The final two episodes of Maul: Shadow Lord are some of the most powerful and compelling Star Wars episodes to come out in a generation. They bring what was already an amazing first season of the series to an epic conclusion, with every second of screen time utilized to near perfection. The music. The lightsaber duels. The plot. The emotion. It all works at a level that raises the bar for what Star Wars can be moving forward.

But the episode is built on more than just what is seen on screen. Lingering between the lines is a theme that demands audiences recognize it, just as the characters in the show are forced to do with the arrival of one Dark Lord of the Sith. In the episodes, each of the main characters (Maul, Master Daki, Brander Lawson, and Devon) is forced into a position wherein they are shaped by fear and compelled to draw conclusions from it.

For the titular character of Maul, that fear is manifested in the form of Darth Vader, who is fear personified in these episodes. Vader never speaks; he simply acts with a level of brutality that has only been seen on rare occasions in Star Wars. Thus, Vader becomes the crux upon which Maul’s mental and emotional state is projected, exposing that Maul is extremely fearful when he is not the one in control.

This goes deeper than just losing a duel, though. In previous episodes, Maul’s gruff exterior began to be exposed for the facade that it is. As he experiences Force visions reminding him of all the pain and trauma he endured to reach this point in the series, he looks back at his younger self, a single tear rolling down his eye, and promises himself that he will not allow Darth Sidious to do to anyone else what was done to him.

What he recognizes in Darth Vader is that it is already too late. While he does not know exactly who Vader is, he knows he is more than an Inquisitor. In that, he must know, somewhere deep within, that Vader is Sidious’s doing, which means that Maul has already lost before the battle even begins. Maul, who neither likes nor is used to being out of control, has no option but to run.

Juxtapose this with characters like Master Daki and Lawson, who are likewise shaped by fear in these episodes, and one can see exactly how full of fear Maul truly is. When Maul is confronted with something he cannot defeat, he runs. When Daki and Lawson are confronted by a fear they cannot defeat, they think about the people they care about and what can be done to save them. In the end, both Daki and Lawson die to protect what they love—Daki saves Devon, and Lawson saves his son, Rylee.

Devon, the Jedi apprentice whom Maul has been attempting to recruit across the entire season, sees all of this unfold. She sees Maul break at the hands of Vader, watches her master die, and witnesses the true strength of the cadre that Emperor Palpatine has built. Through it all, she becomes consumed by fear and anger, leading her, at the end of episode ten, to join Maul with the powerful words, “I’m ready.”

As Devon sees it, her fear has left her with no choice because she has allowed it to become anger and rage, leading her to conclude that she truly has no other option. This is where Maul steps in, pushing down his own fear in the belief that together they can bring it all down—Vader, Palpatine, the Empire—all of it.

What they cannot see, however, echoes Yoda’s warning from The Phantom Menace, when he tells a young Anakin Skywalker, “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to…suffering.” Maul has walked this path time and again, too foolhardy in his Sisyphean nature to see the pattern. But this is new for Devon. She has never felt fear and anger to this degree, and thus she cannot see what is truly being promised to her by Maul. This is not a fight she can win, for the dark side’s promises are lies.

In the end, Devon will have to make the same decision that every hero and villain faces as they determine who they will allow themselves to become—a choice perfectly summarized by Rose Tico in The Last Jedi. Will Devon become someone who fights for what they love, or against what they hate? Her decision will shape not only her future, but the future of everyone from Maul to Darth Vader.

The tragedy of that reality is that audiences know this will not end well for her, as other stories, such as Star Wars Rebels, have shown what becomes of her counterparts. Maul will end up an old man on Malachor, still afraid of Darth Vader, who will continue to reign in terror. While death is not the predetermined outcome for Devon, neither is a happily ever after. Thus, she is the fulcrum upon which season two—and the series at large—will turn. Her choices. Her emotions. Her fear, anger, and hate will all lead to the suffering she is destined to endure with Maul as her guide.