Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Season 1 Review: This Sith Lord Still Has Potential

Much like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord has shown to hold incredible potential. As the first Star Wars solo series that focuses on a villainous figure, Maul – Shadow Lord fortunately lives up to those standards.

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord takes place some time after Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Sometime after making his escape after Season 7, Maul’s trying to rebuild his criminal empire, with little success. However, when he discovers a Jedi-in-hiding, his plans suddenly change.

On the other side of things, a detective named Lawson finds himself investigating Maul’s activities in the city’s underbelly. Trapped in between his policework and being a father, Lawson remains determined to capture Maul without the Empire’s help.

What results from Maul – Shadow Lord is a straightforward, yet intriguing, mystery that’s packed with some of the franchise’s most incredible lightsaber fights.

The one thing that will definitely keep Clone Wars fans hooked are the crazy, hyper-intensive lightsaber duels Maul has. The collection of fight scenes in Season 1 are a slight upgrade from the Tales miniseries by allowing those anime-inspired visual tones to shine.

Particularly, the train fight Maul has with those Inquisitors, which happens on Season 1 Episode 6 “Night of the Hunted”, stand out the most. Even though that fight was shown in the trailers, the fluidity of each character’s movements and the highlighted flairs of the sabers easily capture your attention.

This also proves true for some of the more isolated fights, which happen between Maul and Devon, the Jedi Maul’s trying to find. When the two fight each other in these motivation-driven moments, you can feel Devon’s resentment in each blow she tries to make.

The reason for Devon’s anger being brought out is because Maul wants to shape her into his apprentice, like he did with Savage Oppress. However, with Devon, her motivation for justice and vengeance greatly differs from Savage’s brutish protection. This emotional force really shows on Season 1 Episode 3 “Whispers in the Unknown.”

Maul – Shadow Lord really works whenever the focus is placed on Maul and Devon’s dynamic. Maul knows how to pull on Devon’s emotional strings by reminiscing on the Jedi Order’s downfall, using that fact to drown out Devon’s confidence at every turn.

However, Devon’s determination to not hold back almost complements Maul’s strategic mindset. As much as she wants to stop Maul in any way she can, Devon almost has this altruistic need to not do so because of her master, Daki.

Most Star Wars fans would have you believe that this season is setting up for Devon to become a “Darth Talon”-like apprentice for Maul. Although that was George Lucas’ original intention, Devon’s arc doesn’t necessarily seem to go down that route.

What Dave Filoni and the creative team prioritize instead is the deft balance between light and dark, an internal conflict that Devon struggles with. Maul continually pushes Devon’s boundaries in this carefully manipulative way that’s on brand for him: making her believe she can impress Daki.

That said, Maul is still the main character as the show digs deeper into the pain and turmoil Maul’s dealing with. He’s repressed his emotions before, but the audiovisual clues that are inserted here and there almost make you feel bad for him. Despite everything he’s faced in Clone Wars, Maul can’t escape this psychosis.

This really shows on Season 2 Episode 8 “The Creeping Fear”, aptly named as it explores Maul’s mental turmoil. Not only does this episode root itself into franchise nostalgia, but it’s able to use Maul’s backstory to emphasize why he’s inflicting pain on others.

His philosophy may seem self-centered, but in actuality, he’s learning his own twisted way of self-acceptance. The flashback moments, paired with the echoing of doubts that the Inquisitors mock Maul with, truly deepen Maul’s psychological torment in powerful ways. 

Furthermore, Maul is also trying to maintain his own faction made out of Mandalorians and his own Zabrak peers. Unfortunately, there’s not necessarily any development for characters within Maul’s crew, save for Rook Kast.

She’s a tough warrior, but as Maul gets into more trouble, she begins questioning Maul’s strategy. Although it seems like Maul – Shadow Lord wants to explore that idea of allegiance through Maul’s gang, there’s not much that’s done.

I originally thought that, given how some members are Zabraks, Maul’s species, we’d get more insight through them. However, none of them seem to have any lines until later in Season 1. That said, there’s one robotic member of Maul’s crew that adds a cuteness factor: the Spybot.

Maul’s Spybot is like if Star Wars Rebels‘ Chopper had the mischief levels increased to a ten. He’s hilariously quirky and quite the schemer that likes to get things done, which leads to some fun little interactions he has with the others.

One of the more weaker parts of Maul – Shadow Lord has to come from the detective mystery beat with Detective Lawson. That said, there’s so much to Lawson that makes him a relatable character, but the police story plays it completely straightforward.

Lawson wants to be a good father to his son, Rylee, but also wants to live up to being a good detective. He works with his droid partner, Two-Boots, but it’s because of Lawson’s focused investigation that leads to the Empire’s involvement.

What makes this storyline weak is that it doesn’t fully divulge into Lawson’s separate beats equally. The exploration of Lawson’s family life is restrained, where the character-driven moments between Lawson and Rylee are kept brief to keep up the quick narrative pacing.

Furthermore, it also wants to build up the characters related to Lawson, like Two-Boots and Vario, a crime lord, but it’s only done through dialogue. Plus, the pacing of each episode only does so much to incorporate little character details, like Lawson’s marriage and Two-Boots’ said boots, to reinforce those dynamics.

The focus on keeping the story moving means that you can only feel so much for what Lawson and Rylee go through. Yet, there’s something about watching a blue-collar worker trying to stay up with a cup of coffee that one can understand.

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord elevates the former Dark Lord to new levels through a philosophical, and physical, exploration that Clone Wars fans will love. Although not every narrative beat lands as expected, the animation and visuals provide the thrilling experience that perfectly reflects Maul’s darker side.

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Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Season 1 premieres Monday, April 6, on Disney+. New episodes release weekly.

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