Maul Is Still a Way More Skilled Fighter Than Ahsoka

In the final season of The Clone Wars, we saw an exciting lightsaber duel between Darth Maul and Ahsoka. After a lengthy fight, Ahsoka prevailed, reflecting her skills with a lightsaber.

Or, does it? Is Maul actually a more skilled fighter than Ahsoka? He could be in terms of strength but he has flaws that undermine that idea. 

Maul, Ahsoka, and “Shattered”

In the “eleventh and penultimate” episode “Shattered,” The Clone Wars series drew to a close. Ahsoka enters the episode with a captured Darth Maul.

Bo-Katan Kryze indicates how impressed she is that Ahsoka managed to bring in Maul. It appears that Ahsoka is triumphant, for the moment.

Yet, Palpatine’s machinations are underway, and the Jedi are scrambling to determine their next move.

Maul appears to be transported safely away to a detention cell, but he hears the duel in Palpatine’s office in his head.

Soon, Order 66 is unleashed and Ahsoka barely escapes death from Rex and other clones’ blasters.

Ahsoka frees Maul to help her escape. Ahsoka finds out the truth about the inhibitor chips, while Maul dismantles clone troopers.

The action continues, including a dramatic moment when Rex saves Ahsoka from clone fire, before the episode provides a climatic duel between Maul and Ahsoka.

In this scene, we see them face off with one another, with Maul trying to convince Ahsoka to join him.

She declines, and they duel until Ahsoka finally prevails. Perhaps she proved she was the more powerful fighter. 

Is Maul Still Way More Skilled Than Ahsoka?

Despite Ahsoka’s victory, fans tend to think Maul is still the more skilled fighter. We may conclude that in their fight in The Clone Wars, Maul was trying to win Ashoka over to the dark side and did not put forth his full effort.

As one post states, “Dave Filoni himself said that Darth Maul is stronger than Ahsoka” as indicated in a “pause” moment in the duel. 

This statement refers to the interview here, where Filoni said that when “Ahsoka pauses and struggles at the break in the fight, it was really meant to portray the toll it took on her to compete against Maul.” He also outright states that Maul “is the stronger sword-fighter.” 

Another fan from the above discussion states how Maul has “always [been] the superior swordsman and fighter” and only loses because he “is constantly outmaneuvered by less skilled/powerful opponents [who] exploit his hubris and overconfidence.” We may be looking at a situation, then, where the less skilled prevail over the more skilled because of their overconfidence.  

Filoni also indicates that Maul’s main weakness is his overconfidence, and how he “underestimates his opponent” and thus “fails time and again to overcome this flaw.”

So, we do have a good case for claiming that Maul is actually more skilled but falters because of his hubris.

Yet, this major flaw could also undermine the premise that Maul is a way more skilled fighter than Ashoka. It may not be a situation of exploitation by the weaker swordsperson but more an insight into Maul’s fighting style.

How Could We Claim that Maul Is Not as Skilled as Ahsoka?

This breakdown of the fight scene emphasizes how Ahsoka was not looking to destroy Maul, just as he was not at first trying to kill her.

So, we might think that Ahsoka’s skills have advanced to a degree that she is holding back. Moreover, even as Maul is the stronger opponent, and relies on that in his attack, being more powerful is not equivalent to being more skilled. 

The above video elaborates on how Ahsoka has already battled against multiple combatants like Maul, including Asajj Ventress, and knows how to counteract such aggression.

Having trained under Obi-Wan, Ahsoka has also learned patience and the Soresu lightsaber technique. Emphasizing defense, maneuverability, and calmness in fighting play provided her an advantage.

In the main fight between them, we may think that Ahsoka had been worn down by Maul’s aggression, but we may equally conclude that she was wearing Maul down and waiting for the moment to end the duel.

Ahsoka and Maul

Based on his strength and double-lightsaber power, we might conclude that Maul is a more skilled fighter than Ashoka.

While that view has its merits, we could also consider that perhaps Ahsoka displayed her own skills as a fighter that allowed her to prevail not only by exploiting Maul’s overconfidence but also by a patient defensive technique that outlasted Maul.