50 most shocking moments in Star Wars history

32. Thrawn working with Anakin and later working with Vader (Thrawn: Alliances)

While most of the shocking moments on this list come from the movies and TV shows, I felt compelled to add something from the recent canon novels. As I was reading through Thrawn: Alliances, I already knew from the first Thrawn novel how tactical and resourceful he was. The second book grabbed my attention even more once I found out that Thrawn had a connection to Anakin Skywalker.

After reading Thrawn: Alliances, there’s a lot about his character that makes even more sense now. He observed and learned from Anakin when they first met. Anakin needed to save Padme and Thrawn was able to pick up on his feelings for her, but also learn about the Jedi. This was before Anakin’s turn and you still had a sense of the good that was in him.

Years later, Thrawn found himself working with Darth Vader. As the two worked together, he noticed some similarities between Vader and Anakin. He pointed it out to Vader at times, but never outright asked if he was once Anakin. We have every indication that Thrawn thinks that, but he’s smart enough to know not to ask him that directly. The dynamic between the two was interesting to read about and if you haven’t read the book yet, you’re missing out on some good stories.