Tony Gilroy has been connecting epic Star Wars moments ever since his Rogue One days. It was exhilarating for fans to figure out in the theaters that the ending of the 2016 movie would directly lead to the beginning of the events of A New Hope.
Nearly a decade later, he has done it again.
The smothering tension of Andor Season 2 episode 9, “Welcome to the Rebellion,” saw Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) escorting an endangered Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) out of the Imperial Senate after she delivers an ardent speech condemning the Ghorman Massacre.
She names and shames Emperor Palpatine and labels him the “monster” they helped create in one of the most powerful lines spoken in the show against the Imperial regime, saying,
“The distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil."
Her blatant defiance paints an immediate target on her back. One of the three people Senator Bail Organa (Benjamin Bratt) arranged for her to escape turns out to be a mole. Ironically, she is also a subordinate of Luthen’s Rebel spy in the ISB, Lonni Jung. This reveal makes one wonder what happens to Lonni, since we do not see him in the BBY 2 arc of episodes 7-9.
Thankfully, Cassian, sent by Luthen, shows up in time. He leads Mon Mothma out of the Senate, blaster ready, shooting anyone and anything in their way. He kills her ISB-implanted driver too before driving away with her on her speeder. She is visibly shaken by the violence at first, but thanks Cassian for saving her life once they reach the safehouse - the same apartment where he was shown to live in the earlier episodes.
Initially, the plan was for Mon Mothma to go with Cassian to the now-functional Rebel base at Yavin. But Erskin Semaj (Pierro Niel-Mee), her Senatorial aide, explains that she is to board a different ship. “They want her to make a speech.”
This is where Star Wars Rebels picks up. There's a reason why we said that "Secret Cargo" was a must-watch episode before Andor Season 2.
Mon Mothma delivers her second speech aboard the Ghost
In the opening minutes of Star Wars Rebels season 3 episode 18, “Secret Cargo,” Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, and Zeb Orrelios catch a Holonet transmission of Mon Mothma’s Senate speech while waiting for a secret rendezvous. Their mission is to help a ship escorted by Gold Squadron refuel.
Andor creator Tony Gilroy retconned Mon Mothma’s Senate speech in Andor, but retained the essence of her stance. "We are hijacking canon," Gilroy explained in an Entertainment Weekly exclusive. "We're just saying you don't really know the whole story of what happened."
The Spectres are initially unaware of the very important cargo the vessel carries. Erskin introduces himself and Gold Leader Captain Jon Vander to them as the refueling process is initiated.
However, once an Imperial attack damages the Gold Squadron, the crew is forced to board Hera’s ship, the Ghost. To their shock, the Spectres discover that the invaluable “cargo” crucial to the Rebellion that the Empire is hunting is Mon Mothma herself.
It is safe to assume that the ship Erskin talks about in Andor is the same one that meets with the Spectres.
The second part of Mon Mothma’s escape is executed by Hera and Ezra’s quick wits and top-notch flying skills. She flies through the notorious Archeon Nebula while being chased by a prototype TIE Defender sent by Admiral Thrawn. Vult Skerris, pilot of the Starfighter, takes down several of Mon Mothma’s escort Y-Wings, but is later sent awry into the burning stellar nursery by an ion cannon, courtesy of Ezra and Vander.
Meanwhile, Imperial Star Destroyers attempt to block their exit from the nebula. On Hera’s command, Ezra and Vander shoot their proton torpedos at the nebula, causing the cosmic gas mass to explode and destroy the Imperial ships.
Mon Mothma safely reaches Dantooine. Before delivering her second speech from the Ghost, she says, “Let’s just hope someone’s listening” — a phrase that has been played around with in Cassian’s story at least twice.
He yells “Nobody’s listening” at Kino Loy (Andy Serkis) at Narkina, implying that no one was paying any heed to the fate of the inmates. In Rogue One, he asks Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) if she thinks anybody’s listening to the transmission of the stolen Death Star plans, unaware that Admiral Raddus' command ship, the Profundity, had already received it. Jyn says, “I do. Someone’s out there.”
In her Dantooine speech, Mon Mothma announces her resignation from the Imperial Senate and calls for all scattered rebel cells to come together and form a united front. At first, it seems like nobody listened. But then, multiple rebel ships come out of hyperspace, making it the official declaration of the Rebel Alliance.
Cassian's role in keeping Mon Mothma alive and in one piece before she's handed over to the Gold Squadron lines up with his role in Rogue One. In both situations, he puts his life on the line, quite literally, to ensure the Rebellion gets to have its next stepping stone. In a way, he represents history's silent sacrifices upon which groundbreaking milestones are built, but whose stories go untold, time and again.