After being gone for so long, and the Horde descending into a rather dark place, Thrall appears primed to jump back into the action. The former Warchief has been missing since the early part of the World of Warcract: Legion expansion. He seems to have made a nice home for himself since leaving, and has multi-classed to Peon in order to construct his hut.
Fans that have been following the story closely know that Saurfang has undergone a total shift in his perspective of Sylvanas and her direction for the Horde. After abandoning his position in the Battle of Lorderon, the Alliance captured him, and he was later offered a chance at redemption by Anduin.
We are given an interesting bit of discussion in the new cinematic "Safe Haven" between the two characters after Saurfang tracks Thrall down, revealing the fears that haunt him the most if he were to return after this long absence. The sentiment can be summed up in the following dialogue between the two orcs:
Thrall: I will not lead the Horde.
Saurfang: I didn’t ask, but I hoped you would at least fight for it.
Hearing the question response immediately brought up memories of other stories that focus on the general ideas of fighting: When it is right, and when is it necessary? A popular example would be the military science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers.
In that sense, Thrall is right to dislike the idea of being asked to lead, but the underlying point instead should be “Do I need to fight?” Does Thrall owe it to anyone, to the Horde to fight for its survival? Does he have responsibilities as a “citizen” of the Horde?
At the same time, there is the distinct possibility that Sylvanas may be pulling the strings from some unseen vantage point. It certainly seems odd to send a pair of assassins who so easily lose to two unarmed, unprepared individuals. Perhaps the idea was to bait Thrall to come back, because Sylvanas needs more puppets to manipulate. Alternatively, Saurfang stated that he “followed them” to Thrall, which also seems unlikely unless these were assassins hired from the same place where Wile E. Coyote purchases his traps to capture a certain Road Runner. Saurfang could have lured the assassins to Thrall, knowing that he could be spurred to action with the proper motivation.
We will know soon enough, but for now it is good to see our favorite elemental Shaman seemingly ready to come back and drop some totems against the Alliance, or perhaps, against Sylvanas?