Star Wars Brings Back Darth Maul to Set Up The Mandalorian Season 2

The final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars continues on Disney+ and it continues to set up big things in the wider Star Wars universe. Last week's episode revealed the corruption of the Jedi and set up Ahsoka Tano's role in the second season of The Mandalorian. This week's episode, "Together Again," ties together the events of The Clone Wars with The Mandalorian and Solo: A Star Wars Story. The character tying all of these events together is the former SIth Apprentice known as Darth Maul. Maul appears in "Together Again" in a moment that sets up almost everything to follow in the Star Wars canon.

In "Together Again," Ahsoka Tano makes her escape from the prison cell where the Pyke Syndicate is holding her. While searching the facility, she overhears the Pykes talking via holo to Darth Maul. A series of defeats at the hands of his old master Darth Sidious had set Maul back, but he's managed to rebuild his Shadow Collective criminal organization and maintain power on Mandalore.

Here's where we get our tie to Solo. In that film, Darth Maul is revealed to be the power behind the Crimson Dawn, a major criminal organization involved in the spice trade. In "Together Again," Maul threatens the Pyke Syndicate by saying that he will allow the Crimson Dawn to take over their operation if the Pyke's fail him again. The Pykes later complain that Maul likes to play members of the Shadow Collective against each other. It seems that both the Pykes and the Crimson Dawn are part of Maul's group. This sets the stage for Han Solo's Kessel run in Solo.

At the end of the episode, Ahsoka Tano is reunited with Bo-Katan, the leader of the Mandalorian Nite Owls and sister of Duchess Satine, the former ruler of Mandalore that Maul slew to claim power on the planet. She ask Ahsoka for help in dealing with their shared enemy, Maul. The Siege of Mandalore is one of the final battles of the Clone Wars and will be the final story arc of the series. According to the Ahsoka novel, the battle sees Ahsoka leading the Army of the Grand Republic on a mission to remove Maul from power on Mandalore. Maul possesses the Darksaber, which is later returned to Bo-Katan in Star Wars Rebels before falling into the hands of Moff Gideon by the time The Mandalorian takes place. This battle should establish Ahsoka's relationship with the Mandalorian community, setting the stage for her appearance in The Mandalorian Season Two.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments. The story continues in new episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, debuting Fridays on Disney+.