Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels had a number of amazing story arcs and continuing plot elements that further deepened the history, world-building, and overall mythology of the franchise. Sometimes, however, it is too difficult to find all the episodes necessary to gain a clearer understanding of the stories and theme being told. Today, I hope to begin alleviating some of your frustration by providing you with episode guides to story arcs, themes, and character developments, big & small, found in The Clone Wars and Rebels.

These guides are entirely opinionated, so if you think I missed something or would like to share your own thoughts, feel free to message me anytime on Discord or Twitter. Look out for more upcoming guides and let’s hope we can update those existing guides once Resistance premieres.

Episode Guide: Hatred of Maul

A guide to viewing and discussing the return of Maul and his growing rivalry with both Darth Sidious and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Rebirth of Maul

Fans of Star Wars “Legends” (formerly the “Expanded Universe”) or the Knights of the Old Republic video games would have had no qualms with Maul’s survival after the events of The Phantom Menace. Consumed by hatred for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Maul was able to keep himself alive through sheer willpower. He was rescued from his exile by his blood-brother Savage Oppress and brought to Dathomir, home to the Nightsisters, to be restored by Mother Talzin. The newly revitalized Maul then began plotting his revenge on Kenobi, taking Savage as his apprentice and sowing the seeds of his future criminal enterprise. His growing influence across star systems like Mandalore and the criminal underworld, however, caught the eye of his former master Darth Sidious. Seeing Maul as a threat to his position as Master of the Sith Order, Sidious journeyed to Mandalore to remove him from power. Despite having just claimed vengeance on Kenobi by murdering his once-beloved Satine Kryze, Duchess of Mandalore, Maul was swiftly defeated by Palpatine. The storyline concerning Maul is one of the more mature and ominous arcs of the Clone Wars, focusing heavily on forgiveness & vengeance, the power of hatred and love, the prodigal son’s return, inhumanity, and mental disorders caused from parental abuse.

CW 313 – Monster (introduction)

CW 314 – Witches of the Mist

CW 421 – Brothers

CW 422 – Revenge

CW 501 – Revival

CW 514 – Eminence

CW 515 – Shades of Reason

CW 516 – The Lawless

It should be noted that the events of The Lawless do not account for Maul’s final actions during the Clone War. The Dark Horse comic Maul:Son of Dathomir reveals what happened to him following his defeat by Darth Sidious; the interludes of Ahsoka provide minimal details concerning the Siege of Mandalore, during which time Maul had briefly regained control of the system. It is entirely likely that fans will get to see more of Maul in the upcoming Season 7 of the Clone Wars come 2019.

Shades of Maul

Maul’s reintroduction during the Season 2 finale of Rebels was a surprise to all. Having departed from the criminal underworld, Maul made his way to the desolate planet Malachor in search of an ancient Sith weapon with which to strike at the Empire. A chance encounter with the Ghost Crew provided him with the opportunity to not only escape Malachor, but also to nurture a new apprentice in Ezra Bridger. In addition, his new-founded bond with Ezra rekindled Maul’s desire for revenge against Obi-Wan Kenobi. In seducing Ezra with the secrets of the Dark Side, Maul was eventually able to track Kenobi to the sands of Tatooine. There Kenobi struck him down, ending the rivalry and proving Maul to be nothing more than a pathetic shade of the once-ferocious warrior. The way of the warrior, the allure of darkness, pride, the mutilation of oneself, and hope are just some of the many themes found in these episodes.

Rebels 221 – Twilight of the Apprentice pt. I

Rebels 222 – Twilight of the Apprentice pt. II

Rebels 303 – The Holocrons of Fate

Rebels 311 – Visions and Voices

Rebels 320 – Twin Suns

About the Author

Joshua Sosa is a New Yorker, born and raised, who has guest hosted on different podcasts such as Focused Fire Chat – A Destiny Lore Podcast, The Tolkien Road, and also even Echo Base. He also contributes to The Lore Network, a cross-cultural blog under the umbrella of Focused Fire Chat. As a self-proclaimed mythologist-in-training, with a B.A. in Classical Studies from CUNY Hunter College, Josh spends of his time writing notes and ideas pertaining to comparative mythology & storytelling with hopes of one day publishing scholarly essays.

Josh has an interest in a number of different franchises including Star Wars, Tolkien’s Legendarium, J.K. Rowling Wizarding World, A Song of Ice & Fire, Godzilla, Doctor Who, Westworld, and much more. He is both an avid reader and gamer, with a somewhat “home-body” disposition, who enjoys his coffee, Chillhop Lo-Fi jazz music, and some good anime. You can find Josh on Twitter @chattingmyth or on the Random Chatter Discord server @Josh[Demigod]. Feel free to message him whenever you want to discuss myth and storytelling in Star Wars or other forms of storytelling.