Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Season 1, Episodes 5 and 6 Review

The fifth and sixth episodes of Maul – Shadow Lord are officially out. Here are my thoughts about them.

The article contains major spoilers from this episode and references events from previous episodes.

If you are feeling lost watching this show, or reading our review and not remembering details of events for context, check our complete guide to everything you should watch and read before watching Maul – Shadow Lord. Missed out previews reviews? Catch up:

The Empire arrives at Janix

We have witnessed how a complete planet can get turned upside down the moment the Galactic Empire arrives. We saw that on Andor, The Bad Batch, Jedi Survivor, and now on Maul – Shadow Lord.

Devon and Master Daki tried to escape as soon as the Star Destroyer appeared above Janix, but their attempt was futile. Imperial Troops might be a meme, but we can’t deny how good their protocols are. Despite them being used to terrorize millions of innocent people.

What happened to Lawson and Chief Klyce is a great example of what occurs when the Empire suspects anyone. The said person is immediately treated as a criminal without any proof.

Sadly, there is no best-case scenario when that happens. You get arrested and sent to build parts for the Death Star, tortured to death, or continue your life as an outlaw or refugee, hoping for another day of freedom before the Empire eventually finds you.

I feel bad about Rylee; the kid was just being kind to someone in need, and he is now going to be on the run for who knows how long. That is, if he isn’t killed or captured and tortured by the Inquisitors.

Mercenaries don’t work for free

Before the series, I expected to see Mandalorian Supercommandos alongside Maul. This is the Mandalorian faction that served Maul during the Clone Wars, with the most notorious battle being the Siege of Mandalore. A brief but intense battle where Maul and his Mandalorians fought against Ahsoka Tano and the Republic’s Clone Troopers for control of the planet.

The armor of Mandalorian Supercommandos is painted black and red, with some even having horns on their helmets, resembling the appearance of their leader.

Oddly enough, the only Mandalorian with that armor is Rook Kast. As the fifth episode showed, the other Mandalorians are in it just to get paid, like regular mercenaries. It makes me wonder what happened to the other Supercommandos.

Were they all killed/imprisoned by the Republic? Did they refuse to continue following someone who isn’t a Mandalorian? Or perhaps they just preferred to work as mercenaries?

Maul needs loyal people if he wishes to rebuild his criminal empire. But aside from Rook Cast, Maul only has Scorn and Icarus. Fear can only take him so far when it comes to handling followers; the moment he is vulnerable, many will take the opportunity to betray him.

That’s exactly what happened last time, and he hasn’t been able to fully recover from it. To be honest, I don’t think Maull will be able to achieve much before everything falls apart.

A scary Inquisitor for once

Inquisitors were introduced more than a decade ago in Star Wars Rebels. They served a purpose that Darth Vader could not: being strong enough to fight Jedi but not powerful enough to kill them without breaking a sweat.

Unfortunately, many of these Inquisitors haven’t filled the shoes of proper villains. Many of them have died in anti-climactic ways, sometimes even at the hands of Jedi who weren’t fully trained.

It’s still a little too early to see if Marrok will redeem the Inquisitors, but so far, he has been quite scary. The moment he appears behind Lawson is straight out of a Batman movie, and the marks on the table inside the interrogation room only make you wonder what horrible things he did to poor Chief Klyce.

I also loved that we got to see him investigate and not just use some gimmicky double-bladed lightsaber tricks. To me, it looked like he could use Psychometry, a rare ability among Force users that lets an individual witness past events by touching objects.

Even watching Marrok in combat was a lot more fun than expected. He was able to fight against Maul and Devon very convincingly. The only reason they got away is that he had to jump to the other wagon to avoid Maul’s lightsaber throw.

Because of the trailers, we already know that he is getting reinforcements to deal with both Jedi and Maul, but his lone performance is already a highlight of the series.

The smartest Maul we’ve seen

Maul is not dumb by any means. His intelligence and vision are key attributes that have allowed him to survive and live in the shadows for so long. But there have been some key moments in his life where overconfidence and overaggressiveness have turned against him.

Maul and his followers are not remotely close to being the most deadly group in the galaxy. Despite Maul’s power, there are both Jedi and Sith who could deal with him, and his Mandalorians aren’t an unstoppable force either.

He’s fully aware of how vulnerable he is in his current state and always considers this before taking his next step. Rook Cast has shown some doubts in his decisions, but it’s evident that he’s always balancing risk versus benefit.

This is also shown during his fight against Marrok. His attacks aren’t overly aggressive or flashy. He only tries to attack or defend as efficiently as possible, always trying to put Marrok against the wagon’s edge or the metal crates.

For once, Maul does not look or behave in a desperate way, and it’s refreshing. But to be fair, he hasn’t faced a complicated situation yet. However, I have the feeling that it is going to change in the next two episodes.

Who’s the mysterious figure

The final scene of the sixth episode shows Marrok reporting to someone. I know there are many people trying to figure out who it is, but I believe the only logical choice is Darth Vader. Why not the Grand Inquisitor or Emperor Palpatine? Well, it’s simple.

Marrok refers to this person as “My Lord”. Inquisitors don’t address the Grand Inquisitor like that. They would call him Grand Inquisitor or maybe Brother. Not to mention that they don’t kneel for him.

Darth Sidious couldn’t be bothered to hear the reports of an Inquisitor. He only speaks directly with Vader and high-ranked Imperials like Tarkin or Thrawn. Inquisitors don’t have the authority or power to be in his presence.

Darth Vader is the true master (and handler) of the Inquisitorious. Anything of major importance is reported to him. I also believe that Maul will meet Vader in this series. The reason is that, in Star Wars Rebels, Maul admits to not being able to defeat Vader on his own.

This means that the two met sometime before. Or at least that is how I interpret it. There’s no doubt that Vader would demolish Maul, but I still love the idea of the two having a duel. Hopefully, we will finally be able to witness it in the upcoming episodes.

Final thoughts

My favorite thing about these two episodes was definitely being able to see more of Marrok. I love his simple yet imposing appearance, but his lackluster appearance in Ahsoka made him almost as forgettable as the other Inquisitors. Hopefully, that changes during the next episodes.

So far, Maul’s plans have gone as planned, but it’s too early to consider anything a victory. The Empire has just arrived, making everything ten times more difficult. If he manages to convince Devon to become his apprentice, he might just stand a chance against the relentless Empire.