#might make another on why a military vs. grysk wouldn't work

[mayhaps-a-blog]

I know a lot of people are worried about Thrawn’s appearance in the new Ahsoka show! While I also hope he’s done well, I admit I am less worried about whether his character follows Canon/Legends.

To me, his Legends characterization is the continuation of his Canon characterization - he’s gotten some character growth over the years, with the result that he is now Worse. He was always ruthless and prized efficiency and effectiveness over mercy and enemy lives, and could easily be taking that to extremes with no one holding him back.

Characterization aside, I can see several reasons he may have stayed with the Imperial Remnant rather than return to his people:

1) He stayed to rebuilt the Imperial Fleet to oppose the Grysk, by way of conquering the New Republic to turn the whole galaxy into a vast military engine OR to galvanize the New Republic into reversing their decommissioning of their fleet by proving the necessity of a military, by being the villain if necessary (lose or win, he achieves his goal regardless);

2) He couldn’t reach the Chiss Ascendancy for whatever reason, or not with the forces that he had;

3) The Chiss didn’t want him, especially at the helm of an alien fleet;

4) The Chiss have already fallen to the Grysk and there’s nothing to go back to (darkest timeline).

Here’s how I would write it:

Thrawn heads the Imperial Fleet (for whichever of the above reasons). Assuming the New Republic is too weak to stand against the Grysk, he sets out to create his own Empire to build a military strong enough to survive.

Season 1 is Ahsoka tracking down the Imperial Remnant and developing the various threads, such as those Darksiders (C’baoth plotline? Force I hope not, that was the weirdest part of those books. Painfully 90′s with the clone nonsense).

Season 2-x is the fight against Thrawn. It ends with a dramatic death scene, where Thrawn congratulates them on their victory, compliments them on their tactics, and warns them they will need all of that and more for what’s to come.

Season x-whenever is the fight against the Grysk! For bonus punches to the gut, bring in the Chiss (surviving warriors or the Ascendancy as allies) after Thrawn is dead. It’ll be fun!

Will this happen? Who knows! I continue to hope for a good story and plot regardless of whether Thrawn is “redeemed” or not; he’s always been a villain to me, if morally grey in a way that makes me go “but what if...”, and I don’t trust Disney with a meaningful redemption arc. I’d rather see him die a villain than become a milquetoast nothing of a character.

#long post #i have so many thoughts #might make another on why a military vs. grysk wouldn't work #they specialize in political battles! #you know #what thrawn sucks at! #the imperial style is actually the worst for fighting them! #but thrawn knows 1 thing #and that is big military #my poor stupid blueberry man #precious meow-meow #war crimes and all #star wars #thrawn #mitth'raw'nuruodo #grand admiral thrawn #ahsoka show #ahsoka trailer #chiss ascendancy #heir to the empire trilogy #fan speculation #grysk #my thoughts #fan theory