Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Is Good Star Wars

Maul – Shadow Lord Is Such An Amazing Addition

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord is so good it’s actually a little difficult to review. I can recall when the first Clone Wars animated series came out, and to see the constant evolution since then has been stunning. Even the much more recent Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld cannot match Maul’s excellence.

It’s on every level. The animation is stunning, with city-planet tableaus that only flash by for a second but are works of art. Lightsabers look raw and sharp and powerful. Facial expressions are detailed and easily reveal character depth. The gap—and there always has been a gap—between the big-budget, live-action movies and these shows has closed significantly. The lighting isn’t always something I pay attention to, but when you have a show about someone called the “Shadow Lord,” it’s got to have good, gloomy locations, and this show nails that, too.

The Series Nails The Tone Of Its Chosen Subgenre

In fact, a distinct visual style (beyond Star Wars’ already established iconic style) actually plays into the show’s essence. Star Wars is a very malleable setting, and I love how often it changes across different installments. In this case, Maul is a noir/crime drama. Rival gangs become the playground of Sith revenge-fueled machinations as a stereotypical hardened, sleep-deprived detective works alongside his by-the-books droid companion in a post-Empire world. It’s very pulpy, but in a way that’s immensely enjoyable.

It also doesn’t totally abandon the topic of Jedi and the Force, in case you were worried. I really enjoy learning about how Sith are trained, especially considering the ingrained knowledge that Sith kill their masters as a rule, and Maul’s side-plot involves seeing a Padawan’s fall from the Light side (it hasn’t happened yet by the third episode, but it obviously will) through the usual channels of fear and desire. I suppose it’s not that original of an idea, but it’s rare for an already excellent show to have an equally (if not more so) compelling B-plot, and episodes flew by as they bounced between that and more. Maul has an amazing voice actor, and is animated with such care, and I am interested in whatever they have him doing in any given scene.   

Maul Is Absolutely Mesmerizing In All His Moments

The flaws with Maul—because there are some flaws—are all very subtle. I don’t think this is the first time I’ve noticed animated battles being just a tad hard to follow, but Maul has some weird editing, especially during vehicle-based combat. It could even be the (otherwise strong) color grading/lighting that makes a quick shot basically unreadable; it scrambles one’s ability to stay oriented in a fight. At one point, a vehicle does what should’ve been a cool maneuver to get behind another vehicle, but I had to rewind twice to understand what even happened.

The other thing pops up in character design. There are four characters who use some kind of mobility aid, and three of them are villains. And considering how Star Wars has literally always had an undercurrent of making disabled or injured characters into villains, it was notable that even this new series didn’t consider that when designing its cast. It is, yes, good worldbuilding to have a smaller alien use a mech suit so that he can interact with things not sized for him, but we don’t (unless they are randomly in a background shot) see another of his species, so—for all we know—maybe only this one mobster does that. A crime-riddled city would naturally cause people to get injured (and obviously people can be born with disabilities), so I don’t see why we can’t have more good guys with prosthetics or using things like canes.

Maul Sadly Inherited Some Of Star Wars’ Problems

I’m not usually this optimistic about media, but it’s even possible later episodes add more disabled characters and smooth out the editing during fight scenes, and if so, it would be even better. It’s already the best Star Wars cartoon I’ve ever watched—so I have more hope. I have an interest in continuing past episode three. Maul is such a cool character, with his demonic design and double-lightsaber, and I love getting so many episodes to watch him carry out his evil schemes.  

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