Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Andor Episode 4.Andor is showing the origin story of the Rebel Alliance in the years leading up to both Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. While there has been resistance against the Galactic Empire since it was formed in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, a revolution does not begin overnight. The Empire has only continued to brutally reign over the galaxy; Andor reveals that the Imperials have been pitting Rebel factions against each other to demoralize them. The events on planets like Mimban have perpetrated the idea that any formal resistance effort is doomed to fail.
While the first three episodes of Andor explore the discontent that is starting on the streets of planets like Ferrix, Episode 4, “Aldhani,” shows how the Rebel Alliance is dealing with the situation in the galactic capital on Coruscant. Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) serves as the representative of the Chandrilan people in the Imperial Senate. While she tries to be a voice of reason in the heart of the Empire, Mothma secretly helps Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) coordinate rebel efforts.
While Mothma is able to save her public reputation, she is beginning to feel the pressure of maintaining her composure in the face of fascism. She finds it difficult to talk to her husband, fellow Chandrilan senator Perrin Fertha (Alastair Mackenzie). Fertha offends his wife when he decides to invite Imperial representatives involved in the “Ghorman Shipping Lanes Crisis,” which bears heavily on Mothma’s soul. While this crisis only gets a passing mention in the episode, it signifies a major event in Mothma’s future.
Mon Mothma’s Current Position in the Senate
Mothma became one of the youngest senators in history when she was elected to office around the same time as Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. She worked diligently in the Senate to support peaceful solutions to the brewing tensions with the Trade Federation following the Battle of Naboo. Although Mothma was one of the early resistors of the Grand Army of the Republic, she was helpless to stop the Clone Wars from the beginning.
In The Clone Wars, Mothma becomes an ally of both Bail Organa (Phil Lamarr) and Padme Amidala (Catherine Taber) as they try to maintain democracy on Coruscant. While the war is devastating, Mothma fears that the eagerness to destroy the Separatists has led the Galactic Republic to become overrun with militarization. Although she attempts to bridge a peaceful end to the war with the Separatist Senate in the episode “Heroes on Both Sides,” the treaty is abandoned after a terrorist attack on Coruscant orchestrated by General Grievous (Matthew Wood).
In scenes that were cut from Revenge of the Sith, Mothma and Organa (Jimmy Smits) meet with Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) about joining a faction of the Senate called the “Loyalist Committee.” This committee works to resist Chancellor Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) rise to power. Following the creation of the Galactic Empire, the leaders of the Loyalist Committee become the founders of the Rebel Alliance.
A Pivotal 'Star Wars Rebels' Episode Leads to Mon Mothma's Senate Departure
In Andor, we see that Mothma is in increasing danger as she tries to hide her connection to the Rebel Alliance. While she cannot stand to be at the heart of the Empire, she knows that any public outcries on her part could result in devastating consequences for the people that she represents. When her husband decides to hold a dinner party, he invites the Imperial representatives Ars Dangor and Sly Moore, who are part of the Emperor’s inner circle.
Dangor and Moore have opposed Mothma in the Senate over a crisis involving the Ghorman shipping lanes. Dangor and Moore are in favor of cutting off the trade route in the Colonies. By cutting off these supply lines, countless worlds are left to starve. This is ultimately what pushes Mothma over the line, and inspires her to publicly voice her support for the Rebel Alliance.
Andor takes place in the year 5 B.B.Y., or five years before the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope. In the Star Wars Rebels episode “Secret Cargo,” which takes place in 2 B.B.Y., the crew of the Ghost transport Mothma to a secret location where she broadcasts a message throughout the galaxy. Mothma criticizes the Empire for causing the Ghorman massacre and asks for other planets to stand in resistance. As a result, she is branded a traitor and is forced to become a fugitive.
Mon Mothma’s Future
We see in Rogue One that Mothma has gone into hiding and helps orchestrate the Rebel Alliance’s secret operations. She plays an important role in Cassian’s (Diego Luna) fate, as she assigns him to escort Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) on a mission to meet with her father, Galen (Mads Mikkelsen). Mothma continues to serve as the leader of the Rebel Alliance after Organa and several other leaders are killed in the destruction of Alderaan.
In Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, an older Mothma (Caroline Blakiston) explains the plan to destroy the Death Star II before the Battle of Endor. Any loss of life disturbs her, and she is heartbroken to reveal that several Bothan spies were killed finding the Death Star II plans. In the Expanded Universe novels in the Aftermath trilogy, Mothma serves alongside Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and the other Rebel Alliance leaders in forming the New Republic.
Andor premieres new episodes weekly every Wednesday on Disney+.