Maul: Shadow Lord Praises 7 & 8

This week was another jammed packed two episodes exploring Maul's depth as a character. What a wild ride! I didn't expect to be empathizing with the villain, but here we are, one week away from the grand season one finale!!

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Transcript

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I have a message from the Village Jedi. Max Rebo hit it, Happy Friday, everybody. This is another Star Wars View brought to you by the local Village Jedi. I'm your hostess, Marina, and if you're new here, welcome. And if you're not, welcome back. Technically, though, every single one of y'all is new here because we have the new set. If you're watching on YouTube, hello, hello, hello, coming at you live from the brand new Village Jedi era. We are so back. So if you're not watching on YouTube, I'm obviously gonna be posting about it a crazy ton on my social media because I'm just so proud. And that's what people do on social media. They share their highlight reels and the best part of their life, the best part of their day, the best part of their sleigh. And that is me with this set. I'm so proud of it. Grant helped me put it together. It is very uh Imperial panel Star Warship inspired. And then everything on the shelves is just stuff that I have collected that I've been wanting to showcase. So I hope you guys enjoy. Let me know what you think. I'm very proud of it. And I feel like I'm moving up a little bit in the Star Wars world because I also got the new webcam situation figured out. So we've got a little bit crisper, cleaner video for all y'all moving up in the podcasting world. Um and I wrote here, speaking of moving up, one of my favorite Star Wars podcasts, Children of the Watch, followed me this week on social media. And it feels pretty amazing, especially because the reason I started my own show, as you guys know, is because I love Star Wars and I wanted to build a community of people who also love Star Wars, just like me. And so naturally, as a fan of Star Wars, I already had shows that I was listening to and I really loved to get involved in their discussions. And so they inspired me among other podcasts. And so it's just very validating to have them be supporting my show, have you guys supporting the show, because it's just very, I feel very honored that you guys want to spend an hour of your busy weeks with me yappadoodling dooin about Star Wars. So also talking about Star Wars and the show. May the 4th is coming up. Slay, I will be doing my bonus trivia episode that will be coming out Monday, May 4th. Duh. Also debuting Monday, May 4th is the Maul Shadow Lord finale. So that will be covered as per usual on our Friday episode of next week. Because that's how math works. There were 10 episodes, so 2, 2, 2, 2, 2. And we're already looking at Mandalorian and Grogu, staring it in the face. I got my tickets to unlock. I'm excited to go see that. But I want to give Maul his flowers, and so we will be discussing that finale episode. And whatever else they have up their sleeve that week will also be covering. Because May the 4th, anything can happen. So we will see what happens. Before we dive into the discussion, though, as y'all know, here's how we run the place, here's how to get involved in the discussion. You can follow me on Instagram or TikTok at the VillageJedi. Um, or feel free to send in an email at tvjpod at gmail.com and I will be happy to read it and discuss it on the next episode. So we have one of those to read this week, which I'm looking forward to diving into at the end. But first off, let's just go ahead and take a quick ad break and then get into the real reason y'all are here to talk about Maul. Hello there. If you're looking to build your collection, the Village Jedi is now collaborating with Sabre Masters to offer you$20 off your first combat ready laser sword. You heard that correctly, Combat Ready. The team at Sabre Masters makes it their personal mission to create lightsabers built to last using lightweight polycarbonate blades with customizable settings and simple navigation. Sabermasters is always offering a great deal for force users everywhere, but with my code TVJ20, you can save an extra$20 at checkout. Simply type in the code at the checkout screen, TVJ20, and you're done. Link will be in the show notes. Alright, so with all that out of the way, we have a lot to yap about. If y'all are watching on YouTube, I have a little bit of some face jemmies going on. I really love to dress up. That's been one of my favorite parts so far is putting on my costumes and then, you know, doing my makeup and getting to put like these cute little stickers on my face. It just adds a little bit of flair, a little pizzazzy jazz to your hostess. And so it just builds my confidence and gets the vibes flowing. So I used purple today to honor Rena Sol. I hope we see her again as we'll get into, but I don't know. So I wanted to pay my respects to a fallen baddie. Alright, chapter seven, call to oblivion. I went ahead on Google and looked up oblivion. It means the state of being completely forgotten, unknown, or extinct, often referring to a person or thing fading into obscurity. And it also denotes a state of being unaware or a mental state of total forgetfulness. Excuse me. So basically, it means call to we don't know what. So y'all better be in bed by nine, or we're coming for ya. Devin says, because, you know, as we left, her and Riley, they're in this ominous tunnel together with Maul and these, you know, cute little yellow lights. Devin says, Maul is not our friend. He's a murderer. We're basically only following him because he's better than running from a literal inquisitor. I mean, the logic follows for me. Like, this guy has been, you know, low-key nice to me. If he wanted to kill me, he could have, but he doesn't want to. But you know who does want to kill us? The helicopter blade, you know, black knight over there. So we gotta be, we gotta be running. The Jedi Hunter, I'm a Jedi. We gotta stick with this guy. And Riley's like, okay, well, as soon as we get the opportunity, we need to try and find my dad and your master. And she's like, okay, whatever. We will, don't worry. But while they're yap, yap, yapping, mall goes, if I may, if you wish to continue on your own, do so at your own peril. Because the longer y'all dilly dally, the longer that I'm in danger. So either shut up or leave. Like, we are in a in a perilous situation. He's just done. If I may, I just lost it. Great. And I started laughing. Also, if we see like when he turns his head, the light catches his piercing. Um, and I've decided I want one. So, anyways, Ma proposes that uh they leave with him because he has a ship that they can escape on, and so for the time being, they're like, fine, we'll go with you, but only so far because we low key need to go find our dads. And he's like, whatever, we'll we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Devin just feels very much like this angsty punk rock teen. I don't need anyone, and the only real plan here is mine. So it is a phenomenal pairing of her and Maul. Like they just have this irritated, responsible adult to difficult teenager chemistry, and I'm very excited to see where the rest of this show takes their journeys because they already have a good, solid, fun, entertaining connection. So now we cut to Dockey and Lawson, and Dockie's basically like, you need to be patient. Like, we're gonna find them. Me and my Padawan, we have this special, like Peter Tingle, we'll figure it out. And Lawson's like, Bro, you've never been a dad. Like, can you please just calm down with the Jedi crap? Like, my son is in danger. This is very serious to me, and I would appreciate if you just went along and respected my feelings in this moment. And Docky's just like, Well, we will proceed to sector 10, as you suggested. Duh! Duh. This is your fault. Like, I think we need to stop and think about that because how many of us have forgotten that they are in this situation because of Grandpa Dockie? The son has been kidnapped, their house is destroyed, his life is ruined, and now you're forcing me to use my only underground friend, Rena Sol, to help you. You're the one that put me in this situation. So I don't know. I applaud Captain Lawson because the patience he's been willing to give this man is uh phenomenal. I could never. I could never. Um, it did make me, I wrote down a question. I do wonder if Dockey will die during the finale, and that's what's ultimately gonna send Devin into his fold. That's at least what it's setting up and looking like to me. But who knows? Who knows? The fangirl in me is saying just leave Dockie and Devin, you should just hang out with Rook and Maul, and y'all can just be a happy little crime syndicate Lord family. But what do I know? Nothing. That's why I'm not in the writing room. So, anyways, we cut back to the tunnel. Maul compliments Devin as far as her going toe-to-toe with the Inquisitor. He says you fought well, and so they start to kind of have this little chit-chat small talk that irritated him before, but now it's okay because like he's the one that initiated it. Okay. Um, and so then Devin feels comfortable enough to ask him, like, okay, well, who's your master? You said that you were cast aside, so there's a story there, and I'm here for it. Mall says he's still alive, unfortunately, which is a reference to Sidious, obviously. He says that his betrayal was not the deepest wound that Sidious would inflict, which next we watch, you know, on a second watch through, you're able to understand, okay, this is foreshadowing what these episodes are gonna deep dive on. Um, Children of the Watch, actually, I was listening to their debrief today, and they had actually said that something I hadn't thought of is like Maul is gunning for the head of the Empire. So Devin is like, who's your master? And Maul's like, uh funny you should ask. Like, it is the big baddie boo. Like, it is Lord Sidious himself, the Emperor. I just feel like that would completely blow her mind. So I appreciate him not going there quite yet because he knows the power that that card holds for sure. So then we cut to Merrick and he is it Merrick or Maruk? I really don't know. And I would appreciate someone to educate me, please. But anyways, he's perched up on this skyscraper. I was convinced that we were gonna see his helicopter blade, like he was gonna decide, okay, I'm done looking ominous and cool and mysterious up here. Now I gotta dip, and he was just gonna like take out his Inquisitor blade, light it up, and he'd just like spin copter his way down to the streets. But that's not what happened. Um, we cut back to Maul's hideout. Rook obviously is not happy. She still doesn't agree with Maul's vision about Devin putting them all in jeopardy for this girl who obviously doesn't even seem like she wants to be there for real. I'm not mad at her whatsoever. She has a right to be upset because I'm starting to get upset with this girl too. Like, make up your mind. But Maul says they must come with us. And the kids are like, psych, you thought. So they run, and Maul, you can tell he's getting so irritated. She is just on thin, thin ice with this man. Thin ice. So Maul cuts them off, and you can see like he's he's starting to just he's getting done. He gets angry with Devin. He says, Don't you see the situation you're in? It matters so much to me that you are willing to at least say that you are not in a good place. I just need to hear these words. He just he hates the Jedi, and and he hates the emperor, and he hates the empire, like he's just fueled by all of these issues, and so especially with Devin having this conversation, he's just like, my patience is wearing thin with you and your delusions. And you can tell that he hates the Jedi, and one of the reasons is because they fill kids' heads with their own beliefs and agendas, and then the minute they begin to question or think for themselves or maybe go into opposition to the Jedi way, they're cast aside, they're useless, they're shoved back into a box. And that is just like what the Sith do. We see that later, how Sidious was kind of training him and manipulating him. So what he says to Ahsoka and what he's saying with Devin, it is true from his perspective. So it's therefore not difficult to convince them that it's true as well. So this truth that he lives in about why he hates the Jedi and their manipulations, because it echoes Sith manipulations, he lives in that truth, and therefore it's not difficult to push that truth on someone, especially when they're young and um inexperienced. So he force freezes her, she breaks it to everyone's surprise. Um, but Maul isn't really trying to hurt her, like they start to kind of um spar because he's just really trying to show her like, I'm strong, I'm powerful, and I can train you to be powerful as well. You just need to yield a little bit. You're so stubborn. Um, but you know, that's that is not what happens. The Empire shows up, they begin this huge bridge battle. Um, and this would have been the perfect cover for Riley to just leave with Devin. Like it's what she needed, and she knows that she most likely fought in the clone wars, she knows what the heat of a battle, the opportunities to look for to be able to escape, evade capture. She knows what the thick of a battle looks like. And so the fact that she is choosing to not escape, but instead joins Maul in the pushback of the Empire, we just don't really know what this girl's angle is. Like, she's constantly surprising herself and Maul to that extent. You can tell by his face, he's like, this girl is so unpredictable, which on one hand is good because there's a lot of fire and energy that I can use to my advantage if I can control it. Like, I don't even know what this girl's next move is gonna be. Never let him know your next move, and you know, the final boss is Devin. So this lapse in judgment eventually is the reason that Riley is captured because she chose to stay and help Maul fight instead of just grabbing Riley and running. That's why he was able to get captured. So, one of the things I wrote down that we're learning about her character then is that she hates the Empire more than she hates Maul, but not even she knows what that belief looks like or what it's gonna slowly evolve into. She's just as the show has gone on on the surface, it seems like you can kind of tell what she's thinking, but then she does something that's not predictable at all. And you're just like, okay, you know, and I think that is why Maul is drawn to her, why he thinks she would make a valuable asset. So she locks eyes with Maul, they have kind of this forced connection already. Um, they have this master and apprentice chemistry that's just already through the roof. Like you can tell she she's very interested in what he has to offer her, and he's very interested in giving her that opportunity to train her. He's he's said it multiple times. Um, I think it would be exciting if we got to see this dynamic really start to come to fruition at the end of this season. Um I'm just ready to see their dynamic, you know, start to blossom. And I wrote down I think it'd be cool if in later seasons we saw Devin and Kira together because they're kind of the same-ish age, seeing all three of them together, and then we've got Rook Cast, we've got like Moll and the girlies. I don't know. I'm here for it. I think it's fantastic. So now we cut to uh Lawson and Dockie, and they're looking for the kids, and Lawson reveals that he's actually worked with the Jedi during the Clone Wars, so he never understood the hate, which Dockie appreciates. Obviously, anyone would appreciate that if they were told, like, hey, I know that there's been a massive injustice done to you, but just so you know, I don't agree with it, and you guys seem, you know, like you were innocent, and he's very grateful for that. So that was that was a nice, you know, semi-redeeming part of dialogue. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I wrote that Devin says the Empire took Riley. Dockey senses that there's more to the story by asking who else was with you, and so she does not tell him at this time that she was with Maul. So we see as viewers that she's beginning to see only herself and her own beliefs as her ally, and that's the beginning of the Sith Wis to be heavily self-reliant and to just go on what you think is right. And so that is the direction that her character is starting to go toward, which is which is kind of exciting for us as viewers, stressful for Master Dockey. I'm sure he's like, Oh, this is not gonna be good, and it probably won't be, but that's why we're here. We're here from all, we're not here for Docky. Uh, it's okay that he's a little stressed. Sorry. So Dockie ends up wanting to leave because he's like, Well, it's clear if we're here, it's putting you guys in further danger, so we need to leave. And Devin's like, Are you serious? They just kidnapped his son. Absolutely not. I don't care what you do, but I'm gonna help Captain Lawson get his son. And Captain Lawson's like, I don't care what either of you do, I'm here to get my son. So they kind of start to formulate a plan, and we cut back to Mall, they're still on the bridge, they are able to, you know, get the upper hand in the battle, and then he can sense the Inquisitors, they're they're gonna be coming. Like, I I'm sure of it. So we are starting at this point of the episode to build towards something more sinister. Riley is arrested, two boots is low-key annoying, but somewhat redeemable after this week, I guess. And Maul and the gang are on their slow journey toward his escape ship, which is hidden. Um, during this episode, they're again in these tunnels underground, and some of the Mandalorians are questioning Maul's grand plan, and Maul is he's starting to get a little upset with it as well. Um, and so Rook engages in this debate with Maul about Devon. She's like, I think your focus and determination with her is starting to cloud your judgment. And Maul's irritated at first, but he's willing to entertain the conversation because he respects her enough to have that debate and have that conversation about the loyalties of the Mandalorians, you know, his loyalty to his vision and what he believes is right. I just need you to trust me. Yeah, well, I'm kind of starting to doubt a little bit. So it's just nice to see them having that open line of dialogue, which speaking to the point I made last week about how Maul's working relationship and willingness to work with strong women comes through. I had someone comment on a video I posted on Instagram reminding me that Maul actually came from a matriarchal society. So they are raised to respect women and look to them as advisors with deep appreciation. So that extra level of his character did help me understand, like, okay, this is where he's coming from when it comes to why he trusts strong women as allies and why he's willing to do good work with them. So one of the things that he ends the conversation with is uh saying allegiances can be severed because Rook is like, I don't trust her. Like it sounds like all she cares about is being allegiant to her master, and that's when he's like, Well, allegiances can be severed, like just you watch. So I wrote down what would cause someone to sever their allegiance betrayal, disappointment, a better offer. Like, there's a lot of different options. So Mall's already, he's playing the game. He's like, Okay, this piece goes here, this piece goes there. Well, what if this happens? We gotta calculate for this move. So, like, you he's smart, he knows he knows what he's working with. And and the longer he spends with Devin, the more things he sees her choose and do, the easier it becomes to see those pieces on the board and the moves that they're they're making. So his plan ultimately is obviously going to be to get her away from those core beliefs that motivate her actions. He doesn't really have an interest in killing Doki, at least not to my, you know, opinion as a viewer. Um Um, but more so just helping her let go of her own allegiances because those are the things that are holding her back, is the things that not necessarily she does believe, but the things that she knows she's supposed to believe, is what he's trying to get her away from. So then we cut to Lawson, he's begging two boots to have one single original thought in his life and help him save his son. We cut back to Merrick and Crow so that another bridge battle can ensue. And I just wanted to take a moment to talk about how cool the Inquisitor's designs are. They are so cool. And what's interesting, I wanted to touch on this because I think it's interesting. In the Empire, the way that it's structured, everyone is supposed to be falling in line. You have the high officials and they all wear the same uniforms. They're all humans because there aren't isn't supposed to be any aliens except for Admiral Thron. And they all have a certain way of doing things, they're all dressed the same, they all act the same, they all talk the same. And so it's like this conformity system, but it's totally different with the inquisitors. Yeah, they, you know, are stripped of their individuality by having their name taken away, but they are given something special by being called like the 11th brother, the seventh sister, things like that. Like that is you, and they all have different designs. So if you tell me who your favorite inquisitor is, it's typically because of their design, like they don't have a lot of dialogue, and the dialogue they do have is obviously like they're all angry and they're all self-serving because they're part of the empire. But most of the reasons that the inquisitors are cool is because of their differences, they're different species, they have different outfits, they have a cool way of fighting, and so it just is interesting to me. I hadn't really put that together until I saw these two inquisitors side by side, just how different they are, and that is a very different line of thinking than the rest of the Empire and the way that it operates. So kind of a cool little little tidbit jemmy for ya. Um, the visuals of this scene are absolutely stunning. We're in this underground cave waterfall, there's like this greenery, and then when the battle starts, there's like this red on red on red lightsaber blade clashes. It just looks really cool. We see Maul engaging in this battle. The choreography is fantastic. You catch something new every time you watch it, and the inquisitors are sort of leading him away from the main conflict, trying to get him alone, trying to get him out of the chaos of the blaster fire. And Maul's like, all right, yeah, let's take this, let's take this dance somewhere else. Um, when they jump through the waterfall, you can see the steam like evaporating off the Inquisitor blades, and I think that is just so cool. It's such a testament because this is Clone Wars animation. Like, if anyone asked you, like, oh, what animation style is it? It's Clone Wars animation. Bad Batch is Clone Wars animation. And so it's just cool to see like how far it has come since 2008. Like, whoa, this this is Clone Wars animation. Like, it just looks so good, so clean. Um, I wrote down a note about how long these Inquisitors have been training. Because as we see in Tales of the Empire, if they were recruited as Order 66 survivors, such as Baris Offie or Is Kat Icarus, which is from the book Rise of the Bright Blade, I highly encourage you to read it. It's all about the Inquisitors and the Inquisitories, at least the second half is. Um, so it's really only been however long ago that massacre was, which according to Google was one year between when the Clone Wars ended and when this show starts. So you have a 2v1 fight, a you know, of two Sith who have only been training for one year versus Maul. And so it doesn't seem like it could be that intimidating of a battle, at least for him. But then you throw in all these extra factors. He has messed up legs because in the heat of battle, like his his mechanical legs are acting up, and so they take advantage of that disadvantage. He has non-ono-auto-spinning blades, that is a huge disadvantage because he has to like spin as fast as he can with his hands, and they just like click a little button and it's spinning way faster than he ever could. And then later, the emotional PTSD of seeing one of his brothers slaughtered again trying to defend him on paper. It doesn't look bad, but then these extra factors are what make this fight so deadly. So it's extremely entertaining. So then after a little bit of time with them, we cut back to the bridge fight, and the Mandalorian losers who were questioning Maul's leadership end up stealing his getaway ship. And so now we know for sure that this fight is going to end in a retreat because our main character's escape route has just been compromised. So that was their golden ticket, and Charlie just took it home for himself. So, yikes. The ship, though, it gets shot down by the Empire, which stinks for the Mandalorian defectors and of course Mole. So this fight is just quickly getting messy, it's very ugly, and the episode is drawing to a close. I wrote down that Sam Whitwer is acting his heart out this week. Not just this episode, but especially the next episode, which I'm so excited to talk about. He has like this whimpering and then the agonizing cries of pain. The face acting that the animators were able to pull off is just absolutely stunning and phenomenal. And so at the at the close, he like gets on his hands and knees and he like raises up his hands, and and the one inquisitor is like there's no surrender for you. The Emper wants you dead. And Maul's just like, likewise. That's all he says. And then we hear him screaming in agony. And I was caught off guard. I didn't really know what was gonna happen. I was like, he's not, he's not surrendering, like, what is going on? So he like puts his hands up, four scrabs, and collapses the cave as he's screaming, and that's how the episode ends. And we are all applauding, and we are all so grateful that we can just hit play on chapter eight. Because can you imagine having to wait a whole nother week after that incredible performance? I couldn't. So now we're jumping into it. Chapter eight, the creeping fear. Looked up on Google again. Hello, hello. Definition creeping describes moving slowly, quietly, or stealthily to avoid detection, or developing by gradual, almost almost imperceptible degrees, or feelings slash processes that advance slowly. So upon first reading the creeping fear, you're like, hey, yo, what? But this is an incredibly fitting title, as we will get into. Uh, we cut again to like, oh, you think you can surrender? Well, the emperor wants you dead. And Maul's like, yeah, likewise. And his plan the whole time was to force collapse the cave and then jump out just at the last second. And he does kind of this like force yell spin move down through the bridge and rocks in order to successfully evade. And we see a similar move in Revenge of the Sith when the Jedi come to confront Palpatine and Mace Windu is like, you know, you're under arrest, and Palpatine's like, I am the Senate. And then like he starts like screaming, he's like, I it's treason, then, and he's like, ah! And he does like this this propeller spin move. That's what we saw. We just saw it. So, like, master like apprentice, duh da, and it just keeps on going. Um, the gang decides to be on standby until Maul has been located, and this is where the episode starts to get absolutely phenomenal. We cut to rock bottom, okay? And this is symbolic. We are at the bottom of the cave. The bottom of the bottom. Maul has been at the absolute rock bottom before, but he finds himself there yet again. How many times this character is stripped of his dignity and reinvents himself is incredible. It's powerful and moving to watch. So I wrote this. Bear with me, I'm gonna read it. So here we go again, ready to engage in some self-reflecting, as I'm sure he did after he was cut in half and cast aside. Again, when Savage found him on the trash planet, again when Sauvage was killed and his Mandalorian Underground Criminal Empire was overthrown by Sidious through humiliation, again after Order 66, and now again after losing most of his mobility, falling hundreds of feet, and in the deep dark sewers, Maul is able to confront himself yet again. He's had practice, but this time as an audience, we get to watch. Oh man, and and like it just the second watch through I was able to catch so much more because the first watch through I'm just I'm just in awe. I'm like, what is even happening right now? What if episode one maul could see episode eight mall, he would be confused because that man was so confident and he had all of these these vibes about him. He was aura farming, and now we're at the rock bottom in the sewer pits. Excuse me. So it just I cannot wait. It is a it is a wild ride. So he's looking down in this puddle, he catches his reflection, and we see for the first time a non-Sith-eyed adolescent Zabrak. It's Maul's younger self in the water, and he can't bear to look. He slowly picks himself up, assesses the physical damage, he makes a mini plan to keep going one foot in front of the other, and starts taking those steps. He's entirely alone, but fueled with hatred. So then we open to the chapter credits, chapter eight, the creeping fear, and we actually hear Maul's echoed screams and then the haunting laugh of Darth Sidious. Like, I'm getting chills just thinking about this right now, you guys. It is so good, especially when you think about it in that way, that we are with this character and he is about to take a very vulnerable emotional journey through this. So what a treat that we get to watch it. So we cut to Riley, his heart literally drops into his butt when the crow emerges to interrogate him. Like he's sitting in this room all by himself, the door slides open, and this like haunting silhouette thing of nightmares that barely fits in the door way. It's just nightmares for the rest of this kid's life, and I'm pretty sure like an intense phobia of birds for sure. Um, we learn later, and it makes sense now, but one of the things that the crow is able to get out of Riley is that Rena Sol is expecting them at a transport. Because the next thing that we hear Lieutenant Brett Blake say, he like takes a little calm call and he goes, Okay, we'll keep the squads in position. We're on our way. On the way, obviously, to Rena Soul's docking bay three to set their trap. Like, it's so obvious now, re-watching it, because you know it's gonna happen, but in the moment you're like, what did they what did they get out of him? Like, they know where Maul is. What what? Like, oh, do you think Devin's cute? Like, what are they gonna what are they gonna inter at this? What are they gonna get from this kid? He has nothing to hide. So it makes sense when you look at it that way, like, oh, that's how they were able that's how they were able to set the trap. Um, two go two boots gets mad because Lieutenant Blank isn't following protocol. Duh, it's the Empire. Like, can we please rewire this with this droid? Is that rude to say? I'm sorry. He's annoying me. Um, but Lawson gives him a call and recruits him to help save Riley, so then that plan begins to take shape. Docky says, you know what? If we're gonna be able to pull this off, we need a faster vehicle. He asks the right girl. Let me just say this was her moment, and she took it. Two Boots helps take Riley out of prison, and then we cut back to the real reason that we're all here. We're all back on the edge of our seats, and we see Maul's therapy session continues. The dust in the tunnel is billowing, which symbolically stirs up old memories and an unresolved past. So then we start to see the full picture. Young Savage is pleading with young Maul. Please don't go, don't go, please. And then we see Hooded Sidious appear, and we hear the death knell. Now, according to Google, this is a solemn, slow ringing of a bell to announce a death or a funeral, and it is called a knell or a death knell. According to Wikipedia, a death knell is the ringing of a church bell to announce the death of a person. Historically, it was the second of three bells rung around death, the first being the passing bell to warn of an impending death, and the last was the corpse bell, which survives today as the funeral toll. If you rewatch the scene, the funeral bell rings more than three times, but the sound is the same. Which symbolically, I don't know if that gave you guys chills as much as it gave me chills when I put that together, but you can hear it as Savage is like watching Maul go with Sidious. You hear the bell ring, and it has to do with like the transportation of someone who's dead. Cinema. Absolute cinema. There's some geniuses cooking at Disney, okay, because the plate was served, and we all just absolutely devoured this up. Like, we cannot get enough of this show, and I think there's just gonna be a ton of things like that that we continually pick out as the show ages. So once I caught on to that, you already know re-watching that scene hits even harder. We see Sidious as he's torturing Maul during training, calling him pathetic. We see all these horrible flashbacks and even this pleading tone toward Kenobi. He says Kenobi's name, but this time it isn't said with malicious intent or hate. It's almost like like pleading, like there's some sort of hope in his tone. And so I wrote down that Maul's hate toward Kenobi is obviously because he cut off his legs, but maybe it's also because he's jealous seeing that Kenobi flourished without his master. So when you think about it, what happened? They both lost their master on the same day, but only one of them was able to pick themselves back up and make something of themselves. It took Maul a long time before he was able to do that. And so I think he low key was very jealous of Kenobi for being able to just get back on the horse and keep riding into the sunset while Maul was left in the dust all by himself. So pretty sad. During this intense scene, you you hear like a heartbeat in his ears. He's having this panic attack, a PTSD episode when he sees his brother die again, he's holding him in his arms, and Savage's dying words are, You must have your revenge. So now we see that Savage's undying loyalty toward Maul was always because he cared for him and wanted to see his brother become stronger than the monster who separated them so long ago. Again, there are just so many moments in this series that you you see and you're like, whoa, that that's crazy. You re-watch it and it sinks in a little deeper. You re-watch it, and then you begin to kind of understand, like, there is just so much heaviness in this episode that none of us could have predicted. The direction that they took with this character is unlike anything we've ever seen with any Star Wars villain, and it is so incredibly enjoyable to watch fold out in real time. Like, what a treat that we get to be here for this. If you stop and think about that. The fans who are gonna watch this show after you, they get to just watch it in all one full sitting, but we get to take one week at a time and digest and talk about what just transpired. What a treat to be here live. Um, Maul's hate for Sidious is reignited, it's burning stronger than ever. And Sam's performance is chilling as always. Maul keeps moving in spite of the storm. We cut to Devin, she's stealing a hot rod, she's a car junkie, gearhead, grunge, syntho girly pop, whatever you want to call it. She's got the radio dialed up to a million so she can go pick up the boys. We cut back to two boots in his single grand act of rebellion helping Riley escape. And he he says this line to Lawson. He's like, How did you know it's me without my boots? Fool. Who else was he on the phone with? Who else has he been in contact? How did you know it's me? Like, I don't know if he was joking and it was just this dry humor, but I don't think so because Lawson was like, Oh, like you're my partner, like I would know you anywhere. Like he's trying to be kind, but you can tell Lawson is like, dude, seriously, like you're the only one I've I'm being in contact with. Like, who who else who else would it be? Oh, whatever. Okay, well, the plan goes wayward as always, but it's all good because Leadfoot Devin is on it. She shows up, she pulls up, and we all saw who pushed their way through to jump in that car first. It was Mr. Lawson Riley. Riley Lawson. He's like, Okay, so then we cue this banging car chase. Um, I like that being chased at one point, Dockie and Devin actually share this look. It's kind of closer to the end of the scene. And you can tell, like, oh, they've they've pulled this move before. Like what they're about to do, they have done it before. And so they she like tailspins the car and opens the door, it slides open, and he like force pushes um the stormtroopers that are in pursuit. Very cool scene. Really, really liked that. Just the look that they share. Um, and so something I I wrote down is I wonder how long they were able to work together before Order 66, and that it just occurred to me that they are not Anakin and Ahsoka, which, upon further review, duh, duh. But what I mean here is I was like, what's with their bond? Like, it's not the typical bond we see, it's more so echoing Luminara and Barris. Kind of how the typical Padawan master relationship was. Where if you remember in Clone Wars, there was this one scene where Anakin was like, we gotta find Ahsoka, like I cannot leave without her. Like, I'm scared, like, what if she dies? And at that time, Ahsoka was with Barris, and Luminara is just like, Well, if our Padawans die, they die. If they're gone, they're gone. It's the will of the force. I guess we need to move on, you know, or whatever, Jedi, you know, whatever. She just kind of spills, vomits out. And Anakin's like, absolutely not. Like, I love her, and so I'm gonna save her because I care about her. She's my Padawan. What's wrong with you? And Luminara's like, what's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? Like, you need to get that figured out. You guys have an interesting relationship, Master Skywalker. So I don't know why I didn't put that together. That I'm so used to seeing Anakin and Ahsoka, Master Padawan, that when I put together that Dockie and Devin are more like Luminara and Barris, made so much more sense. They're dynamic. Okay, we cut back to Mall, and we're all about to get absolutely devastated with Ivan realizing it. Like the first time I watched the scene, I had no idea. As with the rest of the population of fans, we all were just like, do-do-do, the worst is over.

unknown 42:28

Ha ha ha ha.

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That's a good one. The worst indeed was not over. He collapses again, and this time he makes eye contact with his young reflection, but he doesn't look away. The young Maul says, trembling, I'm sorry. And a tear falls from Maul's face as he replies kindly and gently, it's alright, it's alright. He shakes his head firmly after letting the tear fall and says, I won't let him do this to anyone else. And this is a side of Maul, and really any Star Wars villain besides Callus that we haven't seen before, which is just this humanizing, empathetic, wow, I'm so sorry for you. Like in that moment, you do forget the atrocities committed. And so that's been kind of the discourse, at least that I've seen online, is fans split down the middle. Like it's either, oh wow, poor mall, wham, wham, wham. He's still a murderer, he's still a monster. And then the other side of the phantom is like, yeah, but he has feelings, and that's worth discussing because that was actually heartbreaking, and we've never seen anything like that before. So we need to deep dive into why this was shown to us. I fall into the latter, obviously. Um, yeah. I wrote down too if he were to join the rebellion, it wouldn't really work because they play the long game to overthrow the Empire and reinstall a new government that is for the people. They want justice for the galaxy, they come from a place of sincere compassion and hope. And Maul just wants revenge. He wants to go straight for the head. He wants Sidious dead. And this episode made me sad that he couldn't have been the one to kill him. And even more sad that he came back to hurt more people in the sequels. We also see like he hurts kids, like in Project Necromancer in Bad Batch. I wrote down, excuse me, I wrote down that Maul would absolutely never help Sidious kidnap children. Never. So he sets his eyes and continues on, and the bells hauntingly ring again. Once you hear it, you can't unhear it. So I also wrote down that Maul is just too angry to die. His greatest hope is to outlive his enemies, and I low-key love that for him. Like that's how you know this show is being done correctly because you're rooting for the bad guy. You're rooting for the villain. Especially in this moment where it just humanized him, and you all of a sudden, like, low-key forgot all the horrible things he's done. Like, what do you mean? How am I being manipulated by Sam Whitworth's performance, by the animators, by the music, by the storyboarders? Like, all of these things are coming to an accumulated picture, and the picture I'm looking at is empathy. How am I empathizing with this crazy person? And that's how you know that the show is doing its job. So we cut to the gang, they're waiting at the rendezvous for Mall. Um, and the man of the hour, he arrives, he's ready for some Mandalorian medical attention, no doubt. We cut back to the good guys. Devin checks on Riley. She says, you know, fear is natural, we just can't allow it to control us. Honestly, wise words, you should be an anxiety specialist for real. You got him with that one. It's okay that you're scared, just lock in. Just lock in. That's what the Jedi always tell me. Okay, baby girl, calm down. Um, then, you know, we cut to them in the elevator. Docky and Devin, they sense danger, and Rena confirms it with a code phrase because they're headed to the ship that she's found. Um, they escape through the top, which is very Revenge of the Sith, chaotic, elevator coated, and it can an Obi-Wan. Um, and then Rena ends up taking matters into her own her own hands by taking out the docking bay by blasting the engine. And we honestly don't know if she's dead or not. I hope not. She's a queen, and this whole show is revolving around a guy who got cut in half and is is the main character. So you're never really dead in Star Wars, and truer words have never been spoken. Um, the gang cuts to Demas's hideout. Vario gets a call about meeting with the Crimson Dawn. Dryden Voss, who is the leader of that syndicate, is requesting a meeting with Maul. He's kind of the the head honcho of the more powerful of the criminal underground syndicate groups. Um, and so this obviously is gonna be our connection to how Maul ends up running his syndicate out of Crimson Dawn, having them being directly under him, they answer directly to him and his leadership. So then the episode ends with him standing ominously overlooking the city. And looking into next week, there are a few episode scenes that we have not seen that are from the trailer, so obviously we're gonna see them next week. Um, I'm not really sure what to expect other than Master Docky passing away in an untimely death, or maybe timely, if you ask some other fans who may be fed up with his shenanigans. But that's it. Chapter seven, chapter eight, and chapter eight did eat. So let's go ahead and read our letters. Okay, if you as a villager feel so inclined to bring a matter before the village Jedi to be discussed at the end of the next episode, please write in at tvjpod at gmail.com and I will be happy to share. Okay, let's get into it. We have one to read this week, and this one is from Rebecca. It says, Hey, hey, okay, I've been trying to figure out how to put this into words since watching seven and eight last night. I still feel like I'm kind of rambling, but I have an English degree, so here it goes. I've literally loved Maul since he stepped on screen in '99. He was just cool in that way Star Wars villains sometimes are. I think one of the things that stuck out to me most last night was that he's always kind of being framed as a villain, even post-Sith, but Maul never had a choice. He wasn't seduced by power. The Sith mythology often frames the fall to the dark side. He was taken, conditioned, and basically shaped into Sidious' weapon. The rule of two isn't philosophical to him. He was literally caged into it with no other option. Oh, I love that, girl, you are cooking. And with that comes the loss of his sense of identity and any illusion that he was ever anything but expendable. In 7 and 8, where we literally sit with him feeling all of this, it changes how we as a fan base know them all. Being aware of a character's trauma and actually being forced to sit inside it are two very different things. I genuinely don't know how you don't feel sympathy for him at this point. He's 100% the result of someone else's dark ambition. He's what happens when a child is never allowed to become anything but a tool in someone else's game. To me, the real tragedy is that even when he ostensibly escapes the Sith, he's still bound by this life of rage because he's never known anything else. He just channels it into his syndicates rather than being Sidious' pawn. That's what makes Maul so compelling in my opinion. He's not this villain you can kind of keep at arm's length like Dooku or even Vader. Shadow Lord made us sit with him in a way we very rarely have to with villains. And I think it makes people uncomfortable in the best possible way. In a franchise that is all about dark and light, he's really neither. Those are my very not concise thoughts. May the force be with you, Rebecca. Girl, I literally could not have said it any better myself, so I appreciate you putting it all into words in a nice cozy email. I agree with every single word. I did not read a single thing that I even remotely disagree with. This is all 100% true. He has been nothing but a pawn in Sidious's game, and so of course he doesn't know what to do without Sidious. So his only thought is like, okay, well, I'm mad and I've only ever known how to be mad. It's never even crossed my mind to be the good guy because I'm mad. So I like what she said. Like, I'm just gonna channel all this into the worst. Because his crime syndicates weren't doing anything good for the galaxy. It's not like he was building this underground empire to help people. He was doing it so that he could get revenge, which is the Sith way. I'm so mad that I'm gonna take it out on you, even though you are bad too, because I recognize you're worse than me. And so I actually had someone comment that Sam Whitworth said that in an interview. I can't remember the exact wording off the top of my head, but I'm sure you guys are gonna know what I'm talking about. Where he said, This show is more so about bad versus worse. Like, we're not rooting for Maul because he's a good guy now. We're rooting for him because he's better than Sidious. So, sorry, go Maul. Like, if we're being forced in this position as a fan base to root for one, we're never gonna pick Sidious. We're never gonna be happy that Sidious won. We're never gonna be happy that he tortured children. We're never gonna be happy that he broke up families and exterminated planets and civilizations. But we can be happy for Maul because he is self-uh, what's the word? Girly. Self uh, come on. It's advocating. He's self-advocating, and he's trying to go after what he needs in order to heal. And that just so happens to be taken, taking out the emperor. So awesome. Thank you so much, Rebecca, for sending that in. And I hope that you send in another letter, because that was awesome. Thank you. Well, now we get to cut to my nerdy outro. This is where the fun ends. My only hope is you enjoyed, and I will yap at you again next Friday. This has been The Village Jedi. Thank you so much for listening. To support this show, please leave a rating or review wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Go check out the YouTube channel or send me an email to be read and discussed on air. You can also tell a fellow nerd to build the community. I mean this in the nerdiest way possible. May the force be with you.