Everything Mon Mothma says in her stirring Andor Season 2 speech

Andor Season 2 Episode 9 features a powerful speech to the Galactic Senate by Mon Mothma – here’s everything she says, how it changes her role in the Rebellion, and why her words are relevant today courtesy of showrunner Tony Gilroy.

Episodes 7-9 of Andor Season 2 revolve around the ‘Ghorman Massacre,’ charting the build-up to the genocide, depicting how it plays out (including a shocking death), then showing the ways in which the Empire utilizes propaganda to make it look like they were the victims.

It’s a powerful piece of Star Wars storytelling that helps strengthen Emperor Palpatine’s grip on the galaxy. It also inspires the Rebellion, but that can’t happen if people don’t know what’s going on, which is where Mon Mothma comes in.

The Senior Senator from Chandrila knows the truth, and makes the brave decision to call the Empire out in a speech that’s broadcast far and wide.

Mon Mothma on “the death of truth” in Andor Season 2

The scene takes place in the Galactic Senate, where Bail Organa invokes Article 17-252, which allows Motham to speak “without interruption.” And she makes the most of that opportunity, via the following words:

“Fellow Senators, friends, colleagues, allies, adversaries, I stand before you this morning with a heavy heart. I’ve spent my life in this Chamber. I came here as a child. And as I look around me now I realize I have almost no memories that pre-date my arrival, and few bonds of affection that cleave so tightly.

“Through these many years, I believe I have served my constituents honorably and upheld our code of conduct. This Chamber is a cauldron of opinions, and we’ve certainly had our patience and tempers tested in pursuit of our ideals. Disagree as we might, I am hopeful that those of you who know me will vouch for my credibility in the days to come.

“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 Palaza. 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 monster screaming the loudest, the monster we’ve helped create, the monster who will come for all of us soon enough, is Emperor Palpatine.”

Andor welcomes Mothma to the Rebellion

Disney

Mothma’s speech is then shut down by the Empire, and the broadcasts ends. But she’s made her point, speaking truth to power, and calling Palpatine out for who he is, which puts her in grave danger.

Andor therefore springs into action, whisking Mothma away from the Senate, while welcoming her to the Rebellion. But before they part, he makes one request of Mon: “Make it worth it.”

It’s a powerful sequence, and Andor creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy says it’s a story that would be relevant in pretty much any time period, as he explains to The Hollywood Reporter: “The really sorry truth about the about this question – and we get it a lot – is that peace and prosperity and calm are the rarities.

“Those are rarities throughout the last 6,000 years of recorded history. You could drop this show at any point in the last 6,000 years, and it would make sense to some people about what’s happening to them.”

Gilroy continues: “The control of truth has always been a scabbard of power. Power dictates the narrative, and always has tried to always do that… You go all the way through history, and power is the control of truth. So I think with that speech, we were looking to be timeless and classic.”

For more Star Wars, you can also check out why Jimmy Smits couldn’t return for Andor, the details of Dr. Gorst’s perfect ending, the origins of the Ghorman language, and every Star Wars show in development.