Darth Maul Returns? Star Wars Clone Wars 4.21 'Brothers' Reviewed!

rating: 5

Cut in half with a lightsaber. Instant death, right? Not for the Sith. Friday night on The Cartoon Network finally saw the return of The Phantom Menace character everybody loves no matter their feeling on the first prequel episode - Darth Maul. So, was the build up that has been brewing since our first hint of the fallen Sith apprentice being alive in The Clone Wars animated series last year worth the hype? Well for this reviewer, yes, it really was.

For me, one of the few who not only likes but loves Phantom Menace (as well as the other prequels) the return of Darth Maul, or at least the hint at it when his face appeared inside Mother Talzin's crystal ball in the previous season of Clone Wars was one of the finest teasers TV has thrown at me in quite some time. You see, I like the Clone Wars animated series and watch it every week but for all of its scale and expansion of the Star Wars universe the show will always be held back due to the fact we know what happens after all of its events. Anakin, Obi-Wan and whoever else is in Revenge of the Sith won't die (though Obi-Wan did a couple of episodes back - but surprise, surprise it was a trick). There aren't going to be any mad twists and if there are, the show has a limited number of episodes to rectify them to get everything back on track with the Star Wars Saga. Don't get me wrong, when the show is on form it's brilliant but nothing has been as exciting as the prospect of seeing Darth Maul again. So for those who don't know, last season introduced a Dathomirian Zabrak Nightbrother who was named Savage Opress. Essentially he's the same species as Maul (tattoos, horns the whole deal but he's more of an orange than red in colour). With a very dark origin story that involved Asajj Ventress trying to screw over Count Dooku and some dark magic from the Nightsisters (including creepy witch leader Mother Talzin), Savage ended up kicked out of the bad guy club and sent on a quest to find his assumed dead and rightfully celebrated as king of the badasses brother Darth Maul. Lucasfilm then started releasing images to promote the all new season four of the Clone Wars with some awesome designs for our Mauly but up until this episode we've not seen him below the waist, adding even more intrigue to the big question; 'How the hell is Maul alive, he got cut in half?" Over the last few weeks we've been inundated with trailers (offering glimpses of robot legs on Maul) as well as featurettes showing chosen actor Sam Witwer to voice Mauly. Anyway, that's the build up and after a couple of very strong weeks for the show we're finally here, the first of the two part return of Darth Maul (thinking about it, I don't even know if we should call him 'Darth' any more). From the opening red (usually yellow) Clone Wars logo kicking off the episode this felt like an event (and if like me, you're a Star Wars fan, you know a 'Star Wars' event is like a normal event but it makes normal events feel like non-events). From Count Dooku's foreboding monologue claiming "Something is rising...something Sinister" we're off and running. The pace on this episode never sits still and by the time we realise we're back with Savage (voiced by Clancy Brown by the way), we are already in and out of a Dexter's Diner type location and have Asajj and Anakin separately sensing a disturbance. Savage is using his mystical necklace to follow clues to his brother's whereabouts and heading to the junkfields on a planet covered in burning scrap and fire breathing mechanical monsters we soon realise Maul could very well be on this hellish nightmare of a planet. Over the past season, the quality of the animation in Clone Wars has grown substantially. New models for characters, improvements on an already impressive artistic approach to locations and the chasm between TV shows and movies shrinking with this kids TV show going to great lengths to stand alongside the visuals in the Star Wars movie saga every single week. It's impressive stuff and the epic cinematic feel was thoroughly felt here. Anyway, with Savage wandering the wreckage of the junk planet and his charm no longer leading the way like it was supposed to, we meet a snake, Morley (who is quite literally a talking snake sounding a lot like Mr. Ping from the Kung Fu Panda flicks) and he offers to help. With a dusty and simply awesome fight with the local junkers to show of Savage's saber skills I was beginning to feel like Maul's reveal would be a snippet before the credits roll as this 22 minute episode was disapearing fast but no, the Clone Wars guys decide to be nice and with Savage venturing beneath the planet's surface we finally head towards meeting Darth Maul again. ***For the spoiler sensitive among you, this is probably the time to stop reading as I will be talking about the Maul reveal in detail***As first we get brief glimpses, clacking legs, shadows and sounds. Savage keeps asking to to the darkness "Is that you brother?" This is very much a tension builder and its very effective. Flashes of features, like his grown out and broken horns followed next and a realisation that this six legged creature attacking Savage is in fact Darth Maul. Now this whole "spider Maul" thing has been hinted at for quite a while and I for one didn't like the idea of this at all. Sure he's lost his legs but we've seen an acceptable two legged part man, part machine Maul within the expanded universe before so insect legs Maul felt like it would be silly. This is not the case at all. In fact how this has been handled on Clone Wars is fantastic. We discover that Maul is absolutely insane. More insane than Gollum, more insane than The Joker and very much in tune with a Shakespearian approach to insanity. This, like many other darker moments in Clone Wars is not made for children's sensibilities, this is purely an adult depiction of madness and it's absolutely manic. Back to the insect legs, the erratic movements these legs provide and the feeling this Maul/insect combo is something that's not been medically carried out but something brutal and horrific with the twisted metal of the limbs and the ragged straps around Maul's waist all making him look like a Frankenstein's monster, or worse adds something extremely creepy to where Maul is at both physically and mentally. The way the legs keep collapsing on themselves depicts this broken character perfectly and there is something extremely effective about how his body reaches out beyond the legs as he hangs over the flames of the fire in his ravaged den spouting manic words to the walls or the voices in his head. Maul is clearly in pain, he's angry, he's dismissive of his brother and his usually silent character is replaced by anger, depression and regret. "Always remember I am fear, always remember I am hunter, always remember I am filth, always remember I am nothing!" Darth Maul's return is one full of intrigue and we are given very little in regards to what has happened since his slice up in Menace. There is a mention he's been here for 'years and years" and in amongst his ranting we discover he's "broken his chains" and that he hates and wanted revenge on the Jedi. All of this is brilliant and adds an eeriness to this character's return. This is by far my favourite episode of the season and more than likely the entire run of Clone Wars so far. I have always loved Maul and this almost surreal approach to his return has me on board. The Clone Wars writers and creators haven't done the obvious thing with this beloved character they've brought something new to the table and it's got me yearning for more but it's the closing scenes where Yoda senses the fallen Sith's return and informs Obi Wan Kenobi that teases the next episode (the last of the season) the most. Obi Wan vs. Maul round two looks to be upon us and I have to say I'm really freakin' excited about this one.