It had been 8 years since the 2016 Han Solo movie came out. When it was announced we would be getting a new Darth Maul, I was imagining a follow-up on Solo’s tease involving Darth Maul and the Crimson Dawn, expanding on what Maul was doing during the Empire. However, that is not what we got. Instead, what we have is essentially another season of the Clone Wars Cartoon in a similar vein to the Bad Batch.
Upon first glance, I was kind of bored by this series, as it focuses on Police Procedure on the Planet Janix, investigating a robbery committed by Darth Maul’s followers. I found the stuff with Officer Brander Lawson to be pretty boring, nothing more than another Police Procedure taking time away from Maul. However, as the series goes on and we get more involvement of his son, and the Jedi he is protecting, I found myself wishing they would go back to his storyline, as Maul’s devolved into a bizarre spiritual journey that went nowhere.
Part of me was really starting to hope this could be a more original story away from the Jedi stuff, in a similar vein to the Bad Batch, but unfortunately, the main arc of this season is between Maul and the Tei’lek Padawan Devon Izara. This is because Maul’s main goal is to bring Devon into the dark side, so he can train her. The Jedi side of this story just doesn’t really work because it is the story we always get with the Jedi during the age of the Empire. Of course, they are found and hunted by the Empire. We yet again get a fight between our heroes against Vader and the Inquisitors. Even Devon’s master, Jedi Eeko-Dio Daki, is the one to die eventually, the same way we have seen nearly every Jedi story during this era. We’ve seen versions of this before, in comics, in video games, in novels, and even in animation (in “Star Wars: Rebels).
I think what saves this series the most is the diverse roster of characters. I enjoyed following Rylee Lawson, a rare human with a pretty normal home life and backstory. The main selling point would have to be the droids though: we have 2B0T or 2 Boots voiced by Richard Ayoade, a “by the book” driod police partner of Officer Lawson, who gets a lot of great straight man humor booster by Ayode’s performance. 2 Boots also has a pretty decent character arc as the season progresses, almost reminding me of the story between AP-5 and Chopper from Rebels. The other Droid I’ve seen get a lot of positive feedback would be Spybot, a gremlin/spider-like incognito droid that is used by Maul.
The supporting cast isn’t all perfect, though. Maul’s crew was pretty forgettable despite getting some pretty gruesome deaths towards the end. As per usual, this isn’t a Star Wars project without one annoying character that doesn’t work; here it is, Looti Vario, a fast-talking crime lord who works under Maul. The character isn’t funny, and his greedy personality leaves him very annoying, especially since he is pretty useless the entire season.
As far as character journeys go, this was a little questionable. Maul’s main goal is to take Devon in as an apprentice by tempting her with the dark side. The issue is, we already have a pretty good idea of what will happen; Daki’s death was inevitable. However, we don’t have a clear understanding of what his endgame even is. He seems to want to use Devon to take out the Empire because he knows he can not take on Vader alone, but then what? Maul is certainly a fun character, but he can’t really carry this series on his own. At his core, he is still very one-note and more renowned for his actions than who he is at his core. Following the Lawsons is what makes this series more watchable. They are a pair of civilians who have been dragged into the empire’s tyranny against their will, while fighting to survive. I appreciate seeing more people from normal backgrounds in this universe. It is original and refreshing
What helps the series is the fallout at the end, where we see Devon accept Maul’s training. Considering where Maul ends up when he first shows up in Rebels, I imagine this does not go over well. Between this and Rylee Lawson losing his father, I am really intrigued to see where this story is headed. However, this series still failed to bring a lot of new things to the franchise. The next season certainly looks more promising, but I can’t call it a must-watch until I’ve seen how the next season turns out.
There’s enough nuance among different supporting characters to pass the time, but Maul himself remains what we’ve all seen before now.
