How Darth Maul Brought Down The Empire... From A Certain Point Of View

From a certain point of view, Darth Maul played a pivotal role in the destruction of the Empire. Maul (formerly Darth) led a turbulent life. After dedicating himself to Darth Sidious’ cause, he was “killed” by his biggest rival, Obi-Wan Kenobi, clung to life on a scrap planet, was given back his strength by the Nightsisters, found and subsequently lost his brother, became a vicious ruler on Mandalore, and later led the crime syndicate, Crimson Dawn.

Yet, despite all those failures and accomplishments, he somehow ended up alone on the Sith planet Malachor, which is where Star Wars Rebels’ Ghost Crew found him in the two-part season 2 finale, “Twilight of the Apprentice.” After everything he’d been through, Maul was truly only motivated by one thing – the one thing that allowed him to hold onto his anger enough to survive being cut in half by a lightsaber, and which fueled all of his exploits since his fateful duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. All Maul ever really wanted was to overthrow Palpatine.

Darth Maul Dreamed Of Overthrowing Palpatine & The Empire

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Maul dreamed of defeating Palpatine and, by extension, the Empire. Not only had he been rejected by Darth Sidious twice – Palpatine replaced Maul with Dooku as soon as Maul was killed, and later, after the two fought on Mandalore, Palpatine rejected Maul’s pleas for mercy after the Sith Lord killed the Zabrak’s brother – but Maul knew, perhaps better than anyone, that the galaxy would be worse off under Palpatine’s rule, and that the Force needed to remain in balance. He was motivated by revenge, certainly, but he also knew that someone, anyone, needed to bring an end to the Sith and Palpatine’s power.

Darth Maul Changed Kanan's Life Forever...

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When Ezra Bridger, a relatively new Jedi Padawan, discovered Maul hidden away on Malachor, it was clear Maul had an ulterior motive. He neglected to tell Ezra who he really was, insisting instead that Ezra would be the perfect apprentice for him. Thankfully, Ezra’s Master, Kanan Jarrus, and Ahsoka Tano were on Malachor as well, and they soon saw through Maul’s plans. A complex battle ensued – a few Inquisitors had arrived on the planet shortly after the Jedi’s arrival, and as Kanan fought with Maul, Maul slashed his lightsaber across Kanan’s eyes, and the Jedi was blinded permanently.

Related Darth Maul Essential Viewing List: All The Most Important Star Wars Movies & Episodes Darth Maul is an iconic Star Wars antagonist, and his story now pans several movies and TV shows after returning from an early demise.

Maul was on Malachor to find out more about the Sith and how to destroy them. Little did he know, however, that by engaging Kanan Jarrus in combat and robbing the Jedi of his eyesight, he would play an important role in the Empire’s destruction and Emperor Palpatine’s eventual defeat. That moment changed everything for Kanan, Ezra, and the galaxy at large.

Without Kanan's Sacrifice, Grand Admiral Thrawn Wouldn't Have Been Lost

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Though Kanan initially struggled with his lost eyesight, it would eventually bring him closer to the Force and his purpose as a Jedi than ever before. He learned to see through the Force, to commune with it and his surroundings, relying not only on his power with a lightsaber but on his other senses as well. Maul gave Kanan the chance to become the Jedi he was always meant to be – selfless and wholly in tune with the light side of the Force. He became an even better teacher for Ezra, too, especially once the young Jedi began to struggle with the dark side.

Darth Maul in Star Wars Rebels Episode Title Star Wars Rebels season 2, episodes 21 & 22 "Twilight of the Apprentice Parts 1 & 2" Star Wars Rebels season 3, episode 3 "The Holocrons of Fate" Star Wars Rebels season 3, episode 11 "Visions and Voices" Star Wars Rebels season 3, episode 20 "Twin Suns"

Everything Kanan went through and his new relationship with the Force led to one major, galaxy-altering moment. In Star Wars Rebels season 4, episode 10, “Jedi Night,” Kanan selflessly sacrifices himself to save Ezra, his lover Hera Syndulla, and the Mandalorian Sabine Wren from an Imperial fuel tank explosion on the planet Lothal. He knew it was what he was meant to do. At that moment, he was so in tune with the Force, so sure of his purpose, that he even momentarily regained his eyesight, allowing him to look at his loved ones one last time.

Kanan’s sacrifice changed everything. It taught Ezra the most important lesson of all, one Ezra had yet to master: the art of letting go. Because of Kanan’s sacrifice, Ezra knew what he needed to do to defeat Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the Empire’s most cunning tacticians, and liberate Lothal from the Empire’s clutches once and for all. In the Star Wars Rebels series finale, Ezra used his connection with the purrgil, Star Wars’ hyperspace-traversing space whales, to exile himself and Thrawn into wild space. Lothal was freed, and the Empire lost one of its most important leaders.

Thrawn’s disappearance was the beginning of the end for the Empire – it was the Empire’s first major defeat, which was soon followed by the destruction of the Death Star.

It's been confirmed that Emperor Palpatine himself believed that only Grand Admiral Thrawn and Grand Moff Tarkin were cunning enough to dismember and defeat the Rebel Alliance. Arguably, if Maul hadn’t blinded Kanan on Malachor, Kanan never would have become the Jedi he was meant to be, he never would have sacrificed himself to save Ezra, and Ezra, in turn, never would have sacrificed his future to defeat Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Thrawn’s disappearance was the beginning of the end for the Empire – it was the Empire’s first major defeat, which was soon followed by the destruction of the Death Star. There’s no telling what might have happened had Thrawn remained in the galaxy. Darth Maul may not have pulled the trigger himself, but he undoubtedly had a hand in the Empire’s eventual destruction.