Star Wars: MAUL - SHADOW LORD Episodes 5 & 6 Breakdown!

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Welcome back to Screen Crush. I'm Ryan Ary and these are all of the Easter eggs, references, and little things you might have missed in Maul Shadow Lord episodes 5 and 6. Now, as always, we are going to be spoiler-free in the first part of this video with episode 6, chapter marked below. So, I realized that I neglected to name the helmets in this new Star Wars intro, and shout out to Dod Sides for helping me out with some of these. This new intro features characters from the history of Star Wars animation, beginning with a Gen One clone trooper. Then, we have Ezra's training helmet from Rebels. This is Bucket from Star Wars Resistance. Tech from the Bad Batch. This is the sixth brother who Ahsoka kills in Tales of the Jedi episode 6. This is Baris Offy's Inquisitor helmet from Tales of the Empire. C-21 Higher Droid, who is a bounty hunter from the Clone Wars. And then we have Merrick, aka the first brother, who also appeared in Tales of the Empire, but is most famous for his turn as a fart in the show Ahsoka.

[00:00:49]And finally for this series, we have Two Boots. Now, a little bit later, I'm going to talk about how this series seems to be adapting George Lucas's original plans for the Skywalker Sagas, episodes 7, 8, and N. And believe me, Lucas's plans are way better than what we got by a mile. If this series can even deliver a portion of his vision, then you're going to love it. But we'll talk about that later. For now, let's break down episode 5. No cold open. We go straight to the show title. Now, the title of this episode is Inquisition, named after the Sixth Inquisitor.

[00:01:18]There's that. So, the Sith Inquisitors were dark side users who are not full-fledged Sith, and they helped Vader to hunt down the Jedi between the end of the Clone Wars until about 5 years before the Battle of Yavin. Now, they were first mentioned in the 1987 Star Wars source book and a brief entry related to a droid killing Lord Torbin, Grand Inquisitor, but we actually got a visual of them in the Star Wars role playing game Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim, where we saw a drawing of High Inquisitor Tmaine. And then they later appeared as a player class in the Old Republic games and in various comics before Dave Filona made them canon in the show Star Wars Rebels. But now we've seen them appear in animation, comics, video games, and liveaction. And they become a key part of the reign of the Empire. Now, this show takes place right in the first days after the Galactic Empire, which explains why we're introduced to Merrick, aka the first brother. He might have been the very first Sith Inquisitor ever recruited. I should also note that the Inquisitorious take historical inspiration from the Inquisitors of the Spanish Inquisition.

[00:02:14]Now, this was a period in history when the state and the church brutally oppressed people to hold on to political power, much like how Palpatine is persecuting the Jedi in this era. So, we open with the same Imperial alarm that we heard in the original trilogy as the shadow of this star destroyer is looming over Janx. Now, we talked about this last week, but the image of a star destroyer shadow looming over a world has been employed a few times in Star Wars, notably in The Force Awakens and showing how Vader's flagship eclipse the other Star Destroyers in the Empire Strikes Back. It's also a very big deal that the ship has actually entered the atmosphere of this world instead of staying in orbit. This is an indication that the Empire is here to stay and the city is on total lockdown like we saw with Jedha in Rogue One. Hey person, happy birthday. I got you something special. Well, technically my birthday is not until tomorrow. Doug, you got me a slab pack because I love you so much.

[00:03:10]You're my best buddy. Guys, Doug got me a slab pack of superhero cards from Arena Club. They're the sponsor of this video. See, I don't talk about this on the channel much, but I love trading cards. Always have. That's why I love slab packs from Arena Club. I get the same rush from my childhood when I open up a new pack. All right, so let's open up the slab pack. I'm going to open it right now.

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[00:04:33]Charizard only, Legendary Grail, and more. Every drop lasts 48 hours or until inventory is gone, whichever comes first. So, get 20% off your first slab pack or card by going to arena club.com/screencrush and use the code screen crush. The link is below. You can get started today. Now, back to what I was saying. Now, as we tilt down to the planet, this Arab sign reads, "Sweet deals as the Empire releases their forces from the hangar bay of the ship."

[00:04:55]This is similar to the opening shot of the Empire Strikes Back when the Star Destroyers released insecttoid- like probe droids into the galaxy. It is meant to give the Star Destroyers an inhuman look like they are hatching eggs onto their enemies. Here the main transport shuttle they land is a rogass transport shuttle from the Clone Wars that first appeared in the episode Missing in action. We also saw it all through the Bad Batch before it gave way to the lambda class shuttles that we saw in the original trilogy. And the smaller transport ships are LATs, also from the Clone Wars, but they were renamed Imperial patrol transports after the Declaration of the Empire. Now, they're used here to put as many troops as possible in locations all around the city as quickly as possible, which lets the Empire put everyone on total lockdown. So, the Empire needs to land at a large empty space. But instead of using a spaceport, they need to land at a hub that is more central to the city.

[00:05:43]In this case, it's the stadium where Riley Shockball game is interrupted. The Arabesh outside here reads Janick Stadium. Now, this episode shifts focus to Riley to make him more of a supporting character instead of a background character. So, this allows us to see the Imperial invasion through the eyes of a civilian as we see how his life is disrupted. First, his game is canceled, then his father is taken away from him, though temporarily. Now, in the crowd here, we see an Ithorian, a goal, and two Arona. Now, this episode basically repeats the same species over and over, so I'm not going to reference like all of them all throughout the video. Then, TK troopers march out of the shuttle. Now, these are regular human conscripts and not clones. And they are wearing the same Mark1 helmets that we saw them wear in the Bad Batch.

[00:06:22]And then we meet the Imperial Commander.

[00:06:24]They're Tenipalaka. Actually, it's pronounced Blake. Here we see the Empire arresting a Bith, the same species as Figuran Den and the modal nodes, which was the band from the mostly Cantina.

[00:06:33]And here we see the wanted poster for Maul with text that reads fugitive at large. Small detail. I love that there are fans mounted on the walls in the police station. It's subtle, but it sells the feeling that Janx doesn't have the best technology and it's more of a backwater world. Lawson's chief takes the brunt of the blame for his actions and outside we see the full Imperial crackdown. The sign here reads bofos and Imperials everywhere are asking for chain codes. Now, these are the Imperial ID numbers that the Empire gave to citizens in the weeks after the Empire took power like we saw in the Bad Batch.

[00:07:03]So, then the crackdown does a wipe transition to Maul's underground layer, an abandoned industrial facility. He learned this technique from his master who headquartered in the abandoned industrial sector of Coruscant. Rook Cass wants them to leave, but Maul refuses.

[00:07:17]>> No, no, not yet.

[00:07:19]>> She correctly guesses that this is because of Devon. But remember, Maul isn't just chasing after Devon so he can have an apprentice. The Force is guiding him to her. Before the prison break, he sense a disturbance in the Force.

[00:07:31]>> Something else.

[00:07:33]our actions serve a greater purpose.

[00:07:38]>> And this also ties in with the scrap George Lucas trilogy that I'll talk about a little bit later on. So Ludy also pushes back against all this chaos cuz it's bad for business.

[00:07:46]>> Because now that the Empire's shown up and grounded my fleet, my entire smuggling operation is frozen.

[00:07:51]>> Then Maul tells him, >> "Our business has concluded, you are free to leave."

[00:07:55]>> And this is exactly what he did for Devon. He told her that she could leave whenever she wanted. She just had to work out a way to escape. And with Ludy, he could leave, but he would have to fend for himself against the Empire. And it turns out that the other Mandalorian are actually only in this for the money.

[00:08:10]>> I don't mind the risk as long as the credits keep flowing.

[00:08:13]>> Now, this is interesting because in the comic book, Maul, son of Doamir, there are Mandalorian who are fiercely loyal to Maul. I mean, like we saw with the Siege of Mandalore in the Clone Wars, they emulate his horns and color their armor red. Rook Cast is still deeply loyal to Maul, but it looks like she might be the last one. Now, another of Maul's followers from season 7, Gar Saxon, was captured by the Republic in that season of the Clone Wars. And years later, he swears filty to the Empire and rules Mandalore in their name. Back at the police station, we see the Janx version of a mouse droid as Lawson spots this stormtrooper holding a data pad with the chief's file. So, he's fearing for the worst when two boots interrupts him again with a cup of calf. This guy might have an addiction.

[00:08:53]>> Can at least get a calf. and notice that he puts it down next to Riley shock ball in the photo of Lawson's ex-wife, reminding us of his failed marriage and showing us that he might still pine for her. Now, when the troopers grab him, they snatch away his pistol from his shoulder holster, which by the way is standard among detectives and in cop movies like Dirty Harry. And when Balocket God, you have me doing it now.

[00:09:13]And when Blake turns off the chief's image, it's symbolic. She is now gone and will probably reappear in a prison like Narina 5 and Andor. Now then they make Lawson sit across from Maul's hologram, the same hologram he was speaking to last episode. However, remember that cam droid was obliterated and Lawson's squad was wiped out. So the Empire may not know the extent of his conversation with Maul. Right, here's Merrick. Well, like I said earlier, he is the first Inquisitor who briefly appeared in Tales of the Empire, but he also first appeared as a servant of Morgan Ellsworth in the show Ahsoka. But when he was defeated in combat, he turned into fart smoke, indicating that he had been dead for a long time and that she resurrected him with Nightsister magic. Now, I bring this up because night sisters have this power to reanimate the dead or bring people back to life. In the show Ahsoka, we saw Nightsers raise stormtroopers from the dead and turn them into zombies. But the night sisters have also raised Assange Ventress from the dead and mother Talzine spirit lived on after her death.

[00:10:07]Now, I bring this up only because Maul was also once saved by the same nightsister magic. So, I'm wondering if Morgan Ellsworth could appear later in this series where we will see how she raised Merrick from the dead. And guys, don't forget we have lots of fun Star Wars parody merch that we designed for you. You can find links for those down below. And now, if you want to get a 15% discount to our merch store all year round, you can become a new member at Screen Crush. Now, we have just introduced new membership tiers. For just $4.99, you get exclusive videos every month, including our live shows, canon short films, Doug explains, and monthly watch parties where we live stream and watch movies with you. This is the part I'm looking forward to the most. Like, for instance, I've never seen Nicholas Cage's Ghost Rider, and I'm going to watch it for the first time on this channel with you guys. Now, that's just $4.98 a month, plus you get that 50% merch store discount. But for $100 a month, you can also become a store owner and get your name listed in the description and in the credits of the videos. To become a member, click the links below. Thank you guys so much for your support. Now here we see two Arona and a Clatunian. And this is another goal and an Aqualish. Devon and Docky hide in an alley and then she makes the case for maybe not hiding.

[00:11:10]>> Is this what our future holds? Always running, hiding.

[00:11:14]>> Docky correctly realizes that Maul's speech got to her. Now, last episode, he talked about how the Jedi should stop cowering and use their power. Basically echoing what Devon was saying to her master in her very first scene.

[00:11:26]>> We do not steal.

[00:11:27]>> I'm tired of begging. But Daki, whose species is a mazic by the way, takes a hardline approach. As far as he's concerned, Maul has been corrupted by the dark side, so they can't trust anything he says. This was also Yoda's way of thinking.

[00:11:39]>> If once you start down the dark path forever, will it dominate your destiny?

[00:11:44]Consume you at will.

[00:11:45]>> Now, there have been examples in canon of characters dabbling with the dark side and coming back, like Quinnland Voss, Elar Man, and of course, Anakin and Ben Solo. But Jedi Dogma declares the dark side is like a drug. Once you start using it, you're hooked for life.

[00:11:59]And this is why Docky is cautioning Devon to not listen to anything that Maul says. Then we follow the Jedi to the train station where their idea is to get to the woods and lay low. Docky tries to encourage her, saying, >> "Throughout my long life, I have seen the galaxy endure many changes. Tyranny is always defeated."

[00:12:16]>> So, the only other time we've seen tyranny on this kind of scale was in the High Republic era when the Nihill conquered vast swaths of the galaxy. And if you read the High Republic books, you know that at the time it really felt hopeless for the Jedi and the Republic.

[00:12:30]But they overcame those problems and defeated the Nihill, which is how Doy can still have faith today. But then the Empire starts to slowly close their noose. This is a great sequence as their avenues for escape are slowly cut off one by one. Then he resorts to using the Jedi mind trick.

[00:12:45]>> You have seen our identification.

[00:12:48]>> I have seen your identification.

[00:12:50]>> Which of course we first saw Obi-Wan use in A New Hope. But this backfires because there are just too many imps around and he can't mind trick them all.

[00:12:57]This is one of the reasons why in episode 1 he was encouraging Devon to not use the force because it would only attract attention to them.

[00:13:04]>> We cannot afford to cause a disturbance.

[00:13:06]>> So they escape into the staircase running past this Rodian and a Celestian. And notice that Docy's injury from his duel with Maul is still hurting him. Now this could be a slowmoving fatal injury, but I can't help but see another connection to Yoda here. after his duel with Darth Cidius. He suffered a similar injury to his side. Merrick leads troopers to the sight of the Maul battle as the sun is setting on Janx literally and metaphorically. So, the setting sun was a metaphor used a lot in the prequel trilogy. During pivotal moments, the sun was setting as evil prepared to rise. We saw this as Palpatine overlooked his new clone troopers at the end of Attack of the Clones on the night of Order 66. And of course, when Palpatine was first nominated as Supreme Chancellor and the Jedi were turning Anakin away and refusing to let him train. Those events all led directly to Anakin's fall in the rise of the Empire. Now, when Riley calls his mom, this sound is the same calm sound we heard in the prequels.

[00:14:00]And the Arab here reads incoming. Now, his mother's name is Drea Lawson. Kept her married name, by the way, and she works for the Empire. Now, she seems to be a true believer in the system. Or maybe she just sounds that way overcomes because she doesn't know who's listening. Now, we don't really know what she does or how deep she is in the Imperial system, but I'm wondering if she was the one who is responsible for getting lost and released. And this show is actually going to lead us up to a happy family reunion. Merrick brings his forces to investigate the side of the mall fight. And as he looks at the saber marks, he's able to reconstruct the duel. Yeah, like how Dom Caret can look at skid marks and he knows exactly what happened to his girlfriend. It is a little bit like that scene from the Fast and Furious Doug. Very good. Now, what I like how this show is able to like let us know this just through sound design.

[00:14:49]So, here Merrick could be looking at the forensic evidence or maybe like Calstus in the Fallen Order games, he has the ability to detect Force echoes which allow him to see events happen in the past. Then, Spybot hacks into the system to get the Imperial recording of the Jedi. And this droid is quickly becoming my MVP of the series. He can hack anything control like all systems and machinery. And I just love his little pirate wink design. So he takes this info to Maul who is having his prosthetic leg repaired after Docky damaged it last episode. But notice that he feels pain.

[00:15:22]Now this is a cool detail that goes all the way back to The Empire Strikes Back when Luke got his new hand.

[00:15:30]Then in Return of the Jedi, he screamed in pain when that same hand was shot.

[00:15:35]After Lawson is released, the first thing he does is get some sweet, sweet calf as we get another look at his family photo. And this is a good misdirect because I thought this meant that his wife was going to be the person in the apartment. But instead, we got the Jedi. Now, when he enters, he is preceded by his shadow, which is a technique you straight out of westerns, but is probably a visual call back to Yoda entering his fight with Dooku in Attack of the Clones. And after the Jedi are revealed, the score echoes John Williams score from Anakin and Obi-Wan's duel.

[00:16:03]Episode 6 is titled Night of the Hunted, and the title foreshadows the ending of this episode. In the final fight, both Maul and Devon are the hunted, which forces them onto the same side. It's an indication that their paths are now intertwined because they're both victims of the Empire. But we begin with the Star Destroyer hovering over the city, sending out more occupation troops like a swarm. The camera does a classic Star Wars tilt down to Maul's layer where he is trying out his new repaired legs, but note that his eyes are closed. This is because he's using a meditative practice through his sword play. This could be inspired by Tai Chi, which is a practice of meditation in motion. Now, we have seen Jedi meditate many, many times, which allows them to dive deeper into the Force. There's actually some great written passages of this in the High Republic books. But I'm wondering if him meditating while fighting is more of a Sith practice. It could be a way for Maul to channel his rage and hate through his broken kyber crystal in his saber. Then, Rook Cast interrupts and we pan by the Zabra to spy bot shot of Merrick. The Inquisitors were meant to inspire fear, which of course makes the dark side smaller. And here, Maul sees fear and his opportunity. The Jedi will be afraid of the Inquisitors, which means that they will be easier to manipulate. So, when Maul sees this image, he sees a path to gaining his new apprentice. I should also note that his quest to gain an apprentice is not unique to this show. As soon as his brother, Sage Press, saved his life, Maul made him his apprentice. And in Star Wars Rebels, he was always pressuring Ezra to quit Kanan and learn the Force from him. This This is your opportunity to embrace your destiny as my apprentice.

[00:17:37]>> In Lawson's apartment, Docy sends Devon to the kids table with Riley. But this isn't because he doesn't trust her. He wants Devon to look after Riley and for the two of them to become comfortable with one another. He probably also senses that Lawson doesn't necessarily want to speak freely in front of his son. And on the way out, Lawson teases her. Make sure she doesn't steal anything >> because they first met when he booked her for pulling a vowjon. Rest that.

[00:18:00]Stealing fruit to feed himself, dude.

[00:18:01]Now, when doy describes the Jedi purge, notice there is just a bit of the score from order 66 from Revenge of the Sith.

[00:18:08]>> My Padawan Devon and I barely survive what could only be described as a purge of the Jedi Order.

[00:18:19]>> He also asks if there is a safe smuggler's passage off the planet. And by the way, eventually the Jedi would develop a passage like this. It is called the path. It's a series of safe houseses for Jedi to escape Imperial rule, which we saw in the show Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now, it hasn't been confirmed, but a lot of fans think this path will lead to a hidden planet called Tanalor that Calstus discovers in the game Jedi Survivor. Now, that event won't happen for another 10 or 12 years, but it is possible that both Doy and Devon survived this series by making it to Tanalore, even though Yoda said that Luke was the last Jedi after he died. In Riley's room, we see three shock balls on his shelf, which might be trophies, and he calls the sport Bodicon, but in the comic, they just call it shock ball.

[00:18:57]So, I'm going to guess that they're just the same sport with different names, like football and fruball. Exactly. Now, I was expecting this whole Jedi hiding in the apartment story line to last for an episode or two, which would get real boring real fast. So, I was relieved when the Imperials stormed in. They were probably tracking Lawson, which is why they released him so early. It's a trick that Vader would repeat in A New Hope when they put a tracker on the Millennium Falcon and let it escape. And man, the animation on this show, like look how they all look blown out when they clash lightsabers with Merrick.

[00:19:27]This painted stylized look takes Star Wars animation to a whole new level. So, in the course of the fight, the apartment burns down, which is typical in adventure stories. It symbolizes that the hero has to leave home and they no longer have a safe haven. This, for instance, forced Luke to answer the call of adventure in a new hope. And actually, Marion had to leave the bar life behind in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the Nazis set her bar on fire. And here, symbolically, the family photo burns to show that their home is truly gone. Now, I do think that one thing about this is a little bit mad, but this is just me nitpicking. The Inquisitors were not full-fledged Sith. The Emperor deliberately kept their power suppressed so they wouldn't break the Sith rule of two and try to overthrow him or Vader.

[00:20:06]Daky is a Jedi master. He should be able to take Merrick. But then again, Merrick might have been a former Jedi who turned Inquisitor like Reva, Trillesuri, or Barisophafi. Then a Lat transport shows up to the roof and Devon hijacks the ship. When Devon asks, >> "You ever flown none of these before?"

[00:20:21]>> She replies, >> "Not exactly."

[00:20:23]>> And see, she would have had fighter combat training or even a fighter combat experience from the Clone Wars. But she would have flown Jedi star fighters whereas clones were always flying these assault transport ships. Now, I'm not sure why the stormtrooper flying this transport is wearing breathing gear.

[00:20:37]See, TIE fighters were not equipped with life support because the Tarkin Doctrine declared that the Empire would skimp on frivvalities like, you know, keeping people alive and giving them oxygen in space. But this transport is in the atmosphere, so they shouldn't need a breathing mask. But then again, lats can also fly in space. So maybe wearing a breathing mask is standard operation for all Imperial pilots. So Riley's whole worldview is suddenly called into question. His mother works for the Empire, so he always saw them as good.

[00:21:03]But now he's hearing, >> "The Empire isn't what you think it It's a moment of disillusionment that represents a loss of childhood. And maybe now he can even understand the reason for his parents' divorce as he sees the world for what it truly is and not the carefully constructed narrative that his parents have made for him during his childhood. Then we see the Imperial presence grow as ATST's patrol outside of the police station. And of course, we first saw the chicken walkers in the battle of Hoth, but most famously, they were featured in Return of the Jedi. Now, in HQ, Two Boots begins by praising the Empire. The empire appears to greatly value efficiency, which I find commendable.

[00:21:36]>> But then two things happen to undercut his esteem for this regime. One, his friend Lawson is now a wanted man with this arabesh here reading wanted and then his name Brender Lawson. And two, Balocket and then two, Blake says >> those are not standard issue droid. Get rid of them.

[00:21:50]>> Those are his boots. That's why he's named two boots. This is a sign of his individuality. Like it would be funny if like having to lose his boots is what put him over the edge to turning against authority.

[00:22:02]>> I uh see you're still wearing them boots.

[00:22:05]>> Are you kidding? I love him.

[00:22:07]>> Maybe there's going to be a moment in a future episode where he has to pick and he looks down at his robot feet and he chooses Lawson. And then we go to the casino of Reena Soul, Lawson's underworld informant. So her species is a Padlon, which might be named after her voice actor, Pamela Adlon.

[00:22:21]>> THAT'S MY PURSE. I DON'T KNOW YOU. And by the way, Pamela's daughter, Gideon, is the voice of Devon. Now, notice we see this Astromemech droid serving drinks, which is entirely silly. When R2-D2 was gifted to Jaba the Hut by Luke, the droid master said, >> "I have need for you on the master's sail barge."

[00:22:40]>> Well, I can see your setting.

[00:22:41]>> And this was meant to be a gag. R2-D2 is a supercomput that can navigate the deepest reaches of space. But Jabba doesn't need a supercomputer to navigate space. So, he turns R2 into a waiter.

[00:22:52]But there's no reason why Reena would use a space GPS as a cocktail waitress except as a call back to Jedi.

[00:22:58]Elsewhere, the Imperial probe droids from the Empire Strikes Back are patrolling the city, which pisses off Spyot.

[00:23:04]>> And below, when Maul tells Rook Cast about his plan to save the Jedi, he says, >> "The strongest metal is forged at the Crucible."

[00:23:12]>> Now, his plan refers to forging trust between himself and Devon, but I appreciate how he used a smithing metaphor to communicate his point to the Mandalorian. Their culture revolves around weaponry and armor and their greatest religious symbol is the forge of Mandalore. So this way she can really pick up what he is putting down. Lawson once again mentions their mission on Catalore, which he also referenced back in episode 2. And it makes sense now knowing that he used to be a bounty hunter. That explains why he is familiar with the Jedi, but he didn't fight among them in the Clone Wars. It also explains why he wanted to settle down as a cop to get away from that underworld life. His bond with Reena is tested when she tries to get rid of the imps. And then just like that, her entire business is ruined. They take out a few troopers at their spawn point in the elevator before splitting up in the garage. Now, Merrick can sense Devon through the force. And note the sign here that reads train station as they move into the tunnels.

[00:23:59]And by the way, just side note here, do you guys think it's weird that Dennis Hbert is voicing a character in Star Wars? Like, if you leave the room or shut your eyes, do you picture the president from 24? Like, let's try it.

[00:24:09]>> Tyranny is always defeated.

[00:24:11]>> Yeah, that's weird. I see the All State guy with the lightsaber, right? And then we get into a train fight. classic train fight. And I appreciate that it's not moving really fast because look, that's just unrealistic.

[00:24:21]>> OW, THE DUST. IT'S LIKE BEING shot in the eyes by a glitter gun.

[00:24:26]>> At first, Merrick overwhelms Devon and she can barely fend him off. Notice that Merrick has the classic Sith Inquisitor saber that we first saw in Rebels. Later on, he unleashes the second blade and uses the spinning mechanism. Now, I always like this idea for the Inquisitors because they would often have to fight more than one Jedi, and they're probably not as skilled with the blade as the Jedi are. So, by creating this windmill, it makes it harder for the Jedi to counter and parry. But I also think that Star Wars rebels took this effect a little bit too far when the Inquisitors use these as little helicopters. It just looks silly. And then Maul shows up to defend Devon, which is going to be a way more effective way to bring her under his wing. Before he just used words and platitudes, but now he is showing her with action that the two of them are on the same side. Merrick separates them by placing Riley in danger. Classic villain move. So, he and Maul have space to unleash their double-sided lightsabers.

[00:25:14]Now, we have seen Maul fight Inquisitors before, like for instance, in Star Wars Rebels, but this is probably his first fight against an Inquisitor. And notice that during this fight, we get another sample of the Anakin versus Obi-Wan theme from Revenge of the Sith.

[00:25:38]And after they sever the train tracks, Devon is ready for a rematch against Maul, but he backs down. Now you have seen the face of your true enemy.

[00:25:46]>> And then the true enemy kneels before this hollow communicator just like Vader communicating with the Emperor in the Empire Strikes Back. Now we don't see who he's talking to. We're probably supposed to think that it's the Emperor.

[00:25:56]After all, when Maul first conquered Mandalore during the Clone Wars, Cyius showed up to take him down himself, but here I think this is likely the Sixth Brother. That's the Inquisitor that Ahsoka killed in Tales of the Jedi. Now, earlier I talked about how this show is giving us a sample of what George Lucas originally intended for the sequel trilogy.

[00:26:13]>> What do you mean?

[00:26:14]>> Well, before George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney, he was working on his own outline of episodes 7 through 9. In fact, he was really disappointed when J.J. Abrams and Disney threw out that outline and went another direction. And as it turns out, this decision would end up disappointing all of us. See, Darth Maul was actually intended to be the main villain of the sequel trilogy. And as Lucas described it, he would have a young female Twilight apprentice named Darth Talon, who could end up being Devon from the series. Lucas said that Maul would become the godfather of crime in the universe because as the empire falls, he takes over. Meanwhile, Leia is trying to rebuild the Republic and quote get it under control from the gangsters.

[00:26:52]That was the main story. Now, personally, God, I would have liked that way more than what we got, which was essentially somehow the Empire returned.

[00:26:59]The next logical step for the Republic and for this series was to fight the criminal underworld who always just existed in the background of the other Star Wars trilogies. And bringing Maul back as the villain would have brought the saga full circle. Maybe he would have been the one to kill Luke Skywalker, which in a way would have finally given him revenge on Kenobi for giving him a Haven. And of course, after Disney scrapped these plans, Dave Fona wrote Darth Maul into the show Star Wars Rebels, where he met his end in a final beautiful duel with Obi-Wan.

[00:27:26]>> Is it the chosen one?

[00:27:28]>> He is. He will avenge us.

[00:27:33]>> So, we wouldn't have had that moment if Lucas would have had his way. But also, Lucas talked about how his outline would have doubled down on mediclorans and the source of the force. So, I don't know.

[00:27:42]Maybe we're better off with the sequels we got. But what do you guys think?

[00:27:44]Should the Star Wars sequels have used Darth Maul as a villain? Or do you like Maul's final duel with Obi-Wan and Star Wars Rebels? And what did you think about these episodes? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below. Or you can add me on Twitter, Blue Sky Threads, or subscribe to me on Substack, or find me on our free to join Discord server. And if it's your first time here, please subscribe. Smash that bell for alerts. For Screen Crush, I'm Ryan Ary.