⚠️ Spoiler Alert: This article contains major spoilers for the season 1 finale of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Reader discretion is advised.
There’s a lot going on in the final two episodes of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord season 1. Marrok and the Eleventh Brother are on Maul and the Jedi’s tails. Captain Brander Lawson, his son Rylee and Two-Boots are caught in the middle as they try to find a way out of Janix. Darth Vader finally appears, giving us some gorgeous fight sequences between him and Maul, Master Daki and Devon.
It can be easy to miss the cameo Dryden Vos makes in “Strange Allies” and “The Dark Lord.” His role is minor but he plays an important part in explaining a key detail regarding the Crimson Dawn syndicate.
A Deal Made in the Dark
When Vos appears in episode nine, “Strange Allies,” Maul is in a desperate situation. Trapped on the planet Janix with Imperial forces closing in, he doesn’t have any options. Vos gives him one. Speaking without the knowledge of his superior, Boss Rintero, Vos offers Maul and his allies a way to escape Janix. In exchange, he wants Maul to assassinate Rintero and install Vos as Crimson Dawn’s new leader.
It’s a bold move. It is also, in hindsight, one that would bite Dryden Vos hard in the future.
Vos thinks he is smart enough to manipulate Maul into doing his bidding. He believes he is negotiating with an equal or perhaps someone he can control. He doesn’t understand that Maul doesn’t like being used as someone’s tool. If he’s going to be playing games, he will make sure he wins at all cost.
Vos’ Role in Crimson Dawn
Crimson Dawn is one of the major criminal syndicates operating in the galaxy, alongside groups like the Pyke Syndicate and the Hutt clans. It was a part of Maul’s Shadow Collective during his first attempt at building power so he could take down his former master Darth Sidious.
What sets this crime syndicate apart from the others is its elegant, almost corporate-like structure. The group deals in coaxium, a valuable hyperfuel in the galaxy. Business is conducted on luxury yachts while operatives infiltrate the high class of galactic society.
In Solo: A Star Wars Story, Dryden Vos is introduced as the public face and leader of Crimson Dawn. He runs the syndicate with a cold elegance, hosting parties on his luxury yacht. He fights with a pair of curved blades called Hylobon Enforcers’ daggers, and he’s genuinely dangerous in close combat. His relationship with Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) is one of control and manipulation. She serves as his top lieutenant, though their dynamic is coercive.
During the Clone Wars, Vos served beneath Rintero as a lieutenant within Crimson Dawn. After Maul lost his hold on the Mandalorians during the Siege of Mandalore, various syndicates (including Crimson Dawn) abandoned him once he lost power.
Vos probably knows by now that Maul is in the midst of his revenge tour against the syndicates that betrayed him. Offering to get Maul out of Janix and an opportunity to kill Rintero is merely Vos trying to protect himself while moving up the ranks. In other words, he’s trying to kill two birds with one stone.
Two Calls to Maul
“Strange Allies” creates a fascinating mirror of a different cameo from Solo: A Star Wars Story.
After Qi’ra kills Dryden Vos, she contacts Maul, Crimson Dawn’s true leader, who has been operating in the shadows. It was a shocking moment because not a lot was known about Maul’s status after the end of the Clone Wars.
In both cases, someone inside Crimson Dawn reaches out to Maul in secret to consolidate their power. Maul knows it and uses it to his advantage. Maul instructs Qi’ra to come to him on Dathomir, setting up a story that was later explored in Marvel’s Crimson Dawn comic series.
What Happens Next?
Season two of Maul: Shadow Lord is currently in the works and it’s looking like Crimson Dawn will be a major storyline. We know that Maul takes control of Crimson Dawn while Vos becomes the public face of Crimson Dawn. We don’t know how Maul outmaneuvers Vos, but seeing it all play out promises to make some good television.
A Cruel Irony
What makes the Shadow Lord cameo interesting is that it tells us the full arc of Dryden Vos. When we meet him in Solo, he appears to be a man at the height of his power. He is untouchable or so it seems. But if you know what happened on Janix, you realize that Vos has never been in charge. From the moment he made that hologram call, he belonged to Maul. He just didn’t know it.
And then comes the final twist of the knife. The way Vos dies is similar to what he put Rintero through. Qi’ra kills him behind Maul’s back, then tries to establish her own relationship with him. Vos rose through betrayal and he fell the same way. The cycle is complete.
Season 1 of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord is available to stream in its entirety on Disney+.
