Now that we are past the whole droids story arc the Clone Wars instantly gets back to doing what it does best, delivering a great episode with plenty of action and an intriguing plot. Maul and Savage are all but goners floating through space in an escape pod when the outcast Mandalorian usurpers, Death Watch, headed by the disgraced Pre Vizla rescue the pair. The two Sith form an alliance with Death Watch, which according to Wookiepedia is calling itself Shadow Collective, seriously cool name.
Through the course of the show the Shadow Collective go about recruiting crime organizations to their cause of taking Mandalore and destroying the Jedi, Kenobi in particular. Some join willingly, others such as the Hutts; join by what Jedi would call “hostile negotiations”. The scenes with the Hutts provided the best action for the episode as the Shadow Collective square off with bounty hunters hired to protect the Hutts. Vizla cutting people down left and right with his dark saber was a sight to behold. This scene alone was a perfect reminder that only a few cartoons mirror or surpass the quality of the action scenes in Clone Wars.
Of course the Sith and Death Watch seem chummy, but we know that each has designs on ending the other party after they get what they want. Maul revealing to Vizla that his grand plan to leave Mandalore to Death Watch, but have them protect the criminal enterprise Maul wants to build was surprising. Maul stated earlier that he is out for power and fortune, but these motivations seem below a Sith. Of course they seek power, but fortune is not something Sith desire, those types of selfish motivations are usually left to Dark Jedi. I can understand Maul using the resources of his criminal empire for his own gain, but money is not something Sith care about. Money usually comes as the Sith’s true goals are realized.
That being said the Clone Wars has really fleshed out a scary and focused Maul. Maul reminds me of Boba Fett in that he had two lines in Phantom Menace, and yet he is the character everybody loved from that movie. Much like Fett, Maul has been resurrected in other Star Wars media and the Clone Wars has turned him into a menacing and intriguing character. I love the fact that in the end the Clone Wars has turned him into something that elevates him beyond light saber fodder for Kenobi.
Overall this was an excellent episode and was easily one of my favorites this entire season. The storyline going on here is the stuff Star Wars dreams are made of and I can’t wait to see who gets the better of who in the end, the Sith or Death Watch? It seems to me that it was almost an apology for the droids story arc in a ‘yeah, we know it wasn’t great, so to make up for it we’re going to take you on a ride that should surpass any expectations you may have for our show’. If Gascon and WAC-47 had you tuning out, then now is the time to start tuning back in because it can only get better from here.
4.5 out of 5 nerds
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Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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