Commentary — ‘Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord’ Season 1 Finale Features A Missed Opportunity
by Frank Martin
Spin-offs, especially animated ones, hold a unique place in long running live-action film or TV series. They offer an opportunity to put characters together who otherwise wouldn’t have interacted. They are a chance to explore ideas and concepts the main installments either didn’t have time for or weren’t capable of presenting. Star Wars: Maul –Shadow Lord is a series about the infamous ex-Sith apprentice. It allows fans to get inside his head in ways other tales with the character could not. However, with Darth Vader featured in the Season 1 finale, there is a humongous missed opportunity seeing these two icons interact with one another.
— Spoilers Follow —
The program primarily takes place on planet Janix, as Maul (Sam Witwer) seeks to rebuild his prevalence in the galaxy following the Empire’s rise. He runs into Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon), a Jedi Padawan on the run with her master. Once word gets out that Maul is on the planet, the Empire sends Inquisitors and, eventually, Vader to put him down. The Dark Lord manages to kill Devon’s master, forcing her under Maul’s tutelage to seek revenge.
The fight between Maul, Vader, and the others lasts the entire episode and is highly entertaining. At the same time, Darth Vader does not say a single word the entire time. This is Maul’s first interaction with his ultimate Sith replacement and he is suspicious of him — noting he is not an Inquisitor but something more. Unfortunately, the discussion never goes past this point. As Darth Sidious’s (Ian McDiarmid) ex-apprentice, Maul holds a very unique relationship to Vader, the current apprentice. Not having the two discuss their predicament is a huge missed opportunity to explore that aspect of Sith teachings and how it filters down to their personalities. There’s always the chance this type of interaction could happen next season, but it was disappointing that it didn’t happen at the most opportune time.
Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord is now streaming on Disney+.
