PORD? ‘Andor’s Most Thrilling Storyline Brings Back A Forgotten Dangerous Star Wars Law

It’s sometimes easy to forget that Tony Gilroy is more than the Rogue One reshoots guy, he’s also the Michael Clayton and Bourne Supremacy guy. He may be deeply entrenched in sci-fi now, but originally he was all about the kind of legal thrillers and spy stories that revolved around hushed conversations in quiet rooms and codeword clearances.

The second trio of Andor Season 2 is nearly all spy-thriller action, from Cassian visiting Ghorman in disguise as a fashion designer, to Syril attending a insurgent meeting, to Dedra learning about the ulterior ISB motives on the planet. But one of the most important storylines isn’t on Ghorman, it follows Mon Mothma as she does one of the most mundane actions to garner big results: tries to rally for votes in the Galactic Senate. But what exactly is she trying to do? The answer lies in a forgotten part of Andor Season 1.

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Andor Season 2, Episodes 4-6.

In Andor Season 2 Episode 4, Mon Mothma is seen talking to her fellow senators about the “PORD,” referring to it as an emergency measure that should be repealed. But what exactly is the PORD, and why is it so dangerous to the galaxy? PORD stands for the Public Order Resentencing Directive, an Empire-era law invoked after the Aldhani attack, the first Rebel mission Cassian was a part of.

It has multiple elements, but most of them boil down to one thing: cracking down on crime. With one law, any anti-Imperial sentiments were considered a major offense. All sentences relating to anti-Imperial crimes were drastically raised, and release was suspended for certain prisoners. The PORD is why Andor is unceremoniously arrested during his beach vacation on Niamos and put into Narkina 5 prison, and why his only chance of leaving was through a prison riot and escape.

Now, Mon Mothma is trying to repeal the law because it’s clear its attempts to crack down on Rebellion action is only making life worse for everyone. It was always meant to be a short-term action, but now years have passed and the Empire is still less popular than ever. Mon Mothma didn’t support the legislation to begin with, calling it “the next step on an all too predictable march towards complete unchallenged authority,” but now she has the facts on her side to prove this.

The audience knows it’s only a matter of time before Mon Mothma speaks out against the Empire entirely, so her trying to get up the votes is her last-ditch effort to try and do things by the book and make things right in the proper way. But sometimes, as Cassian has proven time and time again, the only way to fight against evil is to be disruptive, and it’s about time Mon Mothma learned that lesson.

Andor Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+.