#uncle daki

[miss-musings]

Wild guesses for “Maul: Shadow Lord” Eps 5 & 6

As of writing this, we're still a few days away from Eps 5 & 6 of "Maul: Shadow Lord." So, here are some wild predictions based on trailer scenes we haven't seen yet, etc.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS!

Episode 5:

We saw a Star Destroyer arriving over Janix at the end of Ep 4. My guess is that it'll crewed by the usual Imperial officers and stormtroopers, but Marrok will also be aboard.

Marrok, with the help of the other Imperials, will be tasked with 1) verifying that Maul is alive and 2) that he's (still) on Janix.

We'll get the scene of Marrok interrogating Lawson. He'll probably find out -- either through Force powers or just simple interrogation -- that there are Jedi on Janix, and that Maul is interested in Devon, the Jedi apprentice. So, if Marrok finds and confronts Devon, he'll either find more information on Maul or force Maul to reveal himself.

This is when we'll get the trailer scene of Marrok fighting Devon on the train, asking her, "Jedi, where's Maul?"

We will then get the fight scene between Maul and Devon vs. Marrok. Maul and Devon will manage to escape, but Marrok will have confirmed that Maul is not only alive but still on Janix.

The end of the episode will be the trailer scene of Marrok reporting: "My Lord, Maul lives." He's probably making this report to Vader. The end of the episode will be Vader sending reinforcements, led by the Inquisitor from TOTJ. I think his formal title is Eleventh Brother, but I call him Bird Mask.

There's a trailer clip of Bird Mask arriving on Janix (or somewhere), but he seems to be on a shuttle rather than a Star Destroyer. Also, there doesn't seem to be anyone else with him. Considering that Marrok is higher-ranking than Bird Mask, I'd guess Marrok would be exiting the shuttle first if the two were together. So, the fact that Bird Mask is seemingly by himself when he arrives on Janix points to the idea that they arrive separately. Probably Marrok first, since we see him on the train fight with Maul and Devon, and then Bird Mask later.

Side note, I know in the trailer, we have an audio clip of Maul telling Devon, "Let us have our revenge," over a clip of her looking at him while they're on the train.

I don't think the dialogue is from that scene. I think it's from later in the series. (More on that in a bit.)

Episode 6:

This episode will serve as a climax / pivot point in MSL Season 1, just like "The Acolyte" 's Episode 5 with the big Jedi vs. Qimir fight sequence. This episode will ultimately raise the stakes and showcase exactly what the full force of the Empire and the Inquisitors are capable of.

In the trailers, we see that there's going to be this big action set-piece on a bridge, involving stormtroopers, Inquisitors, Maul's mercenaries and the Jedi. Maybe the police are involved too, but I haven't noticed any of them in the clips of the bridge fight.

This is a total guess, but my theory right now is that the bridge scene happens because the Jedi decide to flee the planet and Maul offers them a ride. The entire group decide to get to a spaceport or something, but the way is blocked by the Inquisitors and their forces.

I'm pretty sure most MSL fans expect Master Daki to die at some point in Season 1. This episode seems the most likely. We need enough time for Devon to start falling to the Dark Side before the season finale, where she will likely formally become Maul's apprentice.

My theory going into the first few episodes was that Devon was going to have to kill Master Daki to prove herself to Maul, just like Palpatine told Dooku to kill Yaddle in TOTJ.

However, other people pointed out that it makes more sense if the Inquisitors/Empire kill Daki and Devon joins up with Maul to seek revenge.

Thinking about it, the latter is more probable.

If it was completely up to me, I'd combine the two theories: Master Daki would seemingly die in the bridge fight but Episode 6 would end with the audience finding out he's still alive. He'd slowly recover over the next 3-4 episodes, while Devon believes him dead and teams up with Maul to get revenge on the Empire. Then, by Episode 10, she's been fully corrupted to the point that -- after finding out Daki is still alive -- she chooses to kill him to cement herself as a Dark Side user.

But, while I don't think that will actually happen, I do think Master Daki will die in Episode 6, likely in the bridge fight.

Either he'll be killed by the Inquisitors/stormtroopers, or he'll be killed by Maul who will blame his death on the Empire. The former seems more likely because I think they're keeping Maul just sympathetic enough in this show that the audience kinda roots for him.

Ultimately, Daki will die in Episode 6 and it'll end with Maul offering to train/help Devon: "Let us have our revenge." And she will choose to join him, but she'll be clear that their alliance is only temporary and because of their shared goals and common enemy.

But of course by Episode 10, she will probably fully fall to the Dark Side.

Anyway, these are all guesses. I could be completely wrong about some or all of this. Feel free to share your thoughts and theories for Episodes 5 & 6 below!

[miss-musings]

My wild guesses for “Maul: Shadow Lord” Episodes 7 & 8

Since this worked out so well for me last time (and I say that mostly sarcastically), I figured I'd keep it going for the next batch of episodes that are set to drop in a few days.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW!

Episode 7

Admittedly, I was wrong about a lot of elements in Episodes 5 and 6. Many of the things I thought would happen in Ep 5 ended up happening in Ep 6, because Ep 5 was mostly setup.

I think Episode 7 will be similar. I'll get into it more below with my Ep 8 predictions, but I think Episodes 8-10 are just gonna be nonstop drama and craziness. So, to get everything ready and everybody in the right positions to kick all that off, I think Ep 7 will be mostly setup.

The only thing I'm positive about is that the Eleventh Brother (AKA Bird Mask) will show up, after Marrok called Vader (?) at the end of Ep 6. Vader or someone is sending reinforcements, and Bird Mask is part of/leading that.

I'm very certain that Devon & Daki, Rylee & Lawson will all be looking for each other next episode. That'll be particularly interesting, given that Devon and Rylee were with Maul the last time we saw them. He'll probably offer to bring them to his new hideout. I'm not sure whether they will, considering that'll make it harder for Daki and Lawson to find them. Devon will probably insist they go looking for their father (figure)s, much to Maul's chagrin, considering he revealed himself to the Inquisitor to save her and she doesn't appear very grateful for that.

It's possible that Maul will instead feel compelled to go with them to look for Daki and Lawson, considering they all have a common goal in fleeing the Empire.

Once the heroes (and maybe Maul is there too, IDK) reunite, they will naturally want to get out of the city. I think they'll head for the ruins that Daki mentioned in Ep 5, which could be where the Bridge Fight is that we see in the trailers.

Another reason I think Ep 7 will be all or mostly setup with few if any action set-pieces, is that we have so many players on the board right now, and getting everyone into position is going to take up a decent amount of screentime.

We've got: the two Jedi, Lawson and his son, Maul, his mercenaries (who seem like they might betray or leave him in a future episode), Two Boots and the remaining police officers, the Inquisitors, Lt. Blake and other Imperial forces on the planet. If we give everyone like ~5 of screentime to get them into position for Ep 8, that's a full episode right there.

So, anyway, no major guesses for Ep 7. (Watch me be completely wrong.)

Episode 8

I'm guessing that because Ep 7 is all or mostly setup, with few if any action set-pieces, Ep 8 is going to be all action, basically one long battle.

Like I said, I think many of the characters will head for the ruins outside the city. This is where the Bridge Fight will take place.

One of the trailers had a clip of Devon and Daki facing off against Marrok and Bird Mask. It seemed to be daytime. However, most of the bridge fight scenes in the trailers are in the late evening/dusk/night.

So, my guess is that the Bridge Fight will start in the late afternoon and continue throughout the evening, as more forces arrive and the tide of battle turns or forces stall.

Now, we know that Devon, Daki and Maul are all in this location -- the ruins or wherever -- during the Bridge Fight. I have no idea whether Lawson and/or Rylee are there too. I would guess so, even though we don't see them in any of the clips. Maul's mercenaries -- or at least the Nightbrothers -- are also there, because we get a clip of them shooting an Imperial ship.

From the trailer clips, we know that there are at least two more action set-pieces in Season 1. There's one where Maul is fighting the two Inquisitors at the same time on a metal boardwalk-type thing in a dark, rocky terrain. It's possible it's in or around his new hideout, but I'm not certain. This also seems to be the same location where he throws his lightsaber and bisects three stormtroopers.

There's also the clip of him throwing his lightsaber at the Imperial walker, which seems to be in some kind of hangar or industrial facility.

My guess is that these fight scenes will be in Episodes 9 and/or 10. I think we only have clips of Maul fighting in the rocky terrain -- no one else, not Devon, Daki or even any of Maul's mercenaries. We've also gotten fewer clips of these fights, suggesting they're later in the season and TPTB don't want to give away too much.

The most and longest clips we've gotten were from episodes earlier in the season. So, it stands to reason that, because we have more clips of the Bridge Fight than the other two remaining fight scenes, that the Bridge Fight occurs earlier. It's also the last clip we have of Daki that isn't accounted for.

OK, so any other predictions for Ep 8?

As I said in my Ep 5&6 predictions, I do think Daki will die in the Bridge Fight, likely to one of the Inquisitors.

It would drive Devon's character development and prove a pivotal moment for her: whether she will give into hate and join Maul to seek revenge, or whether she will adhere to the Jedi code as Daki taught her.

I think it's also possible that Maul's mercenaries will fracture even more. Maybe they will abandon him completely at this point, or maybe that'll be in the two-part finale.

If I were writing it, I'd have Maul's Nightbrothers either die or get injured in the Bridge Fight. Between this and all the other bullshit, the Mandalorians abandon him. Then, Maul is essentially left with no one. However, Daki dies and Devon decides to seek revenge, teaming up with him to take on the Inquisitors.

Thus, Maul would finally have his long-awaited apprentice, but everyone else will have abandoned him and his criminal empire will be in jeopardy (again).

However, as YouTuber Preston Jacobs always says, "I'm probably wrong about half of this." And that's true of this entire post. As you all saw, last time, I was like 30% right, and that's being generous. LOL

So, we will have to wait until Monday to find out whether any of my predictions were correct! Thanks for reading and may the Force be with you! :)