Matt Michnovetz and Dave Filoni’s new Star Wars project “Maul- Shadow Lord” does not disappoint with high stakes thrills and non-stop action.
With the first two episodes coming out on August 6 and episodes three and four coming out on August 13, the show is already off to a great start with an engaging story and beautiful design .
Throughout the first two episodes, we see Maul’s power on full display along with a very interesting conflict between survival and morality.
For starters, the show is set during the early Empire era, where Maul is viewed as a massive threat as a rogue sith and will obviously face constant threats. That was already assumed, especially because he is one of the strongest sith in the franchise; however, it is Maul’s counterpart where the themes of the show are clearly taking place.
Throughout the first two episodes, we are introduced to and familiarized with the character Devan Izara who is a padawan from before the Empire took over.
In the first episode she is looking for a way to survive in this time of complete uncertainty for force sensitives.
Does she maintain the values of honor and compassion, suppressing hatred and other animated emotions, or does she embrace a more practical and aggressive approach in order to survive by evoking fear in others? This is yet to be seen but it is very clear that she has potential to commit actions that may go against her code as a Jedi Padowan.
In the very scene she is introduced in, Izara is willing to commit an action that may be morally grey in order to survive.
In doing so, the show plants seeds that will grow into the greater narrative of the story; how does the an individual lose their morality or how can someone maintain in hardship?
Given that this is Star Wars, a franchise built off of the concept of a democracy becoming a dictatorship, the concept of losing your own morality to survive could possibly give its viewers a glimpse into how such a power shift affects people on the main scale.
Will Izara succumb to the Dark Side of the Force or will she keep her morals? That hasn’t really been stated yet but it makes for very interesting television.
On top of this, Maul is a great villain and protagonist for the show.
The sith lord consistently gets into fights in these two episodes and sweeps through each battle.
He is not weak, he barely ever shows mercy and does everything he can out of spite, revenge or greed; he’s a perfect villain main character because he has no baggage for wanting to be good, he’s just evil.
Sure Maul as a character does have flaws, weaknesses and can be sympathetic at times; however, he also willingly chooses the way of the sith and thrives on hatred, greed and envy. He’s not a good person and the show knows this.
On top of this, it looks like he is running an efficient crime operation, one that is very good at doing its job without getting caught.
Sure, his crime organization is down on its luck currently, but Maul quickly reminds others outside of the organization why he is a threat and why they should be scared if they are on his bad side.
This makes a very enjoyable experience as we are reminded why the audience should be afraid of Maul and not treat him like a lesser villain.
Not only is the story good, but the show looks stunningly gorgeous.
The show takes on a beautiful artstyle reminiscent of the the hights of the Clone Wars and Rebels cartoons adopting a somewhat stylized CGI animated look; however, it is interesting where the show expands on the artstyle or uses it in unique ways.
Atmospherically, this show is dark, with fight scenes happening in dark cramped hallways that make you feel claustrophobic.
When Maul is in a fight, you can tell he knows what he is doing as he makes quick and efficient acrobatic level movements, efficiently slicing through his enemies.
Maul’s lightsaber in the show is how a lightsaber should be animated. You can see the trails it leaves behind in the air and get a sense of the frighteningly warm and bright glow of the saber as it becomes the center of light for most scenes it is used in.
You genuinely feel the sense of dread those who go up against Maul must be feeling when fighting him.
Outside of fightscenes the setting for this world is beautiful. Like most parts of this show, it thrives in the dark, as the planet Janix comes alive at night feeling like a metropolitan supercentre.
You feel like the world is gigantic and you’re only a small part of it.
Granted, the world looks slightly drowned out in beige during the day; however, it still looks good.
Overall, the first two episodes of “Star Wars: Maul Shadow Lord” do not disappoint with an artistic and narrative style that brings new concepts to life making the show a must watch for Star Wars fans alike.