Maul’s fate is finally decided in Star Wars Rebels “Twin Suns”
By Elaine Tveit
In last night’s episode of Star Wars Rebels, “Twin Suns,” Maul’s fate was finally decided once and for all in an epic, if brief battle.
SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen Star Wars Rebels “Twin Suns” yet, but still plan to, consider twice before reading any further. This article recaps the episode and reveals the outcome of the duel between Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine.
In “Twin Suns,” Ezra hears Maul’s voice speaking to him from the holocrons. He realizes that Maul found out where Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is and plans on killing him. Ezra feels responsible for Kenobi’s fate since he helped Maul learn the Jedi’s location. So he sneaks off the rebel base on Atollan and flies to Tatooine to find Kenobi and stop Maul before he can exact his revenge. Unwittingly, however, he ends up leading Maul to Obi-Wan, which was Maul’s intention all along. It’s why he spoke to Ezra through the holocrons.
Ezra doesn’t get a chance to see the results of his journey. After finding the boy in the desert and getting him back on his feet, he commands him to leave. Surprisingly, Ezra obeys. His departure leaves Obi-Wan face to face with Maul for what will be their final duel.
So here’s what happened: Obi-Wan and Maul fought, and Maul lost. The former Sith lord, who captured the hearts and minds of so many ardent fans over the years, is finally dead.
As a fan of Obi-Wan, one of my biggest thoughts on Maul’s death is, “At last!” He’s been running around the galaxy for about twenty years now, constantly obsessing about Obi-Wan. He was never satisfied with killing his enemy’s master and then his lover. No, he had to have the ultimate revenge and kill Obi-Wan himself. But he never got that satisfaction. In his final duel with Obi-Wan on Tatooine, he made a critical mistake and it was all over in a matter of seconds.
And yet, Maul’s death wasn’t entirely tragic for him. Sure, he lost the most important duel of his life with his mortal enemy. But earlier in the episode, before their duel starts, Maul muses on why Obi-Wan secreted himself away on such a backwater planet. He realizes that the Jedi is protecting something or someone. Later, as he lays dying in Obi-Wan’s arms, he asks Obi-Wan if the person he protects is the Chosen One. Obi-Wan answers, “Yes.” Then, with his last breath, Maul says, “Then he will avenge us.” And then he expires. Obi-Wan, ever compassionate, closes the Zabrak’s eyes for the last time.
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This sequence, while only a handful of minutes long, is an incredible bit of storytelling by Lucasfilm here. After years of bloodlust and pain, Maul is finally defeated by Obi-Wan. And then, in an unexpected turn of events, the two men actually reach an understanding. Somehow, Maul feels that Obi-Wan has been through just as much pain, if not more pain, than he has. Obi-Wan has been hurt and betrayed. He has lost everything, just like Maul. The difference is Obi-Wan found a new purpose. He rose above the thirst for revenge. As he says to Maul before they ignite their lightsabers: “Look what I have risen above.” In the end, he gives Maul hope. Like a true Jedi, his compassion and peace of mind make him more powerful than any of us imagined.
So did Maul truly lose the battle? I don’t think either of them really “won,” unless you count Obi-Wan’s ascension to the moral high ground. At the end of the duel, Maul and Obi-Wan are just men who are hurting and clinging to any hope they can find. That hope is what Obi-Wan protects, and Maul gets that. And it gives him hope, too. At last.
Next: Where is the Star Wars Rebels crew in the original trilogy era?
The next two episodes of Star Wars Rebels is not going to be any less dramatic than “Twin Suns,” so be ready. The two-part season 3 finale, “Zero Hour,” airs next weekend on Disney XD.