So, I'm ready to take a closer look at this situation. Perhaps I'm overanalyzing it, but weapons in Star Wars, especially lightsabers, are part of the characters. Luke's change of lightsabers symbolizes his maturation, his transition from farm boy to knight. Ventress's change of lightsabers reflects her transition from the Dark Side to something more neutral. And that's not to mention Ahsoka.
In other words, it's an important character detail.
So, the first time we see Devon with a red Sith lightsaber is in Episode 3. And it's the remaid half of Maul's lightsaber, which she snatches from him. However, the way the lightsaber lies nearby throughout the conversation implies that Maul did this intentionally. He wanted to see whether Devon would listen to him or choose to attack. In a sense, he's giving her a choice, although it's not entirely a voluntary one. Devon knows Maul is a Jedi killer and a criminal; she has no reason to listen to him when there's even the slightest chance of escape. In other words, it's probably about as free a choice as Sidious gave Maul.
I also find it interesting how the following scenes, intentionally or not, parallel Savage's first encounter with Maul. Both Devon and Savage find themselves in darkness, the only source of light a red lightsaber, and Maul pursues them. In a sense, they are both unwittingly drawn into the same darkness Maul inhabits. The only difference is that Savage is searching for Maul, while Devon is trying to escape him.
Their duel also reveals something. Devon fights, but Maul? Maul is literally trying to teach her a lesson. Each time, he knocks her down to prove that she can't defeat a Sith, can't defeat the Empire, that she needs Maul. And the fact that he takes the lightsaber back at the end, I think, reveals his current view of Devon. She's not ready yet. She's not ready to descend into the Darkness, literally running back into the Light.
(It's also interesting that this scene emphasizes the saber's second half. Devon looks on with some surprise. Perhaps she didn't know the saber could be separated this way? I don't know.)
What do we have in the end? I think the original half of the lightsaber identifies with Maul himself. It's his lightsaber, the one he trained with, the one he became a Sith with, the one broken just like him. The other half is precisely what he's missing. A connection with someone else. By giving Devon this half (which may or may not be made from Savage's lightsaber), he defines her role for himself. The role of an apprentice, the role of someone who will stand by his side.
Then we have the heartbreaking Episode 8, followed by some changes in Maul. This is probably my favorite genre - a character reflecting and drawing all the wrong conclusions. Still, I think it's remarkable that Maul didn't abandon Master Daki right away. Only when the situation became glaringly hopeless, when it became clear they couldn't defeat Vader either together or separately, and Devon's life was in danger. Even then, he hesitated. And yet, I'm under no illusions. He would have gotten rid of Master Daki one way or another. He'll try to do it with Kanan. Maul's actions and thoughts haven't fundamentally changed, but his attitude toward the situation and himself has.
That's why the next time he offers Devon his half of the lightsaber. Not only is she ready for it, but Maul himself is reconsidering her role. The phrase "I won't let him do this to anyone else" seems to me to be sufficiently clear. Maul no longer sees Devon as an apprentice, as a replacement for Savage, but as himself. Someone with whom he can do everything "right," unlike Sidious. By forcing Devon to experience the loss of her Master, Maul, consciously or not, puts her in his place when he loses his brother.
In other words, if Maul was previously Maul, trying to fill the void left by Savage's loss, now he becomes Sidious for the metaphorical young Maul. And it's terrifying and heartbreaking, because I'm not even sure Maul realizes what he's doing. He certainly understands that losing her Master will push Devon to the Dark Side, but does he understand who he's becoming in this situation? Or does he simply think he can cope better than his own Master?
Because from his perspective, he's doing what no one ever did for him, what Sidious never did for him. He helped Devon when she needed it. He didn't leave her to die, as he was left. From his perspective, he's doing everything right and justified.
I think the most interesting thing here is that Maul, in a twisted sense, is trying to heal. He's trying to accept his past, he's trying to process everything Sidious did to him, he's trying to forgive himself. And he desperately projects all of this onto Devon, believing that if he "helps" her cope, he'll help himself. The only problem is that Maul wants to undo the damage he helped cause… by causing more damage.
I know we all think Master Daki will die, and for good reason; it's a pretty logical plot twist. But what if Devon dies instead? We've often seen Padawans lose their Masters (Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Caleb/Kanan, Lyko), but we rarely see Masters lose their Padawans. I think something interesting could be made out of that.
Although I doubt they'd go for it. They're too invested in Devon's character to just kill her off.
Let's leave the Shadow Lord until Monday. I'm thinking about Hollow Knight x Star Wars again. In particular, how some bosses pair well with SW characters.
In my comic featuring Myla's song, I put Dooku in the Traitor Lord's place because of the lines about "marred by pride" and the daughter (Ventress), but the Soul Master also fits him very well. The Soul Master started out as someone who wanted to find a cure for the Infection, just as Dooku wanted to help rid the Republic of its corruption, only for both to be corrupted by power and their own ambitions.
The Traitor Lord, I think, fits well with Grievous. The Traitor Lord infected himself with to gain greater power, just as Grievous learned some aspects of the Sith teachings. His cybernetic implants can also be seen as an Infection, making him stronger, though, unlike the Traitor Lord, he didn't choose it. Plus, both lost their families.
The Broken Vessel is, of course, Maul. Rejected, broken, and abandoned, so filled with Infection/Darkness that they lose themselves. The childhood they never had. The death that became their only peace.
The False Knight is Savage Opress. Both wield power that isn't truly their (though, like Grievous, Savage didn't choose this power). Both use this power to try to protect those they care about. Both were born as slaves. Both express regret before their deaths that all this power still wasn't enough.
The Sealed Vessel, well, that's, of course, Anakin Skywalker. Once "pure" and "perfect," now only a prisoner, doomed to rot in chains forever. Failed by their own love.
Honestly, right now I'm more worried about not having a clear answer even after the finale. Overall, I'm fine with either scenario, whether Maul and Savage are biological brothers or whether they choose to believe each other as such (my only fic on this topic is built on the premise that it doesn't matter at all).
But I really need an answer. Because if it turns out Maul just convinced himself of all this, I'll disintegrate into atoms.
If you thought I wouldn't analyze the Clone Wars episodes with this new context, you don't know me at all.
The first thing I want to say is that we still don't know Savage's state after being freed from Dooku. He's definitely not the same as he was before the transformation, but his state has changed somehow. He seems more aware. However, we can't say how this has affected his memories of his past life. The series doesn't make any explicit confirmation.
Personally, I'm going to assume he's regained at least some of his memories, even if they're clouded or distorted.
So, does Savage remember Maul? It's hard to say, but I want to highlight this shot:
He doesn't say, "I have no other brothers," he says, "All of my kin were killed." Even before, that line sounded like something with context we weren't privy to. Other relatives besides Feral were implied, possibly including Maul. After all, about 20 years have passed. Savage has no reason to believe he survived. He buried one of his brothers long ago.
This footage, I think, reinforces that point.
Afterwards, he asks, "How will I find him?" but that first "How?" even before sounded to me like an unasked question: "How can he be alive?"
Savage's questions now also take on a different light. The last time he saw Maul was when he was a child. Savage doesn't know what happened to him. He believed him dead. He's trying to figure out if there's anything left of the boy he knew, if he remembers anything from the time Sidious took him. His home? His family?
"Old life." Previously, we might have assumed he was referring to Maul's life as Sidious' apprentice, but now we can add to that his life on Dathomir, which Maul also doesn't remember.
(By the way, do we all agree that Savage was about to physically attack his matriarch at that moment if he thought she would harm Maul?)
Oh, and here's another scene that always raised questions for me. I mean, why did Maul ever so easily accept that Savage was his brother?
But look at this:
You can see that spark of recognition in him when he looks at Savage's face, almost asking, "Is this really you?"
The subsequent episodes delve a little less into the Maul-Savage dynamic, though this scene also seems more heartbreaking now, given how sincerely Savage wanted to restore his brotherhood with Maul after everything that happened.
He doesn't know how much Maul has changed, how Sidious has broken him. So, Maul rejects their brotherhood (which he likely regrets now).
And finally, how much does the scene of Sidious' arrival change now that we know Savage has already met him:
Of course, we don't know if Savage remembers Sidious, or whether he identifies this man as the one who took his brother. The way he moves clearly suggests a threat and a willingness to protect Maul, but if he remembers Sidious… then there must be anger there, too. And does Sidious remember Savage? Will he recognize him as this teen who tried to persuade Maul to stay?
While the new backstory has its flaws, I still like it. Also, we must remember that both Maul and Savage are, in a sense, "unreliable narrators." There are likely many things they don't remember, refuse to remember, or simply refuse to talk about, including Feral. How much younger is he? Has Maul ever seen him? Or perhaps his memories are so jumbled that he's unsure if the little boy in his memories wasn't actually himself? I mean, I can believe that Savage, if he remembered Feral, would have decided never to talk about him. It would have been too much for him. Just like he probably never talked about Maul before.
Are you really telling me Savage lived his whole life feeling guilty for not being able to protect Maul? Only to have Feral die at his own hands?
You know, I've always loved "Savage being Maul's voice of reason" (canon), because it makes their relationship so interesting and complex, but this whole situation? It adds so much more layers. It makes Savage's loyalty so much more... painful.
They lost and found each other, only to Maul lose Savage again.
The way Maul talks to his past self, in that soft, gentle voice??? Have we ever heard anything like that from him?
Maul, raised to believe that pain and suffering make him stronger, hating himself for his weakness, finally (sort of) forgives himself??? Forgiving this boy for being scared, and hurt, and alone? Accepting the fact that Sidious did nothing but break him?
THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL, THEY GIVE US LITTLE MAUL AND SAVAGE!
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY KNEW EACH OTHER FOR SO LONG?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SAVAGE HAD TO WATCH AS SIDIUS TOOK HIS BROTHER? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE THOUGHT MAUL WAS DEAD ALL THIS YEARS? AND THIS MAUL'S LITTLE SCARED "I HAD TO"? DO YOU WANT ME SUFFER?
Savage's haunting of the narrative is mind-blowing. His name hasn't been spoken yet, and yet you can feel his presence in the story — or rather, his painful absence.
And speaking of that short scene — can you imagine Maul returning to Mandalore after everything that happened, literally picking up the pieces? Taking what little remains of his brother? We don't even know what happened to Savage's body — Son of Dathomir begins with the Death Watch rescuing Maul from Sidious, and we can only assume they took care of that (did Rook Kast have to tell Maul about that? Give him those things, knowing full well, as a Mandalorian, what it must mean to him?)
And Maul's lightsaber? Do we have any confirmation that it's made from Savage's? Because I can't think of any other option; it's hard to believe Maul would combine his lightsaber with someone else's. Yes, the other half doesn't look like Savage's, but maybe that's just the frame (since his lightsaber wouldn't fit Maul's configuration or something like that).
No, no, wait. It's obvious that Scorn mirrors Savage to some extent (mostly in appearance, as I don't see any similarities between their personalities yet). By that logic, Icarus mirrors Feral, and that makes sense. First, it's his name — the name of a young man who died a tragic death. Second, it's the fact that his face is always covered, because... Maul has never seen Feral's face.
Their story is ingrained in my brain. The way Kudaai doesn't choose sides, doesn't want to choose, can't, shouldn't, because he is his destiny more than anything else, but at the same time he teaches someone his craft? Not just hands out a weapon, but reveals something more, about the most important thing in his existence, the immediate purpose of his existence? Where does he draw the line between interference and non-interference?
And yet he still distances himself from everything, and Rami can't understand it because they are alive, mortal, and want to save their people, and they can't simply accept that their teacher hasn't really been on their side all this time. And Kudaai knows this and understands it, but he also understands that nothing can bridge the vast gulf between them, between deity and mortal, between one who desires to fight and one who hands weapons to anyone who asks, between a person and what is more like a living idea. And yet he still calls their work good, because their art is the only thing they can truly share.
Was I right in my comic? Are Haro and the Fox somehow connected? The same moon symbol is drawn in the sand as the one used to summon the Fox, and the symbol on Haro's crown, before overthrow, also resembles a moon, but on its side. What's going on between these two?
Another bit about my AU: "Tailgate still tries to be friends with Getaway despite his actions (the latter is absolutely terrified)"
Imagine you tried to kill the worst person in your people's history, but all you get is community service (which hurts your ego and common sense to no end), and the one you planned to use as a sacrificial lamb still hangs out with you and gets on your nerves because, obviously, Primus hates you, but you have to allow it because you have no one else to talk to, being kept away from your accomplice, and your friends no longer want to talk to you.
Me, before I watched "Tales of the Underworld": it would have been nice to see Savage interact with Ventress in AU, where he survives instead Maul :)
Me, after i watched "Tales of the Underworld": i need it. I need them to meet again, i need to see how they both have changed, and at the same time, how their past clings to them. I need The Conflict. I need to understand how Ventress now feels about what she did to Savage. I want to know what Savage will do now that there is no one left who can order him around. I NEED
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