That Twist in the Andor Season 2 Premiere Will Have Major Consequences for Mon Mothma

Spoilers below.

After three years, Andor is back for its second and final season. The first three episodes, which are now streaming, start this chapter off strong, with the resistance making their plans to overtake the Empire. But the end might leave you asking some questions, especially when it comes to Mon Mothma’s (Genevieve O’Reilly) relationship with her childhood friend, Tay Kolma (Ben Miles). The two used to be close—close enough for Mon to recruit Tay into her plans to fund the Rebellion through a fake charity foundation.

While, in the beginning, everything was working out with Mon’s finances and the Rebellion fund, things came to a head when the Empire froze everyone’s account to conduct audits. Almost 400,000 credits were missing from Mon’s account, so she had to find a loan in order to avoid drawing attention to herself.

Tay suggested that Mon work with wealthy oligarch Davo Sculdun (Richard Dillane), who was willing to cover Mon’s expenses if his son Stekan (Finley Glasgow) and her daughter Leida (Bronte Carmichaell) could meet for a potential (and traditional) betrothal.

Cut to a year later, Leida and Stekan are getting married. Following their Chandrilan traditions, the wedding is a three-day celebration, which has kept Mon busy. Too busy to meet with Tay, who has been nervously attempting to contact her.

When they do finally talk, during day one of the wedding festivities, he has been drinking, and things haven’t been working out for him lately: business has gone sour, he’s separated from his wife Mami, and he’s been feeling uneasy about the Empire paying close attention to the charity foundation he set up. He later gets drunk at the party and has to be taken home.

Mon’s husband, Perrin (Alastair Mackenzie), who has shown a bit of jealousy towards her relationship with Tay, suggests that Mon can take Tay as her lover now that he’s single, and then calls out the banker’s drunk behavior. Perrin calls Tay “weak” and says he should know better, which only causes Mon to become more concerned.

At the day two event, Mon checks in on Tay, who is drinking again. He explains how his business plans didn’t work out, blaming the rebel activities for souring his investments. He’s also beginning to feel “undervalued” as he sees Mon is doing well for herself: The foundation is in good shape. Her finances are in order. Her daughter is getting married to one of the richest men in Chandrilan. While everyone else seems happy, Tay is concerned about the risk that he’s taken on providing money to the rebels through Mon’s charity foundation, despite his negative feelings towards the Empire (from season 1).

It’s obvious Tay is talking about wanting money from Mon, and they plan on discussing it next week after the wedding, but he also seems to be referring to his unrequited feelings for her which he had harbored for a long time.

Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael in Andor.

Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) grows weary of Tay, fearing that he will go to Davos and expose Mon’s work with the rebels. Mon is shocked about her friend’s insinuated bribery, but finds excuses for him considering his current situation. She wants to give Tay what he wants, but Luthen has made up his mind to dispose of the problem.

On night three of the wedding events, Tay is drunk again, which leads him to reveal he’s been working closely with Davo, hoping business will finally work out for him. Mon is surprised that someone like Tay would work with a “thug” like Davo, but Tay has made up his mind.

“It’s a lesson for all of us,” Tay said to Mon. “Speak up. Stand up. Make your point. Every time I’m with him, I’m reminded of how timid I’ve become.”

Though it seems like a romantic confession, he’s really just tired of things never going his way—whether it be his relationship with Mon, being her middleman between the Empire and Rebellion, or the downfall of his marriage and business plans. He no longer wants to be perceived as “weak” and intends to begin taking what is due to him.

Unfortunately, he never gets that meeting with Mon, as Luthen sets up a plan to have Tay “taken care of.” Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) sees Tay leaving with his “new” driver, who is revealed to be her former lover and rebel spy Cinta Kaz (Varada Sethu).

Tay’s disappearance may become a turning point for Mon, as this marks the first person from her circle of close friends to be sacrificed on behalf of the Rebellion. Things will only get harder from here.

Genevieve O’reilly as Mon Mothma.

This season will cover Mon’s arduous journey from the Senate to the Rebellion, Andor showrunner and executive producer Tony Gilroy told Entertainment Weekly, “Of all the characters in the show, of all the hellacious things that people go through, and all of the difficulties and hardships, I don’t think anybody has a harder road than she does. Because she has to do everything that everybody else does with all the tension, fear, and anxiety, and she has to do it in public. She has nowhere to hide, and this season just ramps that up to an almost unbearable point.”

Tay was Mon’s oldest and most trusted friend. O’Reilly, who loved working with Miles on the series, appreciated the relationship between their two characters, especially their mutual distrust of the Empire.

“You start with these two characters, you get a history from them, you know that they’ve known each other growing up, it weaves into their political alliances at that moment,” O’Reilly told AwardsDaily. “They are both a bit nervous to divulge where they lie politically. Then, when they find that not only do they hold similar values, but they are willing to place rebellion in their minds in that party with the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) around them.”

Mon understands that sacrifices must be made when necessary—she has already allowed her daughter to marry Davo’s son, despite clashing over Chandrilan marriage traditions. But that doesn’t mean losing Tay will be an easy pill for her to swallow. Her relationship with Luthen could be forever changed if she finds him to be responsible for Tay’s possible death, especially since she told Luthen twice that they would pay Tay off. Only time will tell how Mon will recover (if at all) from this tragic turn of events.