Summary
- Thrawn's strategies in "Ahsoka" mirror Palpatine's schemes during the Clone Wars, proving his genius and ability to transform the Republic into his Empire.
- Thrawn sets a similar trap for Ahsoka as Palpatine did for the Jedi in "Revenge of the Sith," utilizing irresistible bait, a remote location, a powerful enemy, and a win-win situation.
- Thrawn, though lacking in Force abilities, has seemingly learned from Palpatine's tactics against the Jedi and respects the genius of his former Emperor, making use of similar strategies in his own plans.
Grand Admiral Thrawn's strategies in Ahsoka mirrored Palpatine's schemes during the Clone Wars. As seen in Star Wars' prequel trilogy, the entire Clone Wars was a massive plot orchestrated by Chancellor Palpatine who was secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Described as the "perfect Jedi trap", it's been suggested that Thrawn seemingly mirrored the genius of Palpatine during the Clone Wars which resulted in the transformation of the Republic into his brand-new Empire.
As pointed out by Twitter user @XWnHIST, the trap that Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) laid out for Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) on the extragalactic world of Peridea is very similar to author Matt Stover's description of Palpatine's schemes during the Clone Wars in the Revenge of the Sith novelization. Thrawn had Palpatine's favor during the Dark Times and they were both dark geniuses. As such, it's not a stretch to imagine Grand Admiral Thrawn replicating Palpatine's "perfect Jedi trap" as a foundational strategy in the new Star Wars show.
Your browser does not support the video tag. The Clone Wars Were The Perfect Jedi Trap Obi-Wan vs Grievous Is A Core Example 
In Stover's Revenge of the Sith novelization, the Battle of Utapau shows the overarching strategies used by Palpatine during the entire Clone Wars. According to the book, a Jedi trap requires four core elements. Firstly, the trap needs "an irresistible bait" such as General Grievous hiding out on Utapau. Secondly, the trap needs to be set in a "remote location" with a restricted field of action, preferably one where any damage or destruction wouldn't matter such as this Outer Rim world the Separatists had forcibly taken over from the Pauan populace.
Thirdly, there needed to be someone powerful to kill the Jedi, and it also helps if they're also the bait as Grievous was, encouraging the targeted Jedi (Obi-Wan Kenobi) to press forward. It also helps to have stationed forces nearby to prevent easy escape. Lastly, the final component was to "establish a win-win situation" along with a potential third positive outcome. If Grievous kills Kenobi, it's a victory. If Kenobi wins (as he did), it saves Palpatine from having to deal with Grievous later. Either way, Kenobi was still sent away from Coruscant, allowing Palpatine to corrupt Anakin Skywalker to the dark side as Darth Vader.
