Three seconds, three strikes, and a decades-long rivalry came to an end.
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SPOILERS FOR STAR WARS REBELS EPSIODE “TWIN SUNS” TO FOLLOW, CONTINUE READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL!
If you’ve already seen the latest episode of Star Wars Rebels depicting the latest fight between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re either satisfied or angry.
Satisfied because it was a fitting end to a character’s twisted journey, finding peace in a demise at the hands of a foe, but still unable to come to terms with the purpose behind the truth.
Angry because it wasn’t the long, drawn-out battle you’ve become accustomed to seeing over the course of Maul’s appearances in the Clone Wars and Rebels. But it truly was epic.
In the episode, Ezra Bridger finally finds Obi-Wan and attempts to warn him of Maul’s search-and-destroy mission, while also pleading for his assistance in the growing rebellion against the Empire. But Obi-Wan has a greater purpose in his residence on Tatooine, and he is unable to leave the desert planet.
Maul interrupts their meeting as Obi-Wan makes it clear to Ezra that he’s been manipulated by the Dathomir; the Holocron’s message was twisted and distorted by Maul in his quest for vengeance against the Jedi in hiding. The Jedi Master makes it clear to Ezra that his place is with the rebels, alongside his friends, and puts Ezra and Chopper on the path home.
Then, Maul and Kenobi do battle.โจโจ
The Fight
Maul taunts Obi-Wan at first, pledging to kill him, then reconsidering that promise in the wake of leaving him to his pathetic existence as a hermit. But he senses that Obi-Wan has a purpose on the planet, protecting someone, and those words cause Obi-Wan to finally draw hisย lightsaber.โจโจ
Obi-Wan’sย sole reason for being is to protect Lukeย Skywalker, whose existence is a secret to nearly everyone in the galaxy. And though he does not want to kill Maul, for the sake of his mission.
Kenobi’sย stance at first mimics that of his Prequel Trilogy fighting style, pointed fingers with the blade drawn back. But he resigns himself, a true master with theย lightsaber, not flashy like in the Clone Wars, but methodical and precise like in A New Hope. It’s a clever nod to the changed dueling styles from the older and newer films, indicating that it’s not just increased production values but a shift in precision and force that caused the transition.
Maul wields his double-bladed saber and after a tense stand off, lunges at Obi-Wan with ferocity, using the same technique he used to kill the old Master Qui-Gonย Jin. His first two blows are quickly blocked, and the third?
The third comes from Obi-Wan as if a boxer found an opening, ending the battle with a single blow. He slices Maul down the middle, cutting hisย lightsaberย in two, delivering a fatal strike. Maul plummets to the ground.
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The Tragedy of Maul the Vengeful
Obi-Wan bends over to hold his foe in his last moments and withย Maul’sย dying breaths, he asks ifย Kenobiย is protecting the Chosenย Oneโtheย Jedi prophesied to destroy theย Sith. Saddened by the death of his former rival, Obi-Wan confirmsย Maul’sย suspicions. And Maul, before passing, states a misguided prediction.
“He will avenge us.”
And thenย Maul’sย story ends.ย Kenobiย closes his eyelids and holdsย Maul’sย lifeless body in the moonlight, finally ending one of the fiercest rivalries in the Star Wars canon.
After a brief scene with Ezra returning to his family on the Ghost crew with a renewed validation in the mission, a brief epilogue closes the episode.
Obi-Wan watches a moisture farm from the distance as the twin suns begin to rise and he sees a figure. When Auntย Beruย calls out, “Luke, Luke!” as she does in A New Hope, the figure runs back indoors to answer. The episode ends with Obi-Wan looking on, watching, waiting for the Chosen One to be ready for his call.
The Ghost crew might have played only a minor role in this episode, but it was still one of the best moments in Star Wars Rebels history. A fitting end to one era, and a poignant beginning of another.ย
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More Star Wars Rebels
What did you think of the final fight between Obi-Wan and Maul? Let us know with your rating of the episode “Twin Suns” in our TVย Database below!
Star Wars Rebelsย airs Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on Disney XD, and follows the adventures of Hera (Vanessa Marshall), Sabine (Tiya Sircar), Zeb (Steve Blum), and the Jedi Kanan (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) and Ezra (Taylor Gray), a small crew that’s finding their way in the nascent Rebel Alliance a few years before the events ofย Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
Executive produced by Simon Kinberg and Dave Filoni, the in-canon series helps to connect the worlds of the films and the previous animated series,ย Star Wars: The Clone Wars, with guest appearances so far by characters like Lando Calrissian, Ahsoka Tano,ย Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Leia Organa, Wedge Antilles, and more.
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