Tonight’s season finale is all about the return of Darth Maul. This is a recap, so spoilers are ahead!
Savage brings Darth Maul back to Mother Talzin in hopes of restoring his memory (side note: I had thought Talzin died in the ‘Massacre’ episode, but she transported herself before she was executed). Right now all Darth can think about is revenge. When Savage checks on him, he is muttering one name over and over: Kenobi.
Talzin is able to draw out the darkness that is clouding Maul’s mind, represented by a great smokey blackness that she pulls from his head, and builds him new legs. The process looks incredibly painful, but at the end of it Darth has 2 mechanical legs instead of his creepy spider limbs. Silhouetted against a huge fire, he’s a malevolent phoenix rising from the flames.
Darth can sense that the force is unbalanced, and Savage tells him of the Clone Wars. Darth remembers now his time with Dooku and how it was ended by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Savage gives Darth his light saber, which he quickly uses to slaughter the innocent residents of Raydonia, starting with their children. He uses the footage of this massacre to send a message to Kenobi: show up and fight or there will be more murder.
Yoda foresees that Kenobi will have an “unexpected ally” in fighting Savage. Meanwhile, a band of bounty hunters is looking for a high-paying job, and Savage is among the targets. Ventress steps forward to accept the challenge, and suddenly the fortune cookie at the beginning of the episode makes sense: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Kenobi lands on Raydonia, now eerily quiet. While Maul distracts Kenobi, Savage attacks from the side, and Obi-Wan is quickly on his back on the ground. Ventress also lands on the planet, but no one is expecting her stealthy approach. Next to the brothers, Kenobi looks weak and frail and is quickly beaten. They load him onto their ship, and Darth taunts him with such chilling statements as “I will make sure you stay awake long enough to feel every single cut. Your death will be beyond excruciating.”
Ventress sneaks on board and rouses Kenobi, who asks, “When did you become the good guy?” Her sassy response is “Don’t insult me.” Ventress allows Kenobi to borrow one of her sabers and the fight begins. Visually, this makes for an interesting scene. Ventress and Kenobi are tall and lanky where Maul and Savage are huge, hulking beasts. Obi-Wan is able to get his light saber back but still thinks they’re outmatched, and he and Ventress lock themselves in the cockpit, making their escape together.
Darth vows to see his revenge through, no matter how long it takes.
This episode didn’t feel as epic to me as I would expect a season finale to be – there wasn’t a real cliffhanger, necessarily – but it did nicely set up Darth Maul’s need for revenge. The last few episodes have raised the level of dark content, and it was a bit of a relief to have just the right touch of humor to keep things from getting too upsetting. Aside from Ventress’ good guy comment, my other favorite line was when Ventress tells Kenobi she wants her light saber back and he responds “Red isn’t my color.”
I really enjoyed seeing Ventress and Obi-Wan working together. I have no illusions of her becoming a good guy, but I do hope we get to see more of this team-up.
What were your thoughts on the show? What are you hoping for when the next season starts?
If you missed the previous episode, be sure to read my ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Brothers’ recap.
