Updated With “Rebels Recon”. Star Wars Rebels Review: “Twin Suns”. What Did You Think?
The moment that a lot of us have been waiting for has finally arrived. Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi vs Maul. I am going to get right into it, so please be aware of…MASSIVE, MAJOR, GIGANTIC SPOILERS BELOW!!!!!!
I AM NOT KIDDING! MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!!!!
…still with me?….Let’s do this….
What worked for me:
- Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi
Growing up, I was never a big Obi-Wan fan. It wasn’t until the Prequels and The Clone Wars that I fell in love with the character thanks to Ewan McGregor and James Arnold Taylor. Obi-Wan’s journey is a sad one, but it’s also one of hope and demonstrates that a person should never give up and aspire to be better than what they are. This episode only FURTHERS my love for the character and proves he is one of best characters in the entire Saga (more on that later). Also, a shout out must be made to Stephen Stanton for doing a fantastic job of the Alec Guinness version of Obi-Wan.
- The ending
There is zero doubt in my mind that the ending of this episode will divide Star Wars fans forever. The fact that Kenobi takes out Maul in a few swings is a BOLD move. After all, look at the amazing fight in TPM and all fights/build up from the Clone Wars. This fight had to be epic. I think it was epic from a certain point of view. This Kenobi is NOT the same person that fought Maul all those years back. Kenobi has been transcending/distancing himself away from the old, dogmatic view of the Jedi from the Prequel Trilogy (not a dig at the Prequels, btw). Instead, he has become more in tune with the Force. As we see in the OT, he was able to become one with the Force and keep his individuality which is something only Master Yoda and Anakin were able to accomplish. My point is this: his knowledge of the Force and power in it has increased enough that he doesn’t need a ton of fancy moves anymore. He has become more than that. I also know that a TON of people will disagree with me and that’s to be expected on something as controversial as this.
- Maul
Sam Witwer once again delivers an amazing performance with Maul in little screen time. I honestly believe that his voice alone made the character come alive to his full potential, thanks to his brilliant voice acting. Maul’s departure is a sad one for me because, well, I loved the character, but if he was going to go out then it should be by Obi-Wan, IMO.
- The animation of Tatooine
Broken record time, but I LOVED the animation of this episode. Rebels has come SO FAR in the animation department. The episode really captured the sand planet’s desolate feel in a cinematic way that I wasn’t expecting. I felt every ounce of sand and dirt on the characters bodies and the toll that the sun had on them. Here is another fantastic shot:
What didn’t work for me:
- These two…kinda.
I didn’t hate that Ezra was there. I could have done without him, but he didn’t end up ruining it for me. Yes, I know he was the bait that Maul used to lure out Kenobi and the show needed to resolve Maul and Ezra’s relationship. That’s why Ezra gets a pass. Chopper though? WHY? Ugh. This droid can’t get destroyed fast enough. Maybe he ends up going to Alderaan and gets destroyed by the Death Star? One can hope.
Quick hitters:
- SAND PEOPLE!!! I lost it when I saw them.
- I dig this A-Wing paint job.
- DEWBACK! He’s pretty cute.
This episode was an all timer for me. It is probably in the top 5 Rebels episodes for me. I realize that this episode is going to be HIGHLY DIVIDED amongst fans. For me, it worked on every level and only furthers the overall Saga.
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below. Did Obi-Wan tell Maul what he wanted to hear? That Luke is the chosen one? But remember that “The truth is often what we make of it. You heard what you wanted to hear…”
Paul
Follow me on Twitter @Hermann22
Follow my Star Wars podcast @Blastercanonpod and we just dropped a new episode where we review the last book in the Aftermath series “Empire’s End”. Check it out! 🙂
UPDATE!
And here’s the “Rebels Recon” of this episode:
Great episode. Fitting end for Maul. I was actually afraid there would be some long drawn out fight. The fight here is a lot Maul’s last moment with Qui-Gon and then he dies in Obi-Wan’s arms similar to Qui-Gon.
I absolutely loved this episode. It felt so satisfying in a weird way. Had someone described it to me, I would have thought it to be underwhelming, but actually seeing the episode is completely different. Maul’ entire life has revolved around revenge, against Kenobi, against the Jedi, against the Sith, and now that two of those are unreachable (one being destroyed and the other with too much power) the only thing left for him is to kill Kenobi. That won’t bring him peace, or help him in any useful way, but that’s who he is. Revenge. His death just shows how pointless it all was, how little fulfilling his choices have been. Even his last words show this. While Obi-wan hopes to bring hope and peace to the Galaxy through Luke, Maul hopes to be avenged. And it shows how Obi-wan’s purpose in life is solely to protect he who he believes to be the Chosen One. He didn’t even ignite his lightsaber until Luke was mentioned.
In the end, this episode felt like everything I didn’t know i wanted. I expected an epic duel with amazing music and insane choreography from Maul, and I got a really emotional, quiet moment of character reflection. This episode felt like the desert itself, simply quiet, yet beautiful in a way I cannot describe.
Oh, and as a final thing, I’m not the biggest fan of Chopper, but I think he worked in this episode. The show-runners needed to put someone Ezra could talk to, so he filled the role well enough for me. And no stupid jokes like usual from that droid.
I was waiting for epic fight between them for over 2 years. And I got something even better: This what happened here has the most sense. Yes, Maul wanted revenge on Obi-Wan, but while he is standing here, in front of him now, You can say that Maul doesn’t hate him as much as he hates Sidious now. Maul realizes that Obi-Wan did what he had to do 30 years ago, and he also knows that Sith needs to be destroyed. He realized now that Obi-Wan protects someone who will eventually destroy the Sith. Maul asked him: Is it The Chosen One (does he keep an eye on someone who will eventually destroy the Sith, cause Maul want’s that more than anything, same as Ben) Ben answers: Yes. Because he thinks Luke is The Chosen One. But it’s actually Anakin, because eventually he destroyed Jedi and Sith. Also, we get 3 amazing but not complicated moves with Lightsaber from Ben Kenobi, which also doesn’t ruin feel of A New Hope when he fights Vader. Amazing episode. Kenobi and Maul, long time enemies now want the same thing: Destroy the Sith. Love this episode!!
Fully agree. Something I might add here is that you’re totally right in him hating the Sith more. The Sith used him as a weapon, a mere tool, discarded him, destroyed any power he managed to recover and, most importantly, killed his mother and brother. His hatred for them knows no bounds. Sure,Kenobi started the chain of events, but he Sith have done far more. The problem is, they are just unreachable. Sidious is too powerful on his own, not to mention the whole Empire around him, and Vader as well. His only hope might simply be to kill Vader to at least strike a blow at Sidious indirectly. But even then, Maul recognizes in Twilight of the Apprentice that Vader is too powerful (I wouldn’t be surprised if he already tried to kill Vader and failed, maybe a future comic?). So then, why kenobi? First off, Kenobi is the only thing he can reach, the only revenge he could fulfill. And second, Maul thought Kenobi had died long ago. So when the opportunity presented itself, he jumped at it, no hesitation. His mentality I feel is something like “My purpose is done, i can do nothing, but if I’m going to die, let it be after I kill you, who began this whole mess”. His whole life has been about revenge, and it has brought him nothing but pain and suffering, but that’s who he is now, and he wouldn’t change. He can’t have revenge on the Sith, so he’ll settle for Kenobi, who he still hates, but not quite as much.
Filoni proved once more he is great story teller
In all my 43 years I’ve always believed Luke to be the chosen one it was his presence that made Vader/Anakin return from the darkness Lucas was looking to end the saga when he said it was anakin
Anakin, not Luke. he did the act that destroyed the Sith.
While Luke sat there sizzling on the floor.
Yep. Luke inspired the act, but Anakin did it.
Luke’s name is…NO
His sign is…NO
His number is…NO
Anakin is the Chosen One. QED. How is it the known devolves into the debatable?
Because Lucas wrote contradictory, unfocused, half-formed crap? Yup. Must be ’cause of that.
Clearly, he’s a hack. Luckily there are visionaries posting anonymously online (like you) on fansites like this to put it all back on track. You sir, are a GENIUS!
but without luke, anakin never would have come back to the light. an interesting argument could be made for both.
I see your point, but still disagree. I completely see how Obi-Wan believes Luke to be the Chosen One, however.
Too bad kenobi had to wait till Luke was 17 before he even started training him, even though he acknowledged the boy as the chosen one.
Wondering whether Anakin brought balance by destroying both the Sith and the Jedi. I mean there were other force users that did not belong to these two sects … like Maz and Ashoka.
I think the “third parties” were never powerful enough to throw the Force out of balance.
Why oh why is Ezra so stupid? Couldn’t they imagine a device form him to end up on Tattooine than being an impulsive, self-centred fool?
He could have used some damn goggles for wandering around Tatooine. Or you know, he could wear his helmet. Who flies around space without being prepared for inclement weather? Oh Ezra, you facepalm-worthy Force-weilding newb.
Spot on episode. When I first saw it I felt cheated, but that was just my fan-boy inside of me. After watching it a few more times it’s so perfect how this episode plays out like an old western gunslinger showdown. It just plays into the character of who old Obi-Wan is. Also it was a fun little note that Organa released a statement that Obi-Wan was dead. It makes sense it was him, and that puts the general empire off of his trail, nice little nod.
positives: old ben, sam witwer giving it his all in his final performance as maul, and the beautiful animation of tatooine.
negatives: ezra forgetting that he has both a lightsaber and a blaster when the sand people attacked and the disproportional amount of time spent on him wandering the desert.
the duel: am i disappointed? very much, they spent more time posing than fighting, but what frustrates me the most is that maul ended up accomplishing nothing in his rebels return. ezra flirted with the dark side for one episode, maul hatched no plans to get vengeance on the emperor and we got no epic final duel with old ben. he’s just gone, with little to no impact made. what was the point of bringing him back this time?
That exactly why I disliked it. Because Maul has literally done nothing in Rebels besides blind Kanan.
In Clone Wars his presence brought chaos: Palpatine worried he would reveal his identity as Sith (whihc would have altered the War) causing sidious to become actively involved in the war (this also allowed the audience to see palpatine character at this time period) + he essentail induced the Mandalorian Civil War + set up a small ” empire” via the gangs he got under control.
Cut to Rebels, and all he cares about is killing Kenobi (a person he didnt know who was alive until the holocrons told him). Im sorry but it was pathetic regression of his character. His beef with Kenobi was cleared in Clone Wars by killing Satine. Additionally, through clone wars and Son of Dathomir, Mauls true enemy is Sidious.
And froma an episode standpoint (since this mauls last story) this should have been a two part basedentierly on Mauls persepctive. It should have been him intergating farmers/locals who tekk him were to find the “old wizard”. WHY THE HELL WAS 2/3rds OF THE EPISODE FOCUSED ON EZRA.
While I admire the arterstry of the duel, they shouldnt have shown any of the fight in the trailers/ preview.
Their treatment of Maul + the lack of answers about Ahsoka has made this season a true letdown for me (and I am someone who usually enjoys all star wars content , often simply because it star wars).
It still bugs me that Maul didn’t deliver the second strike right after blinding Kanan. His intention was to kill, right? So why didn’t he? At that moment nothing could prevent him from doing so.
exactly. as much as maul at least tried to accomplish in CW, he didn’t in rebels. dare i say it, he became filler. next week could still redeem the season for me, but thus far its a step down from the first two. but either way nothing will fix this whimper of an ending for maul.
I understand your point of view, but the way I saw it was Maul was always focused on “defeating the sith” or killing Palpatine. That’s what made him want to combine the holocrons in the first place which then showed him that Kenobi was still alive I thought. So by him seeking out Kenobi it was both defeating somebody who made him drop out of favor of his master and finding a way to get back at Palpatine via Luke. Because when Kenobi and Maul have their conversation, they mention the chosen one and Luke, so Maul was still quite focused on how that could defeat the sith and maybe thinking to steal Luke from Ben if he won. But he didn’t, and that’s why his last words were basically “Hey, will that kid do what I wanted? Yeah? Cool.”
So he had hatred for Obi-Wan, but I never thought his character was reduced or he ever stopped his primary goal, but that’s just the way I saw it.
It definately wasn’t worth the buildup that lasted all season.
What a prequel show down didn’t make you happy? I’m actually shocked.
Also, the duel looks great (for what it is) the first time you watch it, but when you look at it carefully it actually makes NO martial sense at all!
It makes complete martial sense, especially if you’ve ever studied Japanese fencing arts: Recommend you brush up on your Kurosawa – Seven Samurai & Sanjuro both feature duels almost exactly like this one. Keep also in mind Lucas originally wanted Toshiro Mifune to play the Jedi Master (not Sir Alec), and it makes nothing BUT sense…
“what was the point of bringing him back this time?”
Fan service. The entire show premise of the show is fan service, not to tell a story that makes any sort of sense within the time frame.
I guess Dewbacks are bettererer than banthas. :'(
But see, if they had shown a bantha it would have stolen the entire episode!
No use crying over blue milk.
The fur would have also been harder to model, animate and render… 😉
What I came to realise recently is that, despite appearances, Maul and Obi Wan share a strange empathy. Obi Wan not only is compassionate towards Maul in his final moments, but also certain scenes in TCW seemed to suggest he forgave from a certain point of view what Maul did. As he has put it: Maul never had a choice as for which side to take, he was already brought to the dark side when born. In the previous Maul centered episode, Maul kept the darksaber in a sort of altar-like setting with Satine’s image, almost as an act of sorrow for what he did years earlier. Perhaps Maul felt it, that he was actually going to die on Tatooine, even though his “see you later, my apprentice” seemed to suggest else. An interesting thing I’m not sure everyone realised, it’s revealed finally that it is not Anakin that was the chosen one, but Luke. This could be important if seen at Episode VIII: what if Luke’s mission in balancing the Force wasn’t yet complete in episode VI? Maybe it’s after defeating Snoke and his followers that the Force will be put in balance. Just throwing it there.
For someone who is supposed to show compassion and empathy for his foes, Obi-Wan has a rather unusual habit of striking them down, cutting off their limbs, etc.
I guess because Maul senses firstly that Obi Wan is on Tatooine for a reason and then he realises that its to watch over someone. Then just before he dies he askes Obi wan if its the chosen one to which Obi wan nods.
Duh. It is said in the episode.
Obi-Wan only THINKS that Luke is the Chosen One, but that’s because Vader is still dark at the time of Rebels.
I didn’t mean a general compassion for all his foes or whatever, but as for Maul, and this compassion didn’t came to be by TPM, but some time after his return. As for when he cut off Vader’s limbs, he was defending himself: he warned Anakin not to jump, but the guy jumepd anyways, and if Obi wasn’t gonna do that, Anakin would’ve killed him.
Anakin is the Chosen One. FFS.
I don’t know why it’s so hard for people to wrap their head around Obi-Wan’s perspective on this (even though it is wrong).
Star Wars fans are too literal.
If I’m to add my opinion. I agree, Anakin IS the Chosen One. However, I don’t think he was supposed to bring balance to the Force, but that he was supposed to pave the way for the Force to reach balance. Without Anakin, none of the events would have happened, the Sith would have won, or the Jedi would have remained the arrogant and self-righteous fools they were during the Clone Wars. He was the Chosen One in the sense that he created the possibility for balance. The Force won’t become balanced overnight, it would take time. Destroying both the Sith and the Jedi didn’t bring balance, but it opened up the possibility for a new begining. It’s now the role of people like Luke, possibly Rey, and even Leia (albeit indirectly, through the Resistance) to bring balance to the Galaxy. But it was Anakin that allowed for the opportunity in the first place.
Oh, and as far as the episode goes. It’s simple. Obi-wan believes they were wrong in thinking Anakin was the Chosen One, that he is too far gone. He now believes Luke is the true Chosen One. We, as fans, know the truth, but at that point Obi-wan sees Luke as their “only hope”
I wouldn’t be so certain that Anakin was the chosen one. When Obi Wan, Mace and Yoda were discussing Anakin being the chosen one in ROTS Yoda says that the prophecy may have been misread.
It was misread because they tought the chosen would bring balance to the force by killing the sith but the force was unbalanced because there was too many jedy. “The truth is what we make of it
“
No, it’s to destroy the Sith.
Uhm, no, not really. In TPM the prophecy is “bring balance to the Force”. It’s only in AotC that Lucas changed it in “destroy the Sith” – and since George can’t write for sith and he spent his whole life contradicting himself or lyin’ through his teeth, whatever he says/said about SW is totally void.
Um, no not really. They never stated how to bring balance until AOTC, which comes from destroying the Sith. That’s not contradictory, that’s expanding what it means, revealing slightly more each time.
Lucas contradicts himself a lot but this is not one of those times.
It’s retconning more than it is contradicting, but retcons certainly aren’t new to Star Wars.
It just feels like slowly unveiling more of the BS prophecy. It’s telling that we never actually hear what it is.
Yep. You know, I’d really like to read/hear the Prophecy some day. They prattle on and on about it in the PT, but it’s never shown.
Yep. Always been a big annoyance of mine. That and we don’t hear Qui-Gon’s name until he meets Shmi.
I would be because George Lucas said so. And since Anakin ends up killing the Sith (and he had not father), I have no trouble saying he is the Chosen One.
Yes he did. However, he said that before TFA was even thought of and I wouldn’t put too much faith in what Lucas says as he is always contradicting himself. Also, in TFA, Lor San Tekka says there can be no balance without the Jedi. I think its ambiguous enough that Lucasfilm may have decided to change things. Not saying they have just that it’s possible.
When it comes to something like this, I would put much faith in it. They aren’t changing who the Chosen One is.
And Lor San Tekka is a member of a religious order. he has nothing but belief.
Yeah, George also said TESB was the worst Star Wars movie. In Star Wars ROTS, Obi Wan says to Anikin: “you WERE the chosen one”.
Then why is the Force still out of balance by ep. VII? I mean, the dark side is still prominent, while Luke didn’t succeed at rebuilding the jedi order.
B/c the prophecy (as I see it) is about destroying the SITH. Not all future dark siders forever. It was Sith-Specific. Sithific
For how Insee it, either the prophecy is not clear about that, or it’s half forgotten and everyone remembers it in different forms. That would explain all the doubts from the PT.
I agree, it is unclear. I THINK that’s what Lucas said, but not sure.
Just looked up. Turns out you were right, at least according to wikipedia. It also makes sense as Anakin becomes a Force ghost despite he didn’t learn how to do that as Yoda and Obi wan did. I guess such an exception could be made only to the Chosen One.
The Sithific Ocean.
Uhhhh….no
While in Clone Wars I do believe he intended kill him after he suffered from Satines death. He got revenge + from what Sidious did to him following satines death (killed his brother, tortured him, destroyed the majority of his army, cause the Pikes and Black sun to abadon him, then killed his mother and wiped out the night brothers) I think it makes the most sense that he would want to destroy Sidious (even if it is a suicide mission; it not like he thinks rationally).
They should have just stuck with the orginal plan and have Vader kill him in the finale of season 2. There he would have gone out on a high note, instead of truning back to the crazed maul.
I’m assuming the lack of Tusken capes and robes comes down to the animation budget. They looked off. Other than that it was a satisfying episode.
You’re correct. Even in TCW (unproduced episodes, of course), it was the plan to give the Sand People more static clothing.
To my knowledge, Maul is unaware of the existence of Luke. When he asks “Is ‘IT’ the chosen one?’ he is referring to Vader. Obi-Wan’s response can be interpreted as referring to either Anakin or Luke.
Besides, in any case, whoever Obi-Wan believes to be the “chosen one” is not necessarily so. In fact, Obi-Wan’s belief doesn’t even mean that any such thing as a “chosen one” actually exists, as beliefs (especially of a mystical/religious nature as it seems to me to be the case here) are not necessarily equal to reality.
I agree, the ‘chosen one’ arc has been complete for some time. Since Rebels is set in the middle of that, it’s kinda fun to speculate on the ambiguity.
Yes. And keep in mind, Obi-Wan and Yoda both insisted Luke had to fight and destroy Vader and the Emperor, and he ignored those instructions in an effort to redeem his father. Who both his Master’s said was not possible.
Maul stated that he suspected Kenobi was protecting something, and more specifically someone, in the episode. I took this to mean that Luke is in fact the Chosen one, which is interesting. But who knows! Always in motion the future is.
Least fitting, if you ask me. They had no history.
Yea that’s true…seeing two Sith go at it though is always welcome though..the savages lol
in mauls eyes they would. palpatine cut him lose in favor of anakin and now anakin has the position and the power that maul felt he always deserved.
Palpatine cut him loose in favor of Dooku, after he thought Maul was dead.
I know, but maul’s crazy mind thought otherwise. Palpatine abandoned him and Anakin usurped his spot.
It’s a stretch to get to fanservice. There is nothing there, story wise.
definitely grasping at a few straws. 😉
For my 2 pence, I was a little underwhelmed by the final fight, then the power of the scene hit me.
This was the Obi Wan I grew up with. That 1 final simple strike, the resignation that it had come to this and the dignity of ending the others suffering.
This is a changed and rounded Jedi, one who you can see would be willing to accept his own fate and extinguish his lightsaber to save Luke & co.
Maybe I’m just getting sentimental in my old age
I loved the duel. It is perfect. The Force Theme being present during the pose and at the end of the episode is also really precious!!
I just loved the Episode. To be honest, i think this ending for Maul is a honest one. I always looked at this character as a bad mistake in the clone wars and one mistake it needed to stay. When disney bought lucasart, Maul was already there. But for me now, this thing has come to an end. The episode was great.
I was intrigued by Obi-Wan’s encounter with Ezra. Both Yoda and Obi-Wan are aware of Ezra’s existence, but it is still unclear how Ezra will fit into the broader SW universe or what future role Obi-Wan and/or Yoda see for him.
Yes. But since there’s a rebels S4 confirmed. They need something to do, or this will become more of the same. I hope
https://youtu.be/8eIZsJsck7A
https://youtu.be/7WXcdM-OCLs
This really spoiled the episode for me….. I loaded my youtube subs, and Star Wars posted this…. I was all “Welp… guess he dies..” I think they should have waited till after it aired in the Pacific time zone.
Yeah, probably. I think they should have waited until the episode had aired everywhere. Lucasfilm holds back the episode guides until MONDAY but then puts this out like five seconds after the episode airs? i can’t agree with that.
I think someone got in trouble…. because the video has been taken down……
If it wasn’t for kisscartoon and torrents I would have to wait a lot longer than you guys. In Germany the latest Rebels episodes usually air a couple weeks after the US release. Now that I can’t agree with 🙁
The performance of Stanton and Witwer were beyond excellent. The shortness of the fight was fine (though the marketing of it was really inaccurate) but that being said, how exactly did Obi-Wan kill Maul? The slice down the middle broke the lightsaber and it looked like his face was fine. What also irked me was Ezra knows that Obi-Wan is alive but doesn’t tell anybody. Wouldn’t that be something very important to tell everyone? The whole Ezra going dark thing was a complete bust huh? This was episode had its great moments and gave a nice conclusion for Maul but it leaves so many questions and issues with overall canon that I don’t know if this fan service was worth it.
When it comes to Maul’s death, i think we can just assume that he got slashed down the chest and they just had to sensor it for the kiddies. I did like that we got a few lines out of Maul in the end, though. As for Ezra not telling anyone about Maul, I don’t know. Maybe he does, after all, Mon Mothma knows about him.
I think that the alliance of Rebels is aware of Obi Wan being alive. After all Mon Mothma tells Bail Organa to tell Leia to contact him in Rogue One so why would Ezra mention something that we can assume is well known among the Rebels.
Mon Mothma and Bail Organa know that Obi-Wan is alive, but Ezra doesn’t know that they know, so it’s natural for him to assume they don’t.
How do you know that he doesn’t know that they know?
Kanan says that Senator Organa confirmed Kenobi died. Of course, everyone in the Alliance trusts Bail Organa, so everyone thinks Kenobi’s truly dead. But now that Ezra knows he’s not, Ezra would have to confront Bail and inquire about the lie. Perhaps in the next episode we’ll get that conversation, and Bail will just tell Ezra to shush it.
I believe that Obi-Wan saying that Luke is the chosen one is what he believes at the time. Who knows what he believes as a Force ghost. I think it’s all open to interpretation anyway. BANTHAS RULE!
If Banthas rule then why does Obi Wan’s ride a Dewback and not a Bantha? DEWBACKS RULE!
Ending with Aunt Beru and Luke + Force Theme = All the Feels.
Bravo, Filoni and crew! This episode was handled perfectly IMO. The duel’s length was unexpected and perfect. Maul’s last words were perfect.
The duel was perfect. I know many will disagree.. How Obi Wan changes stance to resemble Qui Gon, Maul notices it and his eyes lit up and he buckles down to attempt to strike Obi Wan the same way he killed his master, and Obi Wan just tricked him.. Amazing
I think it was amazing as well, and you´re absolutely right about the stance, I didn´t noticed it… What I liked was the chess game between both characters as if they were fighting in their heads and reading the opponent. It reminded me of Kurosawa samurai fights.
Beautiful!
You used the better word.. So many will overlook the chest match before the action actually starts, and miss the true, IMO, Epicness of this sweet and brief moment.. It felt so old school
I felt like the Star Wars team was going for a Western feel with this one, and it worked for me. The brief dual between Kenobi and Maul was reminiscent of the dual between Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo in Tombstone. I almost expected Obi Wan to say “I’m your Huckleberry” when he lit his light saber. Really, is there anyone out there that needed yet another big set piece light saber fight?! If so, there are plenty of good ones in The Clones Wars animated series for you. I loved it…definitely a top 10 Star Wars moment for me. I will, however, miss the Maul character. Amazing what Dave Filoni did with him over the course of TCW and SWR. He took a card board character with about two lines of dialog and turned him into one of the most interesting and entertaining characters in the Star Wars universe. I’m not sure where they take the Kanan and Ezra characters in Maul’s absence. Feels like a dead end, but I’m sure they’ll come up with something. Unfortunately, we probably won’t get more of old Ben Kenobi for the rest of Rebels…I really enjoyed his characterization here and it reminded me why Alec Guinness was so beloved in spite of the character being rather underwritten in ANH. On the whole, I find Rebels to be a little boring and unsatisfying, but in the few episodes that tie into and deepen existing canon, it really rocks.
More samurai than western
I love Chopper.
Here are my 2 cents:
While I would have liked the lightsaber fight to go on for maybe a few more seconds, I can’t really argue with the reasons as to why it didn’t. Obi-Wan outwitted Maul and defeated him in a swift fashion, and it made sense for the character and for his level of skill. In the end, I view this as one of those lightsaber fights that goes for substance over style to the extreme (like Vader vs. Obi-Wan in Episode IV). It was barely a fight, but its short length (and Obi-Wan’s shifting stance, which calls back to Qui-Gon’s defeat in Episode I) is part of what gave it the emotional hook that it had. Plus, the ending scene with young Luke was really well done, and I liked that they lifted Aunt Beru’s line from Episode IV.
I rate this episode 9/10
shortest lightsaber fight ever. ruined the ending for me.
Welcome to what Star Wars REALLY is – a story that isn’t about “how long are they going to swing lightsticks at each other” but rather “what’s going on, emotionally, between these characters that are fighting each other”
Maul went through worse stuff in the past and came back alive.
Personally I feel like Maul finally got the death he deserved. He resolved his conflict with Obi Wan and he died knowing that eventually the Sith would fall and he would be avenged. Reviving him yet again would feel awkward and I think (and hope) Filoni and his team feel the same about Maul.
hopefully kenobi burned his body afterward to make sure. 😉
Hopefully he did more than just burn him. We don’t need Vader vs. Maul: Dawn of Robo-Suits.
Or have maul come back as a hideous troll. 😉 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5c8325cb91c658852f52946ab636e47eed419e02ff7d4a57061012d6b9798a72.jpg
Turns out Obi-Wan’s mom was ALSO named Talzin.
A really surprising twist making that duell so short and onesided. The “wtf just happened” moment when Maul died so quickly was absolutely refreshing. I also loved the direct comparison between Obi Wan and Maul in their older years and how the light side makes you grow in power only slowly but once you master it you easily outmatch an opponent who relies too heavily on the dark side. In addition to that it also strengthens the theory that Obi Wan intended to let Vader kill him from the very beginning. He could have been a much more challenging opponent when fighting Vader on the Deathstar. There are two things that I didn’t like about the Episode though. Maul never made a real difference in Rebels. I am not sure if Maul had any lasting impact on pretty much anyone in Rebels except Kanan who is doing just fine despite the fact that Maul blinded him. Ezra seems to be holding back his Dark Side pretty easily despite the fact that Maul tried making him his apprentice throughout his appearance in Rebels. I am also afraid that we won’t be seeing a Kenobi movie anytime soon. Maul was Kenobi’s archnemesis but now that we know how it all ends, what else is there to be told about Obi Wan?
I
think the ending for maul was great, beautiful samurai fight, but it
was obvious that they sent Ezra to tatooine just to justify they needed
to put in Star wars rebels the final fight of kenobi and Maul. Like they
needed to link Ezra to the story to justify
they show it in the animation show. As Kenobi said, you dont have to be
here Ezra Bridget. Maul was resurrected and should die in an animation
serie, With Kenobi the circle is completed.
And
maybe but just maybe htey had to rush killing maul if they are going to
annouce a kenobi movie in celebration and they dont want the fans to
start speculating if it is going to be about maul fighting kenobi.
I’m not a fan of this show (because I think the story is incoherent with the OT), but this was simply amazing. They perfetly captured and merged the essence of western and samurai movies… No PT-esque over the top bullcrap, but suspenseful, minimalistic, full of emotions and a fitting final dialogue. Well done.
If this show ever had a zenith, it was this moment.
No, Anakin is still the Chosen One. Obi-Wan just doesn’t know it at the time of Rebels.
At some point during a Jedi meeting in ep3 Yoda says something like “Misread, the prophecy could have been.”
And he was wrong. Lucas himself confirmed that Anakin was the Chosen One, as HE destroyed the Sith (himself and Palpatine).
Some would also say that Luke brought him to do that. I think it is just up to interpretation right now.
What Obi-Wan told Maul was the truth… from a certain point of view 🙂
Well Luke did inspire him to do that, but it was still his choice.
i’ve thought for a while that it would have made more sense for anakin to be the sith chosen one and his son the jedi chosen one.
It would be interesting for both sides to have Chosen Ones.
To me, that line says it all: they put too much faith in the idea of a savior-figure, and it was their undoing. The point of the prophecy sub-plot is that there was no prophecy; Anakin was not the Chosen One, nor was Luke. What matters is that certain characters think they are, and how that affects the story.
Besides, the whole “Anakin fulfilled the prophecy by killing Palpatine” is such a limited interpretation, a symptom of the ending getting written before the beginning was ever told. The point of Vader’s betrayal of Palps was that it redeemed Anakin, not that it played into some ancient prophecy.
It’s true that the Jedi focused too much on the ‘destroying the Sith’ part, not realising that bringing balance to the force meant their destruction as well.
My point is that the prophecy itself is a red herring that indirectly caused the Force to be un-balanced. By believing in the Chosen One, the Jedi brought Anakin into the fold which eventually led to the rise of Vader; Palps had his plans, but it’s arguable that they never would have come to full fruition had Anakin not been involved.
It’s kind of like the prophecy in Harry Potter: had Voldermort never heard it, he would have never tried to kill Harry, and never would have created the means for his own destruction. It’s all self-fulfilling.
This is inaccurate. Lucas has said if only the Jedi were present in the galaxy, balance is achieved. It’s not a zero sum game where both sides have to be annihilated. Balance is peace; and this is what the Jedi strive for.
Why is Anakin the “Chosen One”? Because George Lucas (who has been constantly self-contradicting about SW since the 80s) said so?
Everything Anakin did in ep VI was the direct result of the deeds of Luke.
Vader himself never intended to destory Palpatine.
“Vader himself never intended to destory Palpatine.”
WUUUUUUT? Am I misunderstanding you? Because that was the culmination of Vader’s whole arc. He threw Palpatine down the shaft…to kill him. Obviously it was a retcon, as the Chosen One prophecy didn’t exist at the time of the OT, but once Lucas created that Prophecy, he always intended for Anakin to be the Chosen One. he fashioned that Prophecy to mesh with RotJ’s ending.
He threw Palpatine down because the presence and later the suffering of his son made him to do so.
What I meant to say was that without Luke, Vader never had the intention to disobey Palpatine… Sure, it was his choice in the end, but everything he’s done was inspired by Luke and not his own decision.
Lucas attempted to rewrite Star Wars with the PT, but he can’t alter (fundamentally) what was already filmed in ep VI. The OT was written with Luke as a protagoinst, and not with Vader as some “Chosen One”.
A “Chosen One” is someone who makes decisions by his own, not one that gets inspired entirely by other people only to do something he otherwise never intended in the very last minute…
Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from.
If Luke had not been present to influence his father and turn him from the Dark Side, he would not have fulfilled the prophecy. He is the protagonist of the OT, but Lucas did essentially rewrite the first six films to be the story of Anakin Skywalker. And it works.
Luke couldn’t defeat the Emperor alone. Anakin had to do it, and by tossing him down the shaft and sacrificing his own life in the process, he ended the legacy of the Sith and restored balance to the Force.
“And it works” Because what? Elaborate please.
To me it never worked. Anakin defeated Sidious because of his free will and choice, not because of some prophecy…
ALSO. How is defeating Sidious suddenly bring balance? All you need for a sith lord is some midichlorians and training… Who wrote that propehcy and when? How do they know that it was Sidious that the prophecy told about? What about the other sith lords? Also, why do the jedi even believe in propehcies? They can see the future to a degree, so they don’t need any prophecy for that… And the future is always in motion as Yoda said in ep V, so it’s impossible to foresee so far. Just by knowing about the prophecy would immidiately alter the future.
You know, I’m just going to ask you to go ahead and watch the movies and the Clone Wars series, which explains everything you just asked.
I don’t know why you’re in denial. But this is Star Wars fact straight from its’ creator’s mouth, whether you like it or not.
Also, because I know you’re going to harp on your very well asked questions that are unfortunately irrelevant because, well, facts, here you go.
Straight from the maker’s mouth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgBpoiC8qGA
Anakin is the chosen one because he destroyed the Sith (Palpatine and, in the process, himself) and brought balance to the Force. The point is that prophecy doesn’t always work out the way we expect it to.
But Vader destroyed the sith merely because of Luke!
Had Luke for instance died at the battle of th first DS, Vader would’ve never destroyed Palpatine by his own choice (presumably).
Also, I would never ever call Vader a “Chosen One”…
He was the one that saved Palpatine from Windu, put him into power and it was HE HIMSELF who brought the imbalance to the force by killing the jedi and terrorising the galaxy for decades… One good deed in the end (which he himself never intended to do by his own) does not make him a “Chosen One”.
But you’re not the Force. Yes, Luke played a role in the process, and it was the Force that led him to that moment. It was the will of the Force that Luke survive up to that point. The Jedi Order fell because they had become blinded by arrogance and self-assurance. To bring balance meant to essentially push the reset button on the whole scenario.
The jedi order fell because Anakin and Sidious destoryed it. Sure, you can search for causes long back in time, but in the end it was the active behaviour of Anakin and Sidous. Without Anakin there wouldn’t be any imbalance and suffering in the galaxy.
This is like saying unemployment lead to cause world war II. Which is of course, partially ture, but it was Hitler’s active behaviour which lead into the war…
“Together we can rule the galaxy as father and son!”
Vader did have his own ambitions.
Yes, he did, I’m not saying he didn’t.
He just didn’t have the intention to destory Palpatine (the aspect which apparently made him a Chosen One) before he met Luke.
Having to repeat this a lot, but the chosen one isn’t Luke, it’s Anakin. You’re meant to think it is Luke
because of the end scene, but Maul says “he” and he doesn’t know that
Obi-Wan is protecting a he. He’s does, however, know of the fall of
Anakin and that Anakin was once regarded as the chosen one.
Hold on for a minute… You are making very wild assumptions there to say the least…
First, you think Maul isn’t referring to Luke (the logical conclusion based on the context of that scene) because he dosen’t know he’s a he… Well, if Maul could sense the fact that Obi-wan was protecting someone, than he can also sense the gender of that protected one…
Second, you think he isn’t referring to Luke because of a “he”, but you think Maul not only knows about the prophecy (unlikely), but also knows Anakin was presumed to be the chosen one among the jedi.
That imo is already false, as Maul couldn’t know about Anakin being called the chosen one. He was cut half before the council started referring him as such, and after he was brought back he dosen’t spend any time among anyone who would know about that detail imo (I doubt the mandalorians knew about it). Savage might’ve heard about it though, but I doubt it and was never mentioned on screen.
Third, you also assume that Maul knows that Anakin is Vader, which is also very-very unlikely.
Fourth, Maul said “he will avenge us”. Vader at that point is with Sidious, so again it’s very-very unlikely that Maul was thinking about Vader’s sudden turn and defeating of Sidious…
Maul was referring to the protected one who one day might avenge (defeat Sidious) him and Obi-wan. Simple as that.
I think it’s vague for a reason. And the line in ROTS where Yoda says that the prophecy might have been misinterpreted. Vader doesn’t destroy the Sith without Luke’s help, though he is the one who actually kills Palpatine. I think they are both “chosen” and it doesn’t exactly matter, does it?
No, I suppose it doesn’t.
The chosen one isn’t Luke, it’s Anakin. You’re meant to think it is Luke
because of the end scene, but Maul says “he” and he doesn’t know that
Obi-Wan is protecting a he. He’s does, however, know of the fall of
Anakin and that Anakin was once regarded as the chosen one.
So with Maul gone maybe Ezra won’t go dark…
…Unless Ezra is on a mission in season 4 to go to the outer rim and beyond and discovers a certain individual named Snoke.
Snoke remains in contact with Ezra and trains him in the ways of Ren, when the time is right and the Empire has fallen Snoke makes his move with Ezra (Bencio Del Toro) as his right hand man and creates the First Order with the Knights of Ren as his loyal elite soldiers.
Stop.
Hey, sure beats actual conspiracy theory forum posts out there! This is comparatively harmless. So let’s have a little gratitude – it could be worse! At the very worst this is a cool story bro.
Hey, at least it’s not that ridiculous “Jar-Jar is Snoke” claim that was floated around the Internet.
i think the boat has already sailed on him going dark, unfortunately.
This episode was very much setting him up for a good finale with the whole family thing at the end. So I think the jury is still out on that one.
To be fair, we still probably have a few more seasons left.
There is, but with maul dead I’m not sure anyone else can turn him. Which way do you see it going?
Maybe Kanan will die at the hands of a Thrawn attack or an Inquisitor, and that sets Ezra off. I guess we’ll see.
Del Toro IS NOT EZRA.
Jesus, enough with this crap already.
I am pretty sure, we won’t hear anything about Snoke before Ep. VIII.
I quite loved this episode and the duel! It brings things between Obi-Wan and Maul full circle with its nods to their first encounter; Maul tries to pull off the same trick that killed Qui-Gon Jinn and ends up being cradled by Obi-Wan the same way he was in his last moments. Speaking of these moments, I loved the fact that Maul seems to come to an understanding and gets Kenobi’s pity at the end. In the end, they both owe their current state to Palpatine, and Maul, true to his dark side, is sure both he and his foe will be avenged by the chosen one.
The only thing that probably didn’t work in this episode’s favour was the marketing. I think it focussed too much on the duel and built up too much hype around a ‘showdown’. At least that emotional ending is something I’m sure all fans can agree on.
So short, yet so sweet
But Luke isn’t really the Chosen One. Oh how I hate that stupid profecy. And they added it to the OT. What an annoyance.
Great episode Nevertheless. (I don’t think it’s that awesome though)
But Obi-Wan THINKS that he is. I agree, though, Lucas shouldn’t have tried to make Vader into Space Jesus.
At the end of the day, Obi-Wan safeguarding Luke helps Vader come back to the light and destroy the Sith, Palpatine and himself. So Anakin is still the chosen one, from a certain point of view.
The chosen one isn’t Luke, it’s Anakin. You’re meant to think it is Luke
because of the end scene, but Maul says “he” and he doesn’t know that
Obi-Wan is protecting a he. Nor does he talk of the person being protexted on Tatooine. He’s does, however, know of the fall of
Anakin and that Anakin was once regarded as the chosen one. They’re referring to Anakin in that scene, not Luke.
Must be getting warm in the Rebels writers room.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8db135d867b9b520552e9c920bdadc9c0c6ebe35db21eb77a2b89c8e7e3fa1b6.jpg
https://youtu.be/jeG215-yu-k
This is the first episode of Rebels that really felt like Star Wars to me.
The pacing was much more akin to an old-school Star Wars movie than anything I’ve yet seen in this series. It wasn’t frenetic, like so many Rebels episodes tend to be. It was more methodical and gave the story plenty of room to breathe, and I felt that this, couple with what was at stake, built tension more effectively than usual.
I’ve never liked the treatment that the character of Maul has been given, going right back to the way Lucas treated him like a disposable villain-of-the-week in TPM. But then I REALLY didn’t like the way they later cheated the story and pretended that Maul’s legs had just been cut off in a way that was survivable. I can’t recall if it was in the TPM commentary/extras or in the making-of book, but I distinctly remember Lucas or perhaps McCallum saying that they delibrately showed Maul’s body falling in two right across the middle, to reinforce the point that he wasn’t coming back.
And then, eventually, they decided they wanted to bring him back after all. And suddenly Maul went from having been sliced through the middle of his torso to simply having had his legs cut off. I wanted to see more of the character too, but that was, IMHO, an incredibly cheap way to backtrack and retcon what happened in TPM.
That being said, I really liked the setup in Rebels for Maul tracking Obi Wan to Tatooine, despite my disdain for the cheesy “he didn’t really get cut in two” retcon. And it made for a Rebels episode that, IMHO, far exceeded the show’s usual standards.
I actually think it would have been even more effective if Ezra and Chopper hadn’t been part of it at all, and if the entire episode had focused on Maul baiting Obi Wan out of hiding. But, I understand why they had to bring the kid into this, and overall I thought they handled it well. Even Chopper wasn’t as annoyingly schtick-ey as he usually is.
For me, though, it all boiled down to the reveal of Obi Wan – now “old Ben”, of course – and the final face-off between the two old foes. And here’s where I felt they knocked it out of the park.
Stephen Stanton got the Alec Guinness voice incredibly close to the real thing, and that was a very pleasant surprise indeed. I was expecting something closer to the Ewan MacGregor voice from TCW, and when Sir Alec’s voice (or at least a VERY reasonable facsimile thereof) came out of the depths of that hood, it drew me even deeper into the story than I already was. I think that if they end up creating a Force ghost of Obi Wan for episodes VIII or IX, Stanton is absolutely the one who needs to provide the voice.
The character itself also felt more like old Ben than prequel-era Obi Wan. The way he carried himself, the way he interacted with both Ezra and Maul… it felt right. It felt like 1977 Ben Kenobi. I can think of no higher praise than that.
The duel. It was perfect. I’d seen the image of Kenobi striking his old Clone Wars battle pose, and was afraid that that was the way the fight would proceed. And then he modified his stance to something closer to the more understated one he took in ANH. I thought that was a nice touch. And Ben’s economy of movement once the duel began was spot-on, especially in contrast to Maul using his old-school flourishes. Ben’s response of “block, block, slash and done” showed the true mastery that he’d achieved, and it avoided the obvious trap of showing him making a load of flashy prequel-era moves that I was afraid we might see. But nope… this was old Ben fighting just as old Ben would have fought.
I even liked Maul’s final moments, despite having had it up to here with the “Chosen One” nonsense a long time ago. Maul’s final line was an unexpected acknowledgment on his part that both he and Kenobi had been screwed over by Palpatine, and that they both needed to be avenged for it. That last-second moment of solidarity between the two was oddly touching. And fitting, too.
This episode tops my list as far as Rebels goes. Though I don’t care for the way Maul’s story was handled from the get-go, I think they did a first-rate job with his death.
The pacing, the shots, the music, the animation was on the money. These guys revered the material. You know they poured everything into this episode, probably watch samurai movies, and didn’t over do it. Nothing felt out of place. I loved it.
I’m sorry, I’m going to be mean with a specific group in the SW fandom, for a moment but it’s just so fun to see the moronic lightsaber-obsessed part of the fandom, all over the internet, steaming with rage because the final duel was so – masterfully – short and to the point.
Aside from that, I liked the episode – I thought the way the wrote Ezra into the story was a bit forced, but I do understand the need to close Maul’s arc in a cartoon and to have the protagonist of said cartoon to show up in the story.
Kenobi was really “Old Ben”, Maul worked, the duel was beautiful and the ending was emotionally charged. Good stuff.
I agree with your comments on sabers. Sick of the fan obsession with them. However, Maul nonetheless did go down a little too easily.
Obi-Wan taunted him into a quick defeat, and he fell for it. While I would have liked to see a few more seconds of crossed sabers, it works for me.
It’s symbolic of how far Obi-Wan has come, as a Jedi and a person, and how far Maul has stagnated/regressed. Think back to that friend you had in primary/elementary school who still lives in the same place and just plays video games and smokes bongs, always pining for the ‘good old days’ and their high school girlfriend.
As others have said, the duel is symbolic of the paths each have been on. It’s also a lovely nod to the duel in Seven Samurai, continuing the Kurosawa connections to the franchise:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31ry9HOmI-Y&t=3m6s
Sorry bud, no light sabers no Star Wars. I would argue that the SW franchise would not have got off the ground were it not for the sabers.
Argue away, you’d be wrong. I’m guessing you weren’t born when the Star Wars was in the theaters, as the “no sabers, no Star Wars” argument tends to be argued straight down generational divides. Light sabers were cool in the first film, sure, but they were just one element in an amazing amount of worldbuilding. Looking at the OT as a whole I agree that climatic duels are a central theme, but the franchise was well-established by that point.
Born in 75. I must say, the space ships really put it over the top for me too. When that Superstar Destroyer enters the frame at the opening of ANH it’s certainly more impressive than a light saber. While there had never been a space ship in a movie before that was even close to feeling that real there’s a magic to the sabers that really captures a kids imagination. We had seen space ships (although way more crudely done) but the light saber was something new and I think instrumental to the success of the franchise.
Sorry for the late reply: I never said SW shouldn’t have lightsabers whatsoever. But there IS a part of the fandom (mostly the group I sometimes refer to as “prequelites”) that thinks and acts and judges base on “how long/cool the lightsabers duel are” and that is SO removed from what SW is actually about that I ended up enjoying poking fun at them (from time to time, at least). I guess I’m a horrible human being – or something 😛
I don’t need lightsaber porn, but they’ve spent two seasons and part of the another series building up Maul’s obsession with revenge on Obi Wan. TO have the whole thing resolved in the space of a few heartbeats was, while an interesting storytelling choice, kind of unsatisfying after years of narrative blue balls.
Pros: Obi-Wan and Mail discussing the chosen one (who you’re made to think is Luke, but is actually Anakin/Vader).
The end scene.
Cons: Maul killed too easily.
Obi-Wan needed more to do.
Too much time spent with the excruciatingly annoying Ezra, who then is let go for too easily.
Verdict: A massive let down to be honest. Should have been a two parter, during which they could’ve afforded to have the Ezra elements while fleshing out the content that the episode was ultimately marketed on.
I hear the people complaining about Ezra, but I think ya’ll are missing an important point here.
Obi-Wan says it himself, Ezra should be somewhere else. He has a different path and a different destiny than what the future holds for Kenobi, Luke and the rest of the OT characters.
I may be wrong, but I feel like the writers of the show were finally putting a book end to where the Ghost crew’s adventures would intersect with the Big 3 and their story in the original trilogy.
Absolutely flawless episode. My favorite of the entire show. It’s exactly what it needed to be, no more no less. Story telling at its best!
I agree,,, loved the fact Maul died quickly.. we dont see the short battles enough..
Genuinely loved this episode, initially I was shocked by how short the fight was but in hindsight it worked so well given Ben’s age and Maul’s desperation/mental state.
With regards to the Chosen One discussion, at this stage surely Ben had given up hope on Anakin being the Chosen One: “You were supposed to bring balance to the force, not destroy it”, in fact I would assume that he has completely given up on the prophecy at this stage.
For me, he only agreed with Maul so he could die in peace which just added to the emotion of the moment.
The only other explanation is that Ben had foreseen Luke’s confrontation with Vader and Sidious in RoTJ and therefore believed that Anakin could still bring balance. This is a massive stretch given no force user has ever been able to see the future with that level of certainty and Ben had given up hope with regards to Anakin “He is more machine now than man”.
At least the ‘Del Torro is Maul’ theories can finally be put to bed now. I know it upsets people but I do think ‘Del Torro is Ezra’ is realistic, especially as we now know that Luke and Ezra are not that different in terms of age and so it is quite possible that Ezra would still be alive in The Last Jedi.
Either way, great episode and outstanding voice acting by Stephen Stanton, unlike the Tarkin impression in Rogue One, I genuinely felt like we were listening to Sir Alec.
Didn’t like Ezra and Chopper being there but I loved the three move take down of Maul. It was so obviously a trick, how dense can Ezra be? It felt contrived.
So glad it wasn’t long fight. Obi-Wan was always in control, even when he falls to Vader he is in control. He wasn’t taking any chances on Maul getting to Luke, we saw Obi-Wan when he wasn’t messing around, total bad-ass.
How come, that nobody complaints about Luke being a little child in this episode?
Luke was born 19 BBY. Rebels started 5 BBY. So I guess, right now it will be 2 or 3 BBY.
Luke must be at least 16 or 17 years old!
I find it hard to believe, that nobody of the story group recognized this huge mistake!
Obi-Wan was really far away. When you’re far away from someone or something looks smaller than they are in real life.
Yeah, but that was like a skipping 5 year old. It didn’t bother me until I read the comment here though – stylistically I was fine with it myself.
Well they used Ezra’s character model.
Really? Scaled in any way? I only watched it once, but it struck me as being more squat, like a toddler. Anyways, didn’t have a problem with that shot.
There was no scaling or re-shaping as far as I know. If anything was off, it was probably that they just made the Lars homestead too big.
He ran like a child.
Luke and Ezra are the same age (Ezra’s birthday also happens to be
the day the Empire was founded, Empire Day). Luke and Leia take after
their mom, both are petite. He’s a small scrawny teenager at 16-17 and
when we see him in A New Hope he’s still shorter than your average
person (“Aren’t you kinda short for a Stormtrooper?”)
Loved this episode. Brilliant ending for Maul’s character with an,epic Samurai finish.
It wasn’t a huge mistake. Believe it or not, the used Ezra’s Season 3 character model for Luke, so I guess they just made the homestead too big.
Yeah. Could be, that the homestead was too big. But that would be a huge mistake, too. In my oopinion. Come on, there isn’t just one person working on the stuff. And the boy ran like a little child running to an icecream van.
I think that’s just the way that CGI animated character’s run.
Luke and Ezra are the same age (Ezra’s birthday also happens to be the day the Empire was founded, Empire Day). Luke and Leia take after their mom, both are petit. He’s a small scrawny teenager at 16-17 and when we see him in A New Hope he’s still shorter than your average person (“Aren’t you kinda short for a Stormtrooper?”)
Loved this episode. Brilliant ending for Maul’s character with an,epic Samurai finish.
Loved the old Ben in this…definitely helps to cement the idea of a movie showing his life and transition while there.
Maul arc…blahhh, seem to me they didn’t know how they wanted to really end him and was just like oh…Ben can do it in his old age in 3 swings…nah, write that out, erase it…just have Maul disappear. We don’t need to tie that up, IMO.
chopper and Ezra…Please oh please let Vader find them and end them!
I thought the brief battle was surprisingly refreshing. But I didn’t care for how they depicted Obi-Wan’s killing stroke. I know it’s a kid’s show, and I didn’t expect to see Maul cut in half or impaled necessarily, but it was very unclear what had happened in that particular scene. It comes across as if Maul died from a broken lightsaber. lol. They didn’t have to show the cut, but maybe a little trail of smoke coming up from the wound out of frame would have been called for. I went back several times thinking I missed something, but it just wasn’t there. I loved the episode and appreciated how it played out, but that was kind of odd to me.
I rather liked it, since it was in response to Maul using the same move on him, as he used to kill Qui-Gon.
In the same way that you never see Luke’s stump, but you see the sheared metal spars next to him in Empire, representing the sheared bones of his hand, Maul’s lightsaber being cut in half, shows what happened to him, even though the camera never gives a clear view.
I thought the whole thing was pretty classy, and a fitting end to Maul who was always a badass, but never really grew as a character. He’s not really any different than he was in TPM, and Obi-Wan is.
I agree about it being a great moment. I just thought the angle was weird. It doesn’t look like Obi-Wan’s lightsaber would have done much more than graze him from that angle and trajectory. At least in Empire you see Luke’s hand and lightsaber flying off into the abyss. I’m just nitpicking really, but the angle of the shot just seemed off to me. The moment was beautiful though.
I might be mistaken, but I think there is a very small trail of smoke arising from Maul as he dies in Obi-Wan’s arms. I’m going to watch it again…
Soooo….what exactly was Obi Wan’s plan for getting home after he gave Ezra his dewback
The Dewback was never for ObiWan. He only brought it for Esra. It was even saddled specifically for Esra and Chopper. He got around in the desert the same way he did in A New Hope – On foot.
Except last time we saw him, in RotS, no he didn’t. That just doesn’t seem practical in any way to me. ¯_(ツ)_/¯