What's up Star Wars Fans?
My name is Prince, and I am an Urban Acolyte.
This is a follow-up video to my review of the Star Wars Rebels season 3 finale, so check
out that video if you haven't seen it because I'm going to get deeper into an idea that
I presented over on that video--that was specifically when I mentioned how I think the Empire helped
bring itself down.
I want to touch on that, but I really want to talk about how I think the Empire will
bring about Thrawn's demise.
Okay so on the Zero Hour episode, we saw that the Rebels were not ready for all out warfare
against the Empire.
We saw that Thrawn was always a step ahead of them.
He used the knowledge of Kallus being Fulcrum against Kallus, and of course he was monitoring
ship movements.
Thrawn took all of that information, paired them with old star charts captured in old
artwork on Lothal, and found the location of the Rebel base on Atollon.
Thrawn arrived with a fleet of ships prepared to squash, what he believed to be, the entire
Rebel fleet.
My point is that Thrawn was on the attack, and had it not been for Konstantine, and later
Bendu, making it possible for Ezra to escape and return with Mandalorian reinforcements,
Phoenix and Green squadrons would have been crushed.
The Skirmish at Atollon would have seen the end of two Rebel cells, and based on Ezra's
conversation with Mon Mothma, she'd already thrown in the towel.
She pretty much said,"it's a wrap for you guys, we'll negotiate with the Empire for
fair treatment of the prisoners."
All along we knew that it was Thrawn's intentions to create a scenario where he could gather
all of the Rebel fleet and crush them in one fell swoop.
This didn't happen.
The reason this didn't happen is because of the power games at play by Thrawn's subordinates.
These are the same power games you see whether it be in other movies and books, such as Rogue
One and Catalyst, respectively--just look at what's going on between Tarkin and Krennic.
You can also see it with other Imperial officers bucking up to Vader following their defeat
at Yavin IV in the first Vader comic book series.
It's also because the Empire is like this big, uncaring, bureaucratic machine, and that's
what pushed Kallus to defect and join the Rebels as a Fulcrum agent.
That's not the way things work with the Lothal Rebels--the Ghost crew, in particular, is
a family.
They cared about each other; they believed in their mission; and they believed in what
they were doing.
Now this caring attitude actually exists on both sides, so don't get me wrong here-- I
don't want to paint a false picture of the Empire.
There are other people, like Kallus, who believe in the Empire.
They believe in what they are doing as a part of the Empire.
Unfortunately, some of those people, like Kallus, become disillusioned with the orders
they're given and the outcome of those orders.
They lose faith in their work, and they ultimately lose faith in the Empire.
Thane Kyrell is another example.
He believed in the Empire.
He could not wait for Grand Moff Tarkin to come to his home planet, Jelucan, and bring
the Empire.
He grew up to become disillusioned.
But there are people on the other side of the aisle.
Thane's child hood friend, and lover, Cienna Rhee-- she also believed in the Empire to
the very end.
She acknowledged that the Empire is not perfect.
She believed that there are good people who can make the Empire better.
Cienna Ree believed in the Empire, and she stayed until Thane literally dragged her from
her Star Destroyer kicking and screaming before it crashed during the Battle of Jakku.
We also have possibly the next Grand Admiral, after Thrawn, Rae Sloane.
She believed in the Empire.
She saw the Empire as liberators.
She wants to rebuild a new order, and her first order will be to rise from the ashes
and rebuild a better Empire.
See what I did there with the First Order?
So, not everyone serving the Empire is a jerk faced, dickbag, but some of those people become
disillusioned, and some of those jerk faced dickbags will be the reason that the Empire
will ultimately fail.
Look at what happens in the Zero Hour episode-- Konstantine tells Thrawn that he doesn't want
to play Thrawn's political games anymore, so he attempts to take a victory for himself,
and in the process gets his ship destroyed and gives Ezra the opening to eventually destroy
the other gravity well so that the Rebels can escape to fight another day.
Think about it-- Thrawn has them on the ropes, and all Konstantine had to do was follow orders.
See, this is why I believe that the greedy infighting will bring about the downfall of
the Empire--just as much as Palpatine's misguided confidence in his own ability brought about
his downfall.
He was so focused on achieving Unlimited Power for a second time by destroying the Last Jedi,
that he was completely unable to sense the spark of light that remained allowing Anakin
Skywalker to return and save the Last Jedi, his son, Luke Skywalker.
So am I saying that Thrawn's oversight will lead to his betrayal by his subordinates,
too?
In a sense, yes.
Despite being the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy, and one of the highest ranked people
in the entire Imperial machine, Thrawn is very much an outsider.
From what I've gathered, so far, the attitude towards aliens and humanoids working for the
Empire is that they're better heard but not seen.
Thrawn rose from a total stranger to the highest ranked military officer in a very short time
span, and he managed to get as close to the Emperor as probably anyone not named Tarkin,
Mas Ameda, or one of Palpatine's Sith cultists posing as his advisors.
If we look at someone like an Orson Krennic, he would be extremely jealous of someone like
Thrawn--and then think about Thrawn-- this guy is on top of everything.
He literally has the Emperor by the balls as he posses a vital part of Palpatine's future
plans--and that being the knowledge of hyperspace lanes to traverse the unknown regions of space.
Now if you're wondering where I'm drawing all of this from--it's in the Aftermath: Empire's
End novel and the released bits from Timothy Zahn's new Thrawn novel which occurs between
the events in the Tarkin novel and the New Dawn novel.
So what am I proposing...where am I going with all of this?
Well, think back to the statement made by Bendu at the conclusion of the "Zero Hour"
episode.
He said Thrawn's defeat will be like many arms surrounding him in a cold embrace.
Now perhaps there will literally be a cold embrace--Thrawn gets jettisoned into space
or he freezes somewhere like Hoth or Ilum...or it could be the cold embrace of death.
Regardless of how this literally happens, I think Thrawn is going to be betrayed, and
his betrayal will be due to his desire to carry out the Emperor's plans.
I think Thrawn has reached a point where he's riding so hard for the Emperor's goals, which
coincide with his own goals--that we'll have to learn in the Thrawn novel in about 2 weeks--
that he won't see people plotting behind his very back.
I see a mutiny occuring.
Now mutiny, insubordination, failure to follow a lawful order, during times of war, those
are punishable by death--and I'm talking about in the real world, not on Star Wars.
The thing is, when the mutiny isn't just from the bottom, but also involves people at the
top--well, then someone can literally get away with murder.
I think Thrawn poses a threat to everyone, and they will all want to see his head removed.
I guess that statement presents a very cool possibility that I honestly just now considered--
think about what Konstantine did-- he literally sabotaged Thrawn's effort to take out Phoenix
and Green squadron and capture Kanan Jarrus, Captain Hera Syndulla, and General Dodanna.
As far as the Empire knows, Thrawn just failed at destroying the Rebel fleet, and allowed
them to escape-- what if other people under Thrawn's command continue to sabotage his
efforts?
I mean, Tarkin is not above working behind the scenes to sabotage someone for his own
benefit-- if you're in the blue on that one, just read what he did to Krennic in the Catlyst
novel.
Tarkin made it possible for the Erso family to escape and stay hidden from Krennic for
several years.
Think about how long that stalled plans on the Death Star--which Tarkin was in on from
day one...talk about petty, right?
So if Thrawn continues to produce string after string of failure--well, I think it might
warrant a visit from Vader...and the loss of his head.
That would be a pretty cool way to end Season 4 and explain why there's no Grand Admiral
Thrawn at the Battle of Scariff or in the Original Trilogy--because Tarkin brought about
Thrawn's fall from grace, which ended in his execution from his good old friend, Darth
Vader, who he previously knew as Anakin Skywalker.
But what do you all think?
Do you think we could see some kind of rivalry between Tarkin and Thrawn in season 4 of Star
Wars Rebels, and how would you feel about some kind duel, ending in Thrawn's execution
at the hands of Vader?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and I'll be checking back to see what
you have to say.
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Make sure to check back for my next video where I'll share my thoughts on Ezra Bridger
in Season 4 and beyond on Star Wars Rebels.
Also, don't forget about my Chirrut Imwe video that will go live next week when the Rogue
One Blu Ray is released.
While you wait on those videos to post, be sure to check out my video on Leia and Snoke's
relationship or check out my video on Luke Skywalker being the Chosen One.
Well, that's all I've got for now.
Thanks for watching.
Y'all keep on breathing, and may the Force of others be with you...always.