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Spoilers forward for “Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord” Season 1, Episodes 7 and eight.
The newest episodes of “Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord” present Maul (Sam Witwer) at his lowest on this sequence up to now. With Marrok/the First Brother (A. J. LoCascio) calling in backup and them laying waste to Maul’s escape plans, the latter’s in a fairly unhealthy spot. As Maul focuses his rage, his ideas flip to the individual he blames for the way in which his life has gone: his former grasp Darth Sidious, who now has his boot on the neck of your entire galaxy as Emperor Palpatine (regardless of what Maul is aware of about him).
Maul shifting the blame for his failures to others is nothing new. However this time, we are given a recent approach of taking a look at it, as Maul thinks again to his earlier days and we’re in a position to glimpse them with him, seeing the tragedy of his childhood for the primary time on display.
Maul – Shadow Lord reveals the merciless approach Sidious made Maul his apprentice
There was a lot hypothesis as to when Darth Sidious took Maul to coach as his apprentice. The guide “Star Wars Timelines” estimates it to be someday in Maul’s early teen years. Assorted “Star Wars” art work and comics have portrayed Maul as being both a baby or toddler on the time, however the story implications of such a factor have all the time felt slightly absurd. It stands to motive, although, that if the Jedi take apprentices as toddlers, why not the Sith? Alternatively, the Jedi sometimes refused to coach people after a sure age due to the risks of them turning to the darkish facet, so maybe taking older youngsters and preying on the emotional influence of that loss makes a sure form of sense.
Within the eighth episode of “Maul — Shadow Lord,” nevertheless, we lastly get to witness the second when Sidious first took on Maul as his scholar. It seems that Maul and his brother, Savage Opress, have been nonetheless collectively on the time, and so they appear to be within the 9-12 yr previous age vary (assuming Nightbrothers age equally to people). We watch as Sidious actually wrenches Maul from his brother because the pair cry out for one another. It is painfully heartbreaking to look at these two ripped from each other like a pair of bonded kittens.
On reflection, this does make Maul and Savage’s reunion within the animated sequence “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” far more heartfelt. After all, it additionally makes the second when Sidious slays Savage in entrance of Maul on that present all of the extra distressing.
And right here we’re, having sophisticated feelings for one of many greatest evil-doers in your entire “Star Wars” franchise.
Maul’s efforts to cease Palpatine may not play out precisely the way in which we anticipate
This episode actually received to the emotional core of Maul’s interior harm and peeled again a layer of his psyche to point out us why he does what he does. And it makes excellent sense. Make no mistake, these usually are not excuses for Maul; he’s a grown grownup and liable for his personal horrible choices and the abuse he perpetrates. Now, all of the sudden, we will perceive why he is making these choices slightly bit — not that we might discover ourselves in his footwear making those self same choices (like some may discover themselves in Anakin Skywalker’s as he struggles to save lots of his spouse, Padmé Amidala), however Maul has develop into a bit simpler to grasp.
As Maul on this episode, Sam Witwer delivers some of the heartbreaking and haunting strains the character has ever uttered. “I will not let him do that to anybody else,” he says with respect to his previous grasp, vowing to cease Sidious/Palpatine as soon as and for all. We all know that he is finally unsuccessful in his try, however the “Star Wars” franchise has a approach of re-contextualizing beforehand instructed tales. So, maybe there is a approach that Maul’s struggling and mission to foil Palpatine may nonetheless profit people who want assist in ending the reign of the Sith.
The ultimate two episodes of “Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord” Season 1 launch on Monday, Could 4, 2026, on Disney+. Season 2 has been introduced, but it surely has but to obtain a premiere date.
