Star Wars: Ahsoka

[a-dev]

Of course this is still Disney+ SW we're talking about so I fully realize that we're potentially only one episode away from a big flashback episode that shows Thrawn chasing Ezra at a slow jog across the tundra, never closing the gap due to Ezra's undefeatable serpentine Benny Hill maneuvers.

 

[jye4ever]

I bet the force blocking lizards will be the big reveal lol

 

[ajp4mgs]

Thrawn could be completely insane at this point. He seems rational and thoughtful, when a "presentation" is needed for public discourse, he can default to that.

But you can't survive that long without having something to look forward to in life. What did he have to compromise or promise to those Stormtroopers to keep them loyal.

I don't see Thrawn as any sort of a "Col. Kurtz" candidate. The novels did a thorough job of establishing a masterful control over his mental, emotional, and psychological faculties. His long-term patience also has established predicate. I think his type would be fueled by the challenge of finding a way out of an impossible situation.

As for motives for his troops to stay loyal, I'm pretty sure they've mostly been turned into witch-generated zombies at this point, so loyalty is a given. Maybe the original versions did indeed kill themselves off over the years, a la the 28 Days reference. Those unwilling to commit suicide or otherwise let themselves die might simply realize that following Thrawn carries a higher chance of successful survival than striking out alone in an uncharted wasteland.

 

[ajp4mgs]

I only watched the episode once so correct me if I'm wrong but did Thrawn indicate that he had completely "neglected" any effort to find Ezra from the moment they arrived on the planet? I thought he just said he didn't know where he was without any specifics as to what effort had been made to find him. And with such a vague explanation of what's been going on all that time I'm fine with giving Thrawn the benefit of the doubt that he didn't do anything "stupid" in all that time with regard to Ezra. I say that because I don't have any problem coming up with a pretty big number of reasons that Ezra would still be alive and well with Thrawn not too concerned.

For one we can reasonably assume that in all the long years they've been there Ezra has done absolutely nothing to in any way inconvenience Thrawn. That's a pretty good winning streak of Thrawn being "right" in claiming that Ezra is no threat. Sure that can indicate that Thrawn has some level of arrogance (how could he not) that can even be considered a "flaw" that will bite him in the ass when Ezra causes trouble either this week or next week but, again, Thrawn was right for a long time and I'd say there's more than enough wiggle room presented at least so far to allow for the Ezra/McClane of the story to come back and defeat the bad guy without the Hans Gruber of the story being lame.

Of course this is still Disney+ SW we're talking about so I fully realize that we're potentially only one episode away from a big flashback episode that shows Thrawn chasing Ezra at a slow jog across the tundra, never closing the gap due to Ezra's undefeatable serpentine Benny Hill maneuvers.


I actually like the notion that the blind spot for the Empire was so easy to exploit for anyone who doesn't approach the locals with guns blazing. To me that's very much in the tradition of classic SW themes.

From my point of view, he didn't have to say anything for us to know that he didn't care to search. Why? Because Ezra was easy to find and Thrawn is an incomparable genius.

I don't know how familiar you are with Thrawn over the years, but even if your only familiarity with him is from Rebels (though he's a much more one-dimensional archetype there than in the novels), you know that he studies the cultures of every place he needs to make use of. It's part of his M.O. to do so. And Ezra's cohabitation with the nomadic crab clan is the perfect example of why Thrawn does that sort of thing.

Information is his currency. He knows as much as he can about every situation so that he can anticipate and stay a step ahead. With little else to occupy his time, he would've certainly studied the nomadic habits of the Ewok-wannabe crabbies, the hunting habits of the Tusken-wannabe bandits, and the usefulness of those rat-wolves that Sabine rides. Enoch even explicitly demonstrated awareness of the kill-to-survive culture out there. And Thrawn would've known *far more* than that vague assessment.

People ask what makes Thrawn so compelling, and I think *that's* the biggest part of what has made him so compelling: He's supposed to be "Sherlock Holmes meets Erwin Rommel." Incomparable deductive skills combined with being a keen and seasoned military strategist. If you think Ezra's whereabouts could elude Thrawn, then you'd have to believe that Sherlock Holmes would've been stumped too. Hopefully that helps put this into perspective. Can you see Sherlock not piecing it together if he felt like it? I can't.

 

[Khev]

From my point of view, he didn't have to say anything for us to know that he didn't care to search. Why? Because Ezra was easy to find and Thrawn is an incomparable genius.

I don't know how familiar you are with Thrawn over the years, but even if your only familiarity with him is from Rebels (though he's a much more one-dimensional archetype there than in the novels), you know that he studies the cultures of every place he needs to make use of. It's part of his M.O. to do so. And Ezra's cohabitation with the nomadic crab clan is the perfect example of why Thrawn does that sort of thing.

Information is his currency. He knows as much as he can about every situation so that he can anticipate and stay a step ahead. With little else to occupy his time, he would've certainly studied the nomadic habits of the Ewok-wannabe crabbies, the hunting habits of the Tusken-wannabe bandits, and the usefulness of those rat-wolves that Sabine rides. Enoch even explicitly demonstrated awareness of the kill-to-survive culture out there. And Thrawn would've known *far more* than that vague assessment.

People ask what makes Thrawn so compelling, and I think *that's* the biggest part of what has made him so compelling: He's supposed to be "Sherlock Holmes meets Erwin Rommel." Incomparable deductive skills combined with being a keen and seasoned military strategist. If you think Ezra's whereabouts could elude Thrawn, then you'd have to believe that Sherlock Holmes would've been stumped too. Hopefully that helps put this into perspective. Can you see Sherlock not piecing it together if he felt like it? I can't.

No, I haven't read any Thrawn novels/comics and only know him from Rebels. Thanks for the extra insight on how he was originally presented. Your take is certainly valid.

 

[jye4ever]

Well if there is a huge difference between book Thrawn and Rebels Thrawn then remember that Filoni specifically said this was Rebels season 5.

Sounds to me like we are getting Rebels Thrawn.

Sorry agp, Filoni was trying to warn you but you would have none of it lol

 

[Khev]

Watching the latest episode again (damn this is a freaking cool series) and Thrawn tells Sabine that she'll be provided "provisions, a mount, and our latest intel on Ezra's whereabouts" so with that in mind Sabine didn't just go wandering off in a random direction at all and it does seem to indicate that Thrawn always did have a general idea of where Ezra was at any given time. Interesting, I'll be curious to see if they elaborate more on that.

Also I thought it was a pretty cool "rhyming" moment when Thrawn's Stormtrooper captain hands Sabine the lightsaber while she's sitting on the mount compared to Commander Cody doing the same with Obi-Wan in ROTS.

 

[ajp4mgs]

Well if there is a huge difference between book Thrawn and Rebels Thrawn then remember that Filoni specifically said this was Rebels season 5.

Sounds to me like we are getting Rebels Thrawn.

Sorry agp, Filoni was trying to warn you but you would have none of it lol

But if he's not the Sherlock-like genius from the novels, then he's just a guy.

So you mean to tell me Ahsoka is going to all this trouble to stop some beer-bellied, receding-hairline, looks-like-a-rejected-high-school-teacher-dweeb with no special powers *and* no superior intellect? Well... FML.

 

[Khev]

So you mean to tell me Ahsoka is going to all this trouble to stop some beer-bellied, receding-hairline, looks-like-a-rejected-high-school-teacher-dweeb with no special powers *and* no superior intellect?

Compared to locked doors, stationary mouths in the sand and lawn dart throwing Mandalorians even Rebels Thrawn is Threat Level Midnight so I don't blame Ahsoka for doing whatever it takes to stop him.

 

[punisher1974]

Compared to locked doors, stationary mouths in the sand and lawn dart throwing Mandalorians even Rebels Thrawn is Threat Level Midnight so I don't blame Ahsoka for doing whatever it takes to stop him.

The locked doors and stationary mouths made me spit out my coffee Khev. Great line. We need a Fett shirt with that on it now complete with a Fennic side eye

 

[The Buffinator]

Can we get one show without either R2-D2 or C-3PO showing up? I really thought this was going to be the one but I guess they just couldn't resist.

Thankfully that part was rather brief. I enjoyed the rest of the episode, even Ezra's new no lightsabers policy (although I hope that changes going forward). Very curious about ajp's take on Thrawn's strategy this episode. I liked how Ahsoka's having Anakin as a master gave him pause, as he realizes her unpredictability will make her a worthy adversary. Very cool.

 

[jye4ever]

Can we get one show without either R2-D2 or C-3PO showing up? I really thought this was going to be the one but I guess they just couldn't resist.

Thankfully that part was rather brief. I enjoyed the rest of the episode, even Ezra's new no lightsabers policy (although I hope that changes going forward). Very curious about ajp's take on Thrawn's strategy this episode. I liked how Ahsoka's having Anakin as a master gave him pause, as he realizes her unpredictability will make her a worthy adversary. Very cool.

I thought

Spoiler:

3PO

was coming to announce the birth of Kylo.

 

[hen88]

Can we get one show without either R2-D2 or C-3PO showing up? I really thought this was going to be the one but I guess they just couldn't resist.

Thankfully that part was rather brief. I enjoyed the rest of the episode, even Ezra's new no lightsabers policy (although I hope that changes going forward). Very curious about ajp's take on Thrawn's strategy this episode. I liked how Ahsoka's having Anakin as a master gave him pause, as he realizes her unpredictability will make her a worthy adversary. Very cool.

Are they setting up Leia possibly appearing in the last episode? I would totally lose my **** if that happened.

 

[The Buffinator]

Are they setting up Leia possibly appearing in the last episode? I would totally lose my **** if that happened.

I certainly hope not. As Jye Kylo would say, it's time to let the past die.

 

[The Buffinator]

I forgot to mention this earlier: I was rather disappointed that

Spoiler:

they did nothing further to address Baylan's goal. With one episode to go it's not looking good for seeing much more of Ray Stevenson's portrayal.

 

[slynger]

I forgot to mention this earlier: I was rather disappointed that

Spoiler:

they did nothing further to address Baylan's goal. With one episode to go it's not looking good for seeing much more of Ray Stevenson's portrayal.

They certainly let this hang. Looked like a potential set up for s2, but, as we all know, not possible now.

 

[hen88]

I certainly hope not. As Jye Kylo would say, it's time to let the past die.

If we got Luke twice, then I want to see Leia. She‘s my favorite.

 

[The Buffinator]

If we got Luke twice, then I want to see Leia. She‘s my favorite.

I get that but Carrie Fisher is dead. Any further depiction of Leia on screen can only come off as cheap and exploitative.

 

[hen88]

I get that but Carrie Fisher is dead. Any further depiction of Leia on screen can only come off as cheap and exploitative.

One can still hope.

 

[pixletwin]

Episode was ok. A penultimate episode should have had more punch though. Needed a “whoa” moment with Baylan.

Ah well.

7/10