Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious was an evil mastermind in Star Wars, to be sure, but I’ve always been surprised it took nearly 20 years for Palpatine and the Empire to be overthrown. The Star Wars prequel trilogy and Star Wars: The Clone Wars proved just how extensive Palpatine’s plans were and how meticulous he was in laying the groundwork for the Empire to rise. It was in these Star Wars movies 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 insidious Order 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-new Star Wars book, 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 Fear highlights 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 from The Mask of Fear reflects 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 mᴀssacre 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 ʙuттed 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.

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 Fear also makes it clear that Palpatine had been even smarter than Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith or The Clone Wars suggested. 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 reading The Mask of Fear just how effective Palpatine’s deception was. He somehow managed to mᴀssacre the Jedi, down to the last child, and the galaxy accepted it because they believed his claims about the ᴀssᴀssination 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 what Andor season 2 is 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 in Andor season 1, it’s safe to ᴀssume she will be a major player in Andor season 2.

With Rebel cells primed to come together in Andor season 2, we will likely see Mon turn a new leaf and embrace outright Rebel efforts. This timing aligns with Star 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 in Rebels is proof enough of that. In fact, that is one of the key Star Wars events that take place during Andor season 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 Fear also 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 in The Mask of Fear, Mon actually said:

“We need allies, Bail. We need votes. 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 bring ideology into 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 to Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious’ nearly 20-year reign in Star Wars.