When did Mon Mothma become the de facto primary leader of the Rebel Alliance? Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Star Wars fans probably didn’t think about it too much, simply because in those days, everyone was more focused on Mothma sending Kyle Katarn on cool missions in Dark Forces, or rebuilding the New Republic in the Thrawn trilogy of novels. But then, after Genevieve O'Reilly became a younger version of Mothma in Revenge of the Sith (both onscreen and in deleted scenes) the canonicity of her Rebellion-era leadership suddenly started to take shape in a major way.
Eight years ago, in 2017, way before Andor and just one year after Rogue One in 2016, O'Reilly created the true origin of Mon Mothma during this famous galactic period of civil conflict. But now, with Andor Season 2, Episode 9, that origin story has been heavily retconned, making aspects of one Star Wars Rebels episode seem like Rebellion propaganda, from a certain point of view.
Spoilers ahead for Andor Season 2, Episode 9.
Andor Season 2, Episode 9 Features Mon Mothma’s Public Rebellion Defection
While the final moments of Andor Episode 9 focus on Cassian (Diego Luna) testing out his captured KX droid, the most important plot point in this episode is also one of the most important pivots of the entire series. It’s in this moment that Cassian has to extract Mon Mothma from Coruscant following her public refutation of the Ghorman Massacre. Complicating matters is the notion that there are competing factions within the Rebellion who each want to ensure Mothma’s safety as she heads off-planet, and eventually, to the secret Rebel Base on Yavin 4.
The most crucial aspect of this episode involves whether or not Mothma should trust Luthen, and therefore, Cassian, or should she stick with a team of security sent by Bail Organa?
The audience knows that Mothma should probably trust Luthen, because we also know that Luthen won’t murder her, like he did various other compromised sources. Despite having a bunch of tension, Cassian’s rescue of Mon Mothma has an outcome which we’re aware of: Mon Mothma is alive and thriving in Return of the Jedi (where she was originally played by Caroline Blakiston). And of course, there’s the fact that in Rogue One, Cassian and Mothma are aware of each other.
But Andor Season 2, Episode 9 represents the first time in the entire show that Mothma and Cassian have met, and, in that meeting, the way in which Mothma becomes the leader of the Rebellion has been retconned.
How Andor Changes Rebels Canon
Episodes 7, 8, and 9 of Andor Season 2 all take place in 2 BBY, meaning we’re just two years out from the events of Rogue One and A New Hope at this point. Relevantly, the 2017 Rebels episode “Secret Cargo” also took place in 2 BBY. The titular secret cargo in that episode was, shockingly enough, Mon Mothma herself. In that episode, the Ghost crew, including Ezra Bridger, Hera Syndulla, and Zeb, all assist Gold Squadron in bringing Mon Mothma to a safe location where she can address various disparate cells of the Rebellion, uniting them to a common cause.
Like Andor, the series Rebels gradually charted the progress of individual sects of rebels who all eventually coalesced into the fighting force we’re familiar with in the classic Star Wars movie trilogy. In that show, much like Andor, our point of view was generally with just one aspect of the Rebellion, rather than an overview of the entire movement. But, the events of “Secret Cargo” are pivotal insofar as from that point forward, the Rebellion is a bit less disorganized, and Mon Mothma’s role changes from undercover political operative to outright leader and coordinator of the Rebellion more broadly. Obviously, Andor has added various layers to Mothma’s journey in its two seasons, but with Episode 9, the slightly sunnier events of “Secret Cargo” are given a much darker prelude.
For one thing, in “Secret Cargo,” Mothma’s loyal aide Erskin is treated with affection by Mothma. But, in Andor, we know Mothma was furious with Erskin for having been working as an informant for Luthen the entire time. In “Secret Cargo,” Erskin seems like a soldier of the Rebel Alliance, but in Andor, he’s a well-meaning political lackey, barely keeping it together as Cassian hurries Mon Mothma out of the Senate building. (In Andor Erksin is played by Pierro Niel-Mee. In Rebels, he was voiced by Josh Brener.)
On top of that, Andor Episode 9 deprives Cassian of the option of taking Mon Mothma all the way to Yavin 4, because otherwise “Secret Cargo” would be totally contradicted. Instead, Cassian’s Rebel superior Draven (Alistair Petrie, reprising his role from Rogue One) informs Andor that nothing about the mission will be “logged” and that officially, Gold Squadron will take the senator to Yavin. Draven also tells Andor that Mothma is going to give a speech, which Andor declines to listen to, since he just heard her give a different speech earlier in the episode.
The speech that Draven refers to — along with the Gold Squadron thing — is all a quick lampshade reference to “Secret Cargo.” Andor Episode 9 stops short of recreating Mon Mothma’s speech in live action, but, in theory, everything works.
And yet, the tone of the story and behavior of Mon Mothma in “Secret Cargo” are very different from what we get in Andor Episode 9. Technically, the events in Andor align with the events of Rebels, but watching “Secret Cargo” right after Andor Episode 9 is jarring. Chronologically, these events line up. Ezra even mentions that he’s just heard Mothma give a speech renouncing the Emperor. And yet, these pieces of the Star Wars puzzle don’t quite fit.
Arguably, though, Andor, Rebels, and Rogue One all share a similar challenge. Each of these facets of the Star Wars saga are all, fundamentally, each retcons of A New Hope. So, it probably shouldn’t be too surprising that in a battle between retcons, some things are going to feel like more than just a tremor in the Force.
