Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord episodes 3-4
Brand-new episodes of Maul – Shadow Lord are now streaming on Disney+, featuring an impressive collection of Easter eggs and deep-cut references to the greater Star Wars galaxy.
As seen in the newly released Maul – Shadow Lord episodes 3-4, the titular former Sith lord is seeking to make Jedi survivor Devon Izara into his new apprentice, hoping to show her a new path to power beyond the teachings of the Jedi. At the same time, Maul’s revenge plans continue with a major attack on the Pyke Syndicate. We also see a major stand-off between Maul’s agents and Janix police, resulting in major consequences for the entire planet.
Throughout these new episodes, we get some truly great nods and references, as well as some deep-cut references longtime Star Wars fans will no doubt enjoy. With that in mind, here are 13 of the biggest and best Easter eggs, Star Wars references, and major connections we found in Maul – Shadow Lord episodes 3-4.
Maul’s Tea Ceremony With Cassius Tea
At the beginning of Maul – Shadow Lord episode 3, Maul invites Devon to join him in what essentially looks to be a Star Wars version of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
Likewise, Maul confirms that the tea itself is cassius tea, the same tea he was served by Pre Vizsla during The Clone Wars, marking the beginning of their alliance against Obi-Wan Kenobi (though Maul ultimately killed Vizsla, claimed the legendary Darksaber, and took command of his Mandalorian Death Watch).
Attempting to open her mind to the possibility of growing beyond the Jedi Code and to see him as an ally against the Empire, what better way to subvert Devon’s expectations than a tea ceremony, which often represents balance, tranquility, and overall respect between host and guest? (at least in real-life Japanese culture).
Maul’s Fallen Brother & Mother
During his attempts to sway Devon to join him, he mentions that his brother and mother were killed by Darth Sidious. Both of these murders happened during The Clone Wars.
Maul’s brother Savage Oppress was killed by Sidious on Mandalore in The Clone Wars season 5, when Palpatine personally came to the planet to deal with his old apprentice, murdering Savage and taking Maul as his prisoner.
Mother Talzin was killed in the canonical Son of Dathomir comic series set between the fifth and seventh seasons of The Clone Wars. After Maul escaped his imprisonment, the former Sith clashed once more with Sidious, General Grievous, and Count Dooku. However, Maul and his forces were eventually overpowered, resulting in Mother Talzin sacrificing herself to save her son. Talzin was killed by General Grievous on Darth Sidious’ orders.
Rylee’s Sport – A Deep-Cut Phantom Menace Reference
Brander Lawson’s son Rylee looks to play a sport that very much looks like a galactic version of lacrosse, complete with long sticks that can cradle a ball that’s passed back and forth. Remarkably, the head of the sticks was first seen in the Star Wars timeline 27 years ago in The Phantom Menace, featured when young Anakin Skywalker was showing Padmé his room and the work-in-progress that was C-3PO.
Jedi Hunters
Maul questions Devon’s current ability to take on the Empire’s “Jedi hunters” without using the dark side. Signature villains of the Dark Times, Maul is referring to the Imperial Inquisitorius, a group of Force-sensitive dark side wielders trained by Darth Vader to hunt down any survivors of Order 66.
Based on trailers for Maul – Shadow Lord, we know that the Eleventh Brother and First Brother aka Marrok will both be making an appearance in the new Star Wars series, though both were eventually killed by Ahsoka Tano. However, Marrok was slain by Ahsoka after he’d been reanimated by Morgan Elsbeth during the New Republic Era. Perhaps it was Maul who killed the First Brother the first time?
Iconic Sith Shadows
When Devon makes it to the top, her way out is blocked by Maul, his signature shadow casting Devon in darkness. It absolutely brings to mind Darth Vader’s debut in Rogue One during his meeting with Director Krennic on Mustafar, who was similarly “overshadowed” by the Dark Lord of the Sith’s equally iconic and sinister silhouette.
Dark Side Whispers – From Maul’s Lightsaber??
The moment when Devon gives into her anger and Force pushes Maul back, the former Sith smiles. Additionally, we hear the dark side Sith whispers we’ve heard during Maul scenes ever since 1999’s The Phantom Menace which sounds like “Korah Rahtahmah“. The words can be heard in the middle of “Qui-Gon’s Noble End” from composer John Williams (around the 1:50 mark):
While it’s widely been assumed that these words are part of the language of the Sith, the subtitles for this new episode seem to confirm for the first time that the language was coming from Maul’s lightsaber, a fascinating revelation likely connected to the living bond kyber shares with its wielder (even the corrupted and bled kyber of the Sith). Furthermore, it’s likely no coincidence that after we hear these Sith whispers…Maul now knows Devon’s name.
“Feed You To My Nexu Horde”
The Pykes’ leader Marg Krim threatens to feed Vario to his horde of nexu. Nexu are vicious cat-like and multi-eyed creatures native to the planet Cholganna, first debuting in Attack of the Clones when Padmé Amidala was forced to fight one in the Geonosian arena.
“After The Tragic Events on Mandalore”
Maul refers to The Clone Wars’ Siege of Mandalore, where his plans were foiled by Ahsoka Tano and the 332nd Company just before and during the events of Revenge of the Sith.
Additionally, Maul reveals he went to the Pykes after escaping Republic custody during the chaos of Order 66, only for his former allies to try and kill him. Now, Maul has received his revenge and is in control of the Pykes once more in the wake of Krim’s death.
Clouded Judgment
Reuniting with Master Daki, Devon is determined to bring Maul to justice. However, her master is more hesitant, warning Devon “to not let her judgment be clouded by her desire for vengeance.” The danger of emotions and darker impulses clouding one’s judgment is a common warning we’ve heard many times in the Star Wars timeline given by masters to their apprentices.
Maul vs A Master & Apprentice
Maul – Shadow Lord episode 4 sees Maul once again facing a Jedi master and apprentice simultaneously. As such, the parallel to the past with The Phantom Menace’s Duel of the Fates is not hard to identify.
PakarPBN
A Private Blog Network (PBN) is a collection of websites that are controlled by a single individual or organization and used primarily to build backlinks to a “money site” in order to influence its ranking in search engines such as Google. The core idea behind a PBN is based on the importance of backlinks in Google’s ranking algorithm. Since Google views backlinks as signals of authority and trust, some website owners attempt to artificially create these signals through a controlled network of sites.
In a typical PBN setup, the owner acquires expired or aged domains that already have existing authority, backlinks, and history. These domains are rebuilt with new content and hosted separately, often using different IP addresses, hosting providers, themes, and ownership details to make them appear unrelated. Within the content published on these sites, links are strategically placed that point to the main website the owner wants to rank higher. By doing this, the owner attempts to pass link equity (also known as “link juice”) from the PBN sites to the target website.
The purpose of a PBN is to give the impression that the target website is naturally earning links from multiple independent sources. If done effectively, this can temporarily improve keyword rankings, increase organic visibility, and drive more traffic from search results.
