For decades now, we’ve seen Sith and Jedi cross lightsaber blades in Star Wars. The light and dark sides of the Force have always been locked in conflict, ever since a rogue group of Jedi split away from the order and fell to the dark side. The most powerful Sith Lords have been responsible for the deaths of countless Jedi, none more so than Emperor Palpatine, who successfully orchestrated Order 66 and had the entire Jedi Order of his time gunned down.
In 49 years, we’ve never really seen what it looks like for Jedi and Sith to work together. In truth, there’s only one scenario where they could conceivably do so; a team-up against an even greater threat. The Jedi have often compromised with the darkness to deal with even more powerful foes, and hopeful Padawan Ezra Bridger even teamed with Maul in Star Wars Rebels Season 2. But he was what Baylan Skoll called a “Bokken” Jedi, trained away from the temple, not really aligned to the whole Jedi Code. Star Wars’ new TV show, Maul – Shadow Lord, is finally scratching the Jedi-Sith team-up itch for real.
The irony, of course, is that the Jedi and the Sith are essentially working together… against the Sith. Darth Vader’s Inquisitors have been sent there after a police droid named Two Boots filed reports of Darth Maul’s activities on Janix. This means both Maul and two Jedi on Janix, Master Eeko-Dio Daki and his Padawan Devon Izara, are in desperate danger. Remarkably, episode 6 sees Maul and Devon work together against the threat of the Inquisitorius. It’s a stunning moment, showcasing just how skilled both characters are, and their teamwork is seamless. That’s largely because they both know how to work alongside the other’s lightsaber form.
There’s another subtle reason for the team-up, of course; Maul is working to seduce Devon to the dark side. Little by little, he’s working to supplant her master and become her new mentor, which means he’s pushing her towards the darkness. He’s no doubt helped by the fact the light side is clouded at this time, simply because Palpatine’s Sith have disrupted the balance of the Force on a fundamental level. Little by little, Devon seems to be slipping.
As powerful as Maul may be, he is no Darth Vader. But that’s the genius of Maul – Shadow Lord; its protagonist is a villain overshadowed by greater villains, a failed Sith Apprentice who’s trying to establish his own rival branch under the Sith Rule of Two. The narrative is also explaining why we haven’t seen Jedi-Sith team-ups like this before, simply because they are corrupting by nature. The alliance between Maul and Devon is an imbalance in the Force, and it must be corrected – one way or another, either by death or descent.
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