Warning! This article contains spoilers for Andor season 2, episodes 7-9.
This was not only a massive turning point for Star Wars movies and shows, yet a more subtle, one-off moment is more important than you may have initially thought.
Genevieve O'Reilly Has Commented On The Meaning Of Her Costume Change In Andor Season 2,Episode 9
O'Reilly Thought It Meant A Great Deal To The Character
The smaller moment in question came as Cassian and Mon Mothma began to flee the Imperial Senate building. Mon Mothma drops her blue cloak to the ground, trading it for Cassian's as a means of making her less noticeable to pursuing Imperial agents. Although this moment could easily be written off as a simply change of costume to keep Mon hidden, it actually has a deeper symbolic meaning.
This comes straight from Genevieve O'Reilly, the member of Andor season 2's cast who has portrayed Mon Mothma since Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. O'Reilly commented on the dropping of Mon's blue cloak, insisting:
"She has been working for the Rebellion deeply and intrinsically, and she's been vital to the Rebellion. But that is the moment that she crosses that rubicon and she crosses it with Cassian. That felt beautiful, that it is with him, given where we go in Rogue One. But it's that there's no turning back at that point. There is no going back."
To O'Reilly, the shedding of the cloak that Mon likely links to the Imperial Senate was a turning point for the character. Mon loses her "Imperial" robes and wears a cloak tied intrinsically to the Rebellion, proving how this is a bigger moment than it seems in Andor season 2, episode 9.
Mon Mothma's Clothing Change Is Consistent With The Character's Original Trilogy Appearance
Mon's Future Stems From This Moment
What then makes Mon's clothing change in Andor season 2 all the more important is that it remains this way throughout the original trilogy. After Cassian retrieves his coat, Mon is never seen wearing overly colorful clothes again in her other Star Wars appearances. For instance, Mon appeared in Rogue One. Her scenes in this movie show her wearing simple white/gray robes without any real colorful adornments.
Mon's brief appearance in a deleted scene from Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith also has her wearing monochromatic clothing.
Mon's first appearance in the Star Wars franchise - at least in release order - came in Return of the Jedi. Then played by Caroline Blakiston, Mon Mothma's clothing was again very similar to how it is depicted in Rogue One. Thanks to these appearances, Mon shedding her cloak in Andor is made even more thematically resonant, as she retains that look throughout her fight with the Empire.
Ahsoka Season 1 Solidifies How Important Andor Season 2's Mon Mothma Moment Was
Mon Symbolically Returns To Life
Finally, the last element of the Star Wars saga that makes Mon's cloak moment from Andor season 2, episode 9 important is found in Ahsoka season 1. O'Reilly appeared as Mon in a few episodes of the 2023 show, this time wearing a similar blue cloak to the one she wore in Andor. The initial cloak being shed symbolized her turning point, resulting in her wearing neutral clothing to emulate the bleak horrors of the war she committed to fighting for years.
In Ahsoka season 1, she returned to more colorful clothing. The reason for this is the formation of Star Wars' New Republic, with Mon having played a major part in winning the war against the Empire and restoring a benevolent democracy. After winning and abolishing the Empire, Mon chose to put on her colorful cloaks once more, thematically tying up the end of her journey that began in Andor and rendering the initial shedding of the cloak an increasingly important start-point for another of her arcs.
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