⚪︎The inventor of the TIE Defender is Morgan Elzebeth
It's a new, well-thought-out canon setting. TIE fighters during the Empire's heyday clearly neglected human life. They prioritized mobility and eliminated shields and life support. Their low cost matched the Empire's doctrine at the time.
Thrawn is intrigued by Morgan's idea, which goes against this. He has issues with the neglect of human life. Prioritizing survival rates, even if it's costly, is advanced.
Moff Isdain laughs, "Are you really going to that extent to protect a single pilot?"
The Stormtrooper plan also neglects human life. Quantity over quality.
"You fool with no vision" (this is related to the idea of the efficient First Order plan)
⚪︎Thrawn wants to strike down the rebels now (not yet a Grand Admiral, so 6 blues)
"It's good to look at things from a broader perspective, but sometimes you overlook problems, especially when they're small."
The Empire is so centralized in its control of the galaxy that it can't deal with sporadic rebellion activity. As seen in the TV series Cassin and Andor, the rebels deceive the centralized system and exert control sporadically. Thrawn warned that they should strike down the rebels early and effectively before they become too powerful. It's cheaper to do it now than to fight the rebels on a large scale in the future. History will judge Thrawn to be right.
⚪︎I was impressed by the vehicles and soundtrack
Morgan Elzebeth's ship appears in the TV series Ahsoka, and the Inquisitor's ship appears in the TV series Obi-Wan Kenobi. The engine sounds are the same.
The music for Thrawn's appearance scene and the music when he looks up at the Destroyer are included in the TV drama Ahsoka. They express Thrawn's cold-heartedness.
Additional note: Was Ilum the planet Barriss ended up on?
In the Clone Wars anime, Barriss and Luminara built lightsabers on Ilum.