“Star Wars: Episode 7 The Force Awakens” comes out in 323 days (Dec. 18) and will finally reveal the fallout from the destruction of the second Death Star and the fates of beloved “Star Wars” Original Trilogy characters like Luke, Leia, and Han. But while “Star Wars: Episode 7 The Force Awakens” will be our first on-screen look at these characters since the 1983 release of “Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi,” the “Star Wars” Expanded Universe (now relegated to “Star Wars Legends” by Disney) has already plotted a rich future for the Rebel Alliance after the Battle of Endor. Most famous is the seminal “Star Wars” book series known as The Thrawn Trilogy.
The Thrawn Trilogy of novels (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command), by Timothy Zahn, will not be the basis of “Star Wars: Episode 7 The Force Awakens,” but it remains one of the most consequential stories in the “Star Wars” Expanded Universe. Sure, it may not be official “Star Wars” continuity anymore, but there’s no way Disney and J.J. Abrams didn’t take a close look at The Thrawn Trilogy while developing “Star Wars 7.”
With that in mind, let’s read The Thrawn Trilogy together and imagine the “Star Wars” sequels that could have been.
“Star Wars: Episode 7 The Force Awakens” That Could Have Been
The Thrawn Trilogy
Heir to the Empire
Chapter 3
In this week’s chapter of Heir to the Empire:
- Talon Kardde reveals the pony Zahn keeps around for that one trick it does
- Mara Jade proves value of “show don’t tell” adage
- Strange tree lizards are given great power over Jedi Knights
Previous "Star Wars 7" Book Club Chapters:
- Star Wars 7 Book Club: ‘The Force Awakens’ That Could Have Been, ‘The Thrawn Trilogy’ Chapter 1
- Star Wars 7 Book Club: ‘The Force Awakens’ That Could Have Been, ‘The Thrawn Trilogy’ Chapter 2
- Star Wars 7 Book Club: 'The Force Awakens' That Could Have Been, 'The Thrawn Trilogy' Chapter 4
The last chapter in this Thrawn Trilogy re-read brought back Han Solo, Princess Leia, C-3PO, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Luke Skywalker and promptly charted the best possible course to a very boring galaxy. For reasons I can’t possibly imagine, Timothy Zahn, author of The Thrawn Trilogy, seems determined to make Luke a depressed layabout, Princess Leia a frump, and Han Solo a bureaucrat. Now that the Empire has fallen the project of building a New Republic seems to have eclipsed all of the swashbuckling in the Galaxy.
This week fares a little better. Chapter 3 of Thrawn Trilogy Book One, Heir to the Empire, introduces us to Talon Kardde and Mara Jade, and while there’s plenty to dislike about the duo, at least they feel like adventurers.
The Thrawn Trilogy - Talon Kardde
Talon Kardde was alluded to in Heir to the Empire Chapter 2 as the successor to Jabba the Hutt. But while Talon Kardde proves himself to be a canny negotiator when trading information (and barbs) with Star Destroyer Captain Pellaeon, it’s hard not to miss the big slug. The problem with Talon Kardde is that he’s a lot like Grand Admiral Thrawn. He’s a smart man in a thuggish career, who defies expectations by acting urbane and cultured as he plots his next throat-slit. It will be interesting to see if Zahn plays up that similarity, perhaps portraying Kardde and Thrawn as two sides of the same corrupt coin, but for now it pretty much just feels like The Thrawn Trilogy only knows one way to build a bad guy.
The thing about Jabba the Hutt is that even though he’s a gross monster with a licky-licky appetite for human women, he’s also clever. Not only is Jabba immune to the Jedi Mind Trick, but he also sees right through Leia’s attempt to free Han Solo from the carbonite, laying a trap that proves he wasn’t fooled by Leia’s Boushh disguise and thermal detonator bluff.
Could Talon Kardde prove himself an Expanded Universe “Star Wars” character worthy of the canon? Sure. It’s just too bad that a slug-Godfather got replaced by yet another stuffy, maybe-slightly-British guy who enjoys the sound of his own voice too much.
The Thrawn Trilogy - Mara Jade
I know Mara Jade becomes quite consequential in the “Star Wars” Expanded Universe, but Zahn once again proves he doesn’t know how to do cool things by introducing his badass female smuggler antihero at a business lunch. Not only is Mara Jade introduced sipping wine and kicking back, but Talon Kardde interrupts his meeting with her to get on the horn and argue with Captain Pellaeon. That’s right, Mara Jade is introduced as the woman who comes into her boss’ office and sits awkwardly as her boss conducts a bunch of other business and makes her wait.
Again, like Talon Kardde, it’s not that Mara Jade has no chance of becoming an interesting “Star Wars” character, it’s just that we haven’t seen anything interesting from her yet. In fact, Heir to the Empire provides a good lesson in the famous advice to “show, don’t tell.” Via Kardde we’re told how smart, competent, fearless, and tough Mara Jade is, but why not introduce her out on a job, deploying her skills? In the most ridiculous instance, Mara Jade “launched into a detailed and generally insightful compendium of his [Talon Kardde’s] group’s shortcomings.” Too bad we don’t get to hear any of that critical brilliance for ourselves.
"Star Wars" Expanded Universe May Have Lame Characters, But What About the Plot?
But perhaps I’m getting hung up on the same problems again and again. The Thrawn Trilogy is meant to be read propulsively, rather than wallowing in a single chapter and the ways Heir to the Empire fails its characters moment to moment. Fair enough. So what does Chapter 3 of The Thrawn Trilogy do to build to an interesting plot for our “Star Wars” sequel trilogy?
Plot developments in Chapter 3 of Heir to the Empire basically amount to the Grand Admiral Thrawn’s ship, Chimaera picking up some strange tree critters on Myrkr that seem to hold some power against Force users, Jedi in particular. What exactly the ysalamiri can do is unclear at this point, but they are of enough strategic importance that Thrawn is banking the future of the Empire on their collection.
Tracking down an esoteric counter to Jedi powers is so very Thrawn. I’m curious to see how these new critters will play out in the Star Wars to come. That said, there’s something silly about animals that can thwart a basic tenet of the “Star Wars” universe. The Force “surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” So why can some dumb tree lizards thwart it? It feels a little like discovering that squirrels are immune to electricity. The deployment of the ysalamiri will depend on execution, a fact that doesn’t give me much hope, based on The Thrawn Trilogy so far.
Chapter 3 of The Thrawn Trilogy is still setting up the chessboard. While not a terrible betrayal of “Star Wars” like Chapter 2, the introduction of Talon Kardde and Mara Jade isn’t as effective as Chapter 1 and its set-up of Captain Pellaeon, Rukh and Grand Admiral Thrawn himself.
With Chapter 3 complete it feels like the main players are in place. With any luck, Chapter 4 will give us some much-needed “Star Wars” plot. We’ll know for sure next week.
Are you reading along with me? Read The Thrawn Trilogy before? Prefer Farscape? Let me know in the comments or at @AndWhalen.
Other "Star Wars 7" Book Club Chapters:
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens That Could Have Been, Thrawn Trilogy Chapter 1
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens That Could Have Been, Thrawn Trilogy Chapter 2
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens That Could Have Been, Thrawn Trilogy Chapter 3
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens That Could Have Been, Thrawn Trilogy Chapter 4
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens That Could Have Been, Thrawn Trilogy Chapter 5
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens That Could Have Been, Thrawn Trilogy Chapter 6 and 7
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens That Could Have Been, Thrawn Trilogy Chapter 8 and 9
