Mon Mothma has consistently been a character in the background. Though she is the leader of the Rebel Alliance, the Star Wars movies and shows often spend little time with her character. Despite this, her personality and leadership qualities shine though, leading to her substantial fan following. Her role in Rogue One is limited to only a few minutes on the screen, yet this part can tell us a lot about the kind of person that we will see in the upcoming Disney+ show, Andor.
Mothma’s appearance in Rogue One is most meaningful towards the end, when the members of the alliance are arguing among themselves about what they should do about the threat of the Death Star. Many are worried about the prospect of entering into war with the Empire, while others know the Death Star is a much bigger concern.
Mothma presides over this meeting as a mediator, stopping the argument when it ceases to be productive. The moment she speaks, even the loudest voices become silent. It is obvious that she holds everyone’s respect. When they are unable to come to agreement, she is the one they look to for guidance.
Ultimately, she is too cautious to risk sending a fleet to Scarif to get the Death Star plans. Though she is a great leader, relations between the members of the alliance are too tenuous to make a big decision without their support.
However, this does not stop her from making preparations for the war to come. After the meeting, she is seen in discussion with Bail Organa, urging him to contact Obi-Wan. They are interrupted with news that a small group have disobeyed and traveled to Scarif on their own. The look on her face as she hears the update is clearly one of pride and hope. The members of the rebellion she helped build are ready to take on the tyranny of the Empire more directly.
In Rogue One, the Mothma we see has been through a lot to earn the trust of the members of the Rebel Alliance, but not much is known about how this occurred. Hopefully, Andor will fill in the missing pieces, so her full journey from senator to great leader is complete.
When Andor premiers on September 21st, Mon Mothma will finally step into the spotlight in her first screen role as a main character.
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