Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord Season 1, Episode 8
"The Creeping Fear"
Writer: Jennifer Corbett
Directors: Saul Ruiz
Cast: Voices of Sam Witwer, Wagner Moura, Dennis Haysbert, Vanessa Marshall, Chris Diamantopoulos, Gideon Adlon, Richard Ayoade
And here we hit the low point for Maul, as he finds himself slipping, however briefly, back into madness, haunted by his past and the specter of his abusive master. In addition to the plot mechanics of pushing Maul and his entourage closer to the Lawson/Jedi contingent, "The Creeping Fear" also works to render Maul a sympathetic figure. While he's clearly been one of the series' protagonists despite his villainy, this episode — with its flashes to his tragic past and close-ups on his face — pushes Maul the closest he's come yet to being a genuine hero, motivated not only by revenge but to save others from evil.
The Heart of Maul's Darkness
In the wake of the cave-in triggered by Maul, Marokk and the Eleventh Brother extricate themselves from the rubble while Spybot searches for any sign of Maul. Finding none, Rook Kast leads the surviving elements of Maul's crew into a different sector of the city, hoping Maul — if he's alive — will find them.
Maul IS alive, and manages to climb out from some rubble. His cybernetic leg even more badly damaged, he finds traversing the long tunnel in which he's found himself slow and ponderous. Seeing a reflection of himself, he's filled with self-loathing, and is haunted by memories of his past as he begins his journey.
Outside the Tactical Defense Force headquarters, Lawson and the Jedi are trying to formulate a rescue plan for Rylee when Lawson receives a call from Rheena Sul. She tells him she's evaded Imperial capture following the raid on her casino and has arranged a transport offworld that leaves in two hours. Lawson says he needs more time, but Sul is insistent. Inside the TDF, Two-Boots is growing increasingly concerned with the way the Imperial operatives are ignoring proper procedures as Rylee is led into interrogation by the Eleventh Brother. When his comlink chirps, he answers, and Lawson tells him he's willing to trade himself for Rylee, asking the droid to bring his son to loading dock three.
Acknowledging the risk involved in his plan (not the least of which being Two-Boots has already sold him out once), Lawson gives Daki the location of Sul's transport and tells him to get his son to that ship, no matter what. Meanwhile, Devon leaves in search of a getaway vehicle, ultimately stealing a speeder from a trio of bulky thugs.
Elsewhere, Maul continues his journey through the tunnels under Janix City haunted by his past. He sees visions of his younger self being warned by his brother, Savage Opress, not to leave with Darth Sidious, as well as flashes of his cruel, painful training with Sidious. He relives being cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi, and scrapping together an existence on the junkworld of Lotho Minor. Then he sees his brother slain again by Darth Sidious on Mandalore, only this time, Savage urges him to get revenge before he passes, filling Maul with even more resentment and rage towards his old master.
Fast and the Furious
At TDF headquarters, Two-Boots retrieves Rylee from his cell, telling Rylee he's rescuing him. As they reach the exit to loading dock three, two Stormtroopers grow suspicious, and Two-Boots is forced to stun them, along with another of squad troopers who respond to the commotion. Outside, Rylee and Lawson are reunited and Lawson prepares to leave with Two-Boots, but when alarms sound and Stormtroopers begin pouring out into the loading dock, Two-Boots tells Lawson the deal is off, and joins Lawson and Daki in attacking the Stormtroopers. Just then Devon arrives in the stolen speeder, and while Daki chides her for not choosing something more inconspicuous, she counters she wanted something fast, which is put to good use in the ensuing chase.
As the Lawsons and Jedi head for their rendezvous with Sul, Maul sees an apparition of his younger self, who apologizes for leaving with Darth Sidious. Adult Maul accepts his apology, and vows not to let Sidious groom and exploit anyone else. He then catches up to the remnants of his Shadow Collective.
Meanwhile, the Lawsons reach the rendezvous point and take a lift down to Sul's ship, but Devon senses something amiss. While Lawson is insistent that Rheena wouldn't betray him, Rylee suggests contacting her. When Lawson does, she pointedly references the world Catalor — site of a significant encounter between the two — as their destination, tipping Lawson off that she's been compromised. Sure enough, she watches nervously as Lieutenant Blake, the Inquisitors and squads of Stormtroopers approach the lift as it lands, only for the doors to open on an empty car. Sul quickly grabs a blaster from one of the Stormtroopers, and fires it into the engine of the waiting ship, triggering an explosion that takes out herself, Blake, and several Stormtroopers, though the Inquisitors survive.
Elsewhere, Maul and the Shadow Collection reach their destination: the offices of deceased crime lord Nico Deemis. Rook Kast worries they'll be found, but Vario insists that since Deemis is dead at his hands, the Empire will be more focused on Vario's office and other haunts than those of Deemis. Just then, he receives an encoded call on his comlink. When it ends, he tells Maul that's been contacted by the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn, and that one of their agents, Dryden Vos, requests a meeting. Things, Vario assures Maul, are looking up.
Force Facts
- Much as with the lightsabers, all the various closeups on Maul's face in this episode really highlight the painting overlay done on the animation.
- The real breaking point for Two-Boots being that the Imperial officers don't want to take coffee from him is kinda hilarious. Glad he's back on Team Not Empire, but let's not forget, no one would be in the predicament they're currently in if Two-Boots had kept his trap shut.
- Much of the flashbacks to Maul's childhood/training are inconsistent with previous depictions of his backstory (it was said he received his tattoos around the age of one, Savage didn't know about his brother til later, etc.), an intentional choice made by the creative team, according to actor Sam Witwer.
- The beings whose speeder Devon steals don't look familiar to me; Wookieepedia only refers to them as "humanoids."
- There's a great little riff on the score when Devon rolls up to the loading dock with the speeder that almost sounds like it's about to launch into Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero."
- Dryden Vos, as played by Paul Bettany, is the leader of Crimson Dawn at the start of Solo: A Star Wars Story (which in the end reveals that Vos himself answers to Maul). Presumably, this is setting up the beginning of that relationship.
Maul/Vader Fight Probability Index: 35%
Not much movement in this department in this episode, so we'll hold steady at 35%.
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