Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Ahsoka Episode 6.
At the end of Episode 6 ofAhsoka, “Far, Far Away,“Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen)gets the news that Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) is not only alive but that she’s also on her way to Peridea thanks to the purrgil. This is unwelcome news, for that arrival could greatly thwart his plans of leaving exile and return to the main Star Wars galaxy, especially because Ahsoka already has two friends on Peridea, Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). He then asks Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) all about the incoming Jedi — her background, her history, her homeworld, and her Master.
The thing is, Thrawn already met Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen/Matt Lanter) during the Clone Wars and worked with Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) years later during the events ofStar Wars Rebels. In fact, he was one of the very few people back in the days of the Empire that knewboth these names belonged to the same person. So shouldn’t Thrawn already know that Anakin was Ahsoka’s Master?
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Thrawn Knew Both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader
Thrawn is such a unique and celebrated character in pop culturebecause it’s a delight to see him work. He is an Imperial on the side of the bad guys, yes, but he is one of the few Imperials who actually respects his opponents just as much as he does the people who work beside him — but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to beat them and, if necessary, kill them too. More than that, though, he has his own work ethic and process, and these qualities have made him such a successful commander to the point that he’s become the only non-human in the Imperial military.
When he was found by the Empire after being exiled by the Chiss Ascendancy, Thrawn was sent to the Imperial Academy by Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) himself, and the two had a relationship of mutual respect. Years later, Palpatine ordered Thrawn to help Darth Vader on a mission to Batuu (where Galaxy’s Edge is located) to investigate a disturbance he felt in the Force. The whole time, Thrawn makes remarks about Anakin Skywalker — because he had been on a mission to the same place in a very similar context, where he met and worked together with the Jedi General.
As leaders of the Imperial mission holding similar ranks, Thrawn and Vader spend a lot of time together investigating this disturbance in the Force until they figure out it is actually related to the Chiss; a race of barbaric aliens called the Grysk have kidnapped Chiss “sky-walkers,” Force-sensitive young girlswho navigate ships through hyperspace in the Unknown Regions. This eventually leads to a rather wholesome moment when Thrawn has to teach Vader how to “sky-walk” in order to save the Chiss girls.
All this happens inTimothy Zahn’s great novelThrawn: Alliancesand the takeaway here is that the Grysk are the real motivation for Thrawn to join the Empire. The Chiss Ascendancy itself is on the verge of civil war, with many Chiss already aligning with the Grysk against their own government. Thrawn knows the Grysk’s power and methods and believes the Empire is the best possible ally for the Ascendancy in case war eventually breaks. Darth Vader understands this about Thrawn but figures that Palpatine also already knows about it, andif the Emperor’s fine about it, he should be too. Thrawn, on the other hand, deduces that Anakin and Vader are the same person by observing the two of them decades apart, but commits to keeping the secret.
Does Thrawn Really Not Know That Anakin Was Ahsoka’s Master?
When Thrawn asks Morgan Elsbeth for all the information available on Ahsoka Tano, it’s a surprise for those of us who readThrawn: Alliances, because we know how logical and intuitive the Grand Admiral was when deducing the connection between Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. So why wouldn’t he know about Anakin’s connection to Ahsoka?
Thrawn is usually the most well-informed person in any room, but the answer is simple: he and Ahsoka have never actually met. Both are key characters inStar Wars Rebels, but they weren’t around at the same time. Ahsoka (voiced byAshley Eckstein) had most of her action take place in Season 2. Her arc in the show involved her discovering what happened to Anakin and who he had become,culminating in the climactic battle at the Sith Temple on Malachor at the end of Season 2. She is then rescued by Ezra Bridger at the end of Season 4 via the World Between Worlds but returns to Malachor after being saved because of timeline reasons. Thrawn, on the other hand, takes over as the main villain of the series at the start of Season 3. He briefly leaves for a few episodes while the events ofThrawn: Alliancestake place, but eventually returns to be kidnapped by Ezra and the purrgil and taken to Peridea at the end of Season 4.
It’s interesting to note how careful Zahn was while writingThrawn: Alliances, though. Half of the novel takes part inThe Clone Warsera and features Anakin and Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman/Catherine Taber) playing significant roles, but Ahsoka Tano is mentioned only once when Padmé notes that a battle maneuver called “the marg sabl” has worked for Ahsoka in the past (a moment that is featured in the animated series). Padmé explains the marg sabl to Thrawn and mentions that the name comes from a Togrutan flower that opens up every morning. It’s a nice mention because the marg sabl was first shown in theHeir to the Empirenovels as being Thrawn’s creation, even if it’s no longer official Star Wars canon.
So, technically, Thrawn does know about someone named Ahsokawho was a Togrutaand was Anakin’s Jedi Padawan, too. That has never stopped Star Wars from retconning something that was previously established in the novels, though, and it may happen ifAhsoka’s story demands it. Even though they have never met in person, Ahsoka does know about Thrawn, and it’s perfectly possible that Thrawn has all this knowledge himself and is merely playing it close to the vest in terms of information when he asks Morgan Elsbeth about her. Nearly three decades have passed since Thrawn first heard about Ahsoka, so keeping his intel up to date is as important as the military power he has at his disposal.
