The season finale of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord finally brought to life a lightsaber battle fans have long dreamed of seeing. One that was literally decades in the making. In the episode “Dark Lord,” Darth Vader finally has a lightsaber duel with the man he replaced at the side of Darth Sidious, Maul (Sam Witwer). During the fierce dark side duel, which also involved a Jedi Master, his apprentice, two Inquisitors, and others, the icons of evil clashed red sabers at long last. And for years, fans thought this fight between the two most popular Sith Lords could never happen.
In the final two episodes of Maul, our cast of characters put aside their differences in an effort to evade Imperial crackdown on Janix. Maul, his Mandalorian foot soldiers, Jedi Master Eeko-Dio Daki and his apprentice Devon, officer Brander Lawson and his son Rylee, the droid Two-Boots, and mob boss Looti Vario escape through the jungles of the planet to rendezvous with Crimson Dawn operative Dryden Vos, played by Paul Bettany in Solo. He hopes to recruit Maul to eliminate his boss for him, so he can move up the ranks. But the Inquisitors find them and engage in battle…but this time, they called in help —their boss, Darth Vader.
As the episode opens, the Dark Lord of the Sith emerges from the jungle, lightsaber ignited. Maul lunges at him, and their red sabers clash. The two Jedi join Maul in fighting Vader, but he easily handles them all. He injures Maul’s robotic leg, giving himself another advantage over the former Sith. As the rest of the party runs through the Janix jungles, Darth Vader silently pursues them relentlessly like Michael Myers. Even Maul and two Jedi are no match for Lord Vader at his peak. Maul says to him, “You’re no Inquisitor….what are you?” Although we do believe Maul should know exactly what, and who, he is. Hey, maybe Vader still holds a grudge from when Maul nearly ran over him as a kid in The Phantom Menace.
As Devon fights off the Inquisitors, Vader is wiping the floor with Master Daki and Maul. In his prime, Maul might have been an even match for Vader. But with an injured robotic leg, he can only just hold his own. Ultimately, Vader kills Master Daki, claiming another Jedi for his Order 66 body count. Master Daki’s death causes Devon to erupt in a rage, defeating (but not killing) the Eleventh Brother. Brander Lawson sacrifices himself so his son can get away, as Maul uses the Force to collapse several ruins on Vader. All so they can narrowly escape on Dryden Vos’ getaway ship. Vader stares off into the sky as their ship gets away. He doesn’t like unfinished business, that Vader.
It is interesting to note that in this otherwise amazing episode, Maul seems perplexed as to who Vader is. As we saw in The Clone Wars finale, Maul is well aware of Darth Sidious’ plan to groom Anakin Skywalker as his replacement. He must sense that this is Count Dooku’s replacement at his former master’s side. And he must then also realize just who is behind the mask. So his confusion was a bit perplexing to us. We genuinely hope these two have a conversation at some point. Because if anyone can plant the seed in Vader’s mind that Sidious will dispose of him when the newer model comes along? We think it might be Maul. He’s been there. The genesis of his turn in Return of the Jedi may have originally come from Maul.
Another key takeaway in this episode is that while we hear Vader’s iconic breathing throughout, he never speaks. You may be thinking this is because the voice of Vader, James Earl Jones, passed away in 2024. However, the esteemed actor allowed Lucasfilm the rights to use his voice, as long as they compensated his estate. Even though he was credited, James Earl Jones did not voice any new lines for Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2022. Lucasfilm used the AI technology Respeecher to recreate his voice, but chose not to do so here. It totally works silently, just as Vader’s Rogue One fight scene did. But one wonders when we’ll hear Vader speak again. After all, we know this is not the last time these two will face off.
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord season one is now available on Disney+.