- "But my solom... My solom seyna--The Elders know what I'm talking about, right? My hope... My hope... My hope is that you learn to reach past this constant cloud of sadness. Pleasure. Gaiety. Amusement. These are the hidden things. The music buried beneath all that noise... Joy. Joy! Joy... But joy has no wind at its back. Joy will not announce its arrival. You need to listen for it, and be mindful of how fleeting and delicate it can be. But search out these treasures. A moment of... pleasing sensation, the memory of laughter and good company, the comfort of a fine meal. And for me... For me, right now, it's the smile that I can't hide as I see these two young people sharing our greatest tradition."
- ―Perrin Fertha
Perrin Fertha was a Chandrilan human male who was the husband and consort of Senator Mon Mothma, who he married when they were teenagers, and the father of Leida Mothma. During the Imperial Era, Fertha hosted events at the Chandrilan Embassy on Coruscant, including a dinner party for his friend the governor of Hanna City with Sly Moore and Ars Dangor in attendance, while his wife represented their homeworld of Chandrila as a member of the Imperial Senate.
Biography
Early life and marriage
- "Do you remember Perrin at 15?"
"Oh, let's not."
"The academy firebrand. How things change, eh?" - ―Mon Mothma, to Tay Kolma, and Perrin Fertha
Perrin Fertha and Mon Mothma were married young and had one daughter, Leida Mothma.
At age fifteen, Perrin Fertha attended an academy on his homeworld of Chandrila. Mon Mothma and Tay Kolma were contemporaries of his youth. According to Mothma, Fertha was a "firebrand" student during his time at the academy. Fertha and Mothma were married—in accordance with Chandrilan tradition—a year before the latter began her political career as a senator in the[4] Galactic Senate of the Galactic Republic[5] at age sixteen, at which point they took up residency at the Chandrilan Embassy on the galactic capital of Coruscant.[4]
Months after their wedding, they carried a passionate and spiteful romance. At the age of twenty, Fertha and Mothma had a falling out and decided to that there would be no children, no shared bed, and no questions between them. At the age of twenty-four, they grew closer, despite previous periods of varying closeness and distance in the relationship, eventually arriving at an equilibrium[5] in 19 BBY[6] which they lived separate lives, while maintaining some degree of communication.[5]
During the Clone Wars, the Confederacy of Independent Systems staged an attack on Hanna City, in Chandrila. While Mothma took shelter in a bunker until the bombardment, Fertha was at the time offworld.[5]
In 20 BBY,[6] Fertha joined Senator Bail Prestor Organa of Alderaan to attend the Level fifty-ninety-one air race in Coruscant in a private box, as both had an interest in vintage airspeeders. In the context of increased Imperial scrutiny into the association between Organa and Mothma, Fertha's wife was interrogated over this incident a year later.[5]
Life under the new Empire
- "Get Bail talking about something else, anything else, please, other than how much he loathes the Empire."
"You figure I'm up to that challenge? You really do believe in me."
"He likes you. Go!" - ―Mon Mothma and Perrin Fertha at a senatorial campaign fundraising event
With the dawn of the Galactic Empire, Mothma found herself turned from a senator of the Republic to a senator of the Imperial Senate.[5] The romance had faded from their relationship, but Fertha continued to serve in his role as Senator Mothma's public partner[5] and consort.[7]
In 19 BBY, Fertha and Mothma attended a fundrasing party in the Imperial Senate Building for the upcoming senatorial campaigns, though officially described as a dinner to honor veterans returning from the Clone Wars. During the event, he entertained two Rodian women, one of them being the mother of Cydek Noorah of the Judicial Review Board, before being pulled aside by Mothma and instructed to join Senator Bail Organa's group and steer the conversation toward any topic other than his hatred for the Empire. In conversation, Organa eventually lashed out at the injustice of his prior arrest, condemning the Empire's fear of dissent, and criticizing the suppression of senatorial voices. Fertha attempted to change the subject, but the senator continued undeterred.[5]
The Chandrilan Embassy on Coruscant, site of a break-in and Zhuna's murder
Later that year, his wife invited him to join her at the upcoming COMPNOR-Alpha summit, but Fertha declined, citing previous engagements. Fertha offered to change his plans if Mothma needed him for the gala, but she ultimately did not request him to do so. During that night, a radicalized woodworker named Thalvus Agyomenidus, who belonged to the pro-Empire activist group known as the 4040s, broke into the Chandrilan Embassy with the goal of murdering Mothma and Fertha, symbols of Republic corruption and a lack of deference to the new Emperor in Agyomenidus's view.[5]
Agyomenidus entered the apartment through the patio doors using a black market slicing kit and bearing a durasteel pipe key. The attacker found Mothma's aide and undercover Imperial Intelligence spy Zhuna in the home, and murdered her. After killing her, Agyomenidus spent around forty minutes wandering the house until Fertha arrived and called security. Security later claimed they hadn't detected the intrusion due to a faulty patio door sensor.[5]
After the incident, Senate Security chose a temporary apartment for Mothma and Fertha, to which they relocated. Around this time, Fertha drank heavily and criticized Mothma for endangering herself when she left for public appearances. Fertha at the time dealt with his own traumas and fears, leading to less frequent communication with his spouse. Eventually, the temporary living quarters assigned to them would also be broken into later that year.[5]
Sometime before the attack on the Executive Center, Fertha received an audio call from his wife, to let him know she'd return to Coruscant. He asked her where she was, which, due to fears the security bureau would trace her call, she did not disclose. Mothma simply said that she'd share more details at a later time, asking Fertha to stay safe and indoors. During said attack, Mothma was wounded in the explosions, and was taken to a medcenter. He stayed by his wife's bedside while she recovered the entire time.[5]
Concerned, Fertha kept close to Mothma after she was released from the medcenter. She eventually persuaded him to go out with friends, while his wife met up with Lud Marroi for dinner after her Imperial Rebirth Act was approved. Fertha wasn't informed of this since Mothma worried that he might have heard the untrue rumors of an affair between herself and Marroi. Sometime later, Fertha and Mothma shared a night of intimacy for the first time in a long while.[5]
Around a year later, in 18 BBY,[8] Fertha and Mothma had a daughter, Leida Mothma.[9]
Strains
- "Don't seat them near me."
"Oh, I've taken care of that. You're at the boring end of the table. These people are fun." - ―Mon Mothma and Perrin Fertha
Perrin Fertha
In 5 BBY,[10] Fertha hosted a dinner party for his regimental friend, the governor of Hanna City. However, he upset his wife by inviting Ars Dangor and Sly Moore, two members of the Imperial Ruling Council who often opposed her and had the day before cut off the Ghorman shipping lanes, leading to starvation.[1]
The next morning Fertha joined Mothma and their daughter Leida for breakfast. He did not intervene when the two started arguing and Leida insisted that her mother was only thinking of herself, upsetting his wife. Later that night, Fertha and Mothma attended an event together. As they rode in a speeder, Fertha noted that he saw her watching his conversation with Gar Tafeed, who he said knew more about what she was up to than he did. Fertha then asked his wife when she was going to tell him about her new foundation, to which Mothma replied that she did not think that he would be interested because it was charitable. Fertha ignored her jibe and followed up by asking Mothma for the driver's name. Mothma reminded him for the second time that day that it was Kloris, and Fertha then addressed him and asked him to take the Expressway.[2]
A short while after Mothma hosted a party at the family home which Fertha attended. During the party he told Leida that she needed to ask Mothma if she wanted to be excused which she did. Later Fertha approached Mothma who was talking with Tay Kolma in the living room and inquired if they were reminiscing on their school days and reminding the pair of an upcoming reunion. Mothma then joined Fertha to speak with the other guests.[11]
Life after Mothma
At one point in 1 BBY,[12] one year after Mothma's speech calling out the Emperor,[13][14] a despondent Fertha rode a JPP-192 limospeeder with a passed out Runai Sculdun while imbibing an alcoholic drink.[15]
Personality and traits
- "Must everything be boring and sad?"
- ―Perrin Fertha, to Mon Mothma
As a senator's consort, Perrin Fertha was accustomed to a life of wealth and privilege on Coruscant.
Perrin Fertha was a human male with light skin and graying hair and beard. According to Luthen Rael, Fertha had an interest in military artifacts though Mothma claimed that she was trying to expand Fertha's tastes beyond fighting implements.[1] A charming and superficial man who had taken to luxury[7] and gambling,[16] Fertha enjoyed the cosmopolitan culture of Coruscant and the comforts of his family's station. In that respect, he was the direct opposite of his wife, Mothma, who possessed an idealistic and conscientious disposition as a senator of Chandrila.[7] However, according to Mothma, Fertha was the "academy firebrand" when he was fifteen years-old.[4]
Fertha referred to Mothma's concerns, such as the Empire's treatment of the Ghorman people, as "boring and sad."[1] While he lacked interest in his wife's political career,[17] he socialized with some of her political opponents, such as Sly Moore and Ars Dangor whom he described as "fun" compared to Mothma.[1] However, despite their opposite personalities,[7] Mothma was surprised to learn that Fertha did not encourage their daughter's interest in traditional Chandrilan practices, going so far as to say that he was "open-minded" about the customs of their homeworld.[18]
Behind the scenes
- "Why shouldn't somebody represent hedonism? Why shouldn't somebody represent pleasure? Why shouldn't somebody represent living in the moment? What the fuck is wrong with everybody else who's running around doing all this other stuff?"
- ―Tony Gilroy, expressing Perrin Fertha's worldview
Perrin Fertha was portrayed by Alastair Mackenzie. He made his first appearance in "Aldhani," the fourth episode of the live-action series Andor,[1] which was released on September 28, 2022.[20] He was first pictured in the documentary Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look,[21] which was released on September 8, 2022.[22] Artist Andrei Riabovitchev created concept art for Fertha based on costume designer Michael Wilkinson's design.[23]
Fertha's appearance in the Reign of the Empire trilogy was confirmed by editor Tom Hoeler,[24] who joked he wanted to add "who sucks" after every mention of the man's name.[25] Andor creator Tony Gilroy took issue with how many fans had a negative view of the character in the first season of the show, and addressed it by trying to make the Fertha more complex and stand for a legitimate form of hedonism, particularly in his speech in the episode "Sagrona Teema."[19]
Mackenzie revealed that a deleted scene from Andor season 2 would have featured Perrin telling Mothma "I knew what you were up to. This whole time. They talked to me, every week they'd interrogate me, I never said a word. You didn't trust me. You could've trusted me," confirming that he had always been aware of his wife's secretive work with the Rebellion and would have helped her if given the chance.[26]
| Storyboards | Concept art | Digital renderings | In-progress artwork |
Concept art
Appearances
- Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fear (and audiobook)
Star Wars: Andor — "Aldhani" (First appearance) (First identified as Perrin Fertha)- Star Wars: Andor — "The Axe Forgets"
- Star Wars: Andor — "Announcement"
- Star Wars: Andor — "Narkina 5"
- Star Wars: Andor — "Nobody's Listening!"
- Star Wars: Andor — "One Way Out" (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Andor — "Daughter of Ferrix" (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Andor — "Rix Road"
- Star Wars: Andor — "One Year Later"
- Star Wars: Andor — "Sagrona Teema"
- Star Wars: Andor — "Harvest"
- Star Wars: Andor — "What a Festive Evening"
- Star Wars: Andor — "Jedha, Kyber, Erso"
Sources
Notes and references
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External link
- Andor's Genevieve O'Reilly brings Mon Mothma into the spotlight: 'We really get to develop her as a character' by Coggan, Devan on Entertainment Weekly (September 2, 2022) (backup link archived on September 2, 2022)