''I had no intention of fighting him but that seems inevitable now.''
Note: This episode can be seen now on Disney XD's app and WatchDisneyXD prior to its airing on Disney XD. Full spoilers for the episode follow.
There was much to love in “Twin Suns” but also a couple of notable issues, so let me get those issues out of the way and then get to the great stuff.
Rebels is very different from The Clone Wars in how it’s structured, in that it always includes at least some of the core six characters (yes, you too Chopper!) the show began with. You could say the “leads” in The Clone Wars were Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, but there were many episodes none of that trio appeared in (or barely did) – installments focusing on characters like Mace Windu, Yoda, Padme, Asajj Ventress, Jar Jar (sigh) or some Clone Trooper grunts. But with Rebels we pretty much always have our perspective through one of the six Ghost crewmembers. So I get the inclination to have Ezra be somewhat present for this story… but it feels like he is too center stage up until the end, and what he sees raises some notable questions.
Why doesn’t Ezra tell everyone Obi-Wan Kenobi is alive? I assumed Obi-Wan would ask Ezra not to, but he doesn’t, so now it makes Ezra’s silence on the subject very odd. I did like learning that Bail Organa specifically told everyone that Obi-Wan was dead, so perhaps Ezra wants to talk to him first? If a future episode depicts that, it’ll help. But to not have Ezra and Obi-Wan speak about the importance of keeping his status a secret was odd.
There are dramatic reasons that I actually really like how short the Obi-Wan/Maul fight is (more on that below), but given how it played out, I wish the fight hadn't been pushed in the lead-up to this episode. In retrospect, it would have been cool if we never saw Obi-Wan in any ads or trailers and just had the anticipation of likely seeing him. Instead, there was a lot of “They’re gonna have an epic lightsaber fight!” hype, when what we got was a UFC style “Oh wow, it’s already over” moment. I know that's more of an issue of how the episode was promoted, but it's hard to set aside watching it.
And lastly on the complaint front, it was too vague how Maul was actually killed. I watched the moment when Obi-Wan slashes through his saber several times, and I get that the idea is he also slashes down through Maul himself. But you don’t really feel that. I know Rebels can’t include the same visceral visuals as Clone Wars, but there have been other lightsaber deaths on this show that were more clear than this, as far as the death blow is concerned.
So that was a good deal of complaining, and yet I can also say I loved this episode!
The performances by Sam Witwer and Stephen Stanton were tremendous. This was an incredibly important episode for two characters of great significance in the entire Star Wars saga and both actors were terrific at voicing this fateful final meeting between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Witwer, who’s been so great since he took on this role, showed a Maul who was very close to stepping off the precipice into the same madness we found him in on The Clone Wars initially. His need to face his old enemy also seemed mixed with an understanding that this could indeed be his own end, which Witwer portrayed so well – giving the character a lot of depth and shades one never would have expected, particularly in his touching final moments.
Stanton in the meantime did an incredible job channeling Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was important to show this transition – that he was now pretty much the original 1977 Obi-Wan and not the prequel era/Clone Wars incarnation – and Stanton was amazing in this regard. Listening to him, it truly felt like this was the "Old Ben" who Luke knew on Tatooine and who we met onscreen 40 years ago. It made it especially cool to then see him confront Maul, since it truly bridged the gap from The Phantom Menace version of these characters to A New Hope.
There were some excellent touches done here with Obi-Wan, even in his limited screen time. I absolutely loved how when he ignites his lightsaber, he first makes a prequel era/Ewan McGregor pose, pointing the saber and his two fingers forward like he did when he fought Grievous… and then changes his pose into a less flashy, more Alec Guinness-type style. It’s like for a moment he was going to try and fight like he used to, but then realizes “No, I’m different now.” It both gives us a character choice/change to show the transition into the slower lightsaber fight style of the original trilogy and also sets the stage for him beating Maul so quickly. This is an Obi-Wan who is not looking to have a prolonged fight but simply end things as efficiently as he can.
So yes, let’s get back to that short fight. There’s a “Obi-Wan vs. Maul!!” fan part of me that wishes it were longer and the hype for this episode fueled that. But I also think there’s something cool about the idea that at this point, Maul just can’t take Obi-Wan. Maul’s lost his edge (and likely partially wants to die) and Obi-Wan is focused and determined in a much bigger way. I do feel maybe the fight could have lasted slightly longer just to more vividly depict the contrast between the flashy “all-offense” Maul and the methodical defense, defense, strike style of Obi-Wan – which I know sounds contradictory. I wanted the flight to last a bit longer to better show why it had to be a short fight, if that makes sense.
But wow on those final moments. The interaction between Maul and Obi-Wan as Maul died was perfect. Obi-Wan clearly wasn’t going to allow Maul to endanger Luke when Maul began getting towards the “hiding someone” truth – and let’s not forget this is the guy who killed both Qui-Gon and Satine – but Obi-Wan won’t embrace the hate. That’s the path towards the Sith. You get the sense he feels the pain coursing through his old enemy and feels sympathy towards him, and having him hold him as he died was such a great image.
As for Maul, it was easy to feel some sadness there for him and the road he’d taken that led him to this but his final words were perfect, as far as not forgetting who he is. He and Obi-Wan connect discussing the idea of Luke as the true Chosen One, and yet Maul believes Luke will “avenge” them – he’s espousing a Sith ideal until the end. It was a great way to both add more depth to Maul’s death and yet not have him magically redeemed and regretful of all his choices in a way that wouldn’t feel genuine.
Moving back to Ezra a little bit, I will say that there were some wonderful sequences he was involved in. The Sandpeople attack was a cool and eerie scene and the visual of Ezra, seemingly at his lowest point (with poor Chopper shut down next to him), sitting with his head down in the sand, was truly evocative. This episode – written by Dave Filoni and Henry Gilroy and directed by Filoni – masterfully brought us back to the very familiar visuals of Tatooine and both gave us purposeful callbacks, such as Ezra and Chopper channeling Threepio and Artoo, and also some beautiful new imagery that added to what we knew of the planet. I loved the dusk sky as Ezra landed his ship, while those stars shining behind Obi-Wan and Maul as Maul died looked spectacular.
As for the very last scene, what Star Wars fan wouldn’t be moved by that? Showing Luke in the way they did – far off, in the shadows – was exactly the right approach. His story hasn’t truly begun and Obi-Wan is just observing until the time is right.
This was another standout episode for composer Kevin Kiner, who deftly blended a lot of familiar Star Wars music (loved hearing Maul's little musical/hissing motif from Phantom Menace one last time!) with some powerful new compositions - while having the Force Theme play over the closing credits was the perfect way to end this story.
The Verdict
“Twin Suns” had a lot of pressure on it to deliver and for the most part it did. There were some beats that felt a bit off and mileage will vary on a much-hyped and anticipated lightsaber fight that was one of the quickest ever, but the characterization of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul here was wonderful. Maul had to go. It would have felt like a cheat if he’d somehow survived this, as Rebels needs to begin cleaning house on these powerful Force wielders with A New Hope getting ever closer in the timeline. And while it would have been cool to have a longer fight between Maul and Obi-Wan, there was a point to it being a short fight - and ultimately the final moments between these two old enemies were strong and emotional, delivering where it counted.
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