Andor Season 2 is knocking it out of the park, proving Star Wars can be raw, real, and downright gripping. Episode 9, “Welcome to the Rebellion,” drops a bombshell: Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) takes the Senate floor, rips into the Empire’s Ghorman Massacre, and bolts from Coruscant with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) by her side. It’s a heart-pounding moment, but fans are whispering about a clash with Star Wars Rebels canon. Showrunner Tony Gilroy has dished how Andor plays fast and loose with the rules without breaking the Star Wars galaxy, and his take is pure genius.
A Speech That Lights Up the Senate—and Sparks Debate
Episode 9 sees Mon Mothma go full rebel, calling out the Empire’s brutality in a Senate speech that’s got “iconic” written all over it. O’Reilly’s delivery is electric, and when Mon ditches her fancy robe for Cassian’s jacket to dodge Imperial goons, it’s a straight-up mic-drop moment. Directed by Janus Metz and penned by Dan Gilroy, this is Andor at its best—high-stakes, personal, and packed with political fire.
Here’s the snag: Star Wars Rebels Season 3’s “Secret Cargo” has Mon giving a different speech, beamed across the galaxy from a ship while Gold Squadron escorts her to Yavin IV. That’s supposed to be her big “I’m done with the Senate” moment, and Andor’s timeline feels off. Fans are like, “Wait, if Mon’s throwing shade in the Senate, how’s she chilling on a ship later?” Is Andor tossing canon out the airlock?
Tony Gilroy’s Smooth Canon Sidestep
Tony Gilroy cleared things up in a chat with Entertainment Weekly, and the guy’s got answers. “We are hijacking canon,” he said with a grin, owning the tweak to Rebels. But he’s quick to add that Andor isn’t smashing the canon—it’s just stretching it. “We’re minimizing what they did in Star Wars Rebels, but we’re keeping it consistent. You don’t really know the whole story.”
His trick? Andor’s speech is step one of Mon’s rebel journey, not the finale. After Cassian sneaks her out of Coruscant to a safe house, there’s plenty of time for her to hit the Rebels' speech with Gold Squadron later. Gilroy shared that his brother Dan, who wrote the episode, was not about to recycle Rebels’ lines, grumbling, “Do I have to stick to this f—ing speech?” So they cooked up a fresh moment that fits Mon’s Andor vibe while leaving Rebels untouched. “We’re keeping it consistent,” Gilroy said, painting Mon’s defection as a bigger, messier story than we thought.
It’s a slick move. Andor even nods to Rebels by having General Draven set up Gold Squadron to grab Mon post-escape, keeping shady players like Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) out of the spotlight. That fits Andor’s vibe of unsung heroes. Mon’s Senate speech shakes the galaxy, and her Rebels broadcast locks in her rebel cred—two pieces of the same puzzle.
Why It Totally Works
Andor doesn’t stop at Mon’s speech when it comes to tweaking canon. Episodes 7–9 shake up Cassian’s first run-in with K-2SO, which doesn’t match a 2017 Marvel comic where he reprograms the droid on a Star Destroyer. In Andor, Cassian pulls K-2SO’s wreckage from Ghorman and rebuilds him on Yavin IV. It’s a change, sure, but it makes their Rogue One bond hit harder, and that’s what Andor’s all about.
Gilroy’s got the green light to take risks, thanks to Andor’s killer reviews and a massive $645 million budget, per Entertainment Weekly. Lucasfilm’s basically like, “Do your thing,” letting Andor focus on story over nitpicky details from comics or animated shows. That freedom turns Mon into a fleshed-out rebel, and her team-up with Cassian now feels like the glue that holds Rogue One together.
The Ghorman Massacre, a big deal in Star Wars lore, is the spark for Episode 9. Mon’s speech calling out Palpatine’s cruelty gets the galaxy buzzing with rebellion, and it’s classic Andor—making old stories feel fresh without stepping on toes.
Canon’s Just a Starting Point
Star Wars canon is a wild, tangled mess of movies, shows, books, and comics, and retcons happen when new stories dig into old gaps. Nobody was planning Andor when that 2017 comic dropped, so Gilroy’s team gets to reshape things. With Lucasfilm’s blessing, he uses canon like a springboard, not a rulebook, to make Andor’s characters and themes pop.
Andor’s magic is making the galaxy feel like a real place. Mon’s speech and escape with Cassian and Luthen won’t get a Rebel statue, and that’s the point—some heroes stay in the shadows, like Luthen said in Season 1. By tweaking canon, Andor gives Mon a journey that’s epic and human.
Are Fans Cool with It?
Some lore hounds might clutch their lightsabers over changes to Rebels or comics, but Andor’s winning most folks over. Entertainment Weekly calls Mon’s speech “one of Star Wars’ best moments,” and Gilroy’s knack for threading the canon needle is getting props. By leaving space for Rebels to happen after Andor, the show keeps the galaxy spinning smoothly.
As Andor Season 2 charges toward its final episodes, dropping April 22, 2025, on Disney+, it’s showing that a little canon-bending can make Star Wars better. Mon Mothma’s Senate showdown is bold, heartfelt, and totally worth the hype. Whether you’re a canon geek or just here for the vibes, Andor’s got you. Wax on, rebels.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
