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Star Wars Movies, Videos, TV, Books => Star Wars Rebels => Topic started by: bombarta on March 18, 2017, 05:12:47 AM
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Just watched the latest episode and maul finally comes face to face with kenobi again.
I was fully set on a full on battle of wits against insanity but, instead all I got was a samurai 2 second 3 move kill.
So all the build up led to that!
What a croc. I'm getting sick of feloni and Disney using up and spitting out characters as though their history means nothing. We didn't get a decent fight with Ahsoka and Vader plus they won't even tell us if she's dead or not. I suspect they are waiting for viewing figures to drop then they will bring her back.
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I thought is was disappointing. Maul didn't move the story as much as he could have this season. The fight was far from epic. The only thing is showed is that old Ben is a bad xxx. Ezra and Kenobi'sinteraction was somewhat lacking, and didn't leave anything for future connections. I was expecting a lot more from this episode.
They did have a close up of Ben's weathered episode 4 saber, and that was cool.
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It's time for the Rebels series to go. Other than the Ahsoka arc, the whole series is hasn't really amounted to much of substance. Most interesting parts has been when they recycle the main SW characters or stuff: Vader, Yoda, Obi Wan and Ahsoka. Instead of focusing on a band of rebels, they should have done entire whole Rebellion, like the Clone Wars. Ezra, Kanan, and company could have been one of arcs in the story.
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I just finished watching it and was let down by how brief the fight was. Wish they hadn't built it up so much, it didn't live up to the hype
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Another weak episode, had moments of being enjoyable and poignant but that strike to end Maul was pathetic and broke my ability to suspend disbelief.
Also finally decided I absolutely despise the skinny Rebels lightsaber blades.
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I feel like the episode had a lot of potential that went to waste. I was hoping for more of a special moment between Ezra and Obi-Wan, but it was really rushed through with Ezra hardly maturing at all. It was very overhyped and a big let down. Heck, I was more entertained by the last episode with Ap-5 and Chopper. Ending was nice though, playing the Force theme through the credits.
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I loved it. But maybe thats because I NEVER [as best I can avoid them] watch trailers, ads or read anything with 'spoilers' precisely so that I don't get disappointed by "hype". So I saw the episode with 'fresh eyes' and NO 'expectations'.
I can see how someone buoyed by watching "hype" to expect an 'epic battle' might have been disappointed it was 'too quick' but actually it made perfect sense it was over fast given Kenobi's position as THE "Master Of Soresu" which he wasnt in their first encounter made his defence PERFECT and that Maul clearly hadnt learned ANYthing since the Theed reactor room meant he immediately repeated his mistakes with the predictable and quick result - he even fell for the same 'slice the saberstaff in half through the middle' tactic that he should have been expecting. Kenobi should have been just as disappointed in Maul as some of you are in the fight; THIS was the once-[phantom]menacing Sith Lord who killed QGJ? Oh how the once-mighty had fallen eh?
The dialogue in that scene though was just as awesome as the fight wasn't [yes Virginia and Hollyweird writers there is a wordy-claus lol cuz dialogue actually matters its not ALL about 'action' and 'splosions' the REASONS for the action and splosions do count with some of us]. Especially Maul's last words - that was just perfect [did Maul foresee Kenobi's fate at the moment of his own? kinda sounds like it eh?] and gave me chills as did the 'glimpse' of 'the Chosen One' at the Lars homestead. Kinda nice to see that age old fanboy question of which Skywalker was the really the Chosen One finally given an official 'canon' answer in this episode.
The rest of the episode may not have been as good as that scene but still two thumbs wayyyyy up for this episode.
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I don't watch Rebels but I kept seeing this advertised all over the internet. As far as I'm concerned Maul died when he was cut in half at the end of TPM. End of story. I honestly don't see what any of the hype was for the character in the first place.
I thought Rebels was supposed to be centered on characters and situations that had more to do with the formation of the Rebel Alliance, much like Rogue One did. Instead it's just Clone Wars 3.0 with all kinds of Jedi/ Force adepts who somehow escaped Order 66 or had no appearances in any of the movies.
I don't get it. To each their own I guess, but I just don't see the appeal for anything Dave Filoni has done thus far.
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Wow. Ben Kenobi is one calm and controlled badass. The swiftness that he ended Maul was very disappointing, but seeing as he was pretty much the same age as he was when he died on the Death Star and seeing his saber abilities against the wrecking ball Maul... It gives new weight to his sacrafice on the Death Star. His powers were not "weak" as Vader mentioned. Judging by his performance in this latest Rebels episode he could've ended Vader (as he beat him before). He merely was his calm, calculating self and waited for Luke to witness him get murdered by Vader, so Luke would then continue on the path to "cut the head off the snake" by taking out the Emperor.
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I don't think OWK was actually murdered by Vader more like he and Yoda had "learned the secret of immortality" during their exiles from the force-ghost of QGJ so that when Vader was about to land the death-blow he simply chose that moment to become "One with the Force" which is why the robes fell empty. That could also along with his mastery of Soresu explain why OWK was "one calm and controlled bad***" when facing Maul - unlike when they first met older and wiser Ben knew that he could become One with the Force at any moment of his choosing so just as when facing Vader there was nothing for him to fear from Maul eh? Even less reason to fear really because also since their first meeting he'd used his Soresu mastery to defeat General Grievous' FOUR lightsaber blades so Maul's double-bladed saberstaff was no longer as intimidating as it might have seemed to young Obi. The only real concern and the one moment of fear we saw in Old Ben was when Maul deduced the nature of why [and what] Ben was hiding...in that moment perhaps he feared for Luke, but not for himself. That moment of fear lead to a moment of anger, and that anger gave him FOCUS.
So the fearlessness of 'immortality' + the skill of "perfect defence" Soresu mastery already proven against multiple saber-blades + the focus of his purpose [protecting Luke] = OWK being invincible in that duel - Maul never stood a chance.
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I liked the fact that OWK wasted Maul quick... I also do not ever watch previews or read spoiler articles and had nothing of any expectations going in. So too me it shows just how powerful he had become in his solitude.
What bothered me the most is how Disney keeps trying to distance themselves from the prequels so much that they even went as far to have OWK confirm to Maul that Luke was the chosen one?
Lucas himself THE GUY WHO WROTE THE SHOW says that Anakin was in fact the chosen one and he (Anakin) destroyed the Sith. I grew up with the original series was 20 years old when the prequels came out and I LOVE every Star Wars movie.... yes the originals were better in story acting and for other reasons as well but there's also things about the prequels I like better it's all one story as far as I'm concerned and if Disney will insist on straying too far from this "single" story they might ruin it for me? (NEVER TOTALLY) But in my opinion Episode 7 was my least favorite episode and Rogue One could've and should've been WAY better too.
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Well Anakin was most definitely the chosen one and he did as the profficy fortold, he did bring balance to the force by killing all the jedi and then killed the last sith lord. The force was out of balance because there was too many jedi the balance needs to be even with light and dark.
The reason I disliked the way maul died is because it was built up through the whole season then he's just killed like a stand red shirt or an extra. I got the feeling Filoni didn't want to do it but had his hand forced. I actually watched it again the other day and the whole episode was a let down. Maul was nasty and vindictive and full of rage, all of those things were gone. I find a lot of the writing decisions in Rebels to be kind of annoying.
Ep7 has grown on me now I've seen it half a dozen times.
But Rogue one urrrrg only good thing in that is the droid and the blind guy.
That was ruined from the start, no stat wars theme and no scroll, seems like the director was trying and failing to leave her mark! Bad decision.
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I enjoyed the fight because:
1. Thats how long most fights with a sword that can cut through (pretty much) anything would actually last between 2 masters.
2. Obi-wan baited Maul through his stances and into the Qui-gon trap, which was just perfect.
As for the Chosen One stuff, I honestly read it as Obi-wan lying to Maul about Luke to try and bring him some comfort in his dying moments. The guy is about to kick the bucket, is he truly going to say no or is he going to say yes and tell a white lie so that Maul finds some kind of peace.
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100% agree with you Iset, Ben did bait him, almost deliberately testing if Maul had learned anything since the Battle of Theed. I thought the ending was rather poetic, and definitely had a very Way of the Samurai feel to it. Coulda done without Ezra's part in it all, and woulda rather had a standalone film, like a spaghetti western with bounty hunters a la The Good, the Bad & the Ugly/Man With No Name: Kenobi as the Man with no Name and Maul as the boss bandÃto, but I am happy to see a proper end to the 'phantom menace' known as Maul.
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I was thinking about this again this morning and I realised why I didn't like it.
The fact is we have grown up and seen with every fight in every film and every tv series that lightsaber fights are never quick and simple affairs. They are a spectacle to behold and yet here we have 2 of the best protagonist's of all the SW universe and they fobbed it off so lightly.
Maul is a skilled and seasoned warrior and has always got the best of obi wan in the past, with only sheer dumb luck saving obi wan in the past encounters.
Realising this and then hearing Filoni at SW celebration say that lightsaber battles are expensive to animate you then realise why it was kept short.
So with that said we have been spoilt for 40 years and I guess that just cuts against the grain especially when most SW fans wanted it to be the fight to end all fights, the one we'd all be hankering for since the clone wars finished.
They did the the same with the vader/ahsoka fight too, why didn't we see what happened in there? Answer because it was too expensive to animate.
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I hadnt thought of the expense of animating saber duels...hope that wasnt the real reason and that we won't have truncated saber fights in future seasons because of it if so.
I think that Old Ben has grown much more deeply connected to/stronger in the Force since ROTS and earlier encounters with Maul. He has been being trained by the force ghost of QGJ since that time afterall and the proof is in ANH when having learned the 'secret to immortality' from QGJ he wills himself to become One with the Force in his battle with Vader. And Vader pokes at the robes uncomprehendingly because he has NOT learned that nor grown stronger in the Force since Mustafar despite his
"Now I am the Master" bragging - which Old Ben dismisses as "Only a Master of Evil" because he knows better that Vader hasn't truly learned much [and perhaps can't because of his less alive partly cyborg body distancing him to a degree from the Force].
Similarly Maul shows he hasn't learned much since Theed or the Clone Wars...certainly nowhere near the vast increase in Old Ben's power under QGJ's expert tutelage...add in that Old Ben is extremely dedicated, even desperate by the look on his face when Maul realizes what is at stake, to protect Luke by any means necessary and imo its not surprising that Old Ben defeats him easily and quickly.
Also I don't believe Old Ben was LYING to Maul at that moment about Luke being the Chosen One. There was simply no need and nothing to gain by doing so.
Maybe Old Ben could have been simply WRONG about it but to me it seems like it is something he truly believed when he said it, and if so how likely is it that he'd be wrong since he's been communicating almost two decades with QGJ who surely could have told him "no it is Anakin not Luke" unless perhaps QGJ told Ben "I was wrong it will be Anakin's son who brings Balance..." or something similar at some point.
Which seems a more reasonable explanation for Old Ben's words imo; that it was QGJ's Force Ghost who realized over the decades that he was wrong about Anakin being the Chosen One then, rather than Old Ben being wrong or lying to Maul about it now.
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Agree with Onli-Won Kanomi on all counts!
I finally caught up and I could hardly avoid knowing this happened, and couldn't help having some anticipation for it, and a minor let down when the kill was so quick. I was actually distracted and missed it and thought I had missed more than I realized before I rewatched the episode from the top.
That last dialog between Maul and Obi was a masterpiece. It was worth everything in the Maul arc. It was bold in it's starkness while they clearly knew fans wanted an epic showdown. It WAS an epic showdown. It fulfilled everything it needed to and exceeded all expectations once it set in. Subtlety and screaming tension annihilate in a cosmic flash, and are distilled into a sublime moment. Then the coda, which brought us to that familiar moment on the Lars Farm, took this moment and tied all lines together in that same deft and delicate voice.
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I feel it was the only worthy ending of such an epic tale of antagonism. It was over even before it started, because all had been decided in their minds. Ben was momentary shaken when he realized Maul could read his mind about protecting someone valuable beyond measure, but it shows his intimate connection to the Force that instead of despair he got only more determinate and focussed. He used the decades to learn which Maul did not. Both Maul and Obi-Wan share a common link, they lost everything because of the other. Maul could never forget or get over it, blinded by his evil, whereby Obi-Wan - having lost his only true love to Maul - could forgive it and could live with utter dedication to his only remaining purpose in the tangible word: protecting the true Choosen One.
Did he lie about Luke? Well, Lucas would probably say yes. In his original Lucas tale Anakin is the Choosen One. But alas, Rebels was created by Disney. They made a fantastic animated series which contains a lot of hints to the movies to come. I strongly believe that with Ben's statement about Luke they were paving the way for EP VIII. We all know now that Luke has an insight about the circle of Jedi-Sith having to come to an end.
The true beauty of the last encounter between Ben and Maul was not the 3s-saber fight. It was the preceding conversation as well as the final liberation of a tormented soul. Because Obi-Wan did not slain Maul; he freed him up from the bondage of insanity and stayed with his Force-brother in his final moments. It was one of the most beautiful scenes in the Star Wars Saga.
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Exactly this. ^
Death was a release from anguish for Maul. After years of trying to accomplish his goal (dark as it may be) he only accomplished in suffering more and more. In the battle with Obi Wan he must have known this was likely his end. His calculation and force talents had reached their limits. His only goal was the death of Anakin, his life came to mean nothing. He knew he couldn't accomplish it himself, and he knew, both through the force and their dialog, that Obi Wan was protecting someone he truly believed could fulfill this goal. His time of suffering could come to an end. Not a happy end, but that was never an option.
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It was an amazing moment !