Vengeance. It’s fueled Maul, formerly Darth Maul, for years. The Sith who seemingly lost his life in The Phantom Menace returned in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and from the moment he was rescued by his brother Savage, he was focused on only one person: Obi-Wan Kenobi. He blamed the Jedi for robbing him of his destiny, which was going to be serving Darth Sidious, ruling the galaxy, etc. I remember when he calmly and evilly told Savage, “Yes, we will start with revenge.”

He faced Obi-Wan more than a couple times in The Clone Wars and toyed with the Jedi, but Maul wasn’t able to best him. When Obi-Wan disappeared after Order 66, Maul thought he lost his chance until he learned Obi-Wan’s hiding place in the Star Wars Rebels episode “Visions and Voices.” He’ll make it to Tatooine in the March 18 episode, “Twin Suns.” Insert dramatic John Williams music here.

The preview for the episode positively gives me chills, and the delivery of Maul’s emotion-fueled “Kenobi!” stops short of making my heart cease beating. As of only a few years ago, it’s not a moment fans ever expected to see. We thought Maul was dead after his fight with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan on Naboo. And as silly as it seemed to bring him back, I’ll be damned if Dave Filoni and his team didn’t make it work. Maul has evolved. We’ve seen his strengths, his cunning, his intelligence, and his frustrations.

When Maul first showed up in Rebels and lured Ezra into his plans, he was almost pitiable. Almost. My point being I’ve become more invested in the character than I ever imagined, and I don’t know if I’m ready to see him go. However, this battle needs to be his grand finale.

Maybe he’ll get to land a few blows that weaken Obi-Wan and leave the Jedi in the not entirely fighting shape we see him in when he faces Darth Vader in A New Hope. I don’t doubt the fight will be epic. We’ve been waiting for it for so long. But as far as I’m concerned, it can only end one way and that’s with Maul’s death. I don’t want a nebulous fate fans can argue to death (though I’ll join in if whatever happens to Maul isn’t clear). I want to see him dead. I feel it’s best for the story and also for all of our sanity because otherwise we’ll be hearing the question, “But where is Maul during the original trilogy?” until the end of time. Ahem.

Also on Tatooine? It looks like Maul’s “apprentice” Ezra found the planet and brought Chopper:

The image from “Twin Suns” reminds me of C-3PO and R2-D2 walking and rolling around the desert. In fact, before I enlarged the picture, that’s who I thought it was. I don’t want to start speculating whether they encounter Obi-Wan. I hope not. In fact, I want anyone who is not Obi-Wan or Maul to have a minimal role in the episode.

You’ll see a few more photos from “Twin Suns” in the below gallery. Check them out and then head to the comments to tell me whether you think Maul will or should survive this duel. If you feel so inclined, I’m running a poll at Twitter.

Images: Lucasfilm/Disney XD, Comic Vine