Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Season 1 Review

There is no true fear of the dark. Hearing someone regail their fear of the dark isn’t about the darkness at all. The real fear comes from what the dark hides, the shadows and the imagination of monsters beyond the horrors of their own understanding. There is power in the shadows for monsters to linger just at the precipice of your vision. Maul – Shadow Lord practices that principle with its depiction of the fallen dark lord. In the vein of horrors like Jaws, Maul spends as little time front and center as possible in the show to build up the anticipation of his arrival. That palpable feeling of knowing something is out there in the dark waiting to enact its own devious plans.

Set after the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars finale, Maul – Shadow Lord is a pulpy adventure that finds Maul plotting to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire. There, he crosses paths with a disillusioned young Jedi Padawan who could be the apprentice he is seeking to aid him in his relentless pursuit of revenge.

I wasn’t a child afraid of the dark. In fact, I was 6 years old when I sat in the theatre for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. That was 6 years of life playing with toy lightsabers, Kerner figures, and watching the first three films on VHS until they nearly burned out. So when Darth Maul appeared in his spiky red glory, I was enamored as many others were. I owned a Darth Maul piggy bank, all of his action figures, and he even appeared on my bed sheets. So my opinion is of course skewed to the side that Darth Maul is the coolest dude in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Maul – Shadow Lord stands as a reminder of why I still get giddy like a kid again any time I hear “Duel of the Fates” or see those double-bladed sabers ignite.

From the opening scene, Maul – Shadow Lord stands on buisness. Everything through the season is done in such grand spectacle with the show’s ensamble cast. Maul is used sparingly in ways that make his apperances have far more weight to them than if he was ever-present. With Sam Witwer’s airy, chilling voice dripping with the dark side, we see a Maul against the ropes hungry for revenge. It makes the character feel powerful again, as he was in The Clone Wars series. There is a constant dread of him sweeping into a room and killing everyone in it that isn’t on his side of an arrangment. The continuation of his criminal affairs is only strengthened by the looming fear of the Empire that hangs over the Galaxy. Even if Maul is a shadow lurking in the places you can’t see, there are still darker beings with eyes transfixed on him.

But as with the force, there must be some balance to darkness. In comes the Jedi on the run, fighting just to exist. Master Eeko-Dio Daki (Dennis Haysbert) and Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon) are trying to stay under the radar on the same planet Maul is infesting. They are used as a fascinating foil to Maul through the series. As he is a sith who is hunted by his former master, they are hunted by the entire galaxy. While they cower, Maul slashes back. There are a few really intense scenes where Maul poses questions to the young Jedi Devon. He questions if what she is doing is actually living at all when he can offer her a path to living free again. It lends itself to telling a very different story of a Jedi on the run that we haven’t seen from this angle. What if the Jedi stopped running and started fighting with all the power inside of them devoid of the shackles of the Jedi’s teachings?

Force users aren’t the only ones caught in this struggle. Another thread of the sprawling story follows a local law enforcment partnership and how they are navigating the chase for Maul. When the “right” thing to do is call in the Empire, how does an officer grapple with the potential of giving his home over to facism? It’s a fascinating story arc that brings the same weight to ever choice made and it’s ripples across a planet who was previously untouched by the Empire. One half of the duo is a robot called Two-Boots (Richard Ayoade) who is made to make a choice between his programming protocols and his partner, Brander Lawson (Wagner Moura). It’s a gripping tale for any droid.

I need to take a moment to acknowledge Spybot (David W. Collins). Star Wars has always been a high stakes story but it is never without its humor. Spybot stands on the shoulders of giant droids like Chopper and R2-D2 who are wise cracking and sassy moments of reprieve in the battle of good and evil. Spybot carries that legacy with grace and poise, going so far as to spit at a character. I don’t think there was a single scene featuring the frisbee shaped droid where I wasn’t laughing. He is truly a blessing who talks to himself and has a very mustache twirling version of being evil.

The Kiner’s (Deana, Kevin, and Sean Kiner) are once again back to provide the score as they have with the previous animated Star Wars programs. I cannot sing their praises enough in every iteration that they score. There is a level of understanding the John Williams music that has existed around Star Wars since the jump while also bringing their own unique styles to each different story. There is a track during an epic action scene later in the season that has jumped into the top ten Star Wars tracks for me. I cannot say more but keep your ears open through the rest of the season because the Kiner trio bring the thunder.

Over the years, new villains have crept from the darkest parts of the galaxy, but Maul remains. Maul has been the monster in the dark for many Jedi in his time and with his show, that has not changed. Keeping him away from being the main focal point allows him to keep that level of darkness that shrouds him even if we get glimmers into what exists inside him. Maul – Shadow Lord is the first Star Wars production to be based around a dark side force user. Balancing the character with an ensemble cast allows him to always stay at the level of darkness he has been since his inception while still allowing growth through his experiences. Even as a dark lord, Maul knows there are many shadows in the dark that pray upon his demise. Fear of what is coming spreads through the galaxy and Maul – Shadow Lord explores it masterfully.