The Rebellion was built on hope, sacrifice and the strength of its leaders. While Bail Organa and Princess Leia Organa receive a lot of credit for bringing the Rebellion together, Mon Mothma is the other major figure who deserves recognition. Her actions helped to form the early Rebel Alliance and she helped to plan the assault on the second Death Star. Despite that, not much is known about her after the fall of the Empire.
Mon Mothma has begun to make a much bigger impression on Star Wars since the beginning of Andor. While she was always present, Andor has expanded her role and shown how pivotal she was to the Rebel Alliance. After the war, she didn’t retire and rest on her laurels; she began to serve the galaxy to ensure that the peace she fought for was maintained. She continued to fight for a better galaxy until the end of her career.
Mon Mothma and the New Republic
After the fall of the Empire, a new system of government had to rise up to take its place. Mon Mothma lead the charge for the formation of the New Republic. Within a month of the Battle of Endor, Mothma began to gather allies and established the base of the New Republic on her home planet of Chandrilla. She became the leader of the newly formed Senate and served in that position for over a decade. She took radical steps to make sure that war stayed away from the galaxy, even proposing a huge military disarmament. She balanced the various sides of politics and the opinions of each new system and managed to create a new world.
Mothma knew the limits of the New Republic and what they could do as a government. When Leia pleaded with the Senate to free the Wookiees, Mothma denied the request because she knew that they didn’t have the resources. She was a shrewd politician and her charisma was able to help her manage the growing unrest within the new government and the Imperial remnants. Her efforts were continually sidelined by people who either wanted the Empire back or wanted to gain power. Yet she never stopped believing that the New Republic was the right answer.
Unfortunately for Mon Mothma, her personal life was almost nonexistent during this time period. Even her husband and daughter Leida from Andor weren’t talked about in this era. Her life was consumed by her duty to the galaxy. She did manage to maintain one friendship with Leia. Despite having different opinions on the role of the New Republic, Leia and Mon Mothma remained close friends and allies. And even after Leia was exposed as Darth Vader’s daughter, Mothma continued to publicly support her friend.
The First Order’s Rise Lead to Mon Mothma’s End
The biggest and worst challenge that faced Mon Mothma after the Rebellion was the rise of the underdeveloped First Order. Mothma fought against the First Order in the senate; she could see the rise of trouble. But as she fell ill, she had to step down — and when she stepped down, the young government began to crumble. Without her leadership, the opposing sides began to argue more, leaving the galaxy in a vulnerable position. Her departure left a hole that was never filled.
Mon Mothma was a hero of the Rebel Alliance. While she didn’t serve on the front lines, she was fighting before anyone else was and long after everyone had stopped. She knew that without structure the galaxy would crumble, and she built the New Republic from the ground up. Her contributions to the galaxy are vast and Andor is finally giving her the much-deserved spotlight so that fans can understand who she really is.
The Andor Season 1 finale streams Nov. 23 on Disney+.
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