10 Things You Learn Rewatching Star Wars Rebels
5. The Second Half Needed More Inquisitors
The main antagonist of the first season is the Grand Inquisitor, the leader of a Dark Side of the Force-using branch of the Empire meant to hunt Jedi. He wields a spinning red lightsaber and is more than a match for Ezra and Kanan.
After his death in the Season 1 finale, he's replaced for Season 2 by three different Inquisitors, all of whom die in that season's last episode.
While Thrawn is perhaps the best antagonist in the series, he lacks the physical threat that the Inquisitors bring to the table. Thrawn is a commander more than a warrior, so we rarely see him take on the Rebels in the same way the Inquisitors were able to. Plus, Thrawn is not a Force user, meaning no Force battles or lightsaber duels for the entire second half of the show, barring a quick fight between Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
To keep those physical battles, the show should have written in a Force wielding henchman for Thrawn.