Let's Take A Closer Look At Palpatine's Cronies Mentioned In Andor Episode 4

There will be spoilers for "Andor" Episode 4.

Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) is surrounded by enemies with every step she takes in the new episode of the "Star Wars" series "Andor." She's on Coruscant, the very heart of the Empire, acting as a secret rebel leader. Who can she trust? It's a dangerous game she plays every single day, and that game continues in her own home. In a scene in the fourth episode of the show, Mon Mothma has a bit of an argument with her husband over a dinner party he's throwing. Sure, he's invited the Governor of Hanna, the capital of Chandrila, the planet they both hail from, but who else has he invited to the dinner and why do they hate Mon Mothma so much?

Let's take a closer look at the two of them, who both happen to be cronies of Emperor Palpatine. Let's learn why Mon Mothma would be so unsettled by their presence and why they would hate her so much.

Ars Dangor is the first mentioned by Mon Mothma and he is one of Palpatine's chief advisors. There is a long history about the character, but he first appeared in the canon in a confirmed way in James Luceno's "Tarkin" novel. He served on the Ruling Council of the Galactic Empire (two members of which are seen above in "Revenge of the Sith"), which is a body that the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) answered to. In fact, all of the Moffs, Generals, and Admirals reported to the Ruling Council and people like Dangor, and the Ruling Council had Palpatine's ear. He also once accompanied Director Orson Krennic to Geonosis before the Empire's genocide on that planet to cover up the construction of the Death Star.

Most importantly, Ars Dangor personally has the ear of the Emperor and is a confidante of the galaxy's supreme ruler. Anything he sees or reports would be revealed to the Sith lord without hesitation. His presence in Mon Mothma's apartment at her husband's dinner party puts her on notice that every move she makes, even at home, is being watched by the highest levels of the Empire that she's fighting so hard to subvert. Nowhere is safe.

Dangor's first appearance in "Star Wars" came in a short story for the "Imperial Sourcebook", a supplement for the West End "Star Wars" Roleplaying Game, and he may or may not have been one of Palpatine's advisors in a big, phallic hat seen when the Emperor arrives on the second Death Star in "Return of the Jedi," though that question has never been answered definitively.

The other name mentioned by Mon Mothma is Sly Moore, who is Emperor Palpatine's chief of staff. She was first seen in "Attack of the Clones," but most remember her from "Revenge of the Sith" in a number of scenes. In that film, she vacates her seat at the opera to allow Anakin Skywalker to seat and hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise. She's also at Palpatine's side when he declares himself Emperor of the First Galactic Empire on Empire Day.

As an Umbaran, she has a distinctive, pale look, and has represented Palpatine personally on a number of occasions. She's been featured regularly in the Marvel comics that have continued the "Star Wars" story. She is so entrenched in Palpatine's inner circle that she knows many of the secrets of the Sith and the true nature of Darth Vader and Darth Sidious.

Dropping a name like Sly Moore the way they did could have merely been an Easter egg, but this name in particular heightens the tension Mon Mothma must feel in her own home as she tries to foment the sparks of rebellion across the galaxy.

New episodes of "Andor" premiere on Wednesdays on Disney+