Grand Admiral Thrawn made his triumphant return to Star Wars in Ahsoka, marking the character’s live-action debut. Originating in Timothy Zahn’s novel Heir to the Empire, the Imperial warlord is a brilliant strategist and military tactician feared by some in the New Republic. Prior to Ahsoka, Thrawn and Ezra Bridger were taken to another galaxy by the star whales called purrgil, where they waited for a decade in exile before allies arrived on Peridea to bring them home. Thrawn’s defeat in Star Wars Rebels has been undone in the process, ushering in another war for the known galaxy.
Having made an alliance with the Great Mothers of the Nightsisters, Thrawn and his crew aboard the Chimaera are taking up residence on Dathomir ahead of the coming conflict. As was teased in The Mandalorian season 3, the Grand Admiral will assume control of the Imperial Remnant, which has the resources necessary to provide a fleet that can oppose the New Republic. The stage is set for Thrawn to reenter the theater of war, but Ahsoka failed to answer the biggest question about the Imperial: What is Thrawn’s motive?
Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars Novels Never Show Thrawn As An Imperial Loyalist
There’s an inconsistency in Thrawn’s portrayal in Ahsoka and the Star Wars publishing works. Thrawn’s creator Timothy Zahn has never depicted the Chiss mastermind as loyal to the Empire, but rather a person using Palpatine’s resources as a means to an end. In the canon novels, Thrawn joins the Empire under the agreement with Palpatine that the Emperor might consider providing military aid to the Chiss Ascendancy to fend off a threat posed by the Grysks. Throughout the canon trilogy, Thrawn’s loyalty was called into question, with the Grand Admiral secretly sending new allies to the Ascendancy when possible.
Rebels walks a tight rope between the two interpretations, with Thrawn being loyal to the Empire but not a villain in the vein of Darth Vader or the Inquisitors. With the Emperor threatening Thrawn’s life just before the Liberation of Lothal, being transported to Peridea by Ezra likely saved the Grand Admiral. Why would he remain loyal to the Empire if his leader was prepared to kill him? The Empire was nothing more than a necessary evil to Thrawn, but his appearance in Ahsoka seemingly contradicts the version of the character in Zahn’s novels.
Ahsoka Shows Thrawn As A Fanatical Imperial Leader
Thrawn isn’t just an Imperial loyalist – he’s a fanatical leader. The Night Troopers under Thrawn’s command viewing their Grand Admiral as someone to be worshiped makes sense to a degree; they’ve been stranded with him for a decade on Peridea, and his tactical genius has kept them alive. Why the likes of Morgan Elsbeth, who evaded New Republic capture after the war and remained in the known galaxy, would swear such undying loyalty to Thrawn is a different mystery to unravel. Those experiencing hardship are more prone to turning towards the wrong figures for wisdom.
What is bizarre is Thrawn’s own fanatical devotion to the Imperial Remnant: “Long live the Empire.” Thrawn never displayed support for the Empire in the way Moff Gideon or his loyalists did, but he utters the same declaration before sending Elsbeth to her death. For someone as pragmatic as Thrawn, holding such a belief makes little sense. He hitched his wagon to an Empire he believed could protect his people if necessary, and that regime was ultimately destroyed. Becoming a warlord hellbent on resurrecting that failed government is a strange direction for Thrawn to take, calling to question his true motives.
Why Does Thrawn Want To Start Another War?
Beneath all the fear of Thrawn’s return and the Grand Admiral’s own declaration of beginning a new conflict, the reason for why he would want to start another war has never been provided. Thrawn has the Chiss Ascendancy to look after in the Unknown Regions and little to gain from crippling the inept New Republic – what’s the point of going to war? The warlord is far likelier to conquer or annihilate planets, but there’s little to gain in doing so. Perhaps Thrawn is playing the long game, using everyone at his disposal to further an unknown motive. With the Imperial Remnant in his pocket and a New Republic on the ropes, Grand Admiral Thrawn can pursue his true intentions of bringing the Chiss Ascendancy to power.
