For years, fans clamored for more of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and finally, in 2020, Lucasfilm answered the call. The additional seventh season consisted of twelve episodes that directly connected to the events in Revenge of the Sith. Fans were ecstatic because the final arc was some of the best Star Wars content in years, particularly the final fight between Darth Maul and Ahsoka. In fact, it just might be the best lightsaber duel in Star Wars history.
Because of the available technology at the time, the original Star Wars trilogy duels were mostly basic fights. The stakes were high, but the dueling expertise was not. Nearly two decades later, the prequels tried to rectify that and put a lot of focus on creating energy-packed, acrobatic fights, but sometimes, they felt superficial – like the fights were dramatized for entertainment. However, Maul and Ahsoka’s fight in "The Phantom Apprentice" gave Star Wars fans the best of both worlds, with an exciting fight where the stakes couldn’t be higher.
How Clone Wars Set the Stage for the Fight
Darth Maul spent his entire early life training under the most powerful being in the galaxy, only to have it taken away from him with one fateful lightsaber stroke, but he survived. Then he dedicated himself to getting revenge against Obi-Wan and getting back to the place of power by his master’s side. But he soon realized that he had been cast away and replaced.
Throughout The Clone Wars, Maul was constantly trying to get back to his previous power level, at times even looking clunky and slow as he adapted to his mechanical legs. By “The Phantom Apprentice,” though, Darth Maul was back to peak form, where he could be a competitive dueler with anyone – save maybe Sidious and Yoda – in the galaxy. He had recently failed to kill his master and lost his brother, Savage Opress, in the process, but now he was ready to try again. This time, he wanted to hurt his master’s prospects, so he engineered the War of Mandalore as a way to lure Obi-Wan and Anakin to him. If he couldn’t kill Sidious, then he would ruin his master’s plans by killing his potential apprentice.
Maul is disappointed to see that neither Kenobi nor Anakin come to confront him, but with Ahsoka, he sees another opportunity. He knows that Ahsoka left the Jedi order because of its hypocrisy, so he tries to appeal to her reason. She should also know that the Jedi have no chance at finding and defeating Darth Sidious; the Sith's grand plan is simply too far along. Maul knows that the Jedi are doomed. They will fail, and they will fall. And he tells her as much. So, Maul proposes that the two of them join together to confront Sidious because neither of them are Jedi.
Why the "Phantom Apprentice" Duel Is the Best in Star Wars
Unable to cope with the idea of Anakin turning to darkness, Ahsoka decides to fight. So, as the throne room of Mandalore is symbolically crumbling under Maul’s engineered chaos, they take to their sabers. First, Ahsoka draws her pair of blue sabers, assumes her Jar’Kai fighting stance and prepares to fight the tattooed-monster standing in front of her. Then, for the first time in the animated Star Wars series, Darth Maul draws a double-bladed red lightsaber and takes his aggressive, Juyo fighting stance. And so it begins.
Both of them have been cast aside by their orders, and yet, both of them can feel the gravity of the fight. Darth Maul is stronger and the more skilled duelist, but Ahsoka is no slouch. Whatever happens between them now will have galactic implications, so they fight hard. It’s an acrobatic affair, almost like a dance, with the two jumping, flipping and spinning to avoid each other’s attacks just as much as parrying with their sabers. They fight in the throne room, then on the very rafters of the city. Their balance is impeccable as they maintained their daring, energetic fighting styles high above the raging conflict below. Maul wins the fight and disarms Ahsoka, but she is able to capture him after he tries to entice her to join him one last time, thus, ending any chance of an alliance.
There is no doubt that Maul was motivated by personal revenge against his master; however, he was more right than most of the Jedi ever knew. Ahsoka chose to fight because she let her emotions control her. Her attachment to Anakin kept her from seeing the truth that he was about to fall into darkness. Maybe, if Ahsoka had trusted her instincts, she could have seen that Maul was right. Perhaps if she had joined him, they could have helped the Jedi stop Sidious together.