Tomorrow we get the showdown this season has been teasing all year… Obi-wan vs Maul II: The Duel in the Dune Sea. The question is what happens. Will Obi-wan kill Maul (again), will Ezra deal the final blow, or will Maul walk/run away? Also will we see Luke? Let’s speculate.
The episode “The Holocrons of Fate” is where the journey to this confrontation began on Rebels. Ezra was searching for a way to destroy the Sith and Maul was presumably searching for his nemesis Obi-Wan. The fact that both are on the same planet is just luck, or the ways of the Force, depending on what you believe. So now Maul and Ezra are on the way to Tatooine and we will see what happens when they confront what they are searching for. While the big story is Maul vs Obi-wan I am interested to see how they handle Luke and Ezra. I would be surprised if Luke has any lines in the show with Ezra, Obi-wan or Maul however I do think we will see him. Ezra will be drawn to him like Maul and Qui-gon were drawn to Anakin. This will happen towards the end of the episode and it will be when Ezra meets Obi-wan. Obi-wan will check on Luke after the duel and meet Ezra.
With that said I am pretty much saying Ezra will have nothing to do with battle between Obi-wan and Maul. I believe their duel will be just the two of them with no outside interference. From the beginning, Maul will be clear that this time it’s to the death. Four times Kenobi and Maul have met and fought and twice Maul had the chance to kill him in TCW and didn’t, instead wanting Obi-wan to suffer. He won’t make that mistake again. Maul and Savage Opress in “TCW :Revenge” were able to capture Obi-wan with plans to torture him and in “The Lawless” Maul killed Satine and captured Obi-wan again to torture him. They both want the other dead, except maybe Obi Wan will stick to the Jedi way and not seek revenge, only defense. Either way, I expect this to be a fight to the death. Since we know that Obi-wan lives, don’t expect Maul to walk away from this. I expect that unlike their duel in The Phantom Menace Obi-wan won’t be cutting him in half, he will instead kill Maul like Maul killed Qui-gon, lightsaber through the heart. Imagine the poetic justice.
What I find interesting is this may not have ever happened if the original plan for the end of Season 2 had been used. Vader would have fought and destroyed Maul, giving fans the fanboy fight for all ages. If you want an idea of how that would go check the comic Resurrection, where the Spirits of the Darkside brought Maul back to life and Vader fought him. The comic was rendered non-canonical when TCW brought Maul back but its still a good read. Fortunately Filoni and crew decided against it for multiple reasons, the episode was too crowded with it, the emotional impact was Vader vs Ashoka, and this quote
You always felt Obi-Wan had this great track record of taking out a Sith Lord in the past… We wondered, [by bringing back Maul], did we rob him of what he was able to accomplish?”- Dave Filoni to io9.com
That quote alone confirms to me that in the end Obi-wan destroys Maul, again. Nevertheless, if Maul does make it out alive, they would have the opportunity to have the Vader vs Maul fight on the screen for Season 4. Not likely though, as my bets are on Maul meeting his end.
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