The Village Jedi

Maul: Shadow Lord Praises 9 & 10 (feat. Grant)

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The grand finale has arrived!!! Let's talk about it!!

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SPEAKER_01

I have a message from the Village Jedi. Max Rebo, hit it. Welcome to a special Star Wars Point of View brought to you by the local Village Jedi. If you're new here, welcome. And if you're not, welcome back. And welcome back, Grant, my husband. How are you today?

SPEAKER_04

I'm good. How are you?

SPEAKER_01

I'm doing fantastic. I think we had an incredible finale that we're going to be able to discuss tonight, and I cannot wait to get into it. But before we do, I have a couple announcements starting with Vanessa Marshall, who voices Rook Cast and Harris Endula and Black Canary on the show Young Justice sent us an autographed photo of her character from the Young Justice TV show. If you guys haven't watched it, this is a Star Wars podcast, but I will shout out DC and tell you to go watch that show because it is pretty great. So that was pretty amazing. Thank you, Vanessa Marshall. Um, another announcement is uh I designed a new logo for the show. So I hope you guys like it. It's a little more professional looking because we were talking grand, I was like, I think having some merch would be pretty cool, like in the near future. So we talked a little bit about that and the new logo hopefully will come into play with that in the future. Um, a couple other announcements next week. Um, I will be recording with Empire Radio Podcast and Outer Rim Ramblin' podcast. So we'll have a couple bonus episodes just for you guys featuring the Village Jedi, and I will post the links to those on my episode Friday in the show notes on YouTube, but also um I'll be posting about it on my social media. So that's pretty exciting. It's exciting to get to know the fellow podcasting community and just be involved in the Star Wars world in that way, so that's exciting. Um, and our episode next Friday will be just gearing up for the Mandalorian and Grogu. How are you feeling about that?

SPEAKER_04

I'm getting excited.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'm getting really excited too. It's been marked on our calendar. We got the tickets the day they went on sale. We are really, really excited to be able to go see that together. And we talked a little bit about it. Grant was on last week for the May the 4th special. Um, I guess that was this week, trivia, and I feel like we did okay with that, but there was definitely some stuff that I was like, I have no idea what this is even talking about. So go check that out.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, the EU is definitely beyond my scope of knowledge.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, yes, I uh yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I am excited for Mandalorian and Grogu two weeks from now.

SPEAKER_01

So how exciting for crazy that it's almost here. I know. Oh man, I'm so excited. Um, one other thing I wanted to say, just kind of how we run the place, is if you're not following already, go check out our Instagram and TikTok page at the Village Jedi, or if you want an anonymous email to be read on the and discussed on the show at the segment at the end, you can send an email at tvjpod at gmail.com. Um, so before we dive in, why don't we go ahead and take a quick ad break? Hello there. If you are 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 forced 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. Okay, so with all that out of the way, we do have a lot to yap about, a lot to chat about. First off, I was on pins and needles for this finale. Like we pressed play, and immediately I realized this is the end of season one. Like it's over. Five weeks. That's crazy. Ten episodes. What did you what did you think? Like going into the finale, what were your original apprehensions, thoughts? I don't know. What what were you thinking?

SPEAKER_04

Um there were some there was a direction that I I I don't want to say that I saw it going, um, because I was very pleasantly surprised with what we got in the finale. Um, but there definitely did seem to be some you could see how the show was going to go. Um you could see how Maul was setting things up, you could see how his plan was coming together, especially with Devin. Um, and so it's just uh I thought I felt like it was just a matter of time. Um but uh I I couldn't have been happier with uh with the finale. So um I'm excited for season two, but also um I guess I don't feel like I have to have more.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_04

Like I don't I I feel um I feel satisfied with with what we got just because it was so good. I I don't feel like oh man, I just it has to get better. Like, no, this was this was peak.

SPEAKER_01

I do feel a a similar way, just this episode tied it up perfectly. Like there wasn't a sense of like, okay, well, what happens here? It was just a genuine sense of, oh, I can't wait to see what happens next. So it really did. It was a beautiful finale, it did exactly what it was supposed to, and I cannot wait to dive in and discuss it because there's so many key points. We were talking about it all weekend. Like as soon as we finished it, we had some stuff to do the rest of the day, and both of us were just like kind of speechless for the first hour or so because we just were trying to to like not accept, but pretty much just digest what we had just seen because a lot of the scenes, I'm sure listeners will agree, were pretty intense, some disturbing moments, and it just did leave you kind of rattled as a fan at some points. So we will get into all that. Um, chapter nine, right off the bat, strange allies. There was lots of action this week, non-stop. The last half just goes by so quickly. But we pick up chapter nine with Maul camped out in Demis's penthouse, and the gang here is still trying to figure out how they're gonna get off world. And so Maul meets with Dryden Voss, who is kind of aiming to be the head of the Crimson Dawn Crime Syndicate, and we also see his character in solo. Um, he's the same actor that plays Vision in the MCU movies, and we also see him briefly in a hollow call at the end of the Siege of Mandalore arc when Maul tells the syndicates to go into hiding. Um so Dryden ends up offering Sanctuary and a ride off Janix in exchange for an assassination of Crimson Dawn's current leader, boss Rintaro. So I thought I would ask you, at least for me, this felt like a good way to set up season two. Like not in your face, but very subtle. Okay, this is kind of what we're gonna be focusing on in this next set of episodes after this season.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, sure. Um honestly, I guess from my own personal opinion, um I'm not super interested in the time period that we're coming into.

SPEAKER_05

Really?

SPEAKER_04

Um, yeah. That I mean so, okay. With the exception of I think that um Andor was brilliant, of course. Rebels is brilliant, of course. Kind of the beginning of the rebellion, kind of that that time period. Um but and I guess not Rebels was kind of right in the heat of it, but um, I don't know. I just Solo wasn't my favorite movie, um and so I'm sure that this story will continue to be great. We're just kind of getting out of, I think the the period of time that I'm most interested in. Um, but that's okay, because I think the storytelling is still really good.

SPEAKER_01

Right. So would you say you trust Falone and Faloney you trust?

SPEAKER_04

Um, after season one of Maul Shadow Lord, I mean the man can do whatever he wants.

SPEAKER_00

Hashtag give it to Dave.

SPEAKER_04

It's it's peak.

SPEAKER_01

It's true. Okay, so Maul tells Rook and the other Maul Deloreans to make preparations, but there's still one last thing I need to do. Maul is not planning on leaving Janix without Devin. And so with this in mind, he says, Well, perhaps Captain Lawson can be of some use to us. And the scene ends with him closing his eyes. We cut to the intro credits, the chapter nine, Strange Allies is the name of the episode. So then we cut to the good guy gang, and they're kind of hiding out underground in this abandoned building in the city, and Devin's sleep is disturbed by Maul reaching out to her in the force because they're connected. That was an incredible scene. And Dockie ends up seeing this as a trick by Maul, but Devin is convinced that it's a chance to escape because she trusts him. So seeing their connection develop into this at this point, she's like, No, we need to do what he says. I trust him fully, has gotta be terrifying for Docky, I'm sure. He's like, What happened here? Like, you don't think you don't think this is fishy at all? Even Lawson is like, uh, I don't really know. And she's like, no, I'm I'm sure we can trust him. We need to go, we need to go meet up with him. Super, super crazy.

SPEAKER_04

Well, and it's interesting what Master Dockey says also is he knew that Maul had to have some sort of connection to Devin.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

And that connection for Maul to communicate through the force, he's using the dark side of the force. So he's not, I mean, he the the force is the force, but he's using it in a certain way, and he's connecting with Devin in that way. So I don't necessarily know you know um the science behind that kind of force communication. Um, but it would make sense to me if he mall had already the seed of um the dark side of the forest had already kind of been planted.

SPEAKER_01

The seed of Sith.

SPEAKER_04

And that he was I would imagine as soon as he was able to tap into that and communicate with her across the forest, that was kind of a telltale that, hey, she's not headed down a very good path. Uh right. And here's some evidence.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah, it's true. So they end up finding Maul at the place that he told Devin to meet them. They all kind of meet together, and Maul ends up offering them a safe way to escape off-world together. And he mentions that he already believes that Lawson can help, and so this we're learning is how he he wants to use Lawson is you know the ins and outs of the city better than anyone, you're part of the local law enforcement, so you know the loopholes kind of where um you know, not so good doers would have a higher chance of getting around undetected, and so Lawson ends up knowing the best escape route with the city lockdown. So Maul proposes this. He says our only chance of escape is an alliance. And while the gang's talking it over, I we talked about this. Um, Maul is standing in the background, and it's sort of this watercolor blurred effect, and it just is such a testament to the creativity of the art style that even in the little things like the background, it just looks so cool, especially that scene. He's standing in the background, but he just looks like this blurred watercolor. It just looks it looks really good.

SPEAKER_04

Well, that specific shot, he never moves, so I'm sure that it was from from what information they've been releasing, I'm sure that it was a watercolor. Um, and because he doesn't move, it's not even animated. Right. So, yeah, uh it I remember when the when it very first came out, and I'm too I was too naive to pick up on exactly what I was looking at. Um, it really the whole show has given me um kind of a sort of uh Star Wars Visions um kind of vibe. And not necessarily I can't think of anyone in particular, but just kind of that um that extra artistic touch um that we saw through different episodes and visions, um, it's just kind of what it reminded me of. I I absolutely thought it was it was stunning. Yeah, um just it was very, very well done, um, just in terms of just going above and beyond in the art style.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I like it too. So Dockie ends up saying, Okay, well, let's do it, but we have to remain cautious of the shadow lord. And that just sent shivers down my spine when I was putting in the notes together, like that's what Dockie refers to him as. That's what Vario refers to him as in the second episode where he's kind of explaining to Lawson, like, hey, have you ever heard of the Shadow Collective? And so Maul's the Shadow Lord, and so it's just kind of another one of those full circle moments that we're getting with the finale, is the show name name drop, just in that one line of dialogue. So I thought that was cool. So they end up forming this alliance, they're gonna make their way through the underground of the city to Dryden's rendezvous point, and Devin ends up revealing to Dockie that she has this connection with Maul because he rescued her from the Inquisitor when her and Riley were on the run. And we learn that the way that the force works in that sort of situation is in order to communicate with someone else, like we saw, there needs to be an established connection. You have to open your mind to that person. And so I wrote down that we see that with Luke and Leia. We see Ben and Ray do this, we see it with Ahsoka Invader, Kenobi Invader, we see it with Luke and Kenobi. So you're using the force to connect with someone else, but you have to open your mind to that person. It's not just a random stranger, like it has to be someone you've formed a connection with. So just very telling of where her character is at right now. She trusts Maul, she's opened her mind to him, and as a viewer, you already know, like, okay, she's safe. Like, she's making it out of this season, she's making it out of this finale. The jury's still out for everyone else. Like, but we know these two are making it out. So very, very interesting. Um, so we end up needing to get through an Imperial checkpoint. Um, and I thought this was funny. One stormtrooper notices Maul. He's slowly walking toward them, dragging his blade across the ground, and immediately the stormtrooper goes, Call for backup. Like he sees Maul and he's like, Ugh. But Spybot ended up, he jammed all the calms. Maul is just yet again so confident, he's not threatened at all. This battle ensues, everyone's getting involved. Even Riley, he picks up a gun, and Maul ends up taking out this walker single-handedly. Like we saw this scene in the trailer, but just seeing it play out on screen, how nonchalant, like he's him. He is him. He walks into the room and he knows he's coming out unscathed. Just the confidence rolling off of this guy is phenomenal. So I loved that scene. And then at the very end, when he kind of slices it and dices it, he walks away and he just like reaches up and force grabs his saber. And I wrote down that it's a very like Iron Man-esque walking away from the explosion, like the aura coming off of this character is crazy. Every single week, you're like, he can't get cooler, and then he does. He somehow does. So that that was crazy. That was pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, there was just a small detail in that um in the Walker scene where when Maul goes to cut off the leg, right? He hits the leg with his lightsaber and it stops for a second, and then he pushes it through.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Oh man.

SPEAKER_04

And and that's something um that I feel is a little inconsistent in Star Wars. Sometimes we see the lightsaber. Um, like I I just saw a clip today of um Order 66 when Ahsoka, she's getting shot at by the 501st, and they're on they're on the ship, and she cuts her way up into the ceiling. Um super easy. But then Phantom Menace, they're cutting through the blast shields, the blast doors, and it takes some time to cut through that metal.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_04

So I just there's a little inconsistency, but I like to see it. I feel just like it's a little more realistic that hey, this is a gigantic steel leg. You don't just you know, I mean, of course, two seconds later he cuts through the whole thing and it's no big deal.

SPEAKER_01

But right, but it did take some effort.

SPEAKER_04

Took a little force, yeah. Yeah, it was just a little tidbit that I like. Um, it just kind of, I don't know, makes adds a little bit of realism, I think, to something that's not real.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Yeah, so then after that, we end up cutting to the Inquisitors, and you and I were talking about this at length, that we see them, they are Jedi hunters. Like I think you mentioned that, that they're slowly tracking the Jedi. They have been trained to hunt down force users. So we see him, he's like using the force echo, touching, you know, the area, trying to get a pulse, and like the crow is using his senses, he's trying to figure out okay, how many people are with them. Like, they are hunting these force users. And I just liked how you said that because I hadn't thought of it that way. Like, Maul obviously calls them that. Have you have you thought about what you're gonna do when you run into the Jedi hunters? But when you see them in action, you're like, oh, this isn't a game. Like they're they are tracking and hunting them down. It's pretty intense.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, and it's it's interesting because most of the time we see the Inquisitors almost as like a um like a tactical team. Like they show up and they they're just here to fight, they're just here to fight uh Canaan, you know, or they're just here to fight Ahsoka. But here they're actively looking, and it kind of gives some perspective of of what's been going on. Um we see it a little bit in Kenobi when they show up on Tatooine and they're hey, we we heard that there's been some force use going on here. Um, but here definitely um and as an outdoorsman, um definitely just seeing like they're taking their time. Yeah, and you can see you can they're they survey the situation, it's very cold-blooded, um, very uh they're not in a hurry because they're the predator. Yeah, they're in control of the situation. Like when they walk over the grate and they stop, they both are like, yeah, nope, they didn't go this way. You know, you're following the tracks, they're they're following whatever force signatures being left behind. Yeah, just very um it was just awesome. It was awesome to see them at work and just just cold, it was cold. It was awesome.

SPEAKER_01

And it's very on theme with other Inquisitor material we've seen where they work in pairs, and the reason for that is because each of them has a different skill set. And so the point is, I'm sure as an outdoorsman, you are more successful when you have a partner. Like maybe he saw something that you missed, or you see something he missed, and so your your chances of being successful are higher. You still want it to be you, like you still want to be the one that gets gets the thing, but you recognize the value of working as a team, and so I like that we see them working as a team, but you can still tell they're in competition, like they do want to like please Sidious and be the one that comes out on top when the mission is said and done. So they're just cool characters, and I like how this show did a good job giving us another dimension and element to them. Um, so we get back to the gang, we're headed to this underground jungle as quickly as possible. And when you look at it on the surface, it is an odd group, but I wrote down their Very capable. Like, I wouldn't want to run into this group. You got Maul, Rook, a couple Mandalorians, you've got Icarus, who's a Zabarak baddie. You have two force users. One of them is a Jedi Master, a police captain, a droid. Like they're they're kind of an odd bunch, but you can tell Maul was like, no, if we work with them, this is gonna give us the best chance of getting off-world. It's not just because I care about them, it's because we have a lot of assets just in this small group. So I kind of liked that. And so Rook even says that. She goes, What do you want to do about the old man? And Maul goes, have some respect, Rook. He's a Jedi master, and we need him for now. And you really liked that line. You really liked that line.

SPEAKER_04

I did. Um just because I think, you know, I some of your reels and stuff have been have been kind of poking fun at like making turning Maul into a likable character. Yeah. Um and I think what this especially dialogue like that, um, it really shows that Maul is Maul is a bad dude. I mean, we're talking bad. Yeah, slaughter of the innocent. I mean, he's he's a bad guy. He's a bad guy. But he's smart, and he hasn't stayed alive this long, he hasn't been successful in his endeavors this long without respecting, and not necessarily respecting, but he never underestimates his opponent. Right. And so he doesn't underestimate, he's fought Docky. He knows what he's capable of, he knows how strong he is, he knows how well he's trained Devin. And so to the untrained eye, yeah, it's this old timer. But to Maul, he's like, no, no, no, no, no. You don't understand. This is he he he just respects his enemy, and and that is what leads him to be so successful, is he never comes in unprepared until the end of this episode.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. Yeah, that's a good point. So then we cut back to that burning imperial checkpoint that Maul and the gang kind of left, and the Inquisitors arrive. And Merrick, he approaches one of them who begins to report the incident. He's like, Sir, like here's what happened, blah, blah. And Merrick walks up to him and he tilts his head, and he's slowly getting closer to the trooper, and then the trooper kind of like starts to slow his words, and as Merrick walks away, the trooper kind of like drops his head. And so, re-watching this, I was assuming Merrick probably searched his mind to quickly gather the info. Like, they are not wasting time, they're like, we are on the hunt, we're getting closer, and if we don't make our move now, they're gone. Like, we know they have a ship, we know they're trying to escape. You need to talk faster.

SPEAKER_00

Like, I don't have time for this.

SPEAKER_01

And I I really liked that detail. They are like ruthless.

SPEAKER_04

And in hindsight, I can't remember, I feel like they say something along the way that indicates that they know where they're going.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um, and I can't remember where exactly in the episode that is, but what I like is they're that's probably another reason why they're not in a hurry is they know that they are funneling them into I don't know what else you would call it, a killbox, basically, where there's one way in, yeah, there's one way in, and maybe one way, one other way out. But yeah, they know that it's unlikely that they'll even make it to the other way out.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_04

So that's why they're not in a huge tear, is because hey, we once we get there, we got 'em.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah. And I do feel like re-watching this episode knowing who they're working with adds to their urgency that, yeah, they're not in a hurry to get this done, but they are in a hurry to like, they don't want to waste Vader's time. They're like, we're on a schedule, and he's our boss, and so we need to be at this point at this time. So tell me what I need to know so that we can keep this rolling, because he's gonna be here soon, and we've gotta get things, get our ducks in a row for him to fill a alive. So, yeah. So we cut back to them, and they have reached the city's toxic waste dump. And the most efficient way to cross ends up to have spybot sort of pushing this skiff across the acid two at a time. And you actually were like, Why can't Spybot just carry them? Like, I saw them carry a stormtrooper, like, why can't they just carry them?

SPEAKER_04

Yes, it still bugs me. Um, because we were like, well, maybe it's over his like load capacity.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

There's a there's a scene in episode I don't know. I can't remember. It's when they're on the bridge, and it's Riley and Devin and Maul, and they're on the bridge, and Spybot grabs a stormtrooper and yanks him off the building, like carries him, so I know he can do it. Anyways, that was just a small thing, but you gotta make it dramatic somehow.

SPEAKER_01

It's true, it's true. We've got to add, we've got to add some sort of element here. So Lawson and Riley end up going first, they have this heart-to-heart conversation where Lawson's like, you know, I I haven't really been there for you. And like Riley's like, it's okay, dad. Like, look at the bright side. This is the most time we've spent together. And I know, bro. Looking back, when I tell you, re-watching that episode and prep for the show, knowing what I know now, I'm like, wrap it up, wrap it up.

SPEAKER_04

I could tell, yeah, I could tell something was up. I knew it wasn't gonna be good.

SPEAKER_01

Oh man, like it totally went over my head because when he died, like I was not expecting it. It just it felt like someone took me out at the knees. I was like, whoa, what do you mean?

SPEAKER_04

And that's another that's another point that I want to kind of talk about a little later.

SPEAKER_01

But yeah, we'll we'll get into that. So um on the other side, Docky is the first to sense approaching Inquisitors, and so this is a reflection of his years of training. Then Maul feels it, and then Devin feels it. And so Dockey and Devin end up taking sort of like a defensive position, and Maul walks closer to the tunnel. He's ready for the frontal attack. And so, again, just these little details that the animators put into making these characters real is of course Maul would do that. He's not gonna stand behind them, he's not gonna stand next to them, he's gonna leave them in the dust. I'm gonna see what's up. I'm ready to take them out. And Maul or Docky and Devin are not like that. They're like, no, let's see what we're up against first, let's take a beat. We've got to protect the civilians. Just very, very good. Um, and so the Inquisitors they come running in, the fight ensues, and we're pretty much here for the rest of the episode. It's a very close quarters, intense fight, fast-paced. Um, at this point, I was pretty optimistic, but re-watching it, these two, and really the last three episodes sort of play out as like a Rogue One storyline where Maul is just slowly becoming the last one standing. And you're not thinking that going into it. You're like, oh, Dryden's gonna come rescue him, it's gonna be fine. But re-watching, you're like, oh, this is uh this is a suicide mission. Like that none of them are making it out of here. Even Maul, he's like, can barely walk at the end of it. And crazy.

SPEAKER_04

And Rook, to her defense, saw this coming.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_04

She knew that it they were out of time. She knew that the the the noose was tightening around them, and she tried to get Maul to leave much sooner. You're gonna keep our multiple times, we're gonna keep our money, we're gonna get out of here. And Maul, in his stubbornness and in his plan, he had to see it through. And that's one of the reasons I do think that he is typically successful is because of his determination. But here, no, it absolutely backfired. But I will say that this lightsaber battle um could be top three of the greatest lightsaber combat scenes that I've ever witnessed. The choreography was just absolutely beautiful, yeah. And I think the only reason that Revenge of the Sith, man, some people are gonna just absolutely just take this so personally, but I think Revenge of the Sith will stay on top because it was real.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, that was that was Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor, and they actually did that.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_04

They actually had that lightsaber duel in front of a camera. Real people did that, which is just beyond, which is just beyond incredible. But in terms of I mean, I'm gonna be watching this one right over and over and over again.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I I wrote down too that it possibly this episode possibly gives us one of the coolest shots I've ever seen in Star Wars, which is it's a 2v3 fight. If you pause it just right, there's eight blades, two blue, six red, and both Inquisitors have Dockie, Maul, and Devin in the middle. They're on either side, and they bring their blades down, and each of the three are pushing up, so it makes like this rectangle shape for half a second, and I've been seeing it online a lot. People want this poster because it's just such a sick shot, and it tells you so much story in one frame, and so I think that that is just so tough, like you were saying, it's a fight that you're gonna watch over and over again, but that moment is just it's so crisp. So during this fight, Merrick he says, Well, you will see your demise, and Maul goes, You are but another pawn of Darth Sidious. Surely you know he has dispatched you to die just as he did me. And so this gives us insight into how Maul views his fight in the Phantom Menace against Kenobi and Qui-Gon. That he's like, dude, he doesn't care about you. He's sending you into this fight knowing you're gonna lose, just like me. He knew I was gonna lose that fight. And I just think that is such good insight to have as a Maul fan that originally when you watch the Phantom Menace, you're like, oh, bummer. But then when you see him again, he loathes that fight. He wishes it never happened, he hates Sidious because he knows Sidious knew he was gonna lose. It just adds so much dimension to that whole duel in that movie. So I really liked that line. Um, and then shortly after, because he's mad, Merrick ends up killing Spybot, and it sends Maul into this surge of rage because that was his bestie. It was his chihuahua. It's just very, very sad. A lot of people are sad. Did you like Spybot? I feel like I could have taken or leave in him.

SPEAKER_04

Maybe that's mean, but Spybot was like a mangy dog. He was just, he was just uh he was awful to look at. He just sounded terrible. But um, yeah, I don't know. I can see why, and I I've seen the meme. That's the nice thing about having about recording so much, you know, a couple of days afterward, we like we get to ingest our own reactions and we get to see people's content. And um, he's like the dog that dad didn't want and swore swore that he wouldn't take in, you know, not in my house. And then like 20 minutes later, he's like, Okay, fine. He could sitting on the recliner with him. Yeah, exactly, exactly. He's riding front seat in the pickup. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_00

Um that is so true.

SPEAKER_04

I don't know. It was just like you could tell it was probably the only thing that Maul actually like might have had affection for. Yeah. So I it was just kind of like like, dang, he really, as my mom would say, They're clean in house. You can't have anything nice.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. They're clean in-house, not even Spybot was safe. Um, yeah, so Docie asks Devin. I wrote this down, I thought it was interesting. Docie urges Devin to go across next, and she resists, and it isn't until she locks eyes with Maul, he nods, and then she boards the skiff and makes her way across using the force. So it's another small indicator of where her loyalties lie. That her master was like, Okay, go. And she looks at Maul, and Maul is like, Yes, you you can go, go ahead. And she's like, Oh, okay, I just want to make sure that was okay with you. Like, it's just so wild. Like, we keep seeing these moments where you're like, He's got her, she she's gone. Like, Docky has no control over her whatsoever. He might think he does, she might think he does, but the truth is in what do they say? The pudding doesn't lie, the proof.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, you're close.

SPEAKER_01

The proof is in the pudding.

SPEAKER_04

There you go.

SPEAKER_00

The pudding doesn't lie is crazy.

SPEAKER_04

Well, what's interesting to me is is how was Maul so effective?

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_04

He was close with Ahsoka at the end of Clone Wars. I mean a couple of if he'd have said a couple of things differently, he would have had her he would have had her instead of Devin.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. No, it's true.

SPEAKER_04

So it's just, I'm just it's one thing I just don't quite understand. He knew what not to do from Sidious, because he knew how much that messed him up. But how is he able to? I guess it's it's almost not even quite manipulation, it's con it's convincing.

SPEAKER_01

Right. So I I actually touched on that on a past episode, and maybe we had this discussion. He recognized that she was on the fence. She wouldn't have been a valuable asset if she wasn't on the fence. And so I think because she was on that fence, all he had to do was tip her a little bit. She was already thinking, This doesn't seem right, I have more potential than this. Why are the Jedi just basically the scum of the earth now? Like, this is not fair, and all he had to do was be like, Yeah, you're right, it's not fair. Don't you think you would you deserve a little bit better? Like making her think that this is what she wants by preying on what she isn't even sure that she wants. If that that's at least my interpretation.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, but he implanted those thoughts in her mind.

SPEAKER_01

It's true. The way he worded things.

SPEAKER_04

So it's just it's super interesting that it's very slow, it's very methodical. We see it, it took ten episodes for him to to convince her. Um, and so it's just interesting to me that he seemed to know exactly each step to take without any real practice.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_04

Um, so it's just interesting. I don't know if you can just chalk that up to him just being super smart or just having insight into the failings of the Jedi and and recognizing that as a weakness and preying on it.

SPEAKER_01

And she's young. Like, I think we need we forget that. She's maybe 16.

SPEAKER_04

Right. Knowing that knowing that Padawans want respect and attention. And yeah, I'm sure there's some of that too.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so people sh he's old, not old, old. He's in his 30s, but like, how many 30-year-olds did you respect when you were 16? You know, more than you know, like if you had a bond with an adult as a teenager, you respected them. You wanted them to like you, you cared about what they thought, you wanted to know, you wanted to kind of be like them. And so I think he just preyed on that too. Like, hey, you're a kid, and if I get you to kind of like me and kind of agree with me and kind of think I'm cool, you'll do what I want you to do. So, yeah, pretty interesting. So then we see Icarus, and his death is actually insane. Like, he goes out in this just absolutely horrific fashion. There's blaster bolts, he jumps into the acid lake. Like I needed a second after that, but but you can't, it just shoves you into the next thing, like everything is happening so fast, and you're seeing this horrible thing, and then this horrible thing, and then this thing, and you're like, Oh my goodness. So when I saw that, I was I was disturbed, like I I could not believe what I just saw. So that was wild.

SPEAKER_04

I think there were a couple of things that well, there's probably more, but just a couple of things that I gleaned from that. Um, the realism of that battle that so many times we see in Star Wars, with the exception of um like Rogue One, um, and and maybe a few other times, um battles are so lopsided towards this the side that you're rooting for.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_04

You're rooting for the the clones, if you're rooting for the Jedi, if you're rooting for the rebels, man, they just they just win. It's true. It's not even close. Well, the stormtroopers, they can't hit the in uh in real combat, there is mutual loss, yeah, especially if you're evenly matched. Right. And so I thought that his death and the death of the other Mandalorians that were still around was realistic.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, he's he's not a Jedi, yeah, and he can only hold your own for so long. So I took that away. It just added that kind of layer of like, oh yeah, this is this is real. True. And the internal fortitude of Dothmirian Zabrax. Why is Maul the toughest, meanest, baddest guy? Because Zabrax are tough.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's true.

SPEAKER_04

And so we see one that's not even force sensitive take how many shots to the chest when he's not, I mean, he's gotta melt before he's done.

SPEAKER_02

It's true.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, that's tough. That's tough. So get his legs chopped off and fall down a shaft and still live because he's tough.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I think that is such a good point, especially when you think about how he was able to um bond so well and form such a mutual trust with Mandalorian culture, is because like Zabrax, they believe in an honor system. And so if you're gonna go out, you go out with honor, like you go out swinging, and that's exactly what happened. That's exactly what we saw.

SPEAKER_04

So Yeah, brotherhood.

SPEAKER_01

Brotherhood is huge in on Dothamir, and in Mandalorian culture, so it's pretty interesting. That was a good point. So Maul ends up urging Dockey cross next, and then Maul unclips his blade and holds two sabers in each hand as he engages in the last fight before he's able to cross himself against the Inquisitors. Um, and at this point, as viewers, we're like, okay, you know, that was it. That was the big fight. Now we head into some sort of resolution, we're setting up for season two. But then Merrick says, inform him they are headed his way.

SPEAKER_00

We were speechless, bro. We were like, yo, bro, like it's about to get crazy, it's about to get crazy.

SPEAKER_01

So Dockie is able to sense that there's two inquisitors coming through the tunnel, but there was no indication that any of these force users were able to sense what they were headed toward until they got there. And so Dockey ends up sensing it shortly before we hear screams of the Mandalorian soldier that scouted ahead with Rook. Rook comes back, she warns the gang, she's like, something, someone is out there, and then she's ripped into the fog, she screams out of agony, and then there's just silence, and the whole gang is just like and then we hear the breathing, we see the haunting silhouette of the dark lord himself emerge from the fog, he ignites his red blade, and the episode ends. Like, can you imagine having to wait until next week? I can't even imagine. I The fact we were able to just hit play after that, I was like, oh, thank you, Dave. Thank you, Dave. That is insane. That whole scene was just what a way to make an entrance. And if you guys have seen anything about Vanessa Marshall. That girl's crazy too.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, that's pretty sick and twisted. Yeah. That's that's one thing that we continue to see is the when when we see Vader, he's the big bad. He's the big bad. And the EU made him the big bad, and he has stayed that way. His character was not watered down. Um and as we get into the as we get into the the last episode, um, there's really some interesting details that I think uh keep him in that you don't ever want to come into contact with Darth Vader category.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and I saw something, I'm sure you saw this too, but a fan was basically like, What why is Darth Vader so OP? And Dave responded, it's because it's George's character. Like, if you claim to be a real Star Wars fan, you're not gonna come up with someone stronger than Darth Vader. Like, please. He was dis there are six movies centered around why he is the way he is. He's the main character of all six films. So he's him. He's him. So we get into chapter 10, the Dark Lord, and originally there was no title. There is now, but for a while on Disney Plus, it just said chapter 10, and there was no title. So it's called The Dark Lord. I was absolutely floored, we both were. We posted a little reaction video on Instagram, just clips of us being absolutely floored. And I I wrote down like what a time to be a Star Wars fan, genuinely. Like Dave Falone is such a mastermind because none of this feels forced. Like having Vader close out the season does not feel like tacky fan service, it makes sense. We know that Maul doesn't die, we know that Merrick and the Crow don't die. So, how was this supposed to go down? And this makes sense. It doesn't feel like a a cheap shot. It's like, oh, duh.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, and the progression too. So we see we see Merrick first. He's going to come and he's going to try and handle the situation.

SPEAKER_01

And he's terrifying.

SPEAKER_04

He's terrifying. He's outgunned. Here comes the crow.

SPEAKER_01

Also terrifying.

SPEAKER_04

Also terrifying. Because also very strong. They both can't quite make it happen. Okay. Time. Time for the big bad.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_04

And and it makes sense that they wouldn't just keep sending Inquisitors because Vader has a vendetta, or I should say Anakin has a vendetta against Maul.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I was gonna ask. I was gonna ask you about that.

SPEAKER_04

Palpatine does too.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So you you're getting you're kind of, you know, stepping on some sensitive toes. Right. So it makes sense that they're that he's there to make sure that Maul does not live beyond that day.

SPEAKER_01

No, it's true. So we just jump right back into the action. We still haven't really caught our breath, and the gang has just lost theirs. Like they are absolutely speechless. They stare into the eyes of Vader for the first time. Sidious's checkmate, like you're done. And someone online said that if there was any Anakin left, do you think he thought of Ahsoka when he saw Maul? Because that was their last interaction. Was he leaving to save the Chancellor and she was leaving to capture Maul. So I thought I would pitch that to you. What do you think?

SPEAKER_04

I don't care. I don't care what was on his mind. And I think that the lack of dialogue. I was gonna wait till like later.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. We'll we'll talk about that too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

But I think that the lack of dialogue turns him from it takes away any Anakin that you thought was still in there. It turns him into a killing machine. Yeah. No man machine. Yeah. He is there to destroy these force users. He doesn't care who they are, he is going to take them out. Yeah, no, and so and there's no emotion. We see in the beginning of the lights of their combat, one-handed, arm down, classic Vader, just I'm just here to walk you down. That's it. And so I don't think there was any thoughts. He was there. Hey man, I'm just here to do what I gotta do. And you know, that's unfortunate for you, but you shouldn't have been a Jedi.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Yeah, so I I wrote that. Like Vader, he just starts making easy work. He slashes one of Maul's legs, which ends up limiting him for the rest of this fight. He force pushes all of them. They're easily outmatched, and Vader hasn't uttered a single word because he doesn't need to. He just lets his actions speak. He's walking, like he's in no hurry. He's got him right where he wants them, and they're just scrambling. So we actually picked up on this that and and I looked it up. It's very similar to the Yavin 4 battlefront map. It's called the Great Temple, and it's sort of this ancient city ruins, mossy, like very vibey, and it's in the daytime. So any vibes that we had at night that we've had this whole show, we need to see this in full daylight, which is such an interesting artistic choice considering it would have been somehow even more scarier at night. Like it's pretty terrifying now. But if it would have been at night, I think it would have been very similar to that um sort of street scene that we get in Kenobi where he's just walking down the street and everyone's like closing their shutters and like hiding, locking their doors, and it's nighttime invaders just like slowly walking through the street. That was and he was just walking. So I can't imagine seeing this kind of work being done at night. Like crazy.

SPEAKER_04

And I love that it happened during the day. We see so much lightsaber combat happen in a dim lit building or in the dark or at night, and it does. It adds this certain um kind of just that extra flash and that extra contrast with the lightsabers, and we we see um just with so many times we just see that uh it's even especially in the OT, you know, all the all the lightsaber duels were um maybe except for uh when Ben gets killed, but most of the lightsabers that we see are in the dark.

SPEAKER_05

Right.

SPEAKER_04

But here it's in the daytime. And I just I just love that, yeah, not every lightsaber duel had to happen at night. Um and it still doesn't take away the I guess how terrifying Vader was. And to see him in broad daylight, the dark Lord of the Sith, it's like okay. Yikes.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's pretty sketchy. So I wrote down it's it's Vader in this 3v1 fight, and he's able to just attack him one-handed. He uses the force with one hand and he uses his lightsaber with the other. And the what the strength of his attacks is what makes him powerful. Yeah, he's got the tactical maneuvers, he understands, but whatever Maul is able to do, whatever Docky or Devin is able to do, Vader can do it too, but he's stronger, and so that's what makes him such an effective um adversary, is he can do exactly what you can do, just ten times stronger.

SPEAKER_04

So which means that he's never on the defensive, right? And as a as a Sith Lord, he is I mean, that's that's the whole mall is constantly feeding on that scenario that he's the attacker, and so he's able to channel the dark side, but when it comes to being on the defensive, that's a Jedi thing, yeah. And so Vader is never forced into that defensive position for more than like two seconds the whole time.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I wrote down that he's like a black hole of anger, and one of the books I read describes Anakin's inner self as a sleeping dragon, and so when he's a Sith Lord, that dragon never sleeps. Like your only strategy against him is to be able to run away because, like a black hole, if you get close, that center of gravity is what sucks you in. Like your only chance of survival is to be able to get far enough away, and so that's what they're trying to do. They're trying to run. And so Vader, he crumbles these city ruins above them. We cut to the credits, and all we see is red letters, the dark lord. And that's exactly what he is. He feels very like final boss in a video game, but you know you aren't winning. Like I saw this one girl, and she was playing, um, I think she was playing Jedi Fallen Order, and there's this part where you fight Vader and your health bar disappears, and she's like, Oh no! Like, what's about to happen? And pretty much the whole premise is like you're not winning. Like, you don't have a health bar because you're not walking away. So that's that's very what the vibes are here. So they're just scrambling, they're trying to run away, and Maul's like limping, Dockey's got his cane, Devin's like scream, like they're just trying to get away. So we cut back to the good guy gang, the laws ins, and Vario ends up getting a signal from Dryden that they're on the way. So we're we're trying to get to the point here. And and so Docie, he says, This enemy is something different. I fear what my instincts are telling me. And Maul starts panically whispering to himself. He's like, I can't be, no, no, no. And so Devin asks them both how to defeat it, and Maul suggests you need to let go of all your restraint, feed your anger, go out all frontal attack. Like, we need this guy dead. We can't win unless we all three feed into what this guy's running off of because he knows your attacks. So Dockie warns against this. He says, No, we have to follow the Jedi way, we need to use patience and cunning, to which Maul counters our enemy knows how Jedi fight, and we must adapt and outsmart him. Well, on the flip side, yes, Vader knows how Jedi fight, but he also trains Sith. So it's like unfortunately for them, there isn't really a way to win. Like, okay, we can think like Jedi, but guess what? He's a retired Jedi. If we think like Sith, he trains Sith and he's a Sith lord, so like you're hosed. Like, you are hosed. There is no win.

SPEAKER_04

Well, and it shows you that uh oh, excuse me. Grass season. Um it shows you that Maul really he did not know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

He did not know what they were up against. Yeah, we saw through the we saw through the whole show. He's he was preparing to fight the Inquisitors, he's preparing to maybe do what he has to do with Master Docky, but there's a point where he locks Blades with Vader, and he says, You're no Inquisitor.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_04

What are you?

SPEAKER_01

What are you?

SPEAKER_04

And and Vader's just and so Maul is trying to come up with a plan. He's like a strategist. He's never fought anybody like this. I mean, he's fought Sidious, but that was clearly like clearly Sidious is crazy.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_04

But he's so now when they're kind of like, okay, we need to regroup, he's trying to come up with a plan. He doesn't know.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

He's guessing. He's trying to do his best, and and he has to he has to improvise.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah, it's true. So they end up taking a a brief break, um, so Maul can rest his leg, and he begs Devin to listen to him. He reveals that his own master was Darth Sidious, who now made himself the emperor. He says, use your rage and unleash your potential. Like if you're going to come in clutch, it's now, sister. Like, you need to turn it on. I know it's I know you have it, I've seen it, and now is the time. Um, but Dockie, he overhears this and he's like, Devin, you need to go assist the Lawsons. Like, I want you to go ahead and take care of them. So he's trying to separate them. He's like, his last shot right now is get her away from him. And he ends up saying to Maul, if we defend one another, we'll be stronger. Which is ironic, rewatching it, because that's not what happens. It's when they stop defending each other that they end up losing. Um, then we get this jump scare. I actually screamed when Vader like force pushes the stone wall and it's like inches from Maul's head. I was so scared, like it caught me so off guard. Oh my goodness. Like just little moments like that. So then this battle with Vader continues, and two more players are added as Devin runs into the Inquisitors on the Stone Bridge ruins. Vader appears, he pushes Maul and Dockie, and so now it's 3v3 with the Sith pushing their opponents closer like a funnel. So at this point, you're starting to sweat. You're like, okay, who's who's who's gonna die? Like the only person I know for sure that's not making it out is Doki at this point. Like, cause we see Merrick, we see the crow, we see Vader, we see Maul. We know Devin is, you know, he'll do anything to keep her alive. So it's just not looking good.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, it wasn't looking good.

SPEAKER_01

It's not looking good. But the fight is still entertaining. That's what's crazy, is you know how it's gonna end, but you're still on the edge of your seat. You're still wondering, okay, how is this gonna go down? Because Vader is just so cool. You're like, oh, what's he gonna do next? I know he's gonna absolutely dominate, but what's gonna happen? So, Devin, she's able to evade the two inquisitors after Dockie throws her his saber. So she's using both of them. And I wrote that in future seasons, I could see her using two red blades then, especially if she's gonna be trained by Maul. He sees the value in using two. We see her using both in that moment to fight the Inquisitors. I I could see, I keep doing that, I could see something like that, and I think it would fit her character just fine. At this point, though, everyone is exhausted. It's been a long couple days, and I was thinking about it. This whole season only takes place over the course of like three or four days. When you think about it, it is fast. There is not a single filler episode, not a single filler moment. Everything has purpose. So we're all exhausted.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, no Martinez sisters in the in this show.

SPEAKER_01

No kidding. So we cut to the Lawsons, they're slowly making their way to the pickup point. Um, and let's see, we run into an Imperial unit instead. They run for cover, everyone is pinned down, you're not really sure how this is gonna end. Vader still hasn't said a single word. The choreography is so fast, it's just everything is happening a mile a minute. Like you don't even have time as a viewer to digest what you just saw because it cuts to the next important thing.

SPEAKER_04

Well, I think I think that the the lightsaber duel is well, it's not a duel, I guess, because there's more than two of them, but um it's so good that even as you're talking about like what's going on with the law sense, which is action-packed, it almost feels like filler compared to what we're watching. Like, no, get me back, get me back. It's like, yeah, okay, yeah, they're still there, yeah, great. They're they're they're shooting it out.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, pew, pew, pew, kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, can we just go back to like the best thing I've ever seen?

SPEAKER_01

I mean, and that's terrible, but it just shows you not not how like lame that was, but how incredible this this lightsaber battle just uh is it crazy to say that I wanted Maul to say Anakin Skywalker just once?

SPEAKER_04

I don't think he was ever sure.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I don't think he was ever sure. He I mean he never other than when he went to run him over with the Dune Buggy, he never really meets Anakin.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So I don't think I mean he's guessing, I think at this point, but I don't know if he ever really comes to the full realization in this season.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I wrote down I was gonna say it later, but he doesn't even figure out Vader's name. None of them do. And so we know just from that there's gonna be at least one more run-in or one more reference because we've got to figure out how does Maul learn that information. It could be from Dryden, Voz, that hey, yeah, Palpatine has this weapon and his name is Vader, and he's a bad dude. He's been causing havoc all over the galaxy. It could be something like that, or it could be a run-in with Sidious himself, you know. So I'll be excited to see that. Um, we end up making some headway with Docky sending Merrick over the edge into the fog below, and now it's Devin versus the Crow and Maul Docky versus Vader. So it's kind of looking up at this point. Like everyone's gonna be able to escape. Dryden's on his way, he just calmed Vario, and we're we're getting there. But then we cut to the Lawson crew, and they're starting to lose their headway. Like it was looking good, and now it's looking terrible because right after that scene, we cut back to the sword fight. Dockey says to Maul, Okay, together we can do this, and there's just no relief after that. Maul's leg gets damaged even more. Vader is just making fools out of these guys, he hasn't even broken a sweat, and he's throwing them around like ragdolls. He like force-chokes Maul and throws him around. And I wrote down that if anyone has a problem with this, they don't understand Vader's character at all. Because in the Sith World, the strongest is the one who is the most hurt, and no one is more hurt than Anakin Skywalker. He has truly lost everything, and the only thing in the machine is hatred, is hurt, is pain. So Maul, as powerful as he is, he has a sob story, everyone does. It'll never be as terrible or as sinful as the burdens Anakin has to carry with him for the rest of his life.

SPEAKER_04

So Yeah, yeah. Palpatine manufactured his apprentice.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so no one can ever say, like, oh, they nerfed Maul. Like, why didn't he win that fight? Bro, no one wins against Vader. Is this your first day on earth? Please. So we see an injured Maul, he's standing between Dockie versus Vader and Devin versus Crow. He utters the word no, he's afraid. And so then he makes this calculated decision to force push Docky into Vader's grasp, and he limps away toward Vit of Devin, which effectively sends Dockie to his death. And this was a calculated choice. We had a debate about this, that it was not cowardly on his part because Moll had to decide that it's either gonna be we both die or just you. Like either way, someone isn't making it out of this, and I'm not gonna be one of the two that don't. So pretty cut to the core moment when he did that. I was I was shocked, frankly. I don't know why I was, but I was.

SPEAKER_04

See, this is the one that I wasn't shocked by. I knew I knew that Maul wanted him out of the picture, and it was just a matter of how and when. And by not having to kill him himself, he is able to become Devin's kind of confidant to become her. She I understand the the gentle master who I will help you, I will train you, I will assist you in our vengeance.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Because I didn't kill him, I didn't do these horrible things to you. They did.

SPEAKER_01

Well, didn't I tell you? I feel like I did, that um Sam Whitwer in an interview with Voice Amall, he said um that this. Show is not good versus evil, it's bad versus worse, and we see that with this that oh yeah, Maul's a bad guy. Like I almost forgot like he had me there for a second, so it it really is like he is a bad guy, he does what he has to do in a bad way, he's aligning himself with crime syndicates, and unfortunately, he had to make a tough call against an even worse bad guy. So just because he's been doing okay throughout the show doesn't mean he's a good guy now, and we saw that right here.

SPEAKER_04

He's still serving his own self-interest and self-agenda, so yeah, and I don't think he was ever really trying to put on a persona of not being a bad guy, right? Um like like he tells Devin in the in the towards the beginning of the show, he says, You know what I am, you know who I am.

SPEAKER_01

I can act as that person if you wish.

SPEAKER_04

Exactly, exactly. You know what kind of you know I'm a bad dude.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

And so um, yeah, him pushing Docky into Vader was definitely um it was part of his plan, it was part of his agenda. He just found the the means and the opportunity to go with what he was already intending to do.

SPEAKER_01

Right. So Vader ends up relentlessly power slamming, he can just go all day, and we cut to Devin, she has this concerned voice where she says, Master, and she runs to the ledge to look down, and so we as an audience assume, oh, she senses he's in danger, she's gonna go help him. But when she looks, it's Vader just standing there with his saber piercing Docky, like speechless, gut-wrenching, all the feels. This is not a kid's show. Like, if we thought Icarus was the worst, this scene hands down, like it gave me like like my stomach rolled, you know, because she just she screams in rage, she starts going absolutely crazy in her duel against the crow. Maul limps around the corner and just offers his red blade. And so she takes it and the two end up fighting the crow together. At that point, it's sealed, it has been sealed. She's going with him, she's sticking with him, she's connected to him, and Yeah, and Vader's not done. No, and he's still and they're still ha they're still on the run. They're still on the run. So Dryden, he prepares to land, and in order to secure Riley's safety, Lawson sacrifices himself as a distraction. I didn't see this coming personally. I don't know if you did, but coming off of Dockie's death, my system was too shocked to process this as well. Like it is back to back within probably 30 seconds. And so it doesn't take away Lawson's sacrifice, but it definitely does make you like, whoa, what what do you mean? Like, hold on, because you're still in shock with the graphic death of another beloved father figure character that has just been taken away.

SPEAKER_04

So well, I think that um obviously I I was disappointed. Yeah, I was disappointed to see his character die. However, it is on par with Star Wars, especially the beginning of the rebellion. Right. Meaningless loss of life.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

He felt this is what I have to do.

SPEAKER_01

It's the only way send two boots. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, send no give two boots the gun, two boots goes, he stays with his son. No.

SPEAKER_01

Or wait half a second for Maul and Devin. The sword slinging, you know.

SPEAKER_04

So this meaningless loss of life creates a fertile environment for Riley to hate the Empire, to hate what it's done to his family. It's taken away his dad, it's taken away his mom. The mom's gonna be a key player. Whatever she does in the empire is going to come into play in season two. I'm calling it right now. There's no reason that she would be in the empire, there's no reason that she would be out of their life and even be mentioned, let alone shown on screen, if that was not going to be a factor. So now he's aligned himself with a I don't know what you want to call it, a crime syndicate slash rebel group, basically, with uh with a hatred for what they've done to his dad. True. And and what they did to his whole life, you know, this aspiring athlete. So on one hand, yes, it was it was tragic, and I was I was disappointed that it that it happened, but you can see that they are absolutely it's like winding up the catapult, like they're just getting ready for things.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely, yeah. Absolutely, okay. Yeah, I can see that. So then we cut back to the duel. Maul watches Devin tap into her anger even more. The crow ends up running, um, and Vader comes around the corner to take her on himself. Maul wants to protect her now. He screams no, and he brings the ruins of the city down on top of Vader in an effort to save Devin. She runs toward him and away from Vader, but in her anger, she's just seething. And as he gets closer, she turns to face him again, and Maul grabs her. He says, Devin, we must go. And she says, No, I will kill him. And the subtitles say that her voice distorts at the tail end of that sentence because she's tapping into the dark side at this point. And Maul responds, You are not yet strong enough, but I will train you and we will have our revenge. And at that point, she okay, turns and and goes with him. She trusts him. So the two end up running toward Dryden's drop point, they board the ship just in time, and Vader watches the ship fly away. Um, yeah, they they really, really did a good job finishing that out. Um, they didn't even get his name, they didn't hear him speak. All they know is he is just this monster of the Sith, consumed with darkness and power that they cannot rival even with three of them. So Riley obviously is absolutely devastated. Devin is angry, Maul reassures Dryden that his end of the deal will be upheld, and then dis disappears to the lower deck where he sits down next to Devin, who's clutching Maul's saber hilt, and all she says is, Alright, I'm ready. And the season ends. So, pretty phenomenal. Round of applause. I hope season two gets announced um soon. I can't think of a good time where it would. Um, May the 4th just happened. I don't know why I was assuming they would announce season two at that point, but we'll see. Um, a couple afterthoughts. I had some questions. Are the duels in this show top? Do they top Revenge of the Sith? We kind of talked about that a little bit. You're like doing my face, and I'll be honest.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, no kidding. Um It's definitely I would probably say it's the best animated lightsaber duel that we've seen.

SPEAKER_01

No, I agree. Both both these episodes had such strong action moments that I'll I will be re-watching.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Um I don't like the Palpatine Yodo lightsaber duel.

SPEAKER_01

In Revenge of the Sith.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I don't like it. Um I never really have. It's always kind of been like my least favorite part of the movie. Uh but it's probably almost number two.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. It's it's pretty good.

SPEAKER_04

I don't know. There's just there was nothing I didn't like about it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. No, I'm the same way. I think artistically it was wonderful. Voice acting, phenomenal. It's so fast.

SPEAKER_03

The choreography was excellent. Yes. Excellent.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Um, so I had another question. Do you think Devin will walk away from Maul when she finds out the truth about Dockie's death? Because we don't see her in Rebels, so we don't know what happens to her.

SPEAKER_04

I don't think she'll ever find out. Interesting. Nobody saw it. It's true. Except Vader.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and he's never gonna talk to her.

SPEAKER_04

So I don't I don't see her ever um I don't see her ever knowing. Um and yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Okay. That's what I think. Next question, I have two more. What will happen to Riley and Two Boots? Because Lawson tells Two Boots you gotta get Riley to his mother. So do you think Two Boots is gonna honor that? Mr. Follow the Rules, and try to get him in touch with his mom, and he's just gonna have to like sort it out on his own. What do what do I do? How do I get out of here? I don't want to be here.

SPEAKER_04

This is one of the this is one of the reasons I'm s I am excited for season two. Um, is Riley's character is very interesting to me that he is kind of now in the core of the cast. Whereas I think earlier he wasn't. Yeah, definitely at the beginning, it was Lawson. Lawson was front and center of of the show. Yeah, and now it's Riley, and that is super interesting to me. Um and and like I said, they are setting up his character to do some to do some crazy things, potentially. Um almost like they did with Cassian. They set his character up early on in Andor. Kind of how do you go from just this like minor to rebel general or whatever he, you know, whatever he was.

SPEAKER_01

So you think he would join the rebellion? You don't think he would stay in the crime scene?

SPEAKER_04

I don't know. I think there's so many, you know, he he is a blank slate of character potential. Yeah, and I like that. I like that we're not like because because Maul has a destination, Vader has a destination. These characters, the Crow, Merrick, we we know where they are and where their story ends in the future. I like that we're adding a character that doesn't seem totally meaningless, but it's like, hey, there's other the galaxies big, there's other characters, and we can tell their cool stories without feeling cheesy.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um because I feel like some people get so heated about that, like, oh, another nobody, another nobody. Like, it's a galaxy. There's a there's billions of nobodies. Like, there's still a lot of cool stories. So I am excited to see where his character goes. I have no idea.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I like that too. So my final question then is do you think we will see Kira in next or later seasons? She's Dryden Voss's right hand. We she's the girl in the solo movie. She kind of slowly starts to climb the ladder, and she's actually the one that kills Dryden Voss, becomes the leader of the Crimson Dawn, and directly answers to Maul. He actually ends up training her in the Sith ways. He uses her to help raid temples to get Sith artifacts. Like she becomes a very key character in Maul's journey toward rebels. Um, so I am curious if we will see her in this show at all. If there's a major time jump, we could see her interacting with Devin on different like Sith Temple missions. I think we could very well see her in the next few seasons. I think this show will have at least three seasons.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I don't know. Um like I said, I'm not a huge solo fan. I've only I mean I've only watched it a couple of times. So um, you know, I I just I don't I guess I don't really I can't really make an informed um assumption. But I would imagine that we're going to begin to see more um I guess aspects of that movie. We're gonna see more details of that movie start to tie into this show because that's what we're leading into. Um which is unfortunate because I really want to know how he ended up on uh Malicore.

SPEAKER_01

I think we'll we'll see that. I really do.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, and I hope so because that's that's the question I that's the question of the hour. Yeah, how do you go from like I don't know, pimp, like OG, like crime boss, I guess mafia to like nameless. Yeah, he goes from like the godfather, basically, to uh pimp was derogatory, but it's crazy. Yeah, he goes from like the godfather to this bum on Malachor.

SPEAKER_01

He's in rags. How did that happen?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. That's the that's what I want to know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. No, I think I think that's a good that's a good way to tie it up. So overall, how would you rate this show out of ten?

SPEAKER_04

Ten.

SPEAKER_01

Really? I'd give it an eleven.

SPEAKER_04

I don't um I hadn't no notes. What I loved about this show is episode one and two were good. Right. Three and four were better. Yeah. Five and six were great. Seven and eight were awesome, and the finale was incredible. Like the show just continued to get better and better and better, and I love that. I love that. There's nothing worse than than working your way through Clone Wars, and you get to an arc, you get to the droid arc, and you're just like Yeah. What what Skip. This show I love that you never feel like like I'll I I I'll just skip past this. Like, this is an important thing.

SPEAKER_00

I can take a bathroom break.

SPEAKER_04

The tension builds the whole way, the character development builds the whole way. We see some plot twists, some jump scares. It's just it's it's excellent. It's the voice acting. I can't sing high enough praises.

SPEAKER_01

The voice acting, Sam Whitware really outdid himself. Like we thought he did a good job in Clone Wars, we thought he did a good job in Rebels, but giving him his own show really allowed him to stretch his capabilities as an actor, and we saw his range loud and clear.

SPEAKER_04

And the attention to detail, um, you know, like that you catch in the subtitles, little little things here and there, little incorporations of uh the duel of fates.

SPEAKER_01

Him reaching out to her in a force dream.

SPEAKER_04

Just it's just crazy. The the the the nuggets are just sprinkled throughout the show. It's it's awesome. I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, with that all kind of tied up in a bow and ready for season two. Is there anything you would like to say to close out the episode? Any any final remarks?

SPEAKER_04

Uh may the force be with you. Yeah, that's uh that's all I got.

SPEAKER_01

Okie dokie. Well, thank you so much for joining me again this week. I had a fabulous time talking with you, and I hope that we can have you on again sometime.

SPEAKER_04

Yep. Thank you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, absolutely. Okay, well, guys, 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.

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Marina

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