Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Jedi Trap Followed Palpatine’s Clone Wars Pattern

Grand Admiral Thrawn’s strategies in Ahsoka mirrored Palpatine’s schemes during the Clone Wars. As seen in Star Wars’ prequel trilogy, the entire Clone Wars was a massive plot orchestrated by Chancellor Palpatine who was secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Described as the “perfect Jedi trap”, it’s been suggested that Thrawn seemingly mirrored the genius of Palpatine during the Clone Wars which resulted in the transformation of the Republic into his brand-new Empire.

As pointed out by Twitter user @XWnHIST, the trap that Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) laid out for Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) on the extragalactic world of Peridea is very similar to author Matt Stover’s description of Palpatine’s schemes during the Clone Wars in the Revenge of the Sith novelization. Thrawn had Palpatine’s favor during the Dark Times and they were both dark geniuses. As such, it’s not a stretch to imagine Grand Admiral Thrawn replicating Palpatine’s “perfect Jedi trap“ as a foundational strategy in the new Star Wars show.

The Clone Wars Were The Perfect Jedi Trap

Obi-Wan vs Grievous Is A Core Example

In Stover’s Revenge of the Sith novelization, the Battle of Utapau shows the overarching strategies used by Palpatine during the entire Clone Wars. According to the book, a Jedi trap requires four core elements. Firstly, the trap needs “an irresistible bait” such as General Grievous hiding out on Utapau. Secondly, the trap needs to be set in a “remote location” with a restricted field of action, preferably one where any damage or destruction wouldn’t matter such as this Outer Rim world the Separatists had forcibly taken over from the Pauan populace.

Thirdly, there needed to be someone powerful to kill the Jedi, and it also helps if they’re also the bait as Grievous was, encouraging the targeted Jedi (Obi-Wan Kenobi) to press forward. It also helps to have stationed forces nearby to prevent easy escape. Lastly, the final component was to “establish a win-win situation” along with a potential third positive outcome. If Grievous kills Kenobi, it’s a victory. If Kenobi wins (as he did), it saves Palpatine from having to deal with Grievous later. Either way, Kenobi was still sent away from Coruscant, allowing Palpatine to corrupt Anakin Skywalker to the dark side as Darth Vader.

Grand Admiral Thrawn Trapped Ahsoka Using The Same Strategy

Thrawn’s Trap For Ahsoka Mirrors The Clone Wars

The four stages of Palaptine’s “perfect Jedi trap” can be seen in Ahsoka thanks to Thrawn. Firstly, Thrawn set the irresistible bait which was Ezra Bridger, allowing Sabine to leave and find him. This also ensured that Ahsoka would end up in a more remote location instead of coming to the Nightsisters’ temple and his Star Destroyer directly. Likewise, the field of action was restricted and any damage out in the wastelands didn’t matter. Thrawn also sent out the Dark Jedi Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati to kill the Jedi, while also having an overwhelming force of troopers at the ready.

Lastly, Grand Admiral Thrawn effectively created his win-win scenario along with a third positive outcome. Although the Jedi were not defeated by the Dark Jedi, Thrawn didn’t have to worry about either of them by Ahsoka’s ending. Likewise, it all served to buy Thrawn time while his Star Destroyer prepared to depart Peridea so the Grand Admiral could finally return to the known Star Wars galaxy after years in exile, the very thing the Jedi were trying to prevent. As such, Thrawn’s victory further proves that Palpatine’s strategies from the Clone Wars work as well as ever.

Thrawn Had Learned The Best Way To Deal With Jedi

The Grand Admiral Respected His Emperor’s Genius

While he may not have the Force himself, Grand Admiral Thrawn has found means to compensate such as his new alliance with the Nightsisters and their dark magicks as Force witches. However, it seems as though he’s made use of the late Palpatine’s tactics against the Jedi as well, respecting the genius of the Emperor he once faithfully served. This makes perfect sense considering Thrawn’s dedicated study of history to efficiently decimate his foes. Whether Thrawn intentionally used Palpatine’s schemes as a foundation in Ahsoka or not, the mirroring at play in the Star Wars canon is quite impressive nonetheless.