Star Wars: Ahsoka's big bad is the best part of the show, in this padawan's opinion

Though he hasn't even appeared yet on the show, Grand Admiral Thrawn is why I'm tuning in to the Disney + series.

Don't tell anyone - Ahsoka is the first Star Wars show I've ever seen. I've kept up with the movies, read the (incredible) Darth Vader comic by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, and have spent a couple cumulative hours on Wookiepedia, but this is my first time following a series set in the galaxy far, far away. As such, I've come to really like some of the characters. As a big Mary Elizabeth Winstead fan, I'm interested in Hera's story, and like many of you, find Shin Hati makes a really cool villain.

But there's one character above all else I'm excited too see more of: Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Now, I should preface this by saying I'm a sucker for evil masterminds. Give me a Carmen Sandiego, a Professor Moriarty, or a Regina George, and I'll be happy. That's the same kind of character I discovered while doing research for the Thrawn explainer I wrote here at Popverse, and my interest was more than piqued. By the time I had finished reading his character profile, the Heir to the Empire had me wanting more.

But even beyond his delightfully sinister personality and strategic cunning, I think Thrawn has one of the most interesting character arcs in Ahsoka, partly because it's shrouded in mystery. As I mentioned in my piece on the question of Thrawn's whereabouts, the Grand Admiral is lost to what could be an entirely different galaxy. I know, I know, other galaxies have been explored in Star Wars Legends before, but not on screen like this one. To me, this gives Thrawn a sort of Voldemort quality - in order to defeat him, our protagonists are going to have to delve into a world of secrets and sins, discovering plenty of tantalizing truths along the way.

And then again, maybe the heroes of Ahsoka won't actually defeat Thrawn. We have no confirmation yet of a second season, but if there was one, it would make a lot of sense to have Thrawn returning. After all, the guy's been with the franchise since 1991, longer than I've been alive. Though I'm still a Star Wars rookie, all things considered, I doubt this show is the last we'll see of him.

Speaking of favorite characters, we recently took a poll of the Our Flag Means Death cast to learn who was their favorite pirate. Click the link and learn the answer.