Thrawn's Victory In Ahsoka Is Tied Directly To Existing Star Wars Canon
This article contains spoilers for "Star Wars: Ahsoka" episode 8 — "The Jedi, The Witch, and the Warlord."
Season 1 of "Ahsoka" reintroduced Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the great villains of "Star Wars," to a galaxy far, far away. Created by Timothy Zahn, he originally started as the big bad guy in the "Heir to the Empire" trilogy of books that first began in 1991 and helped kickoff a new renaissance of "Star Wars." He's been a fan favorite ever since.
One of the big concerns from fans when Disney decided to officially relegate the only marginally canon novels that had been published to that point into "Legends" was that Thrawn was no longer a part of the official "Star Wars" continuity. That changed when the third season of "Star Wars Rebels" arrived and the character stepped in as the major villain for the rest of that show's tenure. Timothy Zahn was also tapped to write six more books about him that conformed to the current canon and "Ahsoka" was able to bring him into the world of live-action.
In the season 1 finale, Thrawn talks about how he will no longer underestimate the vain heroics of a lone Jedi, and admits that he, too, has been foiled in the past by a lone Jedi and won't let that happen again. Let's break down how his victory in the episode ties in directly to his storyline on "Rebels."
Thrawn's first lesson
The first time Thrawn was foiled by the Force was the season 3 finale of "Star Wars Rebels." With the Rebels of Phoenix Squadron, led in part by Hera Syndulla and the Jedi Kanan Jarrus, hiding on the mysterious, remote world of Attolon, they are largely able to operate against the Empire with impunity. Grand Admiral Thrawn sets his sights on discovering the location of their secret base and wiping them out completely. Using his cunning sense of deductive reasoning and superior tactics, Thrawn is able to discover the location of their base and force a showdown with the Rebels.
Unfortunately, the one thing Thrawn hadn't taken into account was the Force.
Atollon was home to the Bendu, a massive creature (voiced by Tom Baker, the fourth regeneration of the Doctor on "Doctor Who") who remained neutral in the Force. He refused to join conflicts or involve himself in the petty squabbles between the dark and light sides of the Force. "I'm the one in the middle," he once told Kanan. Bendu had helped Kanan and Ezra repair their trust and relationship as master and Padawan but refused to intervene as Thrawn arrived to destroy the Rebels. Kanan challenged the Bendu and called him a coward, which forced him to unleash a storm that destroyed the ability for either side to make war, allowing the Rebels to escape to fight another day and leaving Thrawn's tactical acumen in shambles.
Thrawn's exile
The next time Thrawn confronted a lone, heroic Jedi with absurd odds and an even more absurd plan came during the "Rebels" series finale. He was finally able to pin the Rebels down on Lothal and worked to force their surrender by bombarding the planet's capital city. He'd learned from his previous confrontation that the Jedi could turn the scales of the war, so he engineered his tactics to force the Jedi to surrender. But there was still something more mystical at work that he could not account for.
How could Thrawn have planned for and predicted Ezra Bridger's connection to the purrgil? Ezra was able to use Thrawn's tactic to force his surrender against him and then the purrgil arrived and transported them both into exile. While this did take Ezra Bridger out of the galaxy, it also robbed the Empire of one of its most valuable tools in the Galactic Civil War.
Thrawn 2.0
Thrawn has learned from these engagements as he learns from everything. When Ahsoka Tano arrived at Peridea, we saw him adjust his tactics to force her to move away from him. He knew that a Jedi being around — thanks to Ezra's example — could jeopardize all of his plans. Better to keep them distracted and at arm's length. He's a brilliant villain because he's able to adapt and take into account the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents. He had limited interaction with Jedi and their ability to change the course of a battle. When he encountered Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars, they were allies. The same was true when he encountered Darth Vader during the dark times; they were both on the same side. Left to fight Jedi like Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger, Thrawn had no frame of reference for how wily they could be.
It was these engagements with Kanan and Ezra that prepared him for the events of "Ahsoka" and actually allowed him to get away and back to Dathomir. "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger," goes the old idiom, and anything that doesn't kill Thrawn is definitely going to make him stronger.
Now that he's back and wiser than ever, he'll be deadlier than he's ever been if he can get the Imperial remnants organized behind him. It's exciting for future storytelling and he will prove a difficult villain to defeat.
All eight episodes of the first season "Ahsoka" are available to stream on Disney+.