Star Wars: Rebels

[The Romulan Republic]

They were never that bad, but some of their episodes aren't great. Still, their best is excellent. "Fire Across the Galaxy" and especially "Siege of Lothal" in particular impressed me. The Clone Wars was much the same- it took a while to reach its peak, but when it did, it was fantastic.

If they can do for Thrawn what "Siege of Lothal" did for Vader, this will be the new definitive Thrawn.

[DarthPooky]

Interesting.

[Lord Insanity]

Oh look a competent imperial officer. So with Tarkin that makes about two on Rebels so far.

Seriously though that teaser shows just enough (without giving any plot away) to make me think they probably nailed it. Which is probably the idea.

I actually mostly like the color they chose for him. (The tint should have been a little more blue.) The bright blue in some depictions always looked wrong to me.
I blame the PC game TIE Fighter. In normal lighting Thrawn looked like this: (From The Star Wars wiki on Thrawn)



In this shot if you look at the window frames behind him everything is being cast in a bluish light.



Whenever I see Thrawn depicted like the above without the obvious blue light shining on everything it looks stupid to me. (And makes me think that specific picture was used as reference without the context. )

Just a bummer I will have to avoid this thread once the show starts till it comes out on video*. Stupid pay-extra premium channel. I wish they just showed this on broadcast. Doesn't Disney own ABC?

*By Video I of course mean those newfangled blu-ray discs.

[hunter5]

The Disney XD app also has episodes

[RogueIce]

"Commander" Titus, demoted from Admiral. Poor guy.

Also he has only two red squares for his insignia, which AFAIK has never been seen anywhere. Damn it Filoni you're trolling us now aren't you?

Oh and this was a good episode, too.

[SAMAS]

I think this is one of the first times they've specifically gone all the way and done the "This thing from the movies is a direct consequence of our characters' actions" thing.

[Rogue 9]

What, the Rebellion having Y-wings? The Yavin IV base had a hell of a lot more than five.

[RogueIce]

What, the Rebellion having Y-wings? The Yavin IV base had a hell of a lot more than five.

I was going to say, anyone feel like taking a count of the panning shot in ANH:SE? To see what the exact breakdown between X-wings and Y-wings among the "30 rebel ships" was?

I mean, I'm sure somebody has at some point anyway.

[Burak Gazan]

Oh dear god...

There are 8, EIGHT in the pan shot flying past the gas giant. So more than 5 just there. and there are also 13 X-Wings visible, just to forestall any ..."how many.." questions there...

[SAMAS]

I didn't say they were all of them, but Hera specifically said they were going to Dodonna's forces. Nothing wrong with Dodonna snagging more later.

[Rogue 9]

Anyway, from Thrawn's reaction, he anticipated this entire thing and has tracking devices on the Y-wings. Calling it now.

[Batman]

Not sure about the tracking devices (not discounting it either though). Thrawn being Thrawn he might just have deduced where the rebels are going to strike next to get hyperdrives for their Y-Wings.

[The Romulan Republic]

Anyway, from Thrawn's reaction, he anticipated this entire thing and has tracking devices on the Y-wings. Calling it now.

That would be quite in-character, yes.

[eMeM]

I don't know, for me he sounded/looked annoyed for a split second after hearing it's just three cruisers (why do they call everything a cruiser? It was clearly a carrier and two corvettes).

[Thanas]

TBH I don't really like how the first introduction of Thrawn is "guy that mass murders civilians". Not because he is above that so much but more because it just seems wasteful to me.

[Burak Gazan]

Having not seen anything yet, I can only guess. Maybe it's less mass murder, and more of the guy doesn't let considerations outside his objectives bother him too much. It is the Empire, after all. They have the firepower to pretty much squash anything they want. Restraint is a choice they don't always have to make.

[NecronLord]

TBH I don't really like how the first introduction of Thrawn is "guy that mass murders civilians". Not because he is above that so much but more because it just seems wasteful to me.

That did seem odd.

A bit of development for Kallus though, in that Kallus now takes note of such things.

[Batman]

I dunno. Yes, going out of his way to cause massive civilian casualties isn't Thrawns way, but I can absolutely see him accepting them if he thinks that's the most efficient way to solve the problem.

[NecronLord]

Yeah, I think they were making a point that he's ruthless. It's not the attribute of him that I'd point out first to the audience though.

[Imperial Overlord]

TBH I don't really like how the first introduction of Thrawn is "guy that mass murders civilians". Not because he is above that so much but more because it just seems wasteful to me.

I have to disagree. In his opening scene it establishes several of Thrawn's attributes: his ruthlessness, his effectiveness, and his intelligence. All of these establish his credibility as an antagonist while allowing them to do some character work on Kallus. Half the opening scene is Thrawn displaying his ability to deduce the rebel's plans by connecting a few facts together and seeing how they are connected. It's an effective opener that opens with not just everyone's reactions to Thrawn but why Thrawn is held in such high regard.

[Thanas]

TBH I don't really like how the first introduction of Thrawn is "guy that mass murders civilians". Not because he is above that so much but more because it just seems wasteful to me.

I have to disagree. In his opening scene it establishes several of Thrawn's attributes: his ruthlessness, his effectiveness, and his intelligence. All of these establish his credibility as an antagonist while allowing them to do some character work on Kallus. Half the opening scene is Thrawn displaying his ability to deduce the rebel's plans by connecting a few facts together and seeing how they are connected. It's an effective opener that opens with not just everyone's reactions to Thrawn but why Thrawn is held in such high regard.

It seems odd to me, especially considering how Zahn consistently uses other things to establish the same things.

[Imperial Overlord]

Yeah, but that's a book as opposed to a tv show that is partially aimed at kids. Thrawn's heyday was the 90s. A lot of people watching the show don't know about him and most of the half hour show will be focused on the main character. His introduction establishes him as a guy who is willing to shed a lot of blood to win and then focuses on Thrawn's high intelligence and strategic acumen. The characters mention the blood shed by Thrawn and the fact that it's a victory, but that's not what the scene focuses on. The focus is on how Thrawn is able to anticipate the Rebel's action based on the information available to him and for that they follow the important "Show, don't tell" rule. Also, as I mentioned earlier, it establishes characterization with Kallus being concerned about civilian casualties and the other Imperials not carrying. It's an efficient use of time that tells us that Thrawn's a dangerous bad guy while focusing on his most dangerous aspect: his ability to predict the actions of others.

[Thanas]

Nah it just bothers me because it is flat out of character IMO. Thrawn never goes around slaughtering civilians unless he absolutely cannot help it and I find it hard how putting down an uprising requires the latter. Thrawn never had to do that when dealing with uprisings before and usually treated civilian societies with respect.

[The Romulan Republic]

Nah it just bothers me because it is flat out of character IMO. Thrawn never goes around slaughtering civilians unless he absolutely cannot help it and I find it hard how putting down an uprising requires the latter. Thrawn never had to do that when dealing with uprisings before and usually treated civilian societies with respect.

To be fair, I do recall a reference in the Thrawn Trilogy to him having exterminated a civilization in the past.

Even old EU Thrawn (who is ultimately a different, if related, character) would do it if he felt it was necessary.

Not having seen the episode, I can't say weather the circumstances were such that he would be likely to draw that conclusion.

[Elheru Aran]

Nah it just bothers me because it is flat out of character IMO. Thrawn never goes around slaughtering civilians unless he absolutely cannot help it and I find it hard how putting down an uprising requires the latter. Thrawn never had to do that when dealing with uprisings before and usually treated civilian societies with respect.

To be fair, I do recall a reference in the Thrawn Trilogy to him having exterminated a civilization in the past.

Even old EU Thrawn (who is ultimately a different, if related, character) would do it if he felt it was necessary.

Not having seen the episode, I can't say weather the circumstances were such that he would be likely to draw that conclusion.

If you drop by a bookstore with a decent Star Wars collection and pick up the 20 years' anniversary edition of Heir of the Empire, Zahn wrote a short story explaining that which is included in the volume.

(spoilers) Apparently Thrawn helped one side of an alien race conduct a civil war because ultimately it benefited the Empire, but he knew it would result in the death of the civilization due to its unique setup (it involved some kind of hive matriarch or something like that whose death meant that they couldn't reproduce... or something... it's been a while since I read that story.