‘Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord’ Season 1 Episodes 5 And 6 Review
Image Source: Disney+
Last week on Maul - Shadow Lord! The Pykes have more in common with Supreme Leader Snoke than initially thought. Brander Lawson won’t be winning any “Father of the Year” awards any time soon. Spybot has anger issues, but we love him anyway. And Two-Boots is about to learn the definition of the saying “Snitches get stitches.”
Maul - Shadow Lord’s first season has reached the halfway point. Maul Mondays will come to an end (for a time) on May 4th, but until then, our adventures in the shadows of Janix are a weekly tradition we can continue to cherish. "Chapter 5: Inquisition" (directed by Saul Ruiz & Tatyana Drewry Carvin) and "Chapter 6: Night of the Hunted" (directed by Steward Lee) up the drama, the stakes, and above all, the action. Writers Jennifer Corbett (one of the showrunners of The Bad Batch) and Christopher Yost (who has written episodes of Rebels andThe Mandalorian) pen what are probably the best episodes of the season thus far. The selling point of Maul is the crime element mixed with a twisted samurai story, and this week’s block of episodes provides those elements with flying colors. Among those colors is red, of course.
This week, Maul takes a bit of a back seat in terms of screen time, giving other characters the spotlight. After failing to apprehend Maul, Brander Lawson finds his investigation taken over by the Empire. Now finding himself on the other side of the law, Lawson is on the run with his son Rylee, runaway Jedi Padawan Devon Izara, and her master Eeko-Dio Daki. The decision to focus primarily on Lawson, his son, and our two Jedi was a smart one on the part of the writers. This isn’t to say Maul isn’t interesting, but “shadow lord” is in the name. Maul galavanting in public while law enforcement and the Empire are looking for him isn’t smart, so sometimes, he has to take a back seat. And naturally, this gives us more time with Brander, Devon, and others.
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Image Source: Newsweek
The biggest highlight this week, surprisingly, came from Marrok. Marrok was first introduced in Ahsoka as what I thought was another masked Star Wars baddie who dies like a punk, a la Boba Fett or Captain Phasma. Marrok moves like a slasher villain who just so happens to be good at combat, and I loved every second he was on screen. The biggest highlight being a lightsaber duel between him, Maul, and Devon. Last week, I praised the three-way duel between Maul, Devon, and Daki, but this week's fight was 100% tailored to my personal tastes. I adore sword fights on moving terrain, so I’m a sucker for a good train duel.
The animation, action scenes, and the musical score by Kevin, Sean, and Deana Kiner continue to thrill and take my breath away. However, the character writing continues to improve with each passing episode. I feel completely confident in saying Devon is my favorite character in the show. Devon may be a Jedi padawan, but as a girl who is thrown into a world that doesn’t want her around, she begins to wonder if Maul has a point about challenging the beliefs instilled in her by the Jedi Order. While we don’t know Devon’s fate just yet, it’s clear that a path has been placed before her, and I am incredibly excited to see where it takes her.
Brander Lawson also continues to be one of the show’s beating hearts. He’s a man who wants to bring Maul to justice and protect his son, but now he has to fight against a system he no longer recognizes. Seeing Lawson spring into action to protect his son, Devon, and Daki makes it hard not to love him. As Maul peeks from the shadows more and more little by little, Devon figures out what her path toward the future is, Lawson needs to figure out his next move, and Marrok seeks blood, the next 4 episodes of Maul - Shadow Lordare likely to be incredibly impressive. Most impressive.
“Inquisition” Rating: 9/10
“Night of the Hunted” Rating: 10/10
The fifth and sixth 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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