The Zahn Hand of Thrawn duology was a good example that you could still tell interesting stories even if the New Republic was on top (it being on top while still being fractious drove the plot!)
I’m reading the trilogy and wouldn’t mind you expanding on your thoughts here. I know Pellaeon goes on to be one of the galaxy’s leaders and is kinda the poster boy for the “clean Star Wars Imperial Military” kinda jawn
Pellaeon, certainly, but also Mara Jade's sympathies with the "efficiency" of the Empire of the Hand compared to the bickering of the Republic rubbed me the wrong way. And then Zahn seems to have become a bit...protective of Thrawn and is trying to make him an anti-villain.
In fairness that's more the current canon, but it's also why I genuinely believe Filoni is better equipped to write Thrawn now, because he remembers that Thrawn is a fascist and a villain and doesn't have anywhere near the same personal attachment Zahn has to the character.
Come to think of it, Filoni himself seems to have this problem with one of his own creations: Bo-Katan Kryze, whose introduction as, let's be honest, a space brownshirt who broke with the Death Watch out of xenophobia is conveniently forgotten so she can be presented as the rightful Mand'alor.
Death Watch goes from a fascist terrorist organization with pretty clear Nazi parallels in TCW to the righteous liberators of Mandalore in Season 3 of Mando. The Jedi have been deconstructed and examined to hell and back, and I think the Mandalorians should get that same treatment.
I’m only just now starting His Last Command but I did read the first new-canon Thrawn book and enjoyed it. I think I’d like to finish both series and compare/contrast.
Right and I know people like Thrawn (I mean the character rules!) but he’s unambiguously a Bad dude. His opening move is “let’s kidnap a woman pregnant with twins and give her babies to a crazy guy so MY empire can have a dollar store emperor Palpatine be our secret sauce”
It’s really sad. The EU had problems but it provided a really good broad outline for how the New Rupublic’s fictional history should pan out. Instead of building upon that template Ep7 scrapped everything just so Ep4 could be remade.
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Guys evil