Ahsoka: How does Thrawn know Anakin?

❘ Published: 2023-10-02T16:59:42

Thrawn and Ahsoka on the cover of Thrawn: Alliances

Lucasfilm

In the penultimate episode of Ahsoka, Grand Admiral Thrawn discovers that she was taught by Anakin Skywalker, a name that seems both daunting familiar to him – so, how does he know him?

In our review of Episode 7, we said there’s “fan service aplenty, slick aerial combat and Jedi fighting, and it tees up an exciting finale – but that’s its problem: it’s a long stretch for rather little on its own terms.”

After the Chiss commander’s long-awaited return in the previous chapter, he doesn’t appear much in the penultimate episode. Instead, we mostly see Ahsoka and Huyang’s efforts to track down Sabine and Ezra as they’re pursued by Peridea’s bandits, led by Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati.

However, in one brief scene, Morgan Elsbeth reveals to Thrawn that Ahsoka’s master was Anakin, knowledge that seems both daunting and revelatory to him. They must have some sort of past together, right? Well, here’s what we know.

How does Thrawn know Anakin?

Thrawn met Anakin during the Clone Wars, as explained in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn: Alliances novel.

Their first encounter came after he ventured to the known galaxy to search for allies against the Ascendancy’s conflict with the Nikardun. He came into contact with Anakin after approaching a hyperdrive ring, at which point he was hailed and warned to stop interfering with a Republic mission.

However, Anakin was on an unsanctioned outing to track down his wife Padmé, while Thrawn also hadn’t been given permission to leave Csilla. The pair decided to team up, with Thrawn successfully helping Anakin locate Padmé and Anakin returning the favor by divulging information about the Republic’s policies. Both men were impressed with each other; Thrawn respected Anakin’s courage, while Anakin admired his strategic thinking, especially after outlining the Republic’s flaws as a style of government.

thrawn's face when he read that anakin was ahsoka's master i'm crying that man was having flashbacks to his mission with anakin during the clone wars 😭#thrawn #ahsoka #anakin pic.twitter.com/1Gaj4p4Eum
— sage (@counterfetts) September 27, 2023

Later, in the first book of Zahn’s second Thrawn trilogy, he’s exiled by the Chiss – or so it appears. “The encampment was designed to appear as if I had been abandoned for years. In truth, I was only there a few months. We tried several lures to bring an Imperial ship to the planet. On the third attempt we succeeded. I used my tactical skills to slip aboard the ship, hoping to impress its captain. I succeeded, and was taken to Coruscant,” he explained in the novel.

He’s eventually brought before Emperor Palpatine, even citing Anakin’s name as someone who could vouch for him. While revealing that Anakin died, Palpatine also Thrawn that he spoke highly of him and offered him a position in the Imperial Navy. He was eventually promoted to Grand Admiral, at which point he met Darth Vader – and during a later mission, he deduced that Anakin and Vader were one and the same.

Ahsoka takes place after Return of the Jedi, so Vader is dead (as is Emperor Palpatine, until Rise of the Skywalker’s nonsense return), so Thrawn is the highest-ranking remaining member of the former Empire, making him the likeliest heir. It’s unclear how much of his past with Anakin remains canon, but going by Thrawn’s expression, it seems we’ll find out more soon.

Ahsoka Episodes 1-7 are available on Disney+ now, which you can sign up for here. You can check out our predictions for the finale here, and our other coverage below:

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