that Luthen Rael might be a Jedi.
1. During his famous monologue, he mentions that he began the fight 15 years before. This is 5 BBY which puts his decision squarely with the fall of the Jedi Temple and establishment of the Empire.
2. His walking stick retracts like a lightsaber into a handle that could be a lightsaber hilt with the kyber crystal removed: the sky kyber crystal he sends to Aldhani with Andor and later, presumably, gets back from Vel.
3. When Saw's people frisk him for weapons, they take his walking stick handle. He mentions to them that they should either take it or give it back. A little extra attention paid to it there. Why?
4. He walks around Ferrix and some other places hooded in a way very reminiscent of the Jedi.
5. We know nothing about his own origins, unlike most of the other major characters in the show.
6. His ship's odd weapon that behaves very much like a double-bladed lightsaber extruding from the sides of the ship, which takes out those two TIEs. We haven't seen a weapon like that anywhere else in SW, except as a lightsaber itself. Even Slave One's seismic charges were different than this.
7. If Luthen is indeed hiding from the Inquisitors in addition to fighting the good fight, he's doing an exceptional job of it. Not a hint of Force use, even during the times he is in mortal danger. Being based on Coruscant so relatively close to the Emperor, closing himself off to the Force as much as possible would be an absolute necessity.
I guess we'll find out on Tuesday. Not expecting any sort of lightsaber action or even Force use, but it would be interesting if, in his last moments, we learn that he was in fact a Jedi all along, albeit one in a very dark mental place. If not, that's perfectly okay. In truth I'd prefer him to NOT be a Jedi because that is the line this show is all about in the first place. But we will see.