The Fandom Menace can scream all they want, but Star Wars has ALWAYS been about politics. Andor is the next Star Wars series to take off on Disney+ just months after the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale. The Rogue One prequel takes place over five years between 5BBY to 0BBY, pushing into the events of Rogue One. Andor is a political spy thriller dealing with the dark side of playing both sides of politics during the darkest time in galactic history, where the Empire is at its strongest. Obi-Wan Kenobi was set in 9BBY, four years before Andor.
While the series focuses on Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a co-lead is found in Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma. She’s a senator who watched the Republic crumble and be resurrected as the Empire. The character was seen in a cameo during Revenge of the Sith, while other scenes from the same film were cut due to timing restraints. Andor also jumps into the political game of cat and mouse in a dictatorship.
The scenes that were cut involved the Delegation of 2000. They were a group of senators, including Mon, Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) and Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman). The group were increasingly concerned about Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid)’s rise in power and his unwillingness to give it up.
After The Rise Of The Empire – Pre-Andor
After the rise of the Empire, multiple members of the Delegation of 2000 were arrested and charged with treason. Most who did not side with Empire were executed. Mothma and Organa were arrested but released when they feigned allegiance to the Empire.
With Andor, the show’s politics will delve into the underlying problems that Empire has presented since it formed fifteen years earlier. Cassian, being the main protagonist, shows a different side of what the puzzle outside of those in the political spectrum that we’re used to seeing.
Rogue One shows Cassian in a very different place from what he is in his titular series. He does things he is not proud of, though it would make Saw Gerrera grin gleefully.
Most of Mon’s political allies are dead by Return of the Jedi. Padmé died before the Rebellion could even draw a breath. Bail perished when the Empire used the Death Star to blow up Alderaan. As for her other allies who were there from the beginning, it’s unclear.
The Politics Were Dirty From The Start
When Palpatine became Chancellor, it was thanks to Queen Padmé Amidala, who called for a Vote of No Confidence in Finis Valorum. Fast-forward a decade, and Jar Jar Binks lights the match for the Republic’s destruction.
The Clone Wars opened a can of worms where worlds were forced to pick sides, leaving neutral planets to starve off the Republic or the Separatists’ influences. But, regardless of what happened, Palpatine held the entire galaxy’s fate in his hands. Andor will show the aftermath of those on neither side, from Cassian’s perspective, while shining a light on the Imperial Senate through the eyes of Mon, who watched the galaxy burn as the Emperor rose to power from the inside out.
Politics is what forced Padmé Amidala to align herself with a side her husband, Anakin Skywalker, disagreed with in its entirety. His loyalty to Palpatine overrode everything he and Padmé had built their marriage off. So they gave their bosses the middle finger and married, despite knowing they’d have to keep it a secret.
Palpatine knew about the relationship and exploited it to get Anakin to turn to the Dark Side and become Darth Vader. He didn’t care about the politics and how it made anyone else look. As long as he had power, that was all that mattered. Jar Jar’s career was ruined because of one wrong move, and he was blamed and exiled by the Gungans and the Naboo people.
How The Politics In Andor Will Forge The Path To The Original Trilogy
Mon Mothma is the ideal person to expose the dirty dealings of the Empire. However, she would have to be careful. She doesn’t survive Return of the Jedi for no reason. As the trailer for the series shows, she smiles in public but is concerned in private.
The Empire’s politics revolve around dirty tactics and fearmongering. They threaten to harm others who do not comply with their beliefs. On the other hand, there have been those who were at one time devoted to the cause. Two of which were Sabine Wren and Alexsandr Kallus, both of whom would join the rebel alliance.
While Mon does not appear in A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back, her influence is helping the rebel grow in strength and numbers. She also relayed the news of the Bothan’s deaths in Return of the Jedi. If Padmé or Bail were alive to see her success in assisting in the fall of the Empire, they would be proud.
Finally, it would warm Bail and Padmé’s hearts to see that Mon helped guide Leia to become the politician she became.
Andor drops on Disney+ on September 21st with the first three episodes.
