Maul – Shadow Lord: Episodes 1 & 2: The Dark Revenge & Sinister Schemes Review

Warning: Spoilers for Maul – Shadow Lord: Episodes 1 & 2

Maul – Shadow Lord is the newest of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars animated series, and it is absolutely amazing! First, the art and animation style is similar to that of The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, and the various animated Tales series, but it is heavily stylized, adding a sketchier look especially to the movements of Maul’s lightsabers and the thrusters of ships, the backgrounds, but even on the characters as well. Every scene is visually breathtaking. Every new project has improvements on the visuals, but this is the biggest upgrade since The Clone Wars Season 7. Very strong series premier.

Timeline: 18 BBY

We’ve seen the Empire grow and evolve throughout The Bad Batch, but they still don’t have a heavy presence on every planet in the galaxy yet, allowing crime syndicates to flourish beneath their watch. After the Siege of Mandalore and Maul’s capture by the Republic, he lost control of his Shadow Collective, and the leaders of each syndicate prospered in light of his misfortune; now Maul is out for revenge. Maul’s current mission is to eliminate anyone who has wronged him, including anyone who betrayed him after his Shadow Collective failure, all the way to Emperor Palpatine himself.

Maul – Shadow Lord Is a Nod to George Lucas’ Original Plans

When the sequel trilogy was being developed, Star Wars Rebels season two was premiering, and the hype for the coming Star Wars Episode VII was growing, was when I first heard of George Lucas’ original plans for the Star Wars sequel trilogy. George Lucas planned sequel scripts that came with the deal he made to sell Lucasfilm to Disney for $4.05 billion, but Disney ultimately decided not to use those scripts, and instead write their own. I have always felt like we missed out on something amazing, but Dave Filoni has decided to use those scripts to develop Maul – Shadow Lord.

George Lucas originally planned for Maul to be the main antagonist of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Maul would rule the underworld alongside his apprentice Darth Talon, and oppose Leia Organa as she rebuilt the Republic. In Shadow Lord episode one, Maul states he is looking for an apprentice, and Devon Izara, a pink twi’lek Jedi – physically similar to Talon, turns out to be who he’s looking for. Shadow Lord is also instead set during the Imperial Era rather than the New Republic. Getting to see even a version of this story makes me love this show that much more.

The Underworld Gives a New Feel to Star Wars with Maul – Shadow Lord

I loved the tone of these first two episodes. The police drama/mystery is something we haven’t seen or haven’t seen much of in Star Wars before. I loved how they talked about the Shadow Collective with the characters who hadn’t heard of it before. A secret organization of all the syndicates, lead by the boogie man Maul, like the Illuminati, something that’s been controlling the underworld since The Clone Wars. I don’t expect it to keep this tone for the entire show, and the action and story will pick up as the Empire and the Inquisitors arrive on Janix.

I enjoyed Brander Lawson more in the show than I did in the first issue of Shadow of Maul. His character just felt so much deeper on screen, which may have just been from hearing his voice, or seeing him move. I have always loved the cowboy, play-by-their-own-rules police captains, and that comes across in both the book and the show as he solves mysteries and refuses to call the Empire. I also loved Captain Lawson’s relationship with 2B0T or “Two Boots.” They really do feel like Cassian Andor and K-2S0 with Two Boots comedic personality, and the buddy cop relationship.

Two New Jedi Show How Menacing Maul Truly Is

Two new Jedi are introduced in Maul – Shadow Lord. I always enjoy seeing Jedi post-order 66. It’s only been one year since the mass genocide of the Jedi religion, so there are still plenty of them in hiding. Eeko-Dio Daki is an older Jedi Master who is doing his best to protect Devon Izara, who I assume is his apprentice. When Devon is captured by Maul, Eeko-Dio tries to save her by using the force to stop Maul’s vehicle, but Maul out-plays him. I assume Eeko-Dio will die not too far in the future and push Devon closer to joining Maul.

Based on the plans of George Lucas, I can only assume Devon will join Maul when she realizes they’re both on the same side, fighting the Empire. I assume this will come after the death of her master at the hands of one of Vader’s Inquisitors. When Devon sees Maul for the first time, she recognizes him, proving his influence within the Jedi Order, that even the padawans know about him. I can’t wait to see how Devon develops with Maul, and to see the Empire come down on Janix in the episodes to come. Stay tuned for future reviews.

Maul – Shadow Lord: Episodes 1 & 2 are now available on Disney+