Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidiouswas an evil mastermind inStar Wars, to be sure, but I’ve always been surprised it took nearly 20 years for Palpatine and the Empire to be overthrown. TheStar Warsprequel trilogy andStar Wars: The Clone Warsproved just how extensive Palpatine’s plans were and how meticulous he was in laying the groundwork for the Empire to rise. It was in theseStar Warsmovies and TV shows, in fact, that Palpatine’s orchestration of the entire Clone Wars was revealed to be a way to shore up his grab for power.
It’s evident based on that alone—not to mention his ability to deceive the Jedi and his insidiousOrder 66 plot—that Palpatine was brilliant. Even with him being so crafty, though, it’s shocking that the combined efforts of the Rebellion and the opposition the Empire faced on various planets and even with many individuals, that the Empire reigned for nearly two decades.I finally understand how Palpatine managed to hold onto his power for so long, though, and it comes down to the flaws of one increasingly important character rather than Palpatine’s wit.
Mon Mothma’s Political Opposition To Palpatine Slowed The Rebellion Down
Mon Was Determined To Stop Palpatine Through Political Means—Which Was Never Going To Work
A brand-newStar Warsbook,Star Wars: The Mask of Fear, written by Alexander Freed,includes a shocking revelation about how Palpatine managed to maintain his power for so long. Specifically,The Mask of Fearhighlights that, although there were dissenting senators during the Dark Times, many of them thought they could overthrow Palpatine while playing by the rules—Mon Mothma chief among them. In fact, Mon found Bail Organa’s approach to the Empire far too radical.
Order Star Wars: The Mask of Fear
Bail’s insistence that something more nefarious had happened during Order 66 than Palpatine would have the galaxy believe was particularly alarming to Mon. The following excerpt fromThe Mask of Fearreflects Mon’s hesitancy to accept Bail’s interpretation of, or at least suspicions about, that event:
“Bail was clever, and he was crafty. She trusted he knew—or believed he knew—more than he was saying. And while Mon wasn’t predisposed to conspiratorial thinking, she suspected he was right about Palpatine perceiving the Jedi as a threat.It was conceivable, albeit unlikely, that Palpatine’s people had baited the Jedi Council into attempting to oust him, then taken advantage of the situation to eliminate the Order as a whole—though the attempt on his life made it difficult to treat the Jedi purely as victims.
And although Bail was paranoid, although he’d expressed his dismay about the Jedi’s destruction publicly, and although she knew him for his obsessions and his intractability and his utter demonization of the administration, this was the first time he’d suggested anything so grand and sinister.”
The notion that Bail raising concerns about this horrific massacre equated to ‘demonizing’ the administration is telling enough, as is the fact that demonizing the Empire seemed wrong to Mon. Although she clearly eventually realizes just how awful the Empire really is, it took several years for her to get to that point. Prior to that,Mon believed she could use the political system to overthrow Palpatine, and that was very simply never going to work. Palpatine made sure of it.
The Rebellion Fractured Without Strong Leadership
With Bail And Mon Together, They Could Have Gotten So Much Done
As that excerpt alone makes clear,Bail and Mon constantly butted heads during this era, which made progress so much slower. Because they couldn’t agree on what was true, much less what to do about it, they spent time squabbling and trying to get each other (and other senators) to see their perspective rather than pushing forward. It only made matters all the worse that Mon, who was very well-respected, believed that the Empire was not the terrifying, murderous dictatorship it really was.
“What About The Jedi?” The Shadow Of Order 66 Falls Across The Galaxy In This Unmissable Star Wars' Andor Prequel
Exclusive: The author and editor of Star Wars' brand-new novel, Star Wars: The Mask of Fear, sit down with ScreeRant to discuss the new book.
Bail was of course right.The Emperor had indeed crafted an entire plot to wipe out the Jedi, and he was never going to be overthrown by any means other than outright warfare. However,The Mask of Fearalso makes it clear that Palpatine had been even smarter thanStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the SithorThe Clone Warssuggested. Because the galaxy had just come out of a terrible war, the Clone Wars, they were very hesitant to push back against the Empire.
Because the galaxy had just come out of a terrible war, the Clone Wars, they were very hesitant to push back against the Empire.
This was surely part of Mon’s hesitancy, as was the fact that she simply couldn’t believe what Bail was claiming had happened. It’s a bit horrifying to realize while readingThe Mask of Fearjust how effective Palpatine’s deception was. He somehow managed to massacre the Jedi, down to the last child, and the galaxy accepted it because they believed his claims about the assassination attempt on his life.
Mon Mothma can’t be solely to blame, as many embraced this story. Even so, it was surprising and disappointing to realize how much she resisted in the early days and what an impact that had on the Rebellion in the long-term, particularly with how long their victory took.Had Mon Mothma and Bail Organa instead worked together, they could have accomplished so much more, so much sooner.
The Rebellion Only Became A Threat When It Finally United
Once The Rebels Came Together, They Brought Down The Empire
In the end,it was only the unity of the Rebellion that could bring an end to Palpatine and the Empire. This is precisely whatAndorseason 2is going to show, which is why I am particularly excited about this next and final installment of the show. Given how prominent Mon Mothma was inAndorseason 1, it’s safe to assume she will be a major player inAndorseason 2.
With Rebel cells primed to come together inAndorseason 2, we will likely see Mon turn a new leaf and embrace outright Rebel efforts. This timing aligns withStar Wars Rebels, and in that show, Mon Mothma proved that she was indeed fully engaged in the Rebellion and believed that was the only path forward. Mon Mothma’s incredible speech about the Rebellion inRebelsis proof enough of that. In fact, that is one of the keyStar Warsevents that take place duringAndorseason 2, and it may even make an appearance in the show.
Mon Mothma Was Wrong Not To Focus On The Force
Mon’s Abandonment Of The Jedi Was Honestly A Bit Shocking
Although I can empathize with Mon’s inability to believe Palpatine had done all that Bail was accusing him of because it was simply too horrible to imagine, I do believe that slowed down the Rebel efforts.The Mask of Fearalso shows how much of that resistance specifically came down to the Jedi, at times jarringly so. During one conversation between Mon Mothma and Bail Organa inThe Mask of Fear, Mon actually said:
“We needallies,Bail. We needvotes.And the shortest path there is by appealing to the self-interest of our fellow senators. The Emperor has taken away our power, and we want it back—simple and universal. When you talk about Jedi and conspiracies….If we bringideologyinto it, we’re adding needless difficulty. This will be hard enough as it is.”
With that statement alone, Mon confirmed that she had abandoned the Jedi entirely and wanted conversations about the Jedi, the Sith, and the Force off the table.
This was the wrong call. At this time, there were still surviving Jedi who may have been willing to work with Mon, Bail, and others to stop the Empire earlier on. Even if that wasn’t the case, pushing forward as though Order 66 was of no concern wasn’t the right move at all. I still like Mon Mothma, but it’s hard to ignore the ways her resistance to accepting the truth and acting accordingly contributed toEmperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious’nearly 20-year reign inStar Wars.
