Here’s 3 Things ‘Ahsoka’ Got Right & Wrong Introducing Grand Admiral Thrawn

[WARNING: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Ahsoka Episode 6, “Far, Far Away.”]

At last, Grand Admiral Thrawn is here—and with him, the promise of a “frightening reality” for those who oppose him in the Star Wars galaxy.

As of Ahsoka’s sixth episode, the Grand Admiral officially appeared in live-action (played by the same actor who voiced him in Rebels, Lars Mikkelsen), and his partnership with the Nightsisters has been revealed. He has a creepy-looking Night Trooper army led by a creepy-looking trooper with a shiny gold mask. There’s plenty to love… but there are also a few things to question. Here’s what made us cheer about Thrawn’s introduction, and what we’re still pondering.

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GOOD: So Artistically Done

After many, many, many years of fanbase-wide Thrawn devotion, it’s excellent to see him brought into the live-action Star Wars universe. For those who might not know, Thrawn (whose real name is Mitth’raw’nuruodo) first appeared in a trilogy of beloved Extended Universe novels by Timothy Zahn. Released in the ’90s, these books involved the original trilogy heroes facing off against Thrawn as a brilliant Imperial strategist. They were then removed from canon—breaking many fans’ hearts—when Disney purchased Lucasfilm.

After that, Thrawn first appeared in Disney canon through Dave Filoni’s animated Star Wars: Rebels, and in two different canon book trilogies by Zahn. He received a few mentions in The Mandalorian, once by Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), and again by Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). But for those who’d been looking forward to seeing him since that first Zahn book was released in 1991, his mere existence in “Far, Far Away” is something of a triumph.

GOOD: Lars Mikkelsen

Not only did Thrawn appear, but he, like Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze, is being played by the same actor who provided the character’s voice in the animation. While the blue makeup and red contacts can appear wonky at times, Lars Mikkelsen strikes an imposing figure, and Kevin Kiner’s score adds an appropriate amount of menace. It’s not always feasible for a voice actor to portray their animated character, but in this case, it worked—and it’s a thrill to welcome Lars Mikkelsen to the live-action side of the Star Wars galaxy.

GOOD: Keeping Him Recognizable

Creator Dave Filoni knew what fans wanted from Thrawn’s first appearance, and for the most part, he delivered. We got to see Thrawn’s trademark ship, the Chimaera. He’s been gone a long time, but he’s wearing his classic Imperial uniform (frayed and stained, but still in decent order). His appearance from Rebels remains unchanged as much as feasibly possible through red contacts, blue makeup, and a matching hairstyle; while the contacts and skin color aren’t a perfect match to his animated counterpart, they’re close enough. There are nits to pick about the dialogue in a post-Andor universe, but Thrawn’s determination for knowledge and to understand his enemy remains. He’s not only here, but he’s also him. That matters.

DIsney+/Lucasfilm

NOT SO GOOD: A Long, Long Wait

It’s unfortunate that Ahsoka anchored its narrative so heavily to the “mystery” of Thrawn’s whereabouts since it inevitably minimized the amount of time his character could appear on screen. Fans of his previous appearances know that he’s a master strategist renowned for his military brilliance (and appreciation for art), but all live-action fans know is that he’s blue, Imperial, and knows Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). With only two episodes left, and given that the show isn’t titled Thrawn, longtime fans of the character are unlikely to see as much story devoted to him as they would’ve liked—and those who’ve never seen him before won’t have a chance to understand the complexity of his character.

NOT SO GOOD: The Frightening Potential of the One-Dimensional

It’ll remain to be seen whether Disney and Filoni incorporate some of Thrawn’s more morally gray aspects into Ahsoka. While he’s not a good guy by any means, he’s not as sadistically evil as Emperor Palpatine or Vader. His reliance on the Empire never spawned from a wholehearted belief in the cause—for example, he vocally opposed the Death Star’s construction because he felt it was a waste of credits. Instead, Thrawn sided with the Empire to protect his people, the Chiss, from a larger threat elsewhere in the galaxy. So far, Ahsoka hasn’t alluded to that motive. At this point, Thrawn is evil because he’s wearing that white uniform and allied with witches, former Imperials, and dark Jedi. If Disney doesn’t delve into Thrawn’s backstory, it’ll feel like a waste. While part of Thrawn’s appeal is his competency, part of it is his history and the moments in which he shows genuine humanity. If Disney keeps him entirely alien, it’ll be a waste.

NOT SO GOOD: Too Little, Too Late?

Thrawn has arrived at an interesting time for the Star Wars franchise. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm, many fans hoped the Disney trilogy might use Thrawn as its main antagonist, or even serve as an adaptation of Zahn’s original, now non-canon trilogy. Instead, he became not canon, then canon again, and then slowly crept into live-action… after the release of the polarizing Sequel Trilogy and several shows to which reception ranged from “Luke Skywalker, awesome!” to “When did The Book of Boba Fett turn into The Mandalorian?”

After a string of lukewarmly received content and a chain of announced-then-canceled movies, Star Wars is still a pop culture mainstay, but attitudes toward it have shifted. Tony Gilory’s gritty Rogue One prequel Andor received critical acclaim but struggled to reach larger audiences. Fans tuned in for The Mandalorian’s third season, but critics (and parts of the fanbase) felt it a major step backward for the series. Had Thrawn been introduced amid the 2015 Force Awakens frenzy, he would’ve made major headlines. As it is, including him in a show somewhat inaccessible to those who haven’t seen multiple seasons of Rebels disappoints. A villain as iconic as Thrawn deserves a larger stage and greater recognition; perhaps we’ll see him on a big screen someday, should a rumored Filoni movie make it to production. At least, we’d better get another Zahn trilogy.

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