god this was such a great scene.
it makes me feel so angry and off balance thrawn’s not exactly wrong – spot on, even. but why should HE get to talk about hera’s childhood with a level of vulnerability that she has never even revealed of her own accord?? coming from someone who feels like a predator who could take you down at any time but would much rather play with his food and decide the perfect way to have it, this feels WRONG. and it’s beyond disconcerting to see hera, who’s probably the most unflappable character in the cast, so affected by thrawn
i love how thrawn moves right into hera’s personal space, so close his cheek rests against her lek, to deliver but final statement. it makes you, the viewer, feel as exposed and uncomfortable as hera does. even though hera takes up more than half the screen thanks to her lekku, she seems completely dwarfed by thrawn. it makes you feel the gravity of his words and the way they cut /right/ to the bone.
i also think while thrawn is CLEARLY speaking directly to HERA SYNDULLA – DAUGHTER of freedom fighter CHAM syndulla and REBEL commander – his words can just as easily apply to who hera is pretending to be. wouldn’t any young woman from ryloth hera’s age be just as forged by war as her? wouldn’t it be “all she’s ever known” as much as it is to hera? this is exemplified by numa, who was just a normal little girl when we first meet her and was so affected by the clone wars she wears the armor of the clone who saved her as a child, and threw herself so wholeheartedly into twi’lek resistance efforts she becomes right hand man to cham syndulla himself
space 