Maul’s Power on Mandalore Challenged by Darth Sidious and Maul Loses His Brother
Darth Maul duelling against Darth Sidious in The Lawless with the Darksaber
Following Maul’s securing of power on Mandalore and causing severe anguish to his old nemesis, Obi-Wan Kenobi, by killing his romantic interest, Maul is sitting in a very powerful position on Mandalore. However, through Sidious’/Palpatine’s connection to the Force, Sidious/Palpatine detects this rising power and sends for his ship and travels as Darth Sidious to Mandalore (note: not as Chancellor Palpatine).
I find Eric Goldman’s observation to be valuable in which he writes
Ever since we met Savage Opress, much less had Darth Maul return, it was hard not to wonder how Darth Sidious would react if he learned about these would-be Sith. And we got the answer in a very thrilling and eventful way here which wasted no time in showing Palpatine traveling to Mandalore – and then dealing with this situation, in what was the most direct manner the show has ever taken in showing Palpatine and Sidious are the same person
While Savage Oppress is flanking Darth Maul in the royal chamber, Maul detects Sidious’ presence, announcing “I sense a presence…a presence I haven’t felt since -” whereupon Sidious enters into the royal chamber and Maul surprisingly exclaims, “Master!” Sidious enters, having Force-choked the guards in the hall’s entrance.
“Master,” respectfully addresses Maul to Sidious upon their meeting each other once again. Sidious responds with his new knowledge of Maul’s situation, “I am most impressed to see you have survived your injuries.” Maul, still in a manner of fealty, responds, “I used your training, Master, and I have built all this in hopes of returning to your side.”
However, Sidious really knows what’s going on and seeks to put down this threat to his power and tells Maul, “How unfortunate that you are attempting to deceive me.” Maul, perplexingly inquires, “Master?” Sidious responds in an upset fashion, “You have become a rival!”
At this remark, Sidious turns around and Force-throws both Savage Oppress and Darth Maul against a glass wall, then lets them down, and they all pull out their lightsabers, Oppress with his double-bladed lightsaber, Sidious with two single lightsabers, and Maul with just a single lightsaber. They then engage in lightsaber-battling, with Sidious able to hold his own against the two powerful brothers.
While Maul duels Sidious, Oppress comes along and barrels into Sidious, forcing him off from a balcony, which doesn’t seem to faze him, as he gracefully flips mid-air, then Force-drags both of the brothers down to the plaza with him. Amidst their continued duelling in the plaza, Sidious kicks Oppress away, causing one-on-one duel between Oppress and Sidious. While they continue duelling, Maul arises from his unconsciousness to see their intense duelling. While they duel, Sidious is able to get a kick in on Oppress, dazing him, allowing Sidious to then raise his lightsabers with his back to Oppress and then impale him on both of them, while cackling and Maul looking on, shocked, interjecting, “Brother.”
Savage Oppress expiring with the Nightsister magicks escaping from him
Sidious then powers down his lightsabers and Force-pushes Oppress down into the next level of the plaza. Maul runs over to Oppress, who has ichor green magicks emerging from him. With his final breath, Oppress admits to Maul, “Brother, I am an unworthy apprentice. I’m not like you. I never was,” and then expires.
Here again Eric Goldman fascinatingly observes
Even though you could guess it might happen if you had to pick one of these three to not survive the battle, it’s still a big deal to see Savage Opress get killed by Darth Sidious. Just on the level of promotion alone, Savage was a big part of this show since he was introduced and always portrayed as an incredibly powerful character. Savage’s death underlines Sidious’ power and danger, while also adding another surprising note of tragedy to Darth Maul, in what has become an admirably multifaceted portrayal of the iconic figure that still retains his villainy. Savage will be missed too – The Clone Wars creators took what could have been a silly concept (“Darth Maul has a brother!”) and made him into a strong character in his own right; not just physically, but via his surprisingly layered background that made him more than just the big, brutish monster he was transformed into.
Quick to rub it in to Maul, Sidious, cackling loudly to Maul, announces: “Remember, the first and only reality of the Sith: there can only be two. And you are no longer my apprentice. You have been replaced.”
At this, Sidious jumps down to the plaza where Maul is situated, with Maul igniting not only his lightsaber, but also the darksaber, while Sidious lights up both of his lightsabers. They then engage in an awesome lightsaber duel, which is ended by Sidious’ Force-throwing around of Maul, clearly dominating him at this point and seemingly having won the battle. Amidst his being Force-shocked by Sidious, Maul pleads, “Have mercy. Please. Please!”
However, Sidious continues to shock Maul with Force-lightning, cruelly saying, “There is no mercy.” Sidious, with Maul having been shocked into submission, addresses his concern, saying, “Do not worry: I’m not going to kill you. I have other uses for you.” The “camera” then pulls away with Sidious continuing to shock Maul with Force-lightning….
This is the final time that we see Darth Maul on-screen in Star Wars The Clone Wars…at least until the final episodes are released. (There is also Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir, which is fantastic, but not on-screen.) Stay tuned for more….
This is the sixteenth post in my ongoing Darth Maul series.
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