Warning: SPOILERS for the first three episodes of Andor Season 2 are ahead!
When Andor premiered in 2022, Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma was the only other established Star Wars character who joined Diego Luna’s title protagonist in the main cast. The critically-acclaimed Season 2, which just premiered its first three episodes on the 2025 TV schedule, continues to chronicle her journey from senator discreetly helping the Rebels to her becoming one of the Rebellion’s leading public figureheads. For tonight though, Mon’s biggest moment arguably came from her drunken dance sequence in the third episode, and O’Reilly opened up about to CinemaBlend about how this moment served as an “exploration of pain and chaos” in the character’s life.
No, Mon Mothma did not get plastered and bust out her moves on the dance floor because she was having a good time. This moment came during her daughter’s wedding, and reflected both her sadness at both Leida marrying into the Sculdun family and her longtime friend Tay Kolma facing impending doom. Our own Jeff McCobb asked O’Reilly about shooting Mon’s drunken dance, and after showrunner Tony Gilroy, who was seated next to her, said “Well look at what she’s done,” the actress followed up with this:
Yeah, it was extraordinary. I think the trick or the challenge for us with that was to be able to really discover her internal pain and chaos. Like it’s wrestling her out of a physicality that we’ve never seen before. And it’s because she’s dying inside. It looks like, to someone who hasn’t the seen the scenes that have come beforehand, it could look like someone just having a great time at a wedding.
Mon Mothma and Leida had their issues and disagreements during Andor Season 1, but that comes with the territory when it comes to a parent raising a teenager. But Leida getting married at such a young age is an entirely different matter, and what makes it worse is that her new husband’s father, Chandrilan banker Davo Sculdun, has a shady reputation and is considered by some to be a thug. However, Mon was forced to meet with Davo on Tay Kolma’s suggestion for a loan to mask the 400,000 credits she disappeared for the Rebellion. Davo only agreed to help her out if she arranged a meeting between Leida and his son Stekan, and now the two families are joined.
Speaking of Tay, in the start of Andor Season 2, his investments had been hit hard by Rebel activity, and he straight up told Mon Mothma that he feels “undervalued” with how he helped her out with her “charitable foundation.” Tay implied he would spill the beans to Davo Sculdun if they didn’t come to a financial arrangement. While Mon was confident that a “number” could be found, Luthen Rael, who was at the wedding, felt more drastic measures needed to be taken. So while not outright stated, it’s clear Luthen dispatched Cinta Kaz to kill Tay, and knowing her friend would soon be dead helped fuel Mon’s inebriated state. Genevieve O’Reilly continued:
Yeah. So the lens of of exploration, of pain, really. And chaos. And yet being allowed to discover that physically it was really cool to be able to do that for her.
Tony Gilroy added that there are times in life when one notices someone in a crowd and misinterprets how they’re behaving. That’s exactly what happened with Mon Mothma in Andor Season 2’s 3rd episode. She was dancing without a care in the world because she was happy, she was doing that and drinking heavily to mask her pain. Unfortunately, things are only going to get worse for her from here, and it’ll eventually come to a head where she’ll have to leave her old life behind and fully dedicate herself to the Rebellion’s efforts.
Because of Disney+’s unique release plan for Andor Season 2, we’re already one-fourth of the way through it. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more coverage on the series, and don’t forget to read through our guide detailing upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.
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