If you had any lingering doubt about what an increasingly mature show Star Wars: The Clone Wars has become, “Shades of Reason” likely dispelled it. In fact, you could even argue that The Clone Wars grew up with this episode. This was a nasty, brutish 22 minutes—and riveting in every frame. It culminated in an act of violence that must have had the Cartoon Network censors shrieking. Yes, Darth Maul was the Joffrey Baratheon to Pre Vizsla’s Ned Stark. Except unlike Joffrey, Maul did the beheading himself. It truly was the culmination of both characters’ arcs. Maul, triumphant, returned to power as his own master. And Vizsla, cocky and power-mad, finally realizing that he had reached too far. There’s really nothing more Vizsla could have added to this show, but still, I don’t know about you, but I’m a little sad Jon Favreau will no longer be voicing this character. Now he’s just going to go back to directing blockbuster movies. Darn.
”Shades of Reason” began with Maul and Vizsla still allies. At last they had gathered together a force powerful enough to reclaim Mandalore. But brute force would not deliver Vizsla’s planet to him. He would need the people of Mandalore to rally to Death Watch’s cause. And to do that, he’d need to undermine the rule of Duchess Satine. Of course, while Vizsla had thought that he was using Maul to take back Mandalore, Maul was really using him to establish a power base. To properly disenchant the people about Satine, they would have their new gangster allies in Black Sun and the Pyke Syndicate target and attack critical locations all around the planet: the banks, the spaceports, the power grid. (I guess the Hutts were simply too fat to be involved in this plan.) They’d make it seem like the gangsters wanted to move in and take over Mandalore, and Satine would be too weak to stop them. Then Death Watch would swoop in and round up the “bad guys” and look like heroes. The people would surely support those who can keep them safe to lead their government as opposed to a Duchess who cowers in fear.
The sad thing is, it worked. All too well. Now, mind you, you’d think some of Mandalore’s political elite might question why suddenly Falleen gangsters from Black Sun would attack their populace and shout things to passerby like “You’re now our slaves!” Well, Satine did, but based on her actions—or lack of them—I can’t really blame the Mandalorians that no one listened to her when she said Death Watch was really behind the attacks. It’s one thing to be a pacifist. In fact, it’s a noble idea. But when gangsters are mowing down your own citizens in the streets with tommy-gun blasters just for the fun of it, noble rhetoric isn’t what’s called for. It’s not a betrayal of pacifism to use force to prevent people from being killed. Yet Satine did nothing. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s old girlfriend was finally rendered impotent. With the people of Mandalore amassed around her palace calling for her overthrow and the installation of Vizsla as their new leader, she had no choice but to step aside.
NEXT: Vizsla turns against his new allies. But Maul doesn’t take kindly to a prison cell.