The Star Wars Rebels Episode You Need To Watch After Andor Episode 9

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Andor Season 2, Episode 9

You knew Andor Season 2 was going to be incredible, largely because of how good Season 1 turned out to be. But chances are, you’re still blown away by the third arc of the second run, delivering the most explosive drama (literally, and figuratively) of the Star Wars series’ run — not just colliding several of its characters in the chaos of the Ghorman massacre, but also propelling Mon Mothma to her own destiny as a result.

It was always going this way. The Ghorman massacre has long been a footnote in Imperial history, with roots stretching all the way back to West End Games’ 1990 RPG Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, and deep-cut fans knew it would be the catalyst for Mon Mothma to denounce Emperor Palpatine in the Senate before making a desperate escape from Coruscant. But if you just watched that Andor episode, ‘Welcome To The Rebellion’, then you’ve actually only seen half the story. See, back in 2017, Mon Mothma’s departure was also depicted in a very different form – in animated series Star Wars Rebels (Season 3 Episode 18, ‘Secret Cargo’, specifically), a show which happens to cover the same five-year time period of Andor, also focusing (as its title suggests) on the rising rebellion. Now, those two streams have finally crossed, with Andor‘s narrative elegantly dovetailing with what has already been established in Rebels canon. Here’s everything you need to know.

What happens in ‘Secret Cargo’?

Well, first up, the main thing you need to know is that Rebels focuses on the crew of the Ghost, a starship containing a chosen family featuring several characters you might have met in Ahsoka, including Twi’lek captain Hera Syndulla, and young Jedi Ezra Bridger. In ‘Secret Cargo’, our heroes are tasked with a refuelling a Rebel ship containing — you guessed it! — precious cargo, which turns out to be none other than Mon Mothma, who needs escorting from Coruscant after her Senate speech. But when the ship carrying Mon is targeted by the Empire, her journey continues on the Ghost itself. Attacked by Imperial forces (overseen by Grand Admiral Thrawn, a major player in Rebels and Ahsoka), Hera manages to evade their pursuit and blasts Mon Mothma on to her ultimate destination with the Rebellion.

How does it cross over with Andor?

Andor effectively tells the first half of Mon Mothma’s escape story, with Cassian going directly into the Senate building to get Mon Mothma out of there and to a Rebel safehouse on Coruscant, where we’re told another crew (including Gold Squadron) will be continuing her journey. In Rebels, we pick up her continued escape with, well, that other crew. Not only do we see what happens to the ship that’s supposed to take Mothma to safety, but Ezra Bridger ends up briefly joining Gold Squadron to take down TIE fighters intent on killing Mon Mothma on her journey. It’s also worth mentioning that Mon Mothma’s attaché — and Luthen Rael affiliated spy — Erskin Semaj, played in live-action in Andor by Pierro Niel-Mee, also featured in that 2017 Rebels episode, voiced by Josh Brener.

Rebels even includes a brief moment from Mon Mothma’s Senate speech, viewed by the Ghost crew on the Holonet – though this was rewritten for Andor, so it doesn’t entirely match up. However, the sentiment and context is the same in the Rebels version: in the wake of the Ghorman massacre, the Senate should no longer overlook that the Emperor is responsible for those deaths, and so many others.

Why is Rebels important to Mon Mothma’s story?

Mon Mothma will continue to be an important figure in the Star Wars timeline — by Return Of The Jedi, she’s a Rebel leader who cues the all-important final mission to take down the second Death Star. There, she was played by Caroline Blakiston, whose likeness is the basis for Mothma in Rebels.

But there’s an extra moment at the end of ‘Secret Cargo’ that serves as another pivotal part of Mon Mothma’s journey: a second speech she gives, broadcast to the galaxy, where she doubles down on her remarks against Emperor Palpatine, and also declares her new role in the fightback. Here’s what she says:

“This is Senator Mon Mothma. I’ve been called a traitor for speaking out against a corrupt galactic senate, a senate manipulated by the sinister tactics of the Emperor. For too long, I watched the heavy hand of the Empire strangle our liberties, stifling our freedoms in the name of ensuring our safety. No longer. Despite Imperial threats, despite the Emperor himself, I have no fear, as I take new action. For I am not alone. Beginning today, we stand together as allies. I hereby resign from the Senate, to fight for you – not from the distant halls of politics, but from the frontlines. We will not rest until we bring an end to the Empire, until we restore our Republic. Are you with me?”

If Mon Mothma’s Senate speech in Andor shows us the moment the Chandrilan senator takes a stand against the Emperor and leaves her post there, then this one in Rebels sees Mon formally call for and assemble the Rebel Alliance, unifying the Rebellion after years of fighting in factions in the shadow of the Empire.

Where does Mon Mothma go from here?

You’ll have to see in the final episodes of Andor Season 2 where she’s left off. But in Rogue One, Mon Mothma is instrumental in bringing Jyn Erso into the rebellion. As mentioned, she’s a Rebel leader in Return Of The Jedi. And she also appeared in Ahsoka, played again by Genevieve O’Reilly, where she’s been elected as the first Chancellor of the New Republic. Her ‘dream’ will eventually come true — with the Rebellion able to overthrow the Empire, democracy restored, and the Republic rebuilt. Well, until the First Order comes to town, that is…