Thrawn doesn't often die, but when he does, it's so artistically done.

It'd be amazing, not gonna lie, I could really see it at some point if they're taking the book material that seriously, which hopefully they are. I also noticed that the 7th fleet that was taken into hyperspace by Ezra has an eerily similar fate to the Katana Fleet's backstory from the original Thrawn trilogy upon reading it recently, so I wonder if they'll use the 7th fleet as a canon adaptation of the Katana Fleet in some way

This is just amazing. He got Eli out of the Empire and unknowingly saved him from corrupting like him. And Eli actually becomes more like Thrawn, helping the Ascendancy. Plus it's such a tragic, yet artistic way to go out. This happening seems....with low plausibility, but I love it.

Eli is such an absolute chad, and with him learning so much from Thrawn, if he betrayed him and turned sides to be with the NR or so, he'd be very formidable.

This is awesome. I struggle with Thrawn's portrayal in Rebels, too. Having a tragic arc similar to Anakin's (good man corrupted by Sith Lord), would be perfect. Especially since Anakin/Thrawn had a book together.

He doesn't have to die the same way he did in Legends, but that would be very cool. Like poetry, it'd rhyme. Like Art.

YOU DARE SUGGEST THIS!?!?!? I've just completed rebels and the first thrawn book. I'm halfway through Alliances. I hope Eli makes his way into live action and i get to see both Thrawn and Eli's dynamic because it's sooo damn good. I hope Ahsoka + Ezra team up with Thrawn and Eli and the Chiss and take on the Grysk. I just hope they don't make Thrawn to be a ALL OUT villian. (As far as I've read) Thrawn is doing this for his people. If he only explains this to Ezra i think he'd be understanding but idk i just hope whoever writes thrawn doesn't BUTCHER his character.

Thrawn's whole character is all about protecting the Chiss Ascendancy. He's more chill in the Chiss books and villainous in the Empire because what's a threat to the Empire is a threat to the Chiss. He will not tolerate any threats to the Chiss.

Thrawn: Breaking Blue I like it, seeing the downfall of his noble intentions as he gets consumed by the Empire.

I absolutely love this Eli was one of the few individuals in the entire Galaxy whom Thrawn considered to be his friend, He was the watson to his sherlock holmes To have his life ended by him would be incredibly beautiful and tragic.

Depending on how he is portrayed, I could see it being Gilad Pelleaon as well, but Eli makes way more sense for canon, and Pelleaon always seemed to have a kind of admiration of Thrown unlike Eli.

Thrawn is my HANDS DOWN favorite Star Wars character, and this analysis is FANTASTIC. Great job!!!!!

Thanks for the shout out Alex. You didn't have to do that.

I onyl recently started reading the Thrawn Books. I immidiately fell in love with them, and especially with Thrawn's and Eli's relationship. Hopefully Disney will do something good with them.

That would be... so artistically done.

Vanth and Vanto. Sounds Van-tastic!! 👍

"But...-he wispered-...it was so artistically done"

No way. Eli served the Empire just as much as Thrawn did. Eli always knew what he was capable of out of loyalty, at the same time, he remained loyal to Thrawn. Now Eli serves the Chiss. Why would he interfere with the New Republic and kill his mentor? However, I would really like to see him in Ahsoka. Eli deserves a separate book trilogy.

Thank you for seeing this POV, Thrawns corruption is so subtle but it's riddled through the novels and I think brilliant. I'm glad more and more are starting to see.

I don't see Thrawn as inconsitant, I definitely disagree with that but I can definitely get behind the idea that joining the Empire turned him into a ruthless individual. I prefer him as a villain anyway and Timothy Zahn did praise Rebels's handling of the character so I definitely think that's what he's going for. It's very similar to Dooku, in the way that both joined Palpatine for noble and selfless reasons but that alliance corrupted both the Count and the Grand Admiral. That's a great arc for Thrawn IMO. I don't feel Thrawn necessarily has to die but given the history of his Legends character, I kind of feel like they won't go the route of having a loyal lieutenant turn on him because that's what people might expect. When Rukh turned up in Rebels, people suspected he was going to kill Thrawn again like in Legends and well, look how that that turned out so I think Thrawn's canon death, if it comes to that, will be under different circumstances though the idea is one that I think is very cool. But it does also depend on if Thrawn is the threat posed in the liveaction shows and if he's even going to appear. While I'm on board and agree that might be what they're building towards, it has not been confirmed yet, it's only speculation, leaks and rumors so far and I think people are starting to get tunnel vision and clouded regarding what's definitely been confirmed and what's just rumored. It also feels like a bit of a stretch that Thrawn would be in a position to be a threat to me given how we last saw him, restrained and helpless by Ezra and the purgill. It's possible but I'm just playing things cautious personally and not going to get my hopes and expectations too high for now

I’m still expecting a Joruus C’baoth counterpart in the canon storyline, I think the perfect way to tie in the Madalorian into the crossover would be to have Grogu be the Target rather then Leia’s kids, which forces Din to reluctantly join the Alliance. With how much Disney loves surprise comebacks I would not at all be Shocked if an old, one handed and lightning scarred Mace Windu took on that role, trying to restore the Jedi order to what it was, it would make sense for him not to trust Luke with the task, not just because for Anakin, but because of his much more liberal and emotional understanding of the force.

I hope we get an epilouge in Lesser Evil with Eli Vanto years in the future.

It would be an awesome idea, actually. As long as they provide a good reason for Eli Vanto to do it and show that Thrawn genuinely doesn't expect it it can be performed well that can recreate the death scene for the Thrawn Trilogy.

Timothy Zahns thrawn is the best version. One of my fav Star Wars characters sense I was 11 years old. Was happy he was in rebels. Looking forward to live action appearance

That would be heartbreaking but so well done.

I see your point about the shift but I also feel in the books it shows He has to keep on the empire’s good side, to keep support. This definitely has meaning as we have seen people shift from decent people to move support more authoritarian rules around the world. My problem is to books paint Thrawn as a do anything for the his home. What does attacking the new republic gain? He could just as easily use Eli to get new Republic to help in unknown regions. I hope it is a redemption arch with him shifting back to the bad ass in the Timothy books. I am sure we will get a better idea based of the next book.

I guess you could say that these were the choices Thrawn had to make for "The Greater Good" 😏

I saw the title and i was like vader saying noooooo

A day or two ago i was rereading the Thrawn 2017 novel and realized how much sense it made when I read the final part of a conversation between Thrawn and Faro concerning wookie slaves. It goes like this: "However these being were pressed into service, they are now imperial assets. They will be treated as such." "Understood, Commodore." Thrawn would have acted conpletely different if he were placed in the same situation when he was in the Ascendancy o even earlier in the novel. I never noticed it until watching this video, because his arc is so subtle.

just reading this thumbnail broke my heart eli looks up to thrawn i just cant see that happening

I’m wondering why Thrawn would want to help the fallen empire unless he knew about the first order?

This is Breaking Bad in Star Wars. Eli is Skyler and in the end Thrawn will say 'I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was alive.'

My favorite justification for the dissonance in Thrawn’s character is that it’s character decay and he only really goes off the rails after the loss of Eli. There’s some really great moments in the Thrawn trilogy that hint at this. Karyn Faro tells Eli that Thrawn’s lucky he was there to keep him same. In Alliances and Treason, multiple people discuss the shift in Thrawn and his tactics after Eli left. Thrawn refuses to speak about Eli to anyone after he leaves. Considering that they were pretty much all the other one had for at least a decade, I wouldn’t say it’s exactly a stretch to claim that losing Eli had a significant impact on Thrawn. They really depend on each other in the book. Though I’m reluctant to call them codependent exactly, there are multiple moments where Thrawn relies on Eli, or Eli depends on Thrawn to get them out of something. The Horatio Figg and Imperial Academy situations come to mind. Even though he chose to send Eli away, I don’t believe that was his plan until the Nightswan situation blew up in his face (literally) and he realized how ruthless the empire could really be. In any case, I think it’s entirely possible that Thrawn didn’t realize how important Eli was to him until he was gone, and he was left trying to figure out how to succeed without his right-hand man and best friend. Interestingly, all of Thrawn’s most dramatic behavior occurs after he’s lost Eli for a second time. I think the combination of losing him and Ar’alni again, along with the stress about his project and Ronan, really pushed him over the edge into full-on homicidal maniac territory. I think Thrawns descent into evil is truly interesting, but often the significance of his relationship with Eli (whatever you believe it to be 😉) is undercut or omitted in it’s entirety, much to the detriment of the analysis. I also thing that if Thrawn went too far, Eli would and SHOULD be the one to take him out. I mean, this is the man who saw him rise to power, who was instrumental to his success. We’ve seen before that Eli is uncomfortable with some of the Empire’s more unethical practices (the Wookie situation) so it’s not unreasonable to think he would feel obligated to put a stop to it if it got to bad. Especially of the man going to far was one he feels responsible for. This is not me saying I want Thrawn to die, or I want Eli to kill him, I just think it could be a cool full-circle, character development moment for them both.

I think the time between ot and sequel Will become our most favourite Exceeding Clone wars era

I actually always kind of thought of Thrawn in this way, both in legends and canon. He's just too damn sophisticated and erudite to be a one-dimensional "bad guy" even when he's doing objectively bad things. I always felt like Thrawn was a man of honor and standards, but whose exposure to the fascist outlook of the Empire ultimately redirected his intelligence toward evil ends.

This idea is incredible. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

I can't recall which, whether at the end in Alliance or Treason, Eli mentions being disturbed at news of the use of the Empire's super weapon. He wonders about his mentor whom he held in esteem and from whom he received that personal journal. Throughout the new trilogies, there are such moments that take up maybe a couple of sentences, but they are important, like Thrawn's comment about friendship, that "true friendship is so exceedingly rare" and that "a friend need not be kept either in sight or in reach" but "must be allowed the freedom to follow [their] own path." Further, "knowing a friend still graces the universe with his skills, and his viewpoints and presence" is "a comfort." Additionally, Thrawn says "... if one is remembered by a friend, one is never truly gone." In Alliances, Eli is miffed (pun intended) Thrawn niether speaks nor really acknowledges him to any significant extent, so there is friendship enough to be hurt. By Treason, it's clear both Ar'alani and Vanto see Thrawn as being in "too deep." While I believe both could either stand with Thrawn and/or be driven to stand against him, I believe Eli still wouldn't be able to kill Thrawn, though I can see both dying in some ultimate collission course between the new Order, the Imperial Remnant, the New Republic, and Thrawn's Empire of the Hand. I can't see Thrawn thinking that Palpatine's Contingency was anything but insanity and would not participate, if he can prevent it. We may have seen this in the sequel ending-yes with Katana, 7th Fleet et al. In which case what is to come will be spectacular, and I'm holding out for his being a tragic hero. One can hope.

The problem I have with rebels is the fact that they say he is smart but don’t show it to the same level of the books

Honestly I don’t see this happening. A large part of the reason Thrawn was killed the way he was (by Zahn’s own admission) was because he was written almost TOO smart - he didn’t have any exploitable flaws the rebels could use). Canon Thrawn is written with more nuance, and so there are other avenues of attack. Another element is Thrawn’s popularity - a common opinion back in the day was that it was a shame that Thrawn had to die, but when he was killed there was not yet this cult following. All and all for reasons both within universe and without killing Thrawn seems like a generally bad move. He’s also doubtlessly spent a lot of time with Ezra, perhaps even working with him to survive whatever mess they ended up with. He is practical after all, and despite being an enemy moments ago would be perceived as a potential asset. I look forward to seeing the return of Thrawn in live action but I don’t think he’ll be the villain everyone expects him to be, not anymore.

Thanks, Alex! 💥

This is exactly how I've been viewing Thrawn since the very beginning of his cannon debut in Rebels and the new cannon books. He's a good man turned evil by the Empire and emperor over time. Broad story is all about how a good and noble person can be so corrupted by the Empire.

This is a great video Alex

"My father's shipping company sends their regards."

I would absolutely sob for days on end if Eli Kills Thrawn

I hope we get to see more of eli soon. He is one of my favorites. I really like how thrawn recognizes the talent around him and molds them to his needs.

How DARE THEY think of this. Omg no, please. NOOO. LOL Dang it.

yaaay another star wars explained video!

I never thought of that. So cool

Maybe Eli could save Thrawn from himself instead? Show him the error of his ways and he leave the Empire to return to his people? ... Pretty please? I don't want my favs dying. Plus I've had this idea of Ezra actually helping the Chiss Skywalkers retain their abilities but only if Thrawn turns his back on the Empire.

Thanks! 🙏🏼

I think that Thrawn doesn't have to be or ever have been a good person. Nobile, sure. Devoted to protecting his people, yeah. But neither of those things means he's a good person, he's manipulative, and constantly planning, analyzing and trying to find exploitable weakness in everyone around him, friend or foe. He makes his choices, does what he has to do, and once he's in a position where the only real threat to him is Palpatine, he's free to show more of who he really is, someone that wants to defeat his opponent by outsmarting them. Thrawn is the best example in Star Wars of the guy you want as an ally but it's very clear that that will only last as long as your goals and his align. The best you can hope for is that your goals simply diverge and you part ways amicably, but if your goals begin to conflict with his, know that he will turn on you and use everything he's learned by working with you and studying you against you. It's perfectly fine to have characters that don't have any good in them; you can still enjoy them as a character, but we need more than Palpatine and Tarkin as figures for whom there is nothing redeemable. It's similar to Zorg in The Fifth Element - he's utterly terrible, but he is simply delightful as a villain.

Personally, I’d rather have him return to the Ascendancy so Timothy Zahn can cap off his story with one more trilogy showing an all out war with the Gryssk where Thrawn sacrifices himself to save the Chiss. I know that’s not what we’re getting but one can dream.

I also had thought the canon was making thrawn inconsistent. you make a good point about how the empire corrupts. Ciena Ree from lost stars comes to mind for me.

Will "Lesser Evil" explain why Thrawn became drastically more malicious in Rebels than he is in the books? It comes out in a couple months.

_"The Crystal is the Heart of the Blade,"_ _"The Heart is the Crystal of the Jedi,"_ _"The Jedi is the Crystal of the Force,"_ _"The Force is the Blade of the Heart."_ _"All are intertwined; The Crystal, the Blade, the Jedi. You are One."_ ---Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, to her Padawan Barriss Offee, while completing construction of her lightsaber inside the Sacred Jedi Temple on Ilum.

That would be AMAZING!

I kind of like the idea of Ezra and Thrawn turning their attention the threats the unknown region. Thrawn is no more evil than Kallus. I also don't understand why Thrawn would return to start over the Empire in the current canon.

If that will be true it WILL HURT since unlike Rukh who kinda was there in Heir To The Empire, Eli Vanto was a person who helped Thrawn communicate with Empirials and was with him from day one and throughout his rise to prominence

My hope for Thrawn's end is this or him retiring to curate an art gallery.

I fear that they will exclude Timothy Zhan from Thraw's live action depiction. His portrayal of Thrawn is far more complex. And I dislike the idea of Thrawn dying at all with the threat of Grysk and more out there in the galaxy. I hate the idea of Eli killing him even more. What I want is to see Thrawn and Ezra forced to work together to survive, forced to see each other not as enemies but as people. Think what kind of conflict that could create? With Ahsoka? With Sabine, especially?

What about the stage: Thrawn in the books is inside the Empire. A story told from the Empire’s point of view, so he is a hero. While Rebels provides the other side of the coin. There is no a contradiction. Excellent points in your plot and character evolution

I just want Eli...

I would looooove this

That would be amazing. This is basically house I looked at the duality of Thrawn a character all along. Besides being a raging narcissist, which will always lash out when being truly challenged and things don’t go their way, we’ve seen how the empire can corrupt people even if they are acting against their own will. After a decade of service to the emperor and then the forced detour from Ezra I can only imagine what his plans would look like when coming back to the Galaxy at large and finding the empire in shambles.

need this to happen now !!

What an incredible idea, I love it.

This honestly gave me some closure. I've been upset at how they, in my mind up until now, did Thrawn dirty in Rebels by painting him as a blood thirsty maniac. But I think you're right, he's a good guy gone bad by the corruption of Palpatine.

In the first book, Thrawn mentioned he went to the Empire to either gain an ally to fight the enemy threatening the Chiss or to turn that enemy's attention to the weaker Known Galaxy. He might not be bringing back the Empire, but maybe he would make it look like he was and then he could turn and go back to the Ascendancy. Eli would probably stop him in order to save the Galaxy. Then it's set up for a story about fighting the Gryssk or whoever.

I'm trying not to build it all up in my mind so that way I'm not disappointed when these things don't happen, but wow do I think all of these thoughts are absolutely BRILLIANT.

Eli Vanto killing Thrawn? Don't. Make. Me. Hate. You.

A very interesting idea I like the sound of it.

I want this to happen IF Timothy Zhan is ok with it. This will probably be Thrawn's last major story (except for perhaps some tie in books or something like that) and I think the creator needs to be involved even if it's just an agreement. But the emotional relationship might even be far better than it was in Legends even though I always considered the "But it was so artistically done..." ending perfect.

That would be an interesting twist

I love love love this idea! I really want this to happen

If they are making Thrawn the Thalon event in Star Wars it has to be someone more well known that kills in him in the end for the audience to root for the story. Someone like Luke or Ashoka, Ezra or Sabine. That or Eli Vantos character has to be made much more well known outside Legends and books. Johan.

This is a great idea

This would scar me.

LOVE. THIS.

I thought Ruhk's death in Rebels was ambiguous. I will have to (sigh) rewatch that now.

I think the lothal bombardment is because in the 3rd thrawn book palpatine is pissed with him and he needs to succeed at all costs basically

We still don't know if he really bombarded a city full of civillians as depicted in Rebels. Remember how he was first introduced there - as a man who got the rank of Grand Admiral by massacring civilians on Batton. And then we learned from the book it was a bit different story. It's still possible he was just bluffing and targetting empty buildings or something. 🙂

question, do you think Jixtus could be Nuso Esva of the canon?

I feel like its gonna be Ezra who might join Thrawn to take down the Grysk/Vong/whatever big baddie out there but then turns on him when Thrawn goes back to fighting the Republic/Rebels. Actually I think the chiss Ascendency turning on Thrawn if he tries to warn the galaxy would be fitting too

The implication at the end of one of the cannon Thrawn books was that Thrawn was dead and that he left his personal journals to Eli, but if light saber colors can change so can that.

Did yall see the Biggs joke in the new Robot Chicken XD

I love this idea

I had my way I would’ve had three times in featured in Star Wars episode nine, On the side of the resistance.

I think you should consider that most of the "villian" things thrawn got pinned on him by price. I think the reason he comes across as evil in rebels is because that it's from the perception of the rebels. I think Thrawn is going to end up being the rallying point of the galaxy against the grisk. If he dies, is going to be in glory saving the galaxy

Very, very interesting theroy. But Vanto is a book character, and I think it would be an audiovisual character who will do it. My bet for live action Eli Banto, aka Ezra Bridger. Eli Vanto's journey probably will end in a third Zahn's trilogy parallel to Thrawn's final rise and fall

I’d be very upset, Thrawn is the hero here. I’ve read his books.

I love this idea, but I think that thrawn is just too intelligent to be slowly corrupted. I do, however, like the idea of instead of eli killing him, eli snaps thrawn out of it and he leaves/ exiles himself or surrenders

I don't think Thrawn ever changed just his surroundings did. Even in the books, Thrawn's mid-commander is willing to bombard sunrise to protect their own, Thrawn is willing to use the superweapon and is willing to do anything to achieve the big picture. The Chiss forces had rules of engagements that held him back the empire did not and the titles of the book are literally called 'greater good' and 'lesser evil'. Which coincidently is the same speech that his voice actor gave on the Witcher. He cares about people in so far as they are a resource for the betterment of all especially when they volunteer their services. He is in effect the ultimate realist, John Merscheimers dream student of International Relations, after all, who deserves what is irrelevant, what matters is who has the power and the Grysks could very well be the next Yuzong Vhong that the galaxy needs to be prepared for, also Timmothy Zahn actually said that he would not have wanted Thrawn to have died if he had known that the Yuzong Vhong was coming. So really he is an ant-hero, which is tougher to defeat because they can combat the heroes on a moral level.

Awesome

Considering that Ar Alaini in Thrawn treason didn’t trust him & she’s shaping Eli now

I love the idea of him being killed because he has become worse - it makes the bridge between Rebels and the books far more reasonable and smoother

Interesting idea, but nope vanto is in chiss ascendency now and he was trusted friend of thrawn(he trusted him too as a friend and partner)

I hope that Thrawn is presented as a tragic figure in the shows; would be great for him to die in vain trying to warn Mando or Luke about a nightmarish fleet of impossibly large Star destroyers in the unknown regions on a world called Exegol…

As a thrawn mega fan and a mega fan of timothy zahn's vision for thrawn I would hate that outcome... I know Disney will force thrawn into a cartoon villain role but it doesn't have to be like that. Thrawn is a pragmatic but lawful and merciful person. He is noble in his own right and does value innocent lives. It would make more sense to have thrawn end up convincing ezra Bridger to help him in defending the galaxy from the horrors of the unknown regions than for him to devolve into some malicious mustache twirling villain.

That would actually be really cool….

Okay not gonna lie... this could be a fascinating addition if they ever choose to go this route.