One thing that struck me about Maul episode 8 was how stilted the dialogue Savage & Maul had in Maul’s trauma visions.
A lot of people are treating it as if this happened in objective reality, that Shadow Lord retconned his backstory. But I think this is what Maul wants his backstory to be, and in typical Maul fashion, deluded himself into believing. Honestly, I don’t think he remembers the truth. Anyhoo the dialogue felt oddly canned because it felt so…convenient for Maul.
He wants to believe that he had companionship before Sidious, that he was something before him. He’s a really lonely guy. He wants a benign brother figure that could’ve offered him a different path. All the evidence suggests that he & Savage weren’t even raised together, but since Savage is the closest thing to family Maul’s ever had, it makes sense he would project these desires onto him. Especially the “what have you done with my brother?” line.
Maul (through Savage) is putting all of the agency upon Sidious. Sidious corrupted him, Sidious ruined him, Sidious is responsible for all of the cruelty Maul inflicted upon Savage. Which, in a sense, is partly true, but not in the way Maul thinks it is. Sidious abused and warped him, yes, but Maul makes the choice to emulate him by being similarly cruel. Maul doesn’t want to confront this though. So instead we get Savage (a representation of companionship Maul desperately wants, the perfect life he believes he could’ve had without Sidious) standing up to man. Lets pretend that everything in the visions happened in reality Be honest. If Savage had said that in reality, do you think Palpatine would’ve let him live? He’s not one to take insults lightly. Do you think Savage would’ve had the courage to stick up to a Sith Lord? Or that he would be blaming Sidious for “changing his brother” rather than Maul making the decision to leave?
He didn’t even remember Savage’s last words correctly. In Maul’s vision, he said “Avenge me” but in reality he said “Brother. I'm an unworthy apprentice. I'm not like you. I never was.”
Maul doesn’t want to acknowledge the cruelty he inflicted upon Savage. Savage’s dying words were about how inadequate Maul made him feel. He doesn’t want to remember that. So he doesn’t. Given Maul’s fate, he is doomed to repeat that abuse again. Making a pantomime of the dynamic he had with a brother that never existed, again and again, with Devon, with Ezra, failing to see the truth of it. Which is incredibly sad.
