This week’s episode of Disney+’s Star Wars: Andor has shown us a deeper look into the life of one of the founding leaders of the Rebellion against the Galactic Empire—Senator Mon Mothma. We have briefly seen bits and pieces of her personal life throughout the series, but not nearly enough to formulate everything that is going on behind closed doors. She lives a complicated life, full of cutthroat decision making and constantly looking behind her back—a true description of what it entails to be part of the Rebellion.
The character first appeared in the original trilogy in Return of the Jedi, with a brief role. Since then, she has reappeared throughout Star Wars media, with current actor Genevieve O’Reilly portraying her in 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, only for her role to be cut down to a non-speaking appearance in the theatrical version of the film. She would go on to make a larger return in the film series in Rogue One, making her an obvious choice to appear in Andor, since it’s a prequel to the movie. But who is Mon Mothma as a person?
Mon Mothma’s early life
Mon Mothma was born into a wealthy and influential family on the planet Chandrilla, where her mother was governor and her father served as a general for the republic. This had a huge influence on who she would become later on in life. At just the age of 19, she became the youngest elected representative, under the Bormea Sector, to serve in the Galactic Republic. This record would later be broken by none other than our favorite princess and someone she mentors—Leia Organa. Leia would be around the age of 14 during the time of Andor, which is something to keep in mind.
Where was Mon Mothma during the Clone Wars?
Being a key member on the Loyalist Committee, alongside Bail Organa and Padme Amidala, Mon Mothma was always on the right side of history, and the character appeared in the Clone Wars animated series. She worked tirelessly to reduce the production of clone troopers, in favor of keeping diplomacy alive. Throughout the time of the Clone Wars, she was not afraid to sign petitions to limit Chancellor Palpatine’s power. This was up until the Galactic Empire had completely taken over, when she then redacted her efforts, in fear of what the Empire was doing to a number of planets that questioned their power. She did not want to see her people under their oppression.
In Andor, Senator Mon Mothma continues to speak publicly about the oppression of the planets and the current state of the Empire’s affairs. This places a target on her by many, potentially her own driver being one of them, as she expresses to colleague and fellow rebel Luthen Rael. This is the first of many secret meetings we will potentially see with Mon Mothma, showing and just how serious the Rebel Alliance cause is to her, in order to restore the Republic.
Senator Mon Mothma’s bravery and charismatic nature has made her a true hero of the Rebellion. Her impact and influence made great waves in the formation of the Rebel Alliance. We do know the outlook of her life post-Andor, as she is present in the original Star Wars trilogy, but the in-between moments, spanning throughout the rest of Andor, are going to be an exciting thrill to watch. Will we meet more of her secret allies in future episodes? Perhaps a young Leia Organa is closer than we think!
(featured image: Lucasfilm Ltd.)
