Unbowed
The recent discussions about Maul/Ezra in Rebels and the S3 trailer made me consider just exactly why is Maul so keen on making Ezra his apprentice, to the point where he put his plan to use the battle station on Malachor in jeopardy by attacking Kanan and Ashoka.
That made me recall his arc in TCW, where he also took Savage as an apprentice. When they have their brief fight, Savage claims there is no need for either of them to be "dominant" but Maul clings to the Rule of Two and insists he is the master. At the time I thought it was just Maul's pride, but it occurred to me that the whole reason for the Rule of Two is so that the Sith become stronger. Both Sith, master and apprentice.
Their relationship is not the nurturing relationship of Jedi and Padawan. The Sith Master trains his Apprentice but he also abuses him and only begrudgingly shares his secrets. But it's not just the apprentice that is supposed to grow stronger, the master is also supposed to be constantly mindful of his apprentice's growing power so that he doesn't become complacent. The master is supposed to constantly be pushing himself further and further because of the fear of dying at the hands of his apprentice.
The master and the apprentice enter into a sort of Darwinist feedback loop, both helping each other but also both constantly pushing themselves for fear of the other.
Viewed in that light, several things in both TCW and the greater EU make sense:
-why Sidious ordered Ventress killed. It's not that he feared Ventress or facing Dooku and Ventress in combat, it's that he feared her and Dooku would constantly 'feed' off each other and in time Dooku would grow powerful enough to challenge Sidious himself.
-why Plagueis is instantly on guard when Sidious mentions Maul for the first time. He is apprehensive of Sidious taking "an apprentice, in defiance of our partnership"? It's only after Sidious lulls him to sleep and tells him "shh, he's not a real apprentice Master "
-why Bane considered Krayt a heretic. It's not that Krayt wasn't powerful enough, it's that if his whole order obeyed him like a God-King, there would be no one to challenge him and thus Krayt would stop pushing himself. Wyyrlok's actions and betrayal confirm as much.
-in Shadow Conspiracy Maul thinks to himself that training Savage(among other things) has made him more powerful.
And so this wall of text brings us to this, Sidious finally confronting Maul:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7hBZNsPnyg
I make the contention that right until they finally met, Sidious was undecided on the Maul issue. I think that him taking Maul back was until that point a real possibility, and Sidious was mulling it.
What made Sidious decide? Savage's presence.
Watch the scene carefully. At first Sidious tells Maul he is impressed that he survived. I would say the tone is neutral/measured and that the statement is genuine, but Sidious is clearly sniffing Maul out as to what his intentions are. Then Maul swears his loyalty and Sidious is considering it("hmm...". But then he glances towards Savage and he sees through the deception.
His tone becomes hostile and Sidious is clearly seething with anger. When he calls Maul a "rival" the word is almost a growl.
My belief is that it was Savage's presence that sealed Maul's fate. I think Sidious might have taken Maul back and had him become stronger as his apprentice was his original design until TPM. But having Maul become a rival, having Maul and Savage become stronger on their own, that was something he couldn't abide.
So what do you think? Would Sidious have taken Maul back into the fold in Maul hadn't taken Savage as an apprentice and began his Shadow Collective/Mandalorian shenanigans?
That made me recall his arc in TCW, where he also took Savage as an apprentice. When they have their brief fight, Savage claims there is no need for either of them to be "dominant" but Maul clings to the Rule of Two and insists he is the master. At the time I thought it was just Maul's pride, but it occurred to me that the whole reason for the Rule of Two is so that the Sith become stronger. Both Sith, master and apprentice.
Their relationship is not the nurturing relationship of Jedi and Padawan. The Sith Master trains his Apprentice but he also abuses him and only begrudgingly shares his secrets. But it's not just the apprentice that is supposed to grow stronger, the master is also supposed to be constantly mindful of his apprentice's growing power so that he doesn't become complacent. The master is supposed to constantly be pushing himself further and further because of the fear of dying at the hands of his apprentice.
The master and the apprentice enter into a sort of Darwinist feedback loop, both helping each other but also both constantly pushing themselves for fear of the other.
Viewed in that light, several things in both TCW and the greater EU make sense:
-why Sidious ordered Ventress killed. It's not that he feared Ventress or facing Dooku and Ventress in combat, it's that he feared her and Dooku would constantly 'feed' off each other and in time Dooku would grow powerful enough to challenge Sidious himself.
-why Plagueis is instantly on guard when Sidious mentions Maul for the first time. He is apprehensive of Sidious taking "an apprentice, in defiance of our partnership"? It's only after Sidious lulls him to sleep and tells him "shh, he's not a real apprentice Master "
-why Bane considered Krayt a heretic. It's not that Krayt wasn't powerful enough, it's that if his whole order obeyed him like a God-King, there would be no one to challenge him and thus Krayt would stop pushing himself. Wyyrlok's actions and betrayal confirm as much.
-in Shadow Conspiracy Maul thinks to himself that training Savage(among other things) has made him more powerful.
And so this wall of text brings us to this, Sidious finally confronting Maul:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7hBZNsPnyg
I make the contention that right until they finally met, Sidious was undecided on the Maul issue. I think that him taking Maul back was until that point a real possibility, and Sidious was mulling it.
What made Sidious decide? Savage's presence.
Watch the scene carefully. At first Sidious tells Maul he is impressed that he survived. I would say the tone is neutral/measured and that the statement is genuine, but Sidious is clearly sniffing Maul out as to what his intentions are. Then Maul swears his loyalty and Sidious is considering it("hmm...". But then he glances towards Savage and he sees through the deception.
His tone becomes hostile and Sidious is clearly seething with anger. When he calls Maul a "rival" the word is almost a growl.
My belief is that it was Savage's presence that sealed Maul's fate. I think Sidious might have taken Maul back and had him become stronger as his apprentice was his original design until TPM. But having Maul become a rival, having Maul and Savage become stronger on their own, that was something he couldn't abide.
So what do you think? Would Sidious have taken Maul back into the fold in Maul hadn't taken Savage as an apprentice and began his Shadow Collective/Mandalorian shenanigans?