The Media Man Reviews: Maul: Shadow Lord Season 1

We've had quite a lot of Star Wars spin-off shows ever since Disney took over the franchise, haven't we? Even before Disney took over, we had at least two different shows that covered the Clone Wars and after Disney bought Star Wars, we've had shows of all kinds focusing on so many aspects of this enormous franchise and introducing all kinds of new characters while bringing back old favourites. From Rebels to The Mandalorian to The Book of Boba Fett to the Tales of series and many more, the shows have all been a mixture of quality for me with Rebels, the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Underworld (or at least the Cad Bane half of that series) being top-tier Star Wars content while Season 3 of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka are embarrassing stains on the franchise's legacy that should be wiped clean and Tales of the Empire was just pretty meh. A lot of fans really seem to love Andor, really seem to hate The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew seems have been quickly forgotten about, but I haven't seen those shows and have no interest in doing so.

And thus we're here for the subject of today's review, which is a spin-off show starring Darth Maul. Already we're off to a good start here. A spin-off show starring DARTH MAUL?!?! That's an awesome idea! But let's not get too excited here. We all thought shows starring Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano were great ideas and look how THEY turned out. But on the other hand, this show has Dave Filoni in the creator's chair again and it's an animated spin-off series, not a live-action one. The Disney era of Star Wars has a fantastic track record from the animation side of things, so that helps this show's chances.

So, did this show do Darth Maul justice? Or is this show as stable as Maul's grip on his sanity? Let's turn to the Dark Side and find out my fellow apprentices...

Section 1: The Story

The story follows our titular Sith-turned-crime boss as he orchestrates the downfall of his enemies in order to keep himself on top. Unfortunately, he and a couple of homeless Jedi who are trying to hide from the Empire get spotted and soon the planet of Janix falls into chaos as the Empire locks the place down and dispatches two powerful Inquisitors to track them down. Uneasy alliances have to be made if Maul, the Jedi and a hapless law officer named Brander Lawson have any hopes whatsoever of making it out alive...

The best way to describe this show is that it's three stories that converge together into one whole narrative. You have the plot of Maul and his loyalists getting revenge on criminal gangs who have double crossed them, you have Jedi Master Daki and Devon trying to avoid the Empire and you have Lawson trying to make sense of what's going on in this situation that has spiralled out of his control. Surprisingly, the show manages to juggle these three plots well and have them coalesce together very neatly to the point they feel perfectly balanced and that they really do come together as a whole. The fact the series has 10 episodes also helps as these plots are given adequate time to breathe with each episode feeling well used and not one feels wasted.

Another thing that makes the show feel so engaging to watch are the slowly escalating stakes. The first four episodes are about Maul and his schemes while Lawson tries to bring him in, and then by Episode 5 the Empire gets involved, then Maul and his cronies have to deal with an Inquisitor, then later TWO Inquisitors! And by the end...well, see for yourself. I won't spoil it. The fact the stakes gradually and slowly increase over the course of the show makes it all feel natural and not like they're rushing into things. It gives us time to feel the growing threat to our protagonists and really feel their despair as things go from bad to worse. It also makes sense that a show starring one of Star Wars' most popular villains should be this way too. If you're going to do a series focused on a villain, then it should be full of raising stakes and be very dark and intense, and this series excels at that.

And that brings me to where this show succeeds where The Book of Boba Fett failed: it didn't try to paint Darth Maul in a heroic light. This show never once forgets about the fact this is a show starring a VILLAIN, not a hero, so Maul isn't portrayed in a heroic light whatsoever. He's constantly motivated by anger and revenge and he isn't doing what he's doing for altruistic or benevolent reasons. He's just making the crime syndicates pay for double crossing him and he has ulterior motives for trying to seduce Devon Izara to the Dark Side. While yes the show does try humanizing him a little, it doesn't lose sight of the fact Maul is evil and doesn't portray him as heroic no matter what situation he's in. Even during the climax, he basically throws Jedi Master Daki under the bus so he can be killed and further fuel Devon's fall to the Dark Side. Much better than what The Book of Boba Fett did by confusingly portraying him as some kind of hero or anti-hero with none of his villainous traits on display. Here we have a Villain Protagonist who actually still feels like a villain and it's so refreshing to see. Instead, it's the supporting cast who are portrayed in a more sympathetic light compared to Maul and they're the ones who feel like actual good guys caught in a bad situation.

Oh and another thing this show did better than The Book of Boba Fett, and also Ahsoka for that matter? The show delivers what it promises. This is a show about Darth Maul and thus it's actually ABOUT Darth Maul. While yes, Daki, Devon and Lawson are all big players in the story too, the focus is still largely centred around Darth Maul. His actions kick start this entire plot in the first place, Devon's story is all about how Maul wants to turn her to the Dark Side, the Empire is here to deal with Maul as well as the Jedi and the Inquisitors are as determined to hunt down and kill Maul as they are the Jedi. Maul never feels like a supporting character in his own show and nobody feels like they're overshadowing him.

And another positive about this show is that we have a plot where no one feels incredibly stupid or out-of-character just so it can happen, something that really ruined the Obi-Wan and Ahsoka spin-off shows for me. If any character does anything stupid in this show, it feels believable and like it's done because of a personality flaw, such as Two Boots' strict adherence to protocol or Devon's hot-headed nature, and not because the story needs them to act dumb in order to happen. The other spin-off shows really suffered from this kind of writing, so it's refreshing to see a much more smartly written series that doesn't fall into the same trap that the previous spin-offs did.

And as you'd expect from a show centred around Darth Maul, Maul: Shadow Lord is very action packed with some incredible action scenes that put the live-action movies to shame and really take advantage of the fact it's animated and thus there are no restrictions. Trust me, you're in for some truly incredible action here.

So yeah, once again Disney have proven they CAN make good Star Wars content, which only makes their repeated failures look even worse than they already do. But does Maul: Shadow Lord have any problems? Eh...not any major ones as far as I'm concerned. The only real problem I have with the show is what a forgone conclusion everything is here. What do I mean by this? Time for me to show what a geek I am and give you all some timeline details:

This show takes place in-between Revenge of the Sith and Rebels. By the time we get to Maul's appearance in Rebels, he's all alone with no crime syndicates to be in charge of and Devon's not by his side, which is why he's in Rebels trying to get Ezra to be his apprentice. So this obviously means that the subplot with Maul turning Devon to the Dark Side will be meaningless in the end because we KNOW it goes nowhere by the time we get to Rebels. So why even devote so much time to a subplot that won't matter since Devon will either die or abandon Maul and go off on her own adventures elsewhere? Now granted, the same can be said of The Clone Wars. What's the point of watching that show when we know nothing will matter in the end because of Revenge of the Sith? Very simple: The Clone Wars is about filling in the gap between movies and that show retroactively improves the stories of the prequels by expanding further on the ideas they introduced and showing further Anakin's fall to the Dark Side. Plus they introduced a plethora of new characters that we got to see in other media outside of The Clone Wars, thus necessitating watching that show so we can see their stories and how they got where they are. In this case, it feels like filling in a gap that didn't really need filling and it won't retroactively effect any of the movies before or after because Maul has no impact on the original or sequel trilogies, so the subplot with Maul and Devon especially feels like a story that doesn't need to be told and isn't worth telling because it's going to go nowhere. Unless Devon shows up in media outside of this show or something...

Also depending on your tastes in media, you might find it hard to care about what happens to the characters in this show since they're either the bad guys or canon fodder to be killed off before the end. If you're not keen on shows like this, this won't be for you.

But aside from that? I have nothing to really criticize about the show. It's a solid watch throughout all ten episodes and another shining example of Disney Star Wars when it's ACTUALLY good. Just goes to show how the right people being in charge make all the difference...

Section 2: The Characters

With a franchise like Star Wars, it's always fun seeing old favourites while getting to meet new characters in the vast, endless galaxy that this franchise is set in.

Naturally, we need to start off with our titular Zabrak former Sith apprentice, Darth Maul (voiced by Sam Witwer). Maul is the absolute star of the show here, as he should be. The show is about HIM after all. For the first four episodes, he's totally at the top of his game by mowing down enemies with his twin-bladed lightsaber, and we also see what a cunning and ruthless villain he can be. He successfully manipulates the board so those who double crossed him end up taking each other out and leaving themselves wide open for him to swoop in and seize power or whip these crime bosses back into shape. He also shows more of his manipulative side when he tries seducing Devon to the Dark Side, and once again manipulates events so they turn out his way when he plays a part in her master's death. While Maul ends up being on the backfoot once the Empire shows up, he still proves that he's no pushover by keeping the Inquisitors on their toes and making it out alive by the end (although in his case, it's because he can't die as this takes place before his end in Rebels.) Darth Maul is constantly proactive and never once does he feel like a side character in his own show. The fact he's actually portrayed as villainous and the show makes no attempt to make him seem heroic is even better. They do give him the occasional moment that humanizes him a little, namely the scene where he flashes back to his past and sees how horrible his life has been to this point and it shakes him to the point he actually sheds a tear over it. But aside from that, the show still makes it clear Maul is a bad guy and they're not trying to make us feel sorry for him (although a weird part of me kinda does) or set him up for redemption. I mean given he dies in Rebels and was still a bad guy by then, it would've been stupid to do so anyway. His portrayal here was pitch perfect and I look forward to seeing what a potential Season 2 will do with him.

Next up is a pair of Jedi who get caught up in the chaos, Master Eeko-Dio Daki (voiced by Dennis Haysbert) and his apprentice Devon Izara (voiced by Gideon Adlon). These two were a great double act with the typical wise old master and hot-headed young apprentice roles and also are among the most sympathetic characters in the show. They're two Jedi struggling to make a living thanks to the Jedi Purge and the rise of the Empire and Master Daki isn't making things any easier by his inability to adapt outside of the Jedi Code. Devon is more open to such an idea, but she also proves to be no one's fool as she doesn't instantly trust Maul and even resists him multiple times until push comes to shove and she gives in to his temptations. It was honestly pretty sad to watch this young girl fall to the Dark Side like so, especially after we were rooting for her to remain good. Once again though, her story feels a bit of a foregone conclusion since she'll either be dead or abandon Maul by the time the series is over since Maul's alone by the time of Rebels. I wonder what will become of her by the end...?

And next up is our third protagonist, Brander Lawson (voiced by Wagner Morua). Like the two Jedi, he's another sympathetic character who is the classic example of a guy way out of his depth. With his career as a law officer on Janix, he likely hasn't had to deal with cases as big as this and Maul is just far too much for his men to handle, hence why his assistant droid 2BOT, aka Two Boots (voiced by Richard Ayoade) calls the Empire for help. Two Boots' misguided attempts to defuse the situation only make things worse and circumstances cause Lawson to end up being on the run along with his son Rylee (voiced by Charlie Bushnell) and the two Jedi. Throughout the series I was constantly feeling sorry for Lawson and hoping both he and Rylee would make it out by the end. Neither of them asked for this and this is a situation beyond their comprehension. It also doesn't help how Lawson's ex-wife actually works for the Empire, so no doubt that made his family life all the harder...

While I liked those two, Two Boots was pretty meh to me. As much as I love Richard Ayoade, Two Boots just wasn't very funny to me and the fact he's the reason everything goes pear-shaped makes him hard to like. I get it, he's a droid following protocol, but that's no excuse for him to ignore his superiors and get the Empire involved. At least he got the sense that it was a bad idea in the end and joined our heroes in trying to deal with them.

This show also features the return of two Inquisitors, First Brother (voiced by Paul Darnell) and Eleventh Brother. Unlike Tales of the Jedi and Ahsoka where they existed just to be pathetic canon fodder for Ahsoka to kill with ease, this show does them more justice. First Brother and Eleventh Brother make for a constant threat in the show as they pursue our protagonists with ease and are able to catch up to them every time they managed to get away. They look scary onscreen and the two get to show off their pretty impressive fighting skills that show they're no pushovers, which only makes their rather pathetic deaths at Ahsoka's hands in later media even lamer by comparison. I also wish Eleventh Brother actually talked in this show as it would've been cool to hear Clancy Brown reprise his role again here. Still, him being silent just made him even creepier in a way. As is, I'm glad this show exists so these nothing characters are able to make a better, stronger impression this time around and we get to see them at their best. I wonder if they'll show up again in the next season...

Other characters include Maul's flunkies with the most notable being Rook Kast (voiced by Vanessa Marshall), a pair of Zabrak brothers named Scorn and Icarus and their helpful droid assistant Spy Bot (voiced by David W. Collins). Rook has little personality outside of being Maul's loyal toady, the Zabrak brothers don't even have personalities and Spy Bot was pretty amusing with his mocking dialogue and Gollum like voice. It seems a lot of people liked him as I saw a lot of comments on YouTube expressing genuine sorrow he got axed off before the end. Not even Scorn and Icarus got that much mourning from fans. XD

And finally, there's Looti Vario (voiced by Chris Diamantopoulos). The most surprising thing about this character is that he actually makes it out alive in the end. He was among the crime bosses who betrayed Maul (although this show is our first time meeting this character, meaning it happened offscreen and we're supposed to accept he's always been there) and despite Maul coming close to killing him, he manages to save himself by proving to be useful to Maul's plans by selling out other syndicates like the Pykes so Maul can take over. As is, I didn't care much for him and I definitely won't shed a tear if Maul finally guts him in the next season.

Near the end of the show, we get a guest appearance from Dryden Vos (voiced by Scott Whyte), which I imagine will set up a possible subplot that shows us how Maul got in charge of Crimson Dawn by the time of Solo: A Star Wars Story. And we also get another guest appearance that I daren't spoil for you since it's quite a big one...but chances are you've already spoilt yourselves and know who it is anyway. XD

The characters were really enjoyable this season with a great outing for Maul, some sympathetic side-characters that are easy to root for and a much better outing for a pair of Inquisitors who were done dirty in other media. Just the kind of cast we want for a Star Wars spin-off...

Section 3: The Animation

One thing I adore about these new animated Star Wars shows is how amazing the animation looks, and Maul: Shadow Lord continues the high quality visuals we've gotten in previous shows. It's unreal how beautiful the animation looks in this series.

Similar to The Bad Batch and the Tales of... series, the visuals of Maul: Shadow Lord boast high quality looking animation that's highly detailed and sticks very true to the visuals of Star Wars from the alien designs to the architecture of the cities to the design of the vehicles and much more. Add in more natural looking lighting and you have a show that truly does look spectacular to watch. Compared to the shows I mentioned before, this show's animation is a little more artsy and stylized in appearance with backgrounds that at times look like they've been painted. That's mostly for backgrounds that are...well, in the background while the scenery that the characters interact with are fully three dimensional and not rendered in a painterly fashion. Speaking of, the planet of Janix was apparently inspired and based on Gotham City and Metropolis from the DC Universe, and I think I can see it. The whole city looks very futuristic and sci-fi cyberpunk style like Metropolis would normally be, but the dingier, rundown areas of the city are evocative to Gotham City and how it's often depicted as looking this way.

I still love how the character designs have a bit of that Clone Wars art-style to them that we're so familiar with, but they've been given such a visual upgrade that they don't look quite so wooden and are able to express and emote more than they could in the older shows. We even get to see characters like Dryden Vos depicted in this style and he looks very close to his live-action counterpart, which makes it easy to believe it's really him as a result. There's a lot more detail on everybody to the point you'll see paint chips or wear and tear signs on body armour and helmets, most notably with Rook Kast and the Mandalorians working for Maul or skin wrinkles on the organic characters. The textures all look very convincing from the metal on the vehicles to the skin on the characters and the clothes that they wear. Nothing looks fake in this show and it's pretty amazing how a streaming exclusive series is able to look this damn good.

And then there's the character animation too. The movements look convincing and there's a lot of different personalities on clear display through body language alone, as well as some very expressive faces. Even the droid characters like Two Boots and Spybot who don't have emotive faces manage to show a lot of personality through their voice actors and the animators giving them their own little quirks. I especially found it amusing in one episode when Spybot crawls under Maul's arm for a stroke like an affectionate cat wanting a pet from its master. That was cute and funny. XD

But the visual highlights of course are the action scenes. Oh lord the action scenes! I'm NOT exaggerating when I say these are some of the best action scenes ever to come out of Star Wars. I even say these can put the live-action films to say. Whether it's a battle with the Inquisitors or a high-speed chase scene, the action scenes are the visual highlights of every episode in this show. They're fast paced and full of awesome choreography that allows everyone on display to show their abilities and battle skills in action with Maul's athletic fighting-style especially captured perfectly here. It's like they had Ray Park himself as reference material to get it spot on. For all we know, maybe they did. Devon and Daki are no slouches in combat either and the two Inquisitors get to look very strong and fearsome here, a keen reminder that the Inquisitors aren't always push overs after all. We also get some creative use of the Force in these action scenes with the most notable example being one chase scene were Daki uses the Force to catapult a Stormtrooper on his hoverbike into the air and send him crashing into a Republic Gunship. Not only was it hilarious, but it was so cool too and I wish we got creative stuff like that more often during these fights or chases.

This shot during one of the battles especially looks stupidly badass and I'd love it if we got a poster based on that one frame. I bet even the animators knew THIS single shot was the money shot.

What else can I say other than this show is a treat for the eyes? The animation continues to impress in these recent Star Wars shows and I hope to see more of it in future projects...

Overall

Darth Maul got an awesome spin-off show. SO WHY THE HELL DID DISNEY SCREW UP SO BADLY WITH BOBA FETT, OBI-WAN AND AHSOKA?!?! Maul: Shadow Lord is the best Star Wars show we've had from the Disney era thus far, and it's not even a close battle. The story is intense and action-packed, the pacing is great, the action is stellar, the characters are memorable (well, the main ones that is), it avoids the big problems a lot of Disney Star Wars shows have and the animation is visually gorgeous. If you're a major Star Wars fan like me, this show is a HIGH recommendation and a must-watch. If you want proof that not all Disney Star Wars content is bad, then this show will hopefully be the proof you need. Dave Filoni has said there's a Season 2 in production, so I really hope it'll be done and this show gets to continue, because I want more of this kind of Star Wars. If Disney just keeps letting the right people be in charge, then Star Wars can be great again at last...

And that's it for this review. I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to share your thoughts down below. Did you like Maul: Shadow Lord? Did you not like it? Do tell me.

Join me again for my next big post this Friday as the Archie Sonic retrospective continues. See you then media fans!

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