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| He's back, and badder than ever in Maul - Shadow Lord's gripping opening season finale. |
It was the showdown worldwide
Star Wars fans always wanted to see made a reality away from prior comic interpretations, as a non-speaking Darth Vader, a Sith Lord with slaying on his mind, menacingly took on the renegade Darth Maul, now out to build a new criminal enterprise for himself across the galaxy, and his reluctant fugitive comrades (including two runaway Jedi), all of them trapped within the jungle outskirts of the planet Janix, a world to which there now looked like no escape from. The confrontation/unleashing of Vader was a big surprise and it proved a stunning action sequence to watch, certainly earning its place in the Saga's pantheon of classic scenes. And it was a fine and exciting finale to
Maul - Shadow Lord (one clearly acting as a tribute to a similar, if smaller in number, duel partaken by Vader against Luke and Leia on Mimban during the climax to 1978's
Splinter of the Mind's Eye novel - the first Expanded Universe tale), whose opening season I thought started off quite dull, littered with mostly uninteresting supporting characters (who could have been in any bland police procedural drama) and a thin overall story arc. Thankfully, as ever, Vader knows how to save the day and the streaming ratings!
I'm sure fans will completely disagree with my assessment of the show as it so far stands. Nonetheless, as we all await the eventual second season, I hope it will ultimately prove more inventive in further showcasing one of the Prequel saga's greatest villains beyond small-time criminality, and more of his fight against the Empire whilst his so far struggling empire builds further. If so, will there be a Vader re-match?
Scene Breakdown: Darth Vader Duels Maul | StarWars.com
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| One against many, but Vader will always get the upper hand! |
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| Duelling in the forest of doom. |
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| To slay a Jedi! |
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| The clash continues! |
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| The grip of evil! |
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| Great character poster art promotion for the season finale. |
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