Thrawn Knew Both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader He is an Imperial on the side of the bad guys, yes, but he is one of the few Imperials who actually respects his opponents just as much as he does the people who work beside him — but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to beat them and, if necessary, kill them too.
Thrawn learned that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were the same person during a mission with Vader, but kept the secret to himself. Thrawn's knowledge of Anakin's history explains his surprised reaction to hearing his name in Ahsoka episode 7 and likely gives him an advantage against Ahsoka Tano.
At the close of the sixth episode of Ahsoka on Disney+, Grand Admiral Thrawn instructed Morgan Elsbeth to research Ahsoka Tano, including her master. When he finds out that General Anakin Skywalker trained her in the Jedi arts, Thrawn's reaction is, for him, the equivalent of a terrified scream.
At first, Ahsoka has no idea that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are one and the same. She discovers the truth in Star Wars Rebels when she encounters the Sith Lord in a space battle. What she senses is so shocking to her that she passes out.
It seems that Thrawn had never heard of Ahsoka before or at least did not know that Anakin was her master, but it seems very likely that he should have known that. There are a few reasons why he would have heard of her: He knew that Darth Vader was Anakin.
Thrawn's Relationship with Anakin and Darth Vader FULLY Explained
Did Darth Vader respect Thrawn?
Thrawn was one of if not the only Imperial who wasn't afraid of Vader and was one of the few officers who actually respected Vader for his commitment and loyalty to the Empire. Vader in turn held great respect for the Grand Admiral's intelligence and strategic influence.
Padme tells Thrawn about Ahsoka in Thrawn: Alliances when she's explaining to him what the “Marg Sabl” is when she says that Anakin is a “One man Marg Sabl” she tells Thrawn about what that is and who invented it. Ahsoka. Thrawn later uses the maneuver (and is known for it) So clearly it stuck with him…
Anakin Skywalker is Only Just Ahsoka Tano's Senior
At this point in the timeline, Ahsoka was 14 years old. As the animated movie took place in the same year as Attack of the Clones, this puts Anakin at 19 years old, creating a five-year age gap between him and Ahsoka.
Ahsoka Tano believed Anakin Skywalker was dead after Order 66 because she couldn't sense his presence in the Force anymore. Ahsoka had seen Anakin flirt with the dark side before, but couldn't fathom that he would betray everyone.
She certainly knew something. The “I know. More than you realize, I know” line makes that clear, as does the Forces of Destiny short with Anakin, Padme, and Ashoka.
Thrawn's knowledge of Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader and Ahsoka's connection to him causes fear and antagonism towards Ahsoka. Thrawn's reaction to learning about Anakin's son Luke Skywalker and his role in bringing down the Empire will increase his caution and fear of the Jedi.
Force Ghosts only speak when a Jedi needs guidance, and since Anakin didn't say anything to Ahsoka, she no longer needed his help. It represents Anakin passing the torch to Ahsoka, as his story received closure thanks to their meeting in the World Between Worlds.
Barriss Offee shocked viewers of Star Wars: The Clone Wars when she betrayed the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, bombing the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and later framing Ahsoka Tano for the heinous act.
And while his warnings don't work, at the very least, it shows that Maul became aware of Anakin and what he would soon become. With the rise of the Empire, it's likely Maul caught on to Vader's existence pretty quickly.
These differences are highlighted in the ongoing Star Wars series where Vader and Thrawn are partnered up together, which shows that Thrawn is, indeed, smarter than Vader, but still cannot compare to the Dark Lord of the Sith in one undeniable way.
R2-D2 was present when Padmé gave birth to Leia and Luke, so he knew Luke was Anakin's son – but what he didn't know was that Anakin became Darth Vader. In addition to that, Anakin's fall was surely a painful event in R2-D2's life, one that he definitely wouldn't like to remember or even talk about.
While the Star Wars canon doesn't explicitly confirm his regret, the intricacies of his relationship with Ahsoka and the remnants of his former identity could have stirred some degree of internal turmoil.
Even without this consideration, however, it's possible to find some in-universe reasons why Yoda referred to Luke as the last Jedi despite Ahsoka and Ezra, both people Yoda knew, being still alive.
Summary. A disturbing theory suggests that Darth Vader kept one of Ahsoka Tano's lightsabers for a darker reason, potentially using its kyber crystal to improve his own blade.
How old is Ahsoka when she becomes Anakin's Padawan?
Ahsoka was discovered by Jedi Master Plo Koon as a small child and accepted into the Jedi Order. When she was 14, Jedi Master Yoda granted Ahsoka the rank of Padawan and she was partnered with Anakin Skywalker, a powerful if reckless Jedi Knight.
Anakin Skywalker's birth mystery is solved - his mother, Shmi Skywalker, reveals that there was no father and she can't explain what happened. Qui-Gon Jinn believed that the Force itself created Anakin in Shmi's womb, making him the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force.
Padmé was born in 46 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) and Anakin's miraculous Force-created birth came in 41 BBY, so Padmé was five years older than him. They did not meet until Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, which took place in 32 BBY.
The short answer is yes. Thrawn did indeed know that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were, in some ways, one and the same. However, as Obi-Wan Kenobi once argued, Anakin "died" when he became Darth Vader. Without getting into semantics, Thrawn knows who was under that black armor.
In the series, Maul and Ahsoka did not meet until the Siege of Mandalore. For reasons unknown, Maul learned her name was Ahsoka Tano but he did not know anything else about her. Ahsoka, meanwhile, was aware of Anakin and Obi-Wan's past encounters, and did not hesitate to show her hatred towards Maul.
Ahsoka episode 8 raises questions about why Thrawn referred to Ahsoka as a Ronin, sparking curiosity about the meaning and relevance of this term. A Ronin is a wandering Samurai with no master, which aligns with Ahsoka's situation, as she has been without a Jedi Master for a long time in the Star Wars timeline.
