Grand Admiral Thrawn is one of the most fascinating characters since before even the Star Wars
prequel trilogy.
His cunning, tactical skills, and insight of those close to him and his enemies is second
to none.
If you’ve only seen him in Star Wars Rebels, then you’re missing out.
In that series Thrawn was shown as only a fraction of what we get in the novels surrounding
the Chiss born Imperial Grand Admiral.
We could also dare to say that he wasn’t shown his full potential and even miscalculated
his enemies in Rebels.
However, there is more to him than what we have seen on screen…so far.
It’s just too bad he’s loyal to the Empire…or is he?
I’ll let you be the judge.
So, spam the comments with your thoughts.
It's now widespread knowledge that it’s only a matter of time before Grand Admiral
Thrawn makes his live action debut, in either the Mandalorian season 3, the Ahsoka Tano
series…or both.
Whatever the case may be, we are in for some surprises when it comes to the missing Imperial
Naval Officer.
Yes…missing.
If you remember, in Star Wars Rebels Ezra Bridger set a trap for Thrawn and with the
help of space whale-squids, called Purgill, Thrawn and Ezra were taken away to an undisclosed
location, far from the events of the Galactic Civil War.
The events of the Mandalorian universe…or Mando-verse as it’s being called, take place
roughly 5 years after Return of the Jedi.
The Empire has been defeated and the New Republic now runs the show.
But where have Thrawn and Ezra been for the past 10 or so years?
Well, we are going to find out soon enough.
But when the rivals left the scene, Thrawn was loyal to an Empire that was in control
of the galaxy.
An Empire that would use any means necessary to maintain that control and stability.
But above his loyalty to the Empire was his dedication to his people, the Chiss.
And by joining the Empire, Thrawn’s hope was to convince the Emperor to help his troubled
people.
A proud people who really were looking for true peace.
So much so that it was forbidden for any of the Chiss military to engage in combat unless
fired upon first.
Before I go on with the story of Grand Admiral Thrawn and his motives, a quick word from
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Now, back to the story.
When Thrawn was a senior Captain in the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, he would find
ways to engage his perceived enemies while walking the thin line of the rules set upon
him.
Often landing him in hot water, Thrawn would always come out on top against those opposed
to him.
Not only combatant enemies, but also those within the hierarchy of the Chiss government…even
his own adoptive family.
Generally correct in his deductions, like the Empire, Thrawn was willing to do what
it took to maintain stability in his piece of galaxy.
So, when the Emperor himself offered Thrawn training at the Imperial Academy on Coruscant,
Thrawn knew this would be a way to gain trust and favor.
Favor that may lead to the Empire joining him in the Unknown Regions to fight the larger
threat looming.
Sure there were groups that would test the might of the Chiss, Such as the Nikardun,
but this enemy was different.
It was illusive.
In fact, the Nikardun was just a pawn to the enemy that would come to be known as the Grysk.
Growing larger by the day, and incorporating more and more worlds, the Grysk were on the
verge of dismantling the Chiss hierarchy, both from within and from the outside.
And Thrawn needed someone with the military might and technology to help defeat them.
Thus, his rise within the ranks of the Imperial Navy was about to pay off.
That is, until he met an adversary within the very entity Thrawn was trying to align
himself with…Director Krennick, head of project Stardust…later to be known as the
Death Star.
At the time the Empire was funneling money to the space station super weapon, then (Grand
Admiral) Thrawn had a pet project of his own.
The Tie Defender program in its testing phase in a factory on Lothal.
The Tie Defenders would be meant as a game changer in star fighter combat.
The newest upgraded version of the Tie Fighter would boast greater weaponry, shield generators,
and a hyperdrive motor and were proven in trials to be much more difficult to destroy
than any tie fighter in commission, at the time.
Thrawn saw this as a better option than an overpriced superweapon.
A superweapon that could only be used in a single combat situation…then have to be
moved to another area of concern.
The Tie Defenders were far more mobile and agile and could conduct sorties throughout
the Empire, rather than one mission at a time.
And this was something he desperately needed to carry forward into the Grysk wars that
were ensuing.
The Grysk weren’t based on any certain planet and a Star Destroyer would prove ineffective.
However, a highly advanced Tie Fighter would spell certain doom for any adversary that
thrived on being mobile.
Also, Thrawn was of the Chiss Ascendancy.
A society looking for real peace.
A peace that didn’t involve destroying the entire populus of a planet.
Even though Thrawn operated on the edge of morality while within the Chiss Expansionary
Defense Fleet, he still believed his fight was with enemy combatants.
Not the civilians caught in the war.
Even though Thrawn believed in minimalizing collateral damage, he would often put civilians
in harm’s way, in order to prove a solid point.
Thrawn had learned that malfunctioning Imperial speeder bikes were causing deaths within the
Imperial military.
When pushed to maximum speeds, the bikes would overheat and explode.
To Grand Admiral Thrawn, this was seen as a terrorist act.
And where would he discover the malfunctioning bikes were produced?
none other than the factory on Lothal.
Thrawn then instructed one of the workers to board the bike and push it to its limits
in a stationary control setting.
The worker was reluctant but did as instructed.
The speeder bike performed as the reports had indicated, it overheated, exploded and
killed the worker.
As Grand Admiral Thrawn attempted to convince his superiors that the Tie Defenders were
a better strategy than a dreaded Death Star, most of his claims were ignored.
Director Krennick was gaining the upper hand in the arms race for funding.
But whatever the end decision would be, Thrawn knew that he needed to eliminate the Empire’s
threat, the Rebels on Lothal, before any unification would be granted, and before he could ask
the Empire for assistance in the Unknown Regions.
Afterall, the Empire had its own growing war to abolish before this proposal could even
be addressed.
But the end of his financial debate ended as Governor Pryce of Lothal destroyed the
fuel depot to the Lothal factory, in an effort to end the rebellion on her planet once and
for all.
The production of the Tie Defenders was halted, and the funding went immediately to Director
Krennick and his Stardust program.
Around the same time, Thrawn was learning of the growing Grysk threat against his home
in the Unknown Region.
Falling out of favor with the Emperor for his failure to subdue the insurgency on Lothal,
and knowing he would be at blame for the destruction of the fuel depot, Thrawn was losing his grip
on the entire situation.
His plea for help with the Unknown Regions would never come.
But he wasn’t the only one in the know of the growing war within the Chiss borders.
Emperor Palpatine was aware that something was happening and accused Thrawn of disloyalty,
and even claimed his actions for anything unrelated to the Empire would be treasonous.
Grand Admiral Thrawn had completely lost control of the situation.
In a last ditch effort to rid Lothal of the Jedi, Ezra Bridger, and his band of Rebels,
Thrawn returned to Lothal to destroy them.
But as cunning as Thrawn was, he didn’t deduce that Ezra Bridger and his friends actually
devised a way to trick the brilliant tactician.
After coaxing the entire military presence on Lothal to return to their base, the Rebels
then launched the base and set a self-destruct…killing all Imperials aboard.
However, Thrawn was safe on his Star Destroyer as Ezra boarded.
But Ezra Bridger had one final surprise.
He had used the Force to summon the Purgill, a type of Space Whale with natural hyperspace
travel.
The Purgill wrapped themselves around Thrawn’s ship, with Ezra still on board, and shot off
into hyperspace…taking Ezra and Thrawn with them.
In the end, Thrawn didn’t get the help he needed from the Empire.
But had he received the help, and if the Chiss along with the Empire had destroyed the Grysk,
where would that leave him and his peaceful people?
In other words, what would have stopped Emperor Palpatine from continuing the war and dominating
the unknown regions in an effort to occupy and rule another region of the Star Wars galaxy?
Did Thrawn know this?
Did he calculate such a move by the Empire?
Would he have been as prepared for it as he had with the Nikardun?
When dealing with a group such as the Nikardun, there is a factor that didn’t come into
play, as it would with the Empire.
The Nikardun weren’t Force sensitive Siths.
They were pawns in the grand scheme of the Grysk.
Thrawn knew of the tactics of the Empire.
He knew they were about order through control.
He was inside their establishment and understood them more than if he had gained a piece of
their art.
He knew the Empire was full of self-promoting opportunists and could eventually use that
knowledge to defeat the ranks.
Thrawn had even worked alongside Anakin Skywalker at one point, then Darth Vader at another
point.
We all know it didn’t take much for Thrawn to learn about an enemy and how to defeat
them.
He was even close to Emperor Palpatine, possibly to a favorable outcome for Thrawn.
But there is also the fact that Darth Vader was a strongarm of the Emperor.
He was used as an enforcer and secret weapon.
But Palpatine, on the other hand, was also brilliant.
Able to deceive an entire Jedi Order, the Republic, and their opposition, the Confederacy
of Independent Systems.
Luckily for Thrawn and Palpatine, this scenario never got to play out.
But soon we will see how a different ending is about to unfold with Mitth’raw’nuruodo
and Ezra Bridger making their live action debuts.
In the end, a lot of Star Wars fans, and especially those who know Grand Admiral Thrawn, feel
like it was out of character for the Grand Admiral to have fallen so easily to the Rebels
of the Ghost Crew.
But with everything I’ve discussed, do you feel like Thrawn was depicted as unnatural
to his character?
Or was it a calculated move for Thrawn, in a desperate attempt to get away from the Empire
and get back to the Unknown Regions without being hunted by the Emperor and his loyalists?
Spam the comments with your thoughts.
Hit the subscribe button and give the video a thumbs up.
But that’s all I have for today.
Until the next video, this is Gerald, a Star Wars Fanatic signing off.
Wishing you all great health, happiness, and peace.
Thank you all for watching and remember, this is the way…and positivity in the Star Wars
fandom is the only way!