This episode was an explosive, but also surprisingly complex ending to the arc. I find the throne room scene to be especially fascinating. In it, Maul postures and Obi-wan helplessly struggles to retain his nobility. All the while, Satine suffers while the audience wonders if Maul is going to end her life. He does and Obi-wan fails yet again. Previously, he failed to help protect his master. He also failed to the kill the man who destroyed his master (which leads to this scene where the love of his life dies).
Later, he will find that he could not keep the boy he raised from turning to the Dark Side. Yet, despite these defeats, you can’t really view Obi-wan as pathetic character. In the end, he always seems to retain his sense of purpose and his faith in his ideals. Case in point is his reaction to Maul during this scene. Obi-wan controls his un-Jedi-like fear and anger and finds a way to earnestly empathize with his tormentor’s cruel life. That takes strength and intelligence.
Overall, Obi-wan's struggles reminds me of the proverb from
Ghosts of Mortis:: “He who seeks to control fate shall never find peace." Importantly, Obi-wan accepts his failings. While this doesn’t lead to peace, it does allow him to counterbalance his defeats. I suppose it’s analogous to his fate in Episode 4. He willingly accepts defeat to Vader. In turn, the loss of his life allows him to serve a higher purpose.
Consequently, I like that Obi-wan modifies Satine’s “always” for his famous line to Luke. It’s tragic origin gives an already weighty quote further depth.
Regarding Maul, his defeat seems fitting. His humiliating loss reasserts Sidious as the meanest predator in the galaxy and, with his brother’s death, gives Maul another tragic layer. I did like Maul’s blubbering at the end. When a bully gets the tables turned on him, they sometimes turn into an embarrassing mess (
for example). Plus, it gives Sidious a reference for his fake defeat at the hands of Mace. Overall, I think Mual’s future purpose will have to do with the loose end of Ventress and Anakin’s move toward the Darkside.
Regarding Mandalore, I have a feeling that this is the last time that the series will pay a visit to the planet. If true, it won’t be a total loss. I’m sure that Disney is intelligent enough to resurrect Death Watch in some capacity. Heck, the back-story behind one of the many cubist reliefs would make for an interesting standalone film.
CommanderBly wrote:
It was cool how they revealed Bo to be Satine's sister. I really like that contrast between the two.
I like this too. Mandalore’s dual nature is overtly symbolic of man’s ability to be both warlike and peaceful. The kinship between Satine and Katan takes that analogy to a more intimate level.
The_Somnambulist wrote:
Also, I thought Obi-Wan's use of the crimson Death Watch armor was reminiscent of a Shadows of the Empire toy I've seen of Luke donning similarly colored armor. For some reason, I get a strange thrill seeing familiar characters in unfamiliar duds.
It’s
this figure:
royalguard96 wrote:
And Hasbro needs to make a Darth Sidious figure as it appeared in that episode. Like, now. I'd buy two.
Since Hasbro has released Clone Wars Sidious and a Death Watch warrior in the past, you would think that they would reissue repainted figures with this year’s first wave. For some reason, it’s not happening.
UPDATE: You can watch video of today's “Google Hangout” with Dave Filoni, Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, and Sam Witwer over at the
Star Wars You Tube channel. They discuss this arc in depth, show a scene from the next episode, and repeatedly emphasize how huge-o the next four episodes will be regarding Ahsoka’s fate.
