‘Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord’ Season 1 Episodes 3 And 4 Review
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Last week on Maul - Shadow Lord! Everyone’s favorite angry red boy is seeking revenge on those who have wronged him. Pink and blue are apparently a really good color combo for a Jedi Padawan. So two crime bosses walk into a bar! And I think everyone needs a grumpy gremlin droid in their life.
Two episodes in, and it seemed Maul - Shadow Lord had quickly avoided the typical growing pains of previous Star Wars cartoons. Usually, it takes half a season or even a journey to a second season for Star Wars animation to find its complete footing. It seemed Maul would avoid that. And thankfully, it has! Episode 3 (titled "Whispers in the Unknown") and Episode 4 (titled "Pride and Vengeance") keep the momentum up and are proving Maul to be a very worthy installment of the Star Wars Saga. If there are any criticisms to have, it’s that Whispers of the Unknown ends a bit abruptly, a criticism I also had of the second episode. Other than that, these episodes are straight-up winners.
Much like Andor, Maul makes expert use of characters beyond the titular protagonist. This isn’t to say Maul doesn’t get any screentime; he does and makes the best of it, but it’s nice to see that Maul isn’t the only character the creatives care about. Writers Julia Cooperman ("Whispers in the Unknown") and Amanda Rose Muñoz ("Pride and Vengeance") give us a healthy dose of downtime with our main cast in between all the visually stunning action. A character I’ve gravitated toward a lot this week was Brander Lawson, voiced by Academy Award-nominated actor Wagner Moura. I wasn’t expecting a police detective to be such an engaging, if not the most engaging, character in an animated series about Darth Maul. The juxtaposition of Lawson’s home life and his job is incredibly interesting. On paper, the story of a dad struggling to spend time with his son because of work sounds boring. Thankfully, in execution, it’s worth it. Lawson is simply trying to stop Maul; he wants to protect Janix from being destroyed by criminal syndicates and to prevent the Empire's involvement. It also helps that Moura’s voice-over performance is just as compelling as any of his on-camera work. However, my personal favorite character is Devon Inzara, who is voiced beautifully by Gideon Adlon.
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Devon is a young Jedi Padawan who must find her way in a world that doesn’t see the Jedi as heroes but rather as traitors. Devon doesn’t see any reason to stick by the rules when she’s hungry and afraid, but doesn’t want to join Maul on his path to revenge. Her relationship with her master Ecko-Dio Daki is the emotional core of both episodes. They care about each other, even if their methods of surviving a galaxy controlled by the Empire differ. The three-way duel between them and Maul is a stunning sequence to behold, likely the best animated duel since Ahsoka dueled Darth Vader in Rebels season 2. Of course, Maul himself is still a chilling presence. In these episodes, he’s a more shadowy presence, but the stakes are still clear. Sam Witwer’s perfect vocal performance helps this, as he delivers every line like he’s reciting poetry. Maul’s growing dynamic with Devon is by far my favorite part of the show, and I can’t wait to see how it unfolds for the rest of the series.
Maul - Shadow Lord’s third and fourth episodes (directed by Saul Ruiz and Steward Lee, respectively) are excellent exercises in character development and great action. The animation is insanely stunning, as everyone who has seen it can admit. The action is engaging, the characters are relatable, the music by Kevin, Sean, and Diner Kiner is larger-than-life, and the tone is pitch-perfect. One part gripping crime thriller and another a dark and twisted take on the samurai story, these episodes are quickly painting a picture that Maul - Shadow Lord could have the best debut season of a Star Wars animated series yet. Once you get over your personal hangups about animation and the typical handwringing about Dave Filoni and imaginary favoritism, allow yourself to be taken by the gorgeous visuals and well-written characters. Allow yourself to have fun with Star Wars again for a change.
“Whispers in the Unknown” Rating: 8/10
“Pride and Vengeance” Rating: 9/10
The third and fourth episodes of Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord are now streaming on Disney+! New episodes air every Monday until May 4th on Disney+!
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