A chilling scene in The Mandalorian season 1 proves that Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Empire will be even more destructive and evil than Palpatine’s. The Mandalorian season 1 takes place five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. In 9ABY, the Empire had mostly been dissolved, and the New Republic believed the Empire’s remaining leadership to be scattered and powerless. Little did they know, however, that the Imperial Remnant was amassing resources and regaining control in the furthest reaches of the galaxy.
In The Mandalorian season 3, it was revealed that the Imperial Remnant was intent on finding Grand Admiral Thrawn – one of the Empire’s most feared tacticians – so that he may lead them in the fight against the New Republic. Aside from Moff Gideon and a small handful of other Imperial Officers, the Imperial Shadow Council was clearly loyal to Thrawn, and, thus, by extension, Palpatine. Those officers who would follow Thrawn and still believe in Palpatine’s legacy are the most dangerous. Moff Gideon was hellbent on adding to his own individual power. The Imperial Shadow Council is after something else entirely.
10 Ways Grand Admiral Thrawn Is A Better Star Wars Villain Than Emperor Palpatine
Grand Admiral Thrawn is unlike most other Star Wars foes, and it can be argued that he’s a better villain than Emperor Palpatine himself.
The Mandalorian Revealed How Fanatical The Remaining Imperials Are
Though The Mandalorian season 1 did not expose the extent of the Empire’s remaining organization, one scene, in particular, did reveal why the remaining Imperial leadership is so terrifying. When the Client reaches out to Din Djarin about retrieving a bounty – a bounty later revealed to be the Force-sensitive child, Grogu – the Imperial expresses his disbelief at the state of the galaxy since the dissolution of the Empire. Almost tauntingly, he mentions the destruction of Mandalore, using it as an example of why, in his view, the Empire’s fascist rule was necessary to maintain order in the galaxy.
“It is a shame that your people suffered so. Just as in this situation, it was all avoidable. Why did Mandalore resist our expansion? The Empire improves every system it touches. Judge by any metric. Safety, prosperity, trade, opportunity, peace. Compare Imperial rule to what is happening now. Look outside. Is the world more peaceful since the revolution? I see nothing but death and chaos.”
The Client’s self-righteous monologue is unsettling on its own, but there is additional context that makes it even more horrifying. After Palpatine’s supposed death in Return of the Jedi, Operation: Cinder was enacted by the remaining Imperial leadership. With this operation, which was part of the Emperor’s Contingency plan, Palpatine instigated the genocide of multiple civilian populations, ordering Imperial fleets to cause catastrophic natural disasters and bombard planets that had anything to do with the Rebellion, including Palpatine’s homeworld of Naboo.
Some Imperial officers, including one Grand Admiral, defied Palpatine’s final orders. But many were complicit in the destruction that followed, and many believed in Palpatine’s grand vision – the Client in The Mandalorian season 1 being one such Imperial. These are the people who believe that control is more important than freedom, that violent order leads to prosperity, and that Operation: Cinder’s destruction was a necessity. Unfortunately, further seasons of The Mandalorian have proven that the Client is not alone in his thinking.
The Death Star Was Only The Beginning: All 12 Planets Devastated By The Empire’s Operation Cinder
Operation: Cinder was one of the most savage attacks the Empire ever carried out against many planets, even more brutal than the Death Star.
Grand Admiral Thrawn Is Leading Imperial Fanatics To War
Anyone still in league with the Imperial Shadow Council, with the exception, perhaps, of Moff Gideon, will be equally fanatic, if not even more so, than the Client. The Empire is all they know, and all they believe in – these are the people who are willing to look the other way when entire planets are being destroyed despite the war already having been lost, the people who are willing to follow a leader who is presumed to be dead simply because he ordered them to. These people are a lost cause, and these are the people that Grand Admiral Thrawn will lead to war.
Palpatine’s Empire was immense. Its power and size ensured that nearly the entire galaxy was at its mercy. But because of its size, and because of the number of people working within its organization, there were always going to be defectors, people who saw the brutality and suffering caused by the Empire and decided to do something about it. That’s no longer the case. Those who remain under the Imperial banner, those who would gladly follow Thrawn’s orders and aid Palpatine’s grotesque cloning projects, are beyond reason. They are the worst of the worst, and that kind of fanaticism can cause untold destruction.
Grand Admiral Thrawn is a ruthless, single-minded tactician. He knows how to make entire worlds submit, strangling their resources, their trade, and any semblance of hope. With his tactical prowess, Palpatine’s Contingency, and the most fanatical, single-minded Imperials on his side, Thrawn has the power to cause untold devastation. Though it’s unclear to what extent Thrawn will succeed in his endeavor to lead the Empire, one thing is for certain: the First Order will rise from its ashes, and the galaxy will be sucked into an endlessly violent war once more. The Empire never truly died, as proven by The Mandalorian.
The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian is set after the Empire’s fall and before the First Order’s emergence in the ever-growing Star Wars universe. The series follows the travails of a lone gunfighter named Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic. Acting as the first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian has become incredibly popular on Disney+, partly due to Mando’s relationship with Grogu, which the internet dubbed “Baby Yoda” upon his introduction in season 1.
- Release Date
- November 12, 2019
- Cast
- Werner Herzog , Emily Swallow , Pedro Pascal , Nick Nolte , Omid Abtahi , Gina Carano , Carl Weathers , Giancarlo Esposito
- Seasons
- 3
- Writers
- Jon Favreau
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+
- Franchise(s)
- Star Wars
- Directors
- Jon Favreau , Taika Waititi , Bryce Dallas Howard
- Showrunner
- Jon Favreau
