A/V STAR WARS REBELS (show's over, spoilers allowed)

Oy...Arguing over what constitutes bad ass...Lol.

But... I'll chime in anyway. I think he was pretty badass in TPM. And he was intended to be such.

I don't think post-cut-in-half Maul was badass and not intended to be. I think the obvious intention was clearly pathetic. But I liked his return in general.

Badassary perceptions are highly subjective. A large problem is defining what badass means. There is most likely no operational definition people here would agree to.

I do have a Maul clarification question. At the end of TCW, he was definitively bested and seemingly captured by Palpatine...Who then expressed he had plans for Maul.

Next we see him...Is in that very first canon comic book.

Did he escape from Palpatine...Or was this part if Sheeve's plan? Never understood​ what happened there.



sent from my Moto X-Wing

 

He led Sidious to Talzin, who was finally vanquished. That was the plan.

 

Reprimanded at least then. Maybe Zeb gets to give him a wedgie. Or Wedge cause puns. Not that he has to "get" Wedge I mean Wedge would give the wedgie.........I think you figured that out already.

 

That was Sheeve's plan? Was Maul in on it? Didn't seem like it. And then...Palps just let him go?

sent from my Moto X-Wing

 

Again, I don't think these concepts are mutually exclusive. Filoni and Lucas both are of the opinion that all Sith are ultimately fragile cowards once pretense is dropped. But the bottom line for me is that I absolutely can't stand an ineffectual villain and I think any story suffers because of it.

Bringing the conversation back round to Rebels proper, Thrawn's burden is tenfold now that Maul's been disposed of. He's got two episodes to kick some hero ass before he's inevitably vanquished.

Maul wasn't in on it, Sidious deduced that he'd run to Talzin for help.

 

His musical cue for Zero Hour better be "Eye of The Tiger," 'cause the pressure's on.

 

Dammit, now I'm going to have a hard time not thinking about this when I rewatch the episode.

 

Played on his creepy church organ, naturally.

 

To put this in cosmic terms, Maul served his part in the Will of the Force on Naboo. He was never going to rule alongside Sidious. He was never even going to get a chance to pretend at a partnership like Dooku did. He killed Qui-Gon, clearing the way for Obi-Wan and thus Anakin to assume their destinies, then immediately got killed. Only, because Lucas wanted something to hype the Episode I 3D release inexplicably, he didn't die. Sure, since his unlikely return from the grave, he's caused some trouble. However, he's had no role in the Grand Design, no Destiny to speak of. He could use the Force, but the Force was not with him.

Of course, when he stuck his nose into Obi-Wan's watch on Tatooine, he was utterly and immediately destroyed. The Force was never more with Obi-Wan than it was in that moment.

 

Aside from that he is not a Jedi...Being a Jedi does not mean law doesn't apply to an individual.

You definitely do want to jail a powerful Force sensitive person who feels he or she can break the law whenever it is most convenient.

But that's not why he wasn't jailed. He wasn't because of plot convenience.

His crime wasn't​ even an issue upon return.

sent from my Moto X-Wing

 

Spoiler

No one gonna bring up the amazing power of the gaffi stick? The ability to smash through transparisteel and blow up an A-Wing in a few shots.. while they couldn't do more than trigger an engine explosion back in TPM?

 

I liked the sister and the 5th Brother was decently threatening. I think they were good mid-tier villains and certainly deserved better than they got.

Re: Maul

I actually like the story arc Darth Maul got, which was a lot deeper and more interesting than I think just about any Sith has gotten save Anakin. The story starts him as a Sith of near-perfection in terms of physical and Force ability but completely loyal to Palpatine. He probably dreamed of becoming the Master some day but in the sense that it was appropriate and Banite. The thing was, his defeat utterly shattered him and his sanity along with how carelessly he was abandoned to die. It's the same story Savage Oppress, Ventress, and ultimately Dooku all got with various degrees of redemption.

Darth Maul tried to become the Master and recruited his brother to do it, eventually building a modest Empire but Sidious then easily smacked him down. He also discovered his mother was a more manipulative and powerful Darksider than himself--but she was willing to die for him (albeit, I suspect she was more dead than alive by that point anyway)--leaving him nothing. Maul at that point couldn't go back to being a Sith because he'd experienced real love and affection but was too broken to become a normal person so he was stuck half-way Sith like Kanan and Ezra were. And I think the ending to Maul's story was perfect because everyone seems to think he went to kill Kenobi.

I don't think he did. He didn't attack until after Kenobi's lightsaber was ignited.

He went to Kenobi for HELP.

To kill Sidious.

I wonder if Obi-Wan realized this or even if Maul did entirely.

 

Thoughts on Twin Suns:
Everything prior to Obi-Wan's appearance was kind of a waste. Really didn't need to see Ezra's desert non-adventures in an episode that was hyped to all hell as the grand finale of the 18-year-long Maul v Obi-Wan saga. But once we finally got to it, those last ten minutes or so were absolute gold.

 

To be fair Thrawns Finger steepling is pretty cool too. Not even Mr Burns can beat Thrawn on that.

 

I'm pretty sure Maul went to Tatooine to kill Obi-Wan.

"I have come to kill you."

He likely thought that killing Obi-Wan would finally let him move on and train Ezra as a proper apprentice and use his potential to try and take down the Empire.

 

Spolier below.



Nah.





It was a



Clear case of...



Suicide by jedi!



S

 

Those who think Leia is getting the short end of the stick should note Obi-wan ISN'T training Luke.

Leia is the one who instigates him picking up Luke and starting it off.

 

I thought Ezra's part really helped develop his character. He finally realized he's part of a team, a crew, a family, and that he can't do everything alone. It also helped bring closure to his flirtation with the Dark Side.

 

I wish Ezra's flirtation with the dark side had lasted all season and ended with this ep. It seemed like they really gave up on that way on.