Warning: This recap contains spoilers for the Star Wars Rebels episode “Visions and Voices.” Jump into hyperspace and away from this page if you haven’t watched the episode yet.
It’s been a minute since Star Wars Rebels visited with Maul, and it was long overdue. The former Darth comes back into the picture because he’s found Atollon and wants to merge his mind with Ezra’s so they can each get the complete information they sought from the Sith holocron. But does Maul do the polite thing and send a note first or simply knock on the door of the Rebel base? No, he gets in Ezra’s head in “Visions and Voices.”
Ezra started sensing Maul’s presence before he saw him. The kid was more or less having hallucination-like visions. He became so convinced one of his fellow Rebels was Maul that he was this close to killing him before Kanan intervened. It was unnerving to see Ezra lose control to such a degree. When Ezra told Kanan what was happening, Kanan listened and they went to Bendu.
I’ve missed Bendu. Ezra told the wise being what happened when he and Maul looked into the holocron and Bendu gave his frank opinion: “That’s not good.” Ezra and Kanan didn’t have time to discuss it further because Maul showed up. Insert ominous music cue here. He proposed to Ezra, whom he keeps calling his apprentice, the idea of melding their minds to share what they saw when they opened the holocron together. Maul could find out where the person he’s looking for is, Ezra could learn the answer to what will help them defeat the Sith.
Before we continue, I want to point out the difference in their questions. They have the opportunity to more or less discover anything they want to know. Maul makes a personal, selfish request, while Ezra goes a more selfless route. It’s classic dark side and light side and gives me hope for Ezra maybe not crossing over.
Ezra goes along with Maul’s plan because he’s curious and also because Maul threatened to reveal the location of Chopper base. Major points to Kanan here, because he let Ezra make up his own mind and also reassured him having to find a new base for the Rebels wasn’t the end of the world. He was an ideal mentor in this situation, and I’ve enjoyed watching Kanan get to this point.
Where does Maul take Ezra to perform this mind meld? Dathomir. Yes, Dathomir, guys! Exciting, right? Well, it’s exciting if you watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Maul explained he was the last survivor on the planet because the Empire viewed the Nightsisters as a threat and wiped them all out. Damn. Pour one out for the Nightsisters. Their use of the Force combined with the magic of their planet made them interesting but apparently too powerful.
Maul’s lair was filled with artifacts from his past to help him find the answer he was looking for. Clone Wars fans will recognize the portrait of Satine Kryze (if you haven’t watched Clone Wars, I won’t spoil what her relationship with Maul was) and Pre Vizsla’s darksaber. I got chills seeing both of these items.
While I was gaping over Maul’s walk down memory lane, he prepared the potion to combine his and Ezra’s thoughts. They both drained it and saw what they were looking for. Maul was indeed looking for Obi-Wan Kenobi because said “it will end where it began.” Tatooine is where he first met the Jedi, and Maul’s never let go of his vengeful feelings toward Obi-Wan.
And hey, Obi-Wan was the answer to Ezra’s question, too. Ezra doesn’t have the history to know the desert plan with twin suns is Tatooine, so it’s a race to beat Maul to the Jedi. I’m beyond excited about the possibility of seeing Obi-Wan in Star Wars Rebels. Given Ewan McGregor’s enthusiasm to return to Star Wars and how he returned to voice the character in The Force Awakens (during Rey’s Force vision at Maz’s castle), I wouldn’t rule out him doing the voice. But yes, I would miss James Arnold Taylor (he voiced Obi-Wan in The Clone Wars and at the beginning of Star Wars Rebels) if that’s the case.
Before leaving Dathomir armed with information, Ezra and Maul were attacked by spirits of the Nightsisters. Sabine and Kanan arrived because they followed Ezra, and they were possessed by said spirits. As Maul and Ezra ran away from the spirits, Maul pleaded with Ezra to join him in going after Obi-Wan. Maul’s voice had a hint of desperation and emotion; it unexpectedly grabbed me—he told Ezra they could be brothers. Aww, Maul misses Savage.
Ezra, of course, declined and figured out how to free Kanan and Sabine from the spirits; he destroyed the altar that gave the spirits their power. It felt symbolic, like a final destruction of the old magic of Dathomir. As they left, Kanan said this adventure was really, no for real, the last time they were going to trust Maul and Sabine scooped up the darksaber. Acquiring the weapon more than makes up for her jetpack loss.
Who do you think will find Obi-Wan first, and when do you think we’ll see him? Tell me in the comments.
Images: Disney XD
