Grand Admiral Thrawn isn’t exactly the master tactician we were expecting, but he does get one fact painfully right about the Jedi. When Ahsoka finally arrives on the far-flung planet Peridia in Episode 7 of her namesake show, her first move is to hide from her attackers in a storm of debris, which leads to one of the all-time greatest burns in Star Wars history.
“Jedi are very good at hiding,” Thrawn snarls. “They’ve been practicing that for years.”
This is, of course, a reference to how the Jedi responded at the end of 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith. After Emperor Palpatine’s plan to overthrow the Jedi went off without a hitch, the surviving Jedi acted decisively... by hiding for several decades until the next generation could grow up and save the galaxy.
This applies specifically to two key Jedi: Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi goes into hiding on Tatooine where he can keep an eye on Luke Skywalker (although, as we recently learned, he also took a break from his duties at least once to go on an off-planet adventure). Meanwhile, Yoda, arguably the most powerful Jedi in the entire Star Wars saga, spent years hanging out on a backwater swamp planet. In other words, for a big chunk of the Star Wars timeline, the Jedi’s best idea was to play hide and seek with Palpatine and hope for the best.
Of course, that’s simplifying things somewhat. If you’ve watched The Clone Wars, you know Yoda’s plan was always to play the long game, using the power of Force ghosts to gain an eventual advantage against the Sith. Star Wars Rebels also established that plenty of heroes (including a few Jedi like Ahsoka, Kanan, and Ezra) never went into hiding and instead played a major role in the early days of the rebellion.
But when it comes to the A-list Jedi like Obi-Wan and Yoda, hiding really is the name of the game. So it makes sense that for Thrawn, who lived through the rise and fall of the Empire, hiding is what he thinks Jedi are good at. Unfortunately for him, Ahsoka isn’t technically a Jedi. And she’s not a fan of hiding from her enemies either.
