Star Wars: Ahsoka - Does Thrawn Appear In Episode 6?

Star Wars: Ahsoka episode 6 has a lot of fans asking one question: are we finally going to see Grand Admiral Thawn (Lars Mikkelsen)? 

Ahsoka Episode 5 gave fans the first big character appearance they had been waiting for: Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), who appeared to give his former pupil some much-needed guidance. However, the episode ended with Ahsoka unlocking a way to follow Thrawn's loyal follower Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), her dark side warriors, and hostage Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) into the new galaxy, via Purrgil space whale. While the B-storyline will clearly still put focus on Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and the New Republic, it's clear that Ahsoka Episode 6 will literally be taking Star Wars to a whole new frontier. 

SPOILERS UPDATE: Get the Full Breakdown on Thrawn's involvement in Ahsoka Episode 6 HERE. 

Does Thrawn Need to Be In Ahsoka Episode 6? 

It's no lie that Ahsoka Episode 6 will be the most pivotal episode of the series, in terms of shaping fan perception of the series. Ahsoka is just eight episodes long (at least for this initial season), so after Episode 6, there will only be two episodes of the show remaining. There is already a very vocal contingent of the Star Wars fandom that is stating that not getting Thrawn by Episode 6 is a definite deal-breaker for them. 

However, Thrawn is simply one aspect of a show that's titled Ahsoka. If nothing else, Ahsoka Episode 6 may be the moment where a lot of fans have to reset their expectations for what this show is, and just how much it is doing (or not) for the larger Star Wars franchise storyline. 

At this point, we know that Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni has a major Star Wars event film in the works – one that will bring the entire MandoVerse of New Republic-era characters (Din Djarin, Bo-Katan Kryze, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, Ahsoka Tano, Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla, etc.) together to combat a bigger threat. Grand Admiral Thrawn will be that threat, meaning that Thrawn's arc in the franchise is most likely going to be a slower build-up. 

"When Timothy Zahn wrote Heir to the Empire, Thrawn became this very iconic villain, because he was different than anything we'd seen before," Filoni explained. "He wasn't another helmet-wearing, lightsaber-wielding bad guy, you know? There's a lot of pull to make characters that are like Vader, because it is so iconic. But the boldness that Tim had was to make somebody that wasn't like that, that didn't have those abilities, but could fight in a different way. In the words 'Star Wars,' the 'war' part of it -- him being a Grand Admiral, a leader, a military strategist, a Moriarty archetype, someone that will out-think you, out-strategize you -- that really resonated. He's a critical player in this time period. We're fortunate to have that character, and fortunate to have Lars [Mikkelsen] playing him."

In terms of Ahsoka's storyline, it seems clearer and clearer as episodes pass that Thrawn doesn't necessarily need a large story arc in this series; rather, Ahsoka will literally and figuratively be about the path to Thrawn, with the tragic twist of the villain successfully returning to threaten the galaxy. 

Star Wars: Ahsoka airs new episodes Tuesday nights on Disney+.