The Lawless

"Morality separates heroes from villains."

- Moral

"The Lawless" is the sixteenth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series' fifth season. It aired on February 2, 2013.

Official description
"Using Duchess Satine as bait, Darth Maul lures Obi-Wan into a trap."

Plot Summary
After Darth Maul and Savage Opress took the lead of Death Watch, Almec is the prime minister of Mandalore. Duchess Satine is in her cell when she is rescued by Korkie. When they are about to be arrested outside the cell, Bo-Katan and several renegade Death Watch members arrive to help. It turns out that Bo-Katan is the sister of the Duchess, and that they turned against Maul and his followers. Outside on a landing platform several other followers of Satine are ready to rescue her in speeders. As they flee, they begin to be chased by several Mandalorian super commandos. Bo-Katan and the others hold them off, but finally the speeder is shot down, and the Duchess is cornered by the commandos. However, she still has time to send a hologram message to the Jedi asking for help from Obi-Wan Kenobi personally. After she manages to send the message, she is taken back to her prison cell.

Meanwhile, in the Jedi Temple's communication room Obi-Wan, Yoda and Ki-Adi-Mundi receive Satine's message. Yoda, mentioning the neutrality of the planet, tells Obi-Wan that the Jedi can't send help until the Senate agrees on it. Obi-Wan doesn't want to wait, so he immediately starts his way to Mandalore in Anakin's ship, the Twilight. Meanwhile, Maul is informed by Almec that Satine had tried to escape, and she managed to inform the Jedi. Maul just smirks, and he points it out that if Kenobi wants to help, he has to come alone.

Upon his arrival, he dresses up into the armor of Rako Hardeen. He is "welcomed" by a super commando, who tells Kenobi that he should take the ship for reparation, and asks if he has a landing permission on the planet. Obi-Wan guides him into the ship, where he knocks out the commando and gains his armor. In the meantime, he doesn't notice that someone had been watching him the whole time. He than heads towards the prison cells, where he ultimately finds Satine. After an intimate moment, they try to escape. However, they are being unfold when knocks out a commando who asks for the authorization code upon the rescue of Satine. They are chased by several commandos until they reach the Twilight on its platform. Darth Maul also arrives, and orders his commandos to shoot rockets from their jetpacks towards the Twilight. Obi-Wan and Satine manage to jump off the ship, just moments before it explodes. They fall to the feet of Maul, who orders his men to take the two inside. There, he starts torturing Satine by choking her, while addressing Kenobi to once and for all, turn to the Dark Side. After Kenobi refuses, they get into a disagreement, and Maul, in front of the eyes of Kenobi, pulls Satine towards himself, and at the same time, he takes out his Darksaber he got from Pre Vizsla, and impales the Duchess. Satine falls into the arms of Kenobi, and tells him that she has always loved the Jedi Master. After the Duchess dies in the arms of Kenobi, Maul orders his men not to kill him, but imprison him below to "rot" in his misery. Obi-Wan is being transported to his cell when a group of the remaining Death Watch members rescue him with the lead of Bo-Katan, who have followed him until that time. They tell Obi-Wan about the situation, and help them towards a Death Watch frigate, in the middle of heavy gunfights with the super commandos of Maul. When they reach the ship, several reinforcements arrive to hold up the commandos. Katan tells Obi-Wan to report the Republic about the incident, and when Obi-Wan says that the Republic will likely invade the planet, Katan replies that then Maul will die, but Mandalore would survive, because they "always survive". Obi-Wan realizes that Katan is the sister of Satine, and reports his condolence towards the girl, before he leaves the planet.

Meanwhile on Coruscant, Chancellor Palpatine feels disturbance in the Force, and orders Mas Amedda to prepare his ship. He travels to Mandalore, and lands near the palace where Maul and his brother are. He easily chokes the commandos to death who try to hold him up, and goes inside the palace. Maul feels his presence, and when Sidious steps in, he gets down on his knees, pretending to be loyal to his former Master. But Sidious can not be deceived, he easily pushes the brothers towards the wall, and tells Maul he has become his rival. After he releases the brothers, all of them draw their red lightsabers, and an epic duel evolves. The brothers fight crucially, but they can not overwhelm the Dark Lord of the Sith. Eventually, Sidious manages to kick Maul away, and after a few cuts, he impales Savage who stands behind him, finishing the Nightbrother for once and all. Maul jumps besides his former apprentice and brother, who tells them that he was never suitable to be a good apprentice to Maul. As he dies, the Nightsister equipment perishes from him, and he returns to the state he was in when he was found by Ventress. In the meantime, Sidious reminds Maul on the Rule of Two, and tells him that he was replaced by someone else. Maul, filled with anger and pain, draws the Darksaber and his lighsaber, and starts a last crucial duel against his once-was master. Sidious manages to overwhelm him again, pushes Maul to the ground, and starts to torture him with Force lightning. As Maul begs for mercy, Sidious tells him that he is not going to kill him, as Maul may be useful for him in the future, and continues to torture Maul...

Cast

 * Sam Witwer as Darth Maul and Mandalorian super commando
 * James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Anna Graves as Duchess Satine Kryze
 * Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan
 * Ian Abercrombie as Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious
 * Clancy Brown as Savage Opress and Mandalorian super commando
 * Tom Kane as narrator and Yoda
 * Omid Abtahi as Amis and Mandalorian super commando
 * Whit Hertford as Korkie Kryze and Mandalorian super commando
 * Julian Holloway as Almec
 * David Acord as Mandalorian super commando
 * Brian George as Ki-Adi-Mundi
 * Stephen Stanton as Mas Amedda

Continuity
Footage from "The Lawless" was first previewed at Celebration VI in August 2012. It was adapted in the young reader's book Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy. The episode was originally reported by Star Wars Insider 137 as the fifteenth episode of Season Five, but the reported order was revised following the magazine's publication.

According to a post for the official Star Wars: The Clone Wars Facebook page, a mural that appeared on the royal platform of the Sundari Royal Palace had a similar artwork style to the cubist artwork Guernica by painter Pablo Picasso.

This episode was dedicated to Ian Abercrombie, the voice of Palpatine/Darth Sidious, who passed away a year prior to its airdate.