Warning: This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka episode 6.
Six episodes in, Ahsoka finally gave Heir of the Empire enthusiasts what they’ve been waiting for by unveiling the live-action debut of Grand Admiral Thrawn, with Lars Mikkelsen reprising his role from Star Wars Rebels. Just as had been heavily teased throughout the season beforehand, Thrawn has been trapped in the other galaxy and is now primed to return home in order to wage war against the New Republic and resurrect the Empire.
But first, he’ll have to get past the remnants of the rebels who defeated him last time, including Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, and Ahsoka Tano. Thrawn is shown to fear Ahsoka, in particular, ordering his loyal Nightsister ally, Morgan Elsbeth, to find out everything she can about the former Jedi. “I want to know her background, history, homeworld, her Master, everything,” he orders.
Yes, there’s something in that sentence that is guaranteed to make Star Wars fans’ ears prick up like Yoda’s. Wait, Thrawn doesn’t know that Ahsoka was trained by Anakin Skywalker? Does that mean he doesn’t know that his old Imperial chum Darth Vader was actually the Jedi’s erstwhile Chosen One? Let’s see what canon has to say about that…
Grand Admiral Thrawn and Anakin Skywalker have a surprising history
Long story short, Thrawn absolutely knows that Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker are one and the same. The beginnings of their unlikely friendship are revealed in the novel Thrawn: Alliances, by the character’s original creator, author Timothy Zahn. Alliances explains that Thrawn first met Anakin long before he was a member of the Empire, during the later days of the Clone Wars.
As Thrawn was sent by his people, the Chiss Ascendancy, to search for allies to aid against a coming war with their enemies, the Grysk, Anakin was searching for his missing wife, Padme Amidala. First meeting in space near the planet Batuu, this historic encounter was the very first time someone from the Republic had ever met a Chiss, or vice versa. While Anakin taught Thrawn about the Republic and the Clone Wars, Thrawn aided him in rescuing Padme. Once the mission was over, the pair went their separate ways, but it was this fateful alliance that planted the seed in Thrawn’s head that one day led him to leave the Chiss and join the Empire.
Upon defecting to the Empire, Thrawn was initially saddened to hear of the destruction of the Jedi, as that presumably included his old friend Anakin. However, when Emperor Palpatine paired him with Vader for a mission that took them back to Batuu, Thrawn quickly works out the truth of who’s really behind the Sith Lord’s mask. His respect and partnership for Vader helped Thrawn impress Palpatine and significantly aided in his ascension up the Imperial ranks.
But if Thrawn knows Anakin is Vader then why doesn’t he know Ahsoka is Anakin’s apprentice? Well, simply put, because the pair haven’t actually met. Yes, as surprising as it might be, these two all-important figures in the battle between good and evil in the galaxy have yet to cross paths, at least until the later episodes of Ahsoka. So even though Thrawn isn’t usually one to miss a major juicy bit of info like a connection between his newfound enemy and his old ally, in this case, he’s forgiven for being slow on the uptake.