Maul – Shadow Lord’s Clone Wars Character Cameo Defined [Exclusive]

This text accommodates spoilers for “Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord” Episode 8, “The Creeping Concern.”

“Maul — Shadow Lord” has been a real reward for followers of “Star Wars.” We have seen advanced villains within the franchise earlier than, like Vader, or Qimir in “The Acolyte,” however nothing may put together us for a way this present portrays the titular Maul. What began as a personality with a cool look and who will get chopped in half has grown to turn into probably the greatest and strongest villains in “Star Wars.” He is a sophisticated determine, one filled with rightful anger on the Empire, however who nonetheless does horrible issues and goals to turn into against the law boss.

This involves a head in Episode 8, which sees the previous Sith at his lowest level since he misplaced the decrease half of his physique by the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi. A lot of the episode sees Maul having visions of all of the tragedies he is endured, and that is by far essentially the most human we have seen this devil-looking former Sith. In the course of the worst a part of his visions, Maul will get flashes of his largest loss. No, not his legs — his brother.

Sure, arguably the most important shock of “Maul — Shadow Lord” to this point (except for seeing Maul really cry this episode) is the momentary return of “The Clone Wars” villain Savage Opress.

When /Movie talked to “Shadow Lord” creator Matt Michnovetz earlier than the present’s launch, he spoke in regards to the significance of the previous for Maul. “He takes his previous with him, and it fuels him and drives him for this vengeance that he carries,” Michnovetz defined. But it surely’s not simply the previous that is vital to Maul, it is also the long run. “He is also now lastly given the chance to be a grasp to an apprentice to additional that purpose, to additional which means.”

In case you want a refresher, we first meet Savage Opress within the third season of “The Clone Wars” as a Pressure-sensitive Dathomirian recruited as an apprentice to Rely Dooku. After he discovered his long-lost brother, Maul, the 2 joined forces and created a prison syndicate referred to as the Shadow Collective. Although his position wasn’t that huge, Savage performed a necessary position in bringing again Maul and setting him on a path of tragedy and redemption.

However as vital as Savage was to Maul, he did not deal with his brother very nicely. As voice actor Sam Witwer informed /Movie throughout an interview earlier than the discharge of “Shadow Lord,” Maul “form of dominated him, and it is not till after Savage’s dying that Maul acknowledges the failure of that.”

This is the reason Savage’s return in imaginative and prescient type is so vital to “Shadow Lord.” It is not sufficient for Maul to recollect his previous to be able to avenge it — he additionally wants to comprehend he can not repeat his personal previous errors.

Episode 8 of “Shadow Lord” offers us a have a look at Maul’s extremely tragic childhood, whereby he is taken away from his household and became a monster by Darth Sidious. He was nothing however a weapon to his grasp, and it price him all the pieces. “My dwelling. My household. My brother. All taken from me. Sidious, you probably did this to me,” Maul says within the episode.

Lastly, he comes nose to nose with a imaginative and prescient of himself as a younger boy, and Maul breaks down. “I will not let him do that to anybody else,” Maul tells his youthful self as he processes his trauma and vows to not achieve revenge, however to realize justice. In Maul’s head, convincing Devon, a younger Jedi on the run from the Empire, to turn into his apprentice is his solely means of stopping Darth Sidious. There’s just one drawback, although.

The tragedy of Maul is that he is trapped in a cycle he would not appear able to escaping. His grasp terrorized him and turned him right into a monster. In flip, Maul handled his personal brother like rubbish — like a disposable weapon. Now, to be able to cease what occurred to him from occurring to another person, he must cease himself from carrying over Sidious’ strategies.

“He is realizing that he would not need to be the identical sort of grasp that he had. That the sins of the daddy are reflecting in his selections and actions,” Matt Michnovetz defined. “Hopefully he’ll study from his errors. Perhaps. Even within the smallest of decisions.”

Certainly, as Sam Witwer informed us, Maul acknowledges himself in Devon, mirrored within the anger and frustrations she has. But it surely’s not sufficient to acknowledge the potential in her as an apprentice, there’s additionally a duty in that. “If he’s going to really feel like he wished he was handled higher, then what’s his duty by way of how he treats Devon?” Witwer mentioned. “What does he perceive about what it’s to guard another person? And it will be attention-grabbing to see what he does or doesn’t perceive. These are big private challenges for him, and he understands that, however he has no expertise with this.”

Sadly, we do know what’s in Maul’s future, and it is not nice. We’ve the heartbreaking data that Maul will not actually develop from this, no less than not for lengthy. We all know he goes on to repeat what was finished to him on Ezra Bridger, we all know he refuses to desert his quest for revenge, and in the long run, it results in a rematch between Maul and Obi-Wan that ends in the previous Sith’s dying in “Rebels.”