Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord Season 1, Episode 3
"Whispers in the Unknown"
Writer: Julia Cooperman
Director: Steward Lee
Cast: Voices of Sam Witwer, Wagner Moura, Dennis Haysbert, Vanessa Marshall, Chris Diamantopoulos, Gideon Adlon, and Richard Ayoade.
While there's some happenings in the B-plots that further the main arcs of the season, this episode is really just an excuse to let Sam Witwer's Maul be a smug, suave villain as he toys with Devon like a cat who's caught a mouse, and I am here for it.
Tea Time
"Whispers in the Unknown" opens with a really gorgeous-looking physical and tonal establishing shot of Janix as the camera does a classic Star Wars "pan down" into the lower levels where Maul resides. It's not the first time this episode will subtly tap into the iconography of the films. Picking up where the last episode left off, Devon is free of her cell, but not quite free of Maul, as Rook Kast and her Mandalorians arrive on the scene, not to recapture Devon but to direct her down a dark corridor where Maul is waiting with..tea.
Thus begins the episode-long seduction of Devon, as Maul plays the role of "gentleman villain", asking Devon's name, inquiring as to the status of her injuries, and generally giving her enough immediate freedom to create a sense of control while still maintaining total control over the situation. He draws parallels between his villainy and her efforts to survive in a post-Order 66 world and (more accurately) points out that the same person is responsible for both of their woes: Darth Sidious, the man who raised Maul up then cast him aside, and who executed the slaughter of the Jedi.
Of course, this all goes down much easier in part because of Sam Witwer's silken performance of Maul, but also because he's not being terribly subtle. Devon, to her credit, knows she's being played, knows Maul is actively pushing her buttons. Yet that naked effort seems to reinforce Maul's point — he's so right, it seems, he doesn't need to be subtle. Stymied, Devon calls Maul's innocently-laid-next-to-the-teapot lightsaber to her hand like Luke in Palpatine's Return of the Jedi throne room, and Maul cuts the lights.
Illuminated only by the glow of Maul's lightsaber, Devon attempts to escape while Maul continues to goad her, drawing further parallels between their aborted destinies — both trained hard in youth to reach a future that was ultimately denied them — and asks whether her master would be proud if she slayed Maul. Again eschewing subtlety, he offers to train her as his apprentice, so that they can unite against a common enemy. Devon ignores him and spotting an opening, begins to climb up.
Reaching the top, Devon makes a dash for a sun-drenched archway leading to the outside, only to find her way blocked by Maul (subtle, Star Wars rarely is). Their verbal sparring boils over into physical confrontation as they draw blades (Maul wielding the other half of his dual saber). As with the verbal sparring, it's pretty clear that Devon is outmatched — Maul easily holds his own, one arm folded behind his back as he parries Devon's attacks, only driving her further and further to anger. As echoes of Revenge of the Sith's "Battle of the Heroes" play on the score, Devon in her mounting rage manages to get past Maul and breaks for the light. Maul merely calls back his purloined lightsaber and lets her go, very much creating the impression that, despite Devon's "victory," things are going exactly as he planned.
All Work and No Play
Meanwhile, Lawson continues to be a decent investigator and a so-so dad. Sharing the intel he received from Rheena Sul with Two-Boots, Lawson sets the droid to stake out a likely shipment of Pyke contraband while he checks out his son's Space LaCrosse game. Sure enough, acting on info from Vario, Rook Kast attacks the Pyke delivery, furthering tensions between the Pykes and Maul and triggering a shootout involving the TDF.
That shootout is enough to pull Lawson away from both dad-duty and a weighted conversation with Daki, in which it's made pretty clear that Lawson knows the deal with Daki and Devon, especially when Daki makes it apparent he shares Lawson's reluctance to involve the Empire. Rushing off to help Two-Boots, Lawson misses his son's sad look of longing at Lawson's now-empty vantage point.
The question of Imperial involvement creates further tension between Lawson and Two-Boots, as the latter ultimately goes over the former's head in the wake of the latest shootout. Thankfully, Chief Kylce is only slightly less eager to get the Empire involved than Lawson, so she simply benches Two-Boots and reiterates to Lawson the importance of finding Maul before things get so bad she has to call in the Empire. Lawson assures her he's on it, but Maul's machinations threaten to turn his confidence into bluster. Prompted by the latest disruption of their operation on Janix, Vario, at Rook Kast's urgings, arranges a meeting with Marg Krim, leader of the Pykes, one in which Vario promises to make amends. Yet while Krim knows enough to be suspicious of Vario, the wild card remains, as always, Maul.
Force Facts
- I love how beat-up Rook Kast's helmet is when shown up close.
- Cassius tea is a Mandalorian beverage, made from the florets of a tree native to the planet.
- We get our first (oblique) reference to the Inquistorius in this series, with Maul mentioning the Empire's Jedi hunters to Devon.
- I'm don't think the climax of the first phase of Maul's attempts to turn Devon to the Dark Side merit the direct comparison to the Anakin/Obi-Wan duel in Episode III invited by the use of the "Battle of the Heroes" music, but it's a fleeting enough moment I'll allow it.
- The blond TDF officer working with Two-Boots at the shootout is named Reb.
- It's revealed here that Lawson's (ex?) wife works for the Empire in some capacity.
- Though unnamed here, the Pyke homeworld where Marg Krim is located is Oba Diah; it was previously seen in The Clone Wars.
Maul/Vader Fight Probability Index: 15%
Adding a few more percentage points into the mix for the continued hammering of Chekhov's Imperial Presence. At this point, there's a non-zero chance the Empire will get involved. Will that lead to a Vader appearance? We'll see!
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