Grand Admiral Thrawn and Emperor Palpatine made the same fatal mistake in the original Star Wars timeline. Having returned to the official canon in recent years, Thrawn is set to receive an all-new story that could carry certain elements from his original character arc to the established continuity. As such, this could include how the Grand Admiral was similarly defeated via a betrayal (just like his Emperor).
Although the critical Imperial leader was relegated to the non-canon banner “Legends” following Disney’s purchase of the Star Wars IP in 2012, Thrawn became canon once more through the animated series Star Wars Rebels in 2014. Furthermore, Grand Admiral Thrawn made his live-action debut in 2023’s Ahsoka series where he finally returned from exile during the New Republic Era, mirroring his return to lead the shattered Empire first seen in the original Heir to the Empire novel by Timothy Zahn. To that end, it’s possible that betrayal could befall Thrawn once more, just as it did Palpatine in Return of the Jedi.
Both Palpatine & Thrawn Failed To See Betrayal Coming
In Return of the Jedi, Emperor Palpatine fails to see the light returning in his Sith apprentice Darth Vader. Vader’s son Luke Skywalker refused to believe that his father was truly dead, instead believing that the man who was once Anakin Skywalker could let go of his hate and be redeemed. Refusing to kill his father, Luke Skywalker chooses to face the wrath of Palpatine instead, an act which motivates Vader to finally defeat his Sith master for the sake of his son. As such, Palpatine was defeated by Darth Vader’s critical betrayal despite having been the Emperor’s right hand for over two decades.
In a similar vein, Grand Admiral Thrawn’s original character arc in Legends sees him being killed by his most trusted assassin, a Noghri named Rukh. With his race having been convinced by Princess Leia to abandon the Empire they had long served and join with the New Republic instead, Rukh stabs the Grand Admiral through the chest in a massive betrayal. This results in the Imperial Remnant falling back into significant infighting as they’d only been united under the leadership of Thrawn himself.
Thrawn Was Even Killed By Darth Vader’s Own Legacy
Beyond the shared demise via betrayals, it’s also worth noting that both Palpatine and Thrawn were killed thanks to the legacy of Darth Vader. Palpatine was killed by Darth Vader directly in the original trilogy. However, Vader’s grandson Ben Solo also played a key role in Palpatine’s ultimate defeat following his resurrection in Star Wars’ sequel trilogy.
Similarly, Rukh and the Noghri were indebted to Darth Vader and the Empire in the original Legends timeline, having seen the Dark Lord as their savior. However, the Empire kept them in their service as assassins by secretly harming their homeworld, manufacturing a reliance on their support in perpetuity. However, Princess Leia would leverage her status as Vader’s daughter and the truth about the Empire’s actions to convince the Noghri to betray the Empire, including Rukh’s betrayal of Thrawn himself. While Rukh is dead in the established Star Wars canon, perhaps Thrawn’s canonical demise will come from a different kind of betrayal following his imminent war with the New Republic.
