There is so much to ruminate on and so much goodness to love in Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord! Let’s hope it keeps up the momentum for Season 2.
Any reservations I had about Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord have gone completely out the airlock. I have been frequently complaining that the series followed tired plot formulae that didn’t take Star Wars in a new direction. But these latest episodes really wiped away most of those feelings, as it is almost impossible to be a true Star Wars fan and not appreciate what we have been given.
LAWSON’S INTERROGATION
Last we checked, Riley Lawson is in Imperial custody, and his good-cop-turned-Imperial-traitor father is desperate to save him and then get offworld with his reluctant Jedi allies. Detective Lawson is desperate, so he contacts his old droid partner, Two-Boots, to find out what is going on with his son. The whole reason the Empire is here is due to Two-Boot’s robotic dogmatism in following the rules. So I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t answer the comm. Two-Boots does everything by the rules after all, and according to the law, Lawson is now the enemy.
Yet something is stirring behind Two-Boot’s photoreceptors, and I was wondering whether there is individualized sentience within his verbobrain that would allow him to circumvent his programming. After all, his eponymous “two-boots” are not standard Imperial-approved dresswear, and it speaks to the droid’s desire to distinguish himself as more than just a machine. Isaac Asimov would be impressed!
MAUL VS THE INQUISITORS
Maul and his allies are also trying to flee the planet and must contend with two Inquisitors: Marrok and the Eleventh Brother. Both of these characters are equally terrifying, and while I criticized Star Wars for “watering down” Maul’s dueling capabilities, I’m starting to view these two as a serious threat. Maul does hold his own against them for a while, and really only struggles because one of his leg prosthetics isn’t working. I feel this is acceptable and actually a good plot device to give Maul some problems. Maul is utterly defeated and asks to surrender. Marrok chillingly responds, “There is no surrender for you. The Emperor wants you dead.”
Palpatine is not taking any chances with his former apprentice and views him as a much more serious threat than the average Order 66 survivor. I couldn’t agree more with this clever (albeit wicked) strategy.
THE JEDI
I’m also starting to really like Devon, the Jedi Padawan that Maul is interested in corrupting. She is compassionate and has good instincts, but isn’t afraid to speak her mind and is sassy. “Hop in, boys,” she says playfully, as she parks a stolen speeder for her Master and the others to board. Ooo. I like that. Lastly, I have to close on two absolutely marvelous things. Lawson makes contact with Two-Boots again and begs him to do a prisoner transport with him and his son. Lawson is appealing to the humanity in Two-Boots (along with their bond as friends and partners), but doing so in a way that can almost be compatible with his stickler-for-the-rules-by-the-book programming. Two-Boots isn’t breaking the law per se-he is bending it by trading a low-priority captive for one that is more valuable.
During the hand-off, however, they are compromised, and Two-Boots is forced to stun a few Stormtroopers to make sure the “transfer” is successful. Yet, Two-Boots’s programming and personality are flexible enough to know that there is no going back. He has been caught abiding a fugitive. “The deal is off, Captain,” he says sarcastically, and essentially throws his lot in with the group, showing that his friendship with Lawson (and sense of self-preservation) far outweighs his logic circuits. This was so beautifully poetic, and as someone who loves artificial intelligence speculation, I couldn’t be more titillated.
MAUL’S JOURNEY
The second thing I love is the impeccable depiction of Maul’s psychology. He surrenders to the Inquisitors, who make it very clear that they are not taking prisoners. Seeing no other alternative, Maul uses the Force to cause the ceiling of the cave he is in to collapse, killing both himself and the two who are hunting him. Yet the Force has other plans. All three survive, and we see an injured Maul limp back to his allies, his condition causing him to hallucinate and see the most painful memories of his past. He acknowledges that Darth Sidious took everything from him and even believes he hears his murdered brother, Savage Opress, calling to him in the hovertrain tunnel.
Maul then sees his younger self being separated from his brother when Sidious forced him to be his apprentice, and another disturbing flashback of a cackling Palpatine subjecting his begging apprentice to a volley of Force lightning. All these clues indicate that Maul was not born evil, quite the contrary, in fact! Sidious made him into the monster he is today, and he vows not to let him do it to anyone else ever again. So powerful!
VERDICT
I actually am starting to like this tender, human side of Maul, and it fills me with great sadness to know he will never fully avenge his family (at least not directly). However, there is so much to ruminate on and so much Star Wars goodness to love! Let’s hope it ends on a high note and keeps up the momentum for Season 2.
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord continues on Disney+ with two episodes each week, culminating in a finale on Star Wars Day, May the 4th.
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
