Maul - The Dark Revenge
Stuck with one of Star Wars' unnecessarily complicated naming conventions, Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord - Chapter 1: The Dark Revenge reintroduces the character of Maul setting events of the series prior to those in Star Wars: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or Solo: A Star Wars Story. As the series opens, Maul (Sam Witwer) is working from the shadows on the planet Janix pitting various underground mobsters against each other while attempting to regain his lost power. By the end of "The Dark Revenge," one mobster will be dead with another in Maul's clutches, a police station will be decimated by Maul and his crew (in the highlight action sequence), and the former Sith Lord will come across the unexpected.
The other piece of the story, yet to be connected to Maul's quest for revenge, is Padawan in hiding Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon) arrested after attempting to steal food for herself and her master. Locked up at the time of Maul's assault on the station, she's found from Maul at the close of the episode suggesting Maul's sense of something larger at work may be true (or may just be the ravings of a mad man on his road to revenge). Either way, choosing to end on the pair's encounter suggests she'll play an important role in the episodes to follow.
Cashing in on the best thing about The Phantom Menace, the opening episode of the series succeeds in setting up Maul to be a legitimate threat to any in his path while also reminding us this version of the character still carries the scars from his past. He has his master's training and cunning, hiding and striking from the shadows, but also a reckless impatience that forces swift action even if it might alert enemies to his presence. Set after the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars but prior to those in Star Wars: Rebels, it will be interesting to see how the series fills in this gap of the character's story.
- Title: Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord - Chapter 1: The Dark Revenge
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