The conclusion of the Darth Maul/Death Watch storyline, “The Lawless” went big. Really big. Darth Maul killing Satine alone would have been a huge moment, given what it means for Obi-Wan, but that felt like small potatoes compared to what would follow.
Going back to the beginning, I will say that there is no way you can sound at all cool if you’re using the term “Auntie” over and over, and man did Korkie (who we met back in “The Academy”) say it a lot. Come on, Korkie, your name is already Korkie, don’t make yourself lamer by screaming “Auntie” over and over during a rescue attempt!
But things picked up quickly with that early Death Watch vs. Death Watch battle, as we saw that they’d split into NWO-like colored factions (red and blue). We’d never quite seen a fight scene like this on the show, with the armored warriors flying alongside each other, using their various weapons and gadgets. As awesome as the lightsaber battle that ended this episode was, this was a great sequence in its own right. Think back to seeing Boba Fett in Empire Strikes Back, followed by those glimpses of him using his jetpack and weapons in Return of the Jedi... Seeing the Death Watch soar through the air here, fighting one another, was like a huge payoff to all the promise the innate coolness of Boba Fett's costume promised.
I can’t say I was personally sad to see Satine die – after some fun back and forth early on between her and Obi-Wan (especially in the great "Voyage of Temptation" episode), she’d been fairly cold in her portrayal and even sometimes contradictory in subsequent appearances, such as in the notably weak "Corruption". But we all care about Obi-Wan, so him having to watch Darth Maul kill her in front of him -- fueled purely by his own hatred, and only doing it because it would hurt Obi-Wan -- was tough. And damn, think about the fact that the same guy who killed Obi-Wan's mentor now killed the woman who was essentially the love of his life.But Obi-Wan is a Jedi – a Jedi in control of his emotions. We didn’t see him openly freak out over Satine’s death, even as we saw how it took all of the fight out of him (his expression and body language said it all). While Clone Wars storylines don’t tend to really directly follow one another, hopefully Obi-Wan’s fallout over Satine’s death can be dealt with down the line. And certainly both he and Bo-Katan -- now revealed as Satine's sister! -- have unfinished business with Maul…
…Not that Maul doesn’t have his own problems and even his own grief to process now.
Ever since we met Savage Opress, much less had Darth Maul return, it was hard not to wonder how Darth Sidious would react if he learned about these would-be Sith. And we got the answer in a very thrilling and eventful way here which wasted no time in showing Palpatine traveling to Mandalore – and then dealing with this situation, in what was the most direct manner the show has ever taken in showing Palpatine and Sidious are the same person (supervising director Dave Filoni has mentioned that he’s heard about kids watching The Clone Wars who haven’t seen Revenge of the Sith and still think Palpatine is a good guy - that may change for many this weekend).This was the first time we’d seen Sidious (as opposed to Chancellor Palpatine that is) “in the flesh” on this show and not in holographic form and wow did he make an impression. We’d seen this character go toe-to-to with Yoda in the movies, but it still was highly effective to see him absolutely wipe the floor with characters generally considered badass in their own right like Maul and Savage. Sidious was pretty much always in control – turning the few times he seemed on the ropes to his advantage, such as when Savage force pushed him off the balcony and he simply pulled the two brothers along with him.
The early portions of this fight were intercut with Obi-Wan and Bo-Katan in the midst of an epic Death Watch vs. Death Watch battle, with amazing animation of portions of the city in flames as the two factions went all out on each other. It’s a testament to how gripping the three-way Sith battle was that it’s easy to overlook what else was going on, even though it involved what we’d all describe when we were kids as “armies of Boba Fetts” fighting each other.Even though you could guess it might happen if you had to pick one of these three to not survive the battle, it's still a big deal to see Savage Opress get killed by Darth Sidious. Just on the level of promotion alone, Savage was a big part of this show since he was introduced and always portrayed as an incredibly powerful character. Savage's death underlines Sidious' power and danger, while also adding another surprising note of tragedy to Darth Maul, in what has become an admirably multifaceted portrayal of the iconic figure that still retains his villainy. Savage will be missed too - The Clone Wars creators took what could have been a silly concept ("Darth Maul has a brother!") and made him into a strong character in his own right; not just physically, but via his surprisingly layered background that made him more than just the big, brutish monster he was transformed into.
In the end, Maul was no threat to Sidious at all – and in a very telling moment, actually begged for his life; all of that bravado and confidence we’d seen grow through this storyline gone in an instant. It was a very powerful and effective change to see happen so quickly.
Palpatine’s decision to not kill Maul also begs plenty of intriguing questions. As he reiterated in this very episode, Palpatine sticks to the Sith rule of two and he already has an apprentice, Dooku – even while cultivating Anakin to replace him. So what purpose does he possibly have with Maul?
Barring a surprise, it’s unlikely we’ll find out until at least next season, but this episode certainly made that a difficult wait!
A few other notes:
- Nice touch and nice continuity to have Obi-Wan use the Rako Hardeen costume he wore in Season 4 when first arriving on Mandalore. Hey, if you already have a cool disguise at the ready, why not?
- Speaking of continuity, it was fun to see Anakin’s ship, the Twilight again, which got such a big introduction in The Clone Wars movie, but hasn’t been seen since Season 2. Of course, the Twilight returned only to be destroyed! This arc was a brutal one for both long running characters and long running ships...
- Mandalore was introduced as a planet that was staying neutral in the Clone Wars. I liked how that came into play here, as Obi-Wan learned that the Republic (and other Jedi) would be no help to him, as they would not intervene to save Satine and her people while in the midst of fighting the very same war Mandalore had chosen to stay out of.
- Interesting seeing Savage, upon his death, physically revert back to what he was before Mother Talzin got her hands on him. And also a reminder that Talzin is still out there, somewhere...
- This episode was dedicated to the late Ian Abercrombie, who passed away shortly after recording this episode. But what a swan song it was, with Abercrombie going all out in a delightfully chilling manner as Darth Sidious at full strength – perfectly evoking the cackling, powerful manner Ian McDiarmid created for the character in the live-action films.
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @EricIGN, IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at Facebook.com/TheEricGoldman.
