Welcome to the Rebellion, Mon Mothma

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Andor Season 2 Episode 9.Once again, we have arrived at the end of an arc. Andor is officially staring down the barrel of the final year of Cassian Andor’s (Diego Luna) life before his sacrifice in Rogue One, and Season 2 Episode 9 carries the weight of getting him into position to become the man we first met in 2016. But Cassian isn’t the only one who has to undergo fundamental character development — Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) and Bail Organa (Benjamin Bratt) have to be pushed in the direction of the Rebellion.

It’s storming on Coruscant when the episode opens, which matches the stormy atmosphere within the Senate. Bail approaches a gathering of senators who have convened in the corridor to watch as Ghorman’s senator, Dasi Oran (Raphael Roger Levy), is dragged away by Stormtroopers. He remarks that he’s being taken without a warrant and without charges, warning the other senators: “My people today, yours tomorrow. Remember Ghorman!” Mon joins Bail to watch the scene unfold, and the pair discuss the horrifying attack on Ghorman and the mounting number of their dead, though the Imperial news is suppressing that number, seeing as “the winner writes the story.” Mon informs Bail that she intends to take the floor the following day, though she knows it won’t happen without a “miracle” from Bail. She insists that they both need to stand up and speak the truth, and they need an exit plan to do so. Bail assures her that an exit plan is already in place; however, it’s only for her. She misunderstands him and believes he’s implying that they should remain silent, but he explains that something has to be said, and Yavin needs her leadership. He can’t go yet, but he’s confident he won’t become a hostage. Before they part ways, he warns her that their peer, Senator Ton, found a listening device in her own office, so Mon should be careful when preparing her speech.

At Luthen’s gallery, Cassian cleans himself up after arriving from Ghorman looking worse for wear. Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) informs him that he will once again play the part of the journalist Rooni Goojah to assist in extracting Mon Mothma. She creates a Surface Pass for him that will be good to use all season, but Cassian tells her that he won’t be needing it for that long: he intends to leave and not come back after this mission. She’s immediately hostile about the plan, questioning him about what “done” means, and he brushes her off, explaining that Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) will know what he means, which irritates her further. She condemns him for wanting to leave after Ghorman, pointing out that the senator he’s rescuing will be risking her life to speak out about the very massacre he survived. Her impassioned words have very little sway over Cassian, who insists that he wants to start making his own decisions.

Bail’s warning about the listening devices proves apt, as Erskin (Pierro Niel-Mee) discovers a listening device tucked up underneath the edge of one of the tables in her office. They exchange a silent look as he brings the device to her desk, and she crushes it with a trinket dish. Simultaneously, we’re shown that the sudden outage doesn’t go unnoticed by the ISB, who quickly identify that the disconnect isn’t on their end. Mon and Erskin have a hushed conversation about where she should practice her speech, and he urges her to go to the plaza, where she crosses paths with Luthen.

Luthen is the very last person Mon wants to see, and she makes it known with the cold shoulder she gives him. He informs her that Erskin works for him, and she’s horrified and suddenly panicked that there’s no one she can trust within her inner circle. He brushes off her concern, issuing a dire warning about Bail’s team. Someone among the group coming to get her out of the Senate is a double agent, so he’s supplied her with his very best to serve as an escort. She doesn’t really want to hear any of this, and instead turns the conversation to all the reasons why she shouldn’t trust Luthen or his ilk, citing the speed at which he handled the Tay problem as a reason she fears Luthen now. Luthen seems self-satisfied with the conversation and disinterested in carrying any guilt about the choices he has made in the name of the Rebellion.

Mon Mothma Gives the Speech of the Century in ‘Andor’ Season 2

When Mon returns to her office, she questions Erskin about how long he has been working for Luthen without her knowing, and he explains that it happened after the wedding, meaning he’s been working for Luthen for two years. She’s furious and dismisses him on the spot, which puts a major wrench in Luthen and Kleya’s plans. The following morning, Erskin makes contact with Kleya while she and Luthen rendezvous with Cassian outside the Senate. She is furious with how things have played out, namely about Luthen telling Mon about Erskin. While Kleya and Erskin talk over comms, Cassian attempts to sway Luthen into agreeing to leave with them for Yavin after he rescues Mon, but Luthen is determined to remain on Coruscant for as long as he can. Kleya returns even more furious about the situation and notes that they no longer have a man on the inside to make things easy for Cassian. While Cassian seems confident in his abilities, Luthen and Kleya discuss the need to be prepared for Mon to be arrested because after that, everything falls apart.

Concurrent with all of this, Mon’s driver, Kloris (Lee Ross), makes contact with the ISB and informs them that she remained at the Senate all evening — or perhaps left by another means of transport. The combination of her extended stay and her suddenly dead listening device is reason enough for Attendant Felzonis (Ragevan Vasan) to bring it to the attention of Supervisor Lagret (Michael Jenn). Her behavior is particularly alarming because Kloris characterizes her as being “upset” about what happened on Ghorman. Felzonis warns that there are reports of Senators who intend to challenge the Imperial action on Ghorman, but Lagret seems confident that the Chair will be able to stick to the agenda and prevent the senators from taking to the floor. They also have the advantage of having a set of eyes and ears working with Bail’s extraction group. As Cassian makes his way into the Senate, so do Beska (Ana Ularu), Selko (Akshay Khanna), and Charval (Beru Tessma). The trio meets to discuss their “quick and quiet extraction” before splitting up once more. Beska breaks away from the group to make contact with the ISB, where it’s revealed that she is one of Supervisor Jung’s (Robert Emms) agents. Charval discovers her while she’s making the call, and she kills him as a result, whittling their trio down to two.

Before the Senate begins the sessions, Mon and Bail meet outside the chambers. She’s clearly nervous about what she’s about to do, but she tells him, “You’re brave enough to stay, I should be brave enough to go.” He assures her that a team of three will be waiting for her at Gate 9 after her speech. She asks him if he trusts them, and he says he does, but he also doesn’t know them, by design. Clearly, what Luthen told Mon about the possible threat inside Bail’s team has given her pause. He promises that he will be in Yavin next year, and as they part ways he urges her to “Tear the shit out of this place.” While it is sad that Jimmy Smits’ schedule didn’t permit him to return as Bail, Bratt gives such a brilliant performance that it’s easy to forget that he hasn’t been here all along.

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When Cassian arrives, he is told that no one called in the Mid-Rim Network’s presence, so he will have to “float” because they can’t assign him to a bay. He lingers outside while senators from around the galaxy speak about Ghorman. They all side with the Empire, and none of them sound like they’re siding with the Empire out of fear. There’s a sort of zealous glee in the way they all talk about the Ghor and the “savage” attack they lodged against the heroic “martyrs” that died in the name of the Empire. It’s all quite nauseating to listen to. While he pretends to take notes about what he’s hearing, Erskin approaches him, making idle talk about the early session and how surprised he is to see it so busy. They exchange their code phrase and then set to work on preparing for Mon’s extraction.

Within the chambers, Bail calls for a Point of Order to invoke Article 17-252 — an article proposed by the Emperor’s Council — which states that a senior senator, in the case of an emergency, may yield the floor to another senior senator without interruption. He notes that Senator Karloo spoke so passionately about the Imperial martyrs and repeatedly characterized the attack on Ghorman as an “emergency,” which was met with no objection from their peers. He yields the floor to Mon, who opens with an eloquent reminder of just how long she has been in service to the Senate, to the point that she has little memory of being anywhere but there. As she begins to speak, the ISB demands to have the senate feeds shut off, but they are waylaid by a pair of rebels with the skill of weaponized compliance on their side. Cassian listens to Mon’s impressive speech, flawlessly and compellingly delivered by O’Reilly:

“I stand this morning with a difficult message. I believe we are in crisis. 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. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest. This chamber’s hold on the truth was finally lost on the Ghorman Plaza. What took place yesterday, what happened yesterday on Ghorman was unprovoked genocide! Yes! Genocide! And that truth has been exiled from this chamber. And the monsters screaming the loudest? The monster we’ve helped create? The monster who will come for us all soon enough is Emperor Palpatine.”

Mon Mothma’s Escape Is Far From a “Quick and Question Extraction”

The broadcast is cut off, and Mon rushes from her pod, headed for Gate 9. Cassian follows her and, at first, she is convinced that he is a journalist chasing a soundbite. He satisfies her concerns by telling her that he survived Ghorman and that he is friends with her cousin, Vel (Faye Marsay). She’s reluctant to trust him, noting that anyone could pretend to know Vel, but he mentions their mission on Aldhani and that they both live on Yavin, and her opinion is swayed. He warns her that she has no choice but to go with him, and his words are quickly affirmed.

Once they reach Gate 9, Erskin jumps into action, fending off journalists questioning Mon about her speech. As Cassian tries to push through the crowd, Beska approaches them and demands that Mon come with her. When Cassian resists, she draws her weapon and drops the pretense, informing everyone that she is there to arrest Mon Mothma on behalf of the ISB. Erskin thinks fast, accusing the woman of being a Rebel spy, which throws everyone in the room into a tizzy. As Beska turns her blaster on Erskin, Cassian strikes her down, much to Mon’s horror. While violence is commonplace in Cassian’s life, Mon is shaken by the entire encounter. As Cassian drapes his coat over her shoulders, helping her blend in with the people around them, he tells her, “Welcome to the Rebellion,” which doesn’t feel particularly welcoming at the moment.

As the Senate building goes into lockdown, Kleya tells Luthen to head back to the gallery and prepare for the worst, while she waits to see which way the wind will blow for them. Fortunately, Cassian really is their best. After sneaking out through another exit, Cassian takes out Mon’s driver and gets them the hell out of dodge before anyone can find them. Later that evening, they arrive at the safehouse where Kleya is waiting for them. They aren’t the only ones there. Cassian reunites with Wil (Muhannad Bhaier) and Dreena (Ella Pellegrini), who managed to escape Ghorman before it was too late. Unfortunately, Wil is badly injured and requires an actual medical professional to patch him up, which they don’t have on Coruscant. Kleya informs Cassian that he won’t be the one taking Mon to Yavin. Instead, the senator will have a full Rebellion escort when she delivers a speech to those who are already at the base. Clearly, there’s a disconnect between Luthen’s operation and the legitimized movement on Yavin, and this is just one example of how they are being written out of the Rebellion’s history books.

Cassian, Wil, and Dreena head to Yavin so Wil can receive proper medical treatment. Draven (Alistair Petrie) greets them on the tarmac and tells Cassian that they won’t be logging this mission, and that Gold Squadron will be escorting the senator to Yavin, as they need her to give a speech that they can broadcast far and wide. He notes that “it’s the results that matter” and invites Cassian to listen to Mon’s speech in his office, but Cassian politely declines. He has somewhere he needs to be.

Bix and Cassian Are Star Wars’ Greatest but Also Most Tragic Couple

Cassian heads home to Bix, and there’s so much said in just a single look. While Mon’s speech clearly had an impact on Cassian, it didn’t change his mind about their future. Bix makes him some tea to help him sleep, and he tells her that he’s done. Cassian believes that he has done all that he can do for the Rebellion, and he’s ready to leave before things get complicated. He tells her they will find somewhere quiet — places like that do still exist — and they will have all that they need. She doesn’t say anything and insists that she’s listening, but Cassian knows she’s thinking about what the Force healer told her. “The only special thing about me is luck.” He insists, trying to diminish the fact that he has always been where he is needed, and lived to tell the tale. Cassian isn’t the only one who has made up their mind.

In the morning, Cassian wakes to the sound of wind chimes and an empty bed. He walks around their home looking for Bix, but she’s gone. As he sits down to listen to the message she recorded for him, Andor shows us exactly how Cassian reacts to what he heard. He rushes across the base, hoping to stop her before she left, but he’s too late. Every vessel planning to leave Yavin is already gone. Bix’s farewell message is utterly heartbreaking, given the fact that we, the audience, know that Cassian will not live to see her again. It completely rewrites how we look at Rogue One and his final moments with Jyn (Felicity Jones) on Scarif. As Arjona stares into the camera, pouring Bix’s heart and soul into her last message, she gives an Emmy-worthy performance:

“My love. You’re sleeping now. You look so peaceful. I wanna be brave, but I can’t. If I was brave, I would stay and do this in person, but I know you, and you would just talk me around, and I’ve been thinking about this too long to let that happen. I have to leave. I have to go away. I’m not sure where or for how long, I just know that I can’t stay here with you now. I believe what you said. It is a choice. It just can’t be me. I can’t be the reason you leave here. If you gave this up for me, I’d never forgive myself. We have to win. We have to beat them. And I believe you have purpose in making that happen. I need to believe that. So, I’m choosing for the both of us. I’m choosing the Rebellion. And when it’s done… when it’s over, and we’ve won, we can do all the things we ever wanted. Everything we’d know we missed. I’ll find you.”

While Bix may be gone, Cassian won’t have to go into the next arc alone. As he agonizes over Bix’s departure, Cassian is told that they’re getting ready to power up the KX unit he brought in, and it’s enough of a diversion for the moment. Not only has Bix made a choice about her future, she’s made a choice about his future. He’s part of the Rebellion now, for better or worse. There’s no contingency plan for him. While Cassian may have lost his wife and their future together, at least he finally has Alan Tudyk’s K2 in his life.

The first nine episodes of Andor Season 2 are streaming now on Disney+.

Andor

Cassian rescues Mon Mothma in Andor Season 2 Episode 9, as the fourth arc comes to a close.

Release Date

2022 – 2025-00-00

Network

Disney+

Showrunner

Tony Gilroy

Pros & Cons

• Andor flawlessly executes its explanation for why Bix isn’t in Rogue One, delivering a beautifully heartbreaking sequence.
• Diego Luna and Adria Arjona are remarkable scene partners, and Andor gives them incredible material to work with.
• K-2SO’s introduction is brilliantly placed as the bookend to a depressing arc.
• Benjamin Bratt is fantastic as Bail Organa, and this episode justifies that recast perfectly.