ANDOR Writer Dan Gilroy Says He Was “Pissed Off” at Congress When Writing Mon Mothma’s Senate Speech
When Andor Season 2 delivered Mon Mothma’s fiery Senate speech in the episode “Welcome to the Rebellion,” the words carried a sharp edge that hit harder than typical Star Wars politics. That’s because writer Dan Gilroy wasn’t just channeling the Empire’s oppression, he was also reflecting his frustration with what was happening in American politics at the time.
Gilroy revealed during the recent Sublime Primetime Drama Panel at the Writers Guild in Los Angeles that the speech, delivered by Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, was born out of anger at real-world events.
“When I’m writing that speech, I’m pissed off. I’m pissed off right now. What this character has seen through the course of the show is her senate colleagues abandoning everything they believe out of expediency and cowardice and leaving their constituents to pure evil, to an emperor who used to be a politician.
“So as I’m writing the speech, which is really the climax of that episode, I’m also deeply aware … of what was going on in our world at that time. I’m watching Senators being held to a standard of things of what they [said they once] believed in, and then utterly abandon them out of expediency and cowardice.”
The speech was aimed at Emperor Palpatine’s growing shadow, but Gilroy admits he was thinking about Congress. He said what had started with Donald Trump’s presidency “was building now in the Senate and Congress.”
That mindset fueled lines like, “the distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss” and “the death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil.”
Gilroy is up for his first Emmy this year in the Outstanding Drama Writing category for “Welcome to the Rebellion.” He’s nominated alongside R. Scott Gemmill and Joe Sachs (The Pitt), Dan Erickson (Severance), Mike White (The White Lotus), and Will Smith (Slow Horses).
Reflecting on why Andor resonates so strongly with audiences, Gilroy explained: “A lot of people draw parallels between what’s going on in our world and the show. And I think those parallels very much exist.
“What I like about this episode, what I like about the show, is we’ve provided a way for people to articulate their anxiety, to sort of have discussions about political morality, to serve as witness to what’s going on.
“The show is really about speaking truth in the face of authority. And people are making commitments in our show that lead to their death, that lead to the loss of everything they’ve held dear, that lead to the death of people who they love.
“They’ve made a decision that they’re going to speak truth to authority because the universe is being taken over by evil. It’s very strange to work on a show when you feel like your universe is being taken over by evil and you’re putting words in people’s mouth and giving them decisions. And you’re asking yourself, ‘would I die for that?’ Because really that’s what these characters are doing.”
That explains why Mon Mothma’s speech felt so raw. It wasn’t just a scripted plea against the Empire, it was a reflection of Gilroy’s own outrage at feeling like political leaders abandoned principle. That passion helped turned Andor into one of the most powerful pieces of Star Wars storytelling we’ve ever seen.
Via: Deadline