"Brothers" marks the twenty-first installment within the fourth season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated television program. Serving as the third chapter in a narrative arc spanning four episodes, it delves into the destinies of Asajj Ventress, the Nightsisters, and a pair of Nightbrothers. This storyline commenced in the preceding episodes, "Massacre" and "Bounty." Its original broadcast date was March 9, 2012.
"Savage Opress, a dark warrior, embarks on a mission to locate his sibling, lost for a long time. Could Darth Maul truly be alive? It's been over a decade since Obi-Wan Kenobi sliced him in half. Savage journeys to a bizarre planet, seeking what remains of the fallen Sith Lord."
Savage Opress persists in his quest to locate his missing brother, the former Sith Lord Maul, a mission assigned to him by Mother Talzin. However, his power and lack of control grow daily. Consequently, Count Dooku alerts General Grievous regarding Savage's increasing strength. Simultaneously, Asajj Ventress and Anakin Skywalker both sense that something is not right with their respective allies, Latts Razzi and Ahsoka Tano.
In the meantime, while Opress is evading authorities after an incident at a local diner located on Stobar, he uncovers subtle hints about Maul's location within the dust coating various cargo containers. After tracing the containers back to a freighter that recently visited Lotho Minor, he coerces the captain into transporting him there. Skywalker, conversely, arrives at the same diner shortly after the altercation, leading to a confrontation where the diner's proprietor, Loubo, attempts to defend his establishment using a frying pan before the misunderstanding is resolved.
Upon reaching their destination and Opress pinpointing Maul's whereabouts in the local junkyard, he heartlessly abandons the captain for flying past the location where Opress's pendant glowed, and starts searching for his brother. The amulet, given to him by Mother Talzin to track Maul, soon fails, but an Anacondan inhabitant named Morley offers his assistance. Evading the planet's inherent dangers – refuse incinerator droids, a group of hostile Junkers, and a downpour of acid rain – they reach a lodge where Opress' amulet reactivates, indicating Maul's proximity. However, at that precise moment, Morley betrays Opress, pushing him down a shaft into the junkyard's underworld, where his "master" will deal with Opress.
Deep within the tunnels beneath the junk planet, Opress is hunted and assaulted by a spider-like figure, which is eventually revealed to be a gaunt and unhinged Maul, transformed into a centauroid half-spider cyborg. Morley chooses this inopportune moment to reappear, requesting "leftovers." Under Opress's intense grip, Morley admits that while he exploited Maul for his own benefit, he was not responsible for turning him into a cyborg or leaving him in his current insane state, before being strangled to death. During their conversation, Maul, amidst his deranged ramblings, recounts how he was reduced to this pitiful state and his desire for revenge against the Jedi, particularly the one responsible for his condition. However, Opress's mission, and the threat it poses, has not escaped the attention of the most powerful Force users in the galaxy, and Yoda is compelled to reveal to Obi-Wan Kenobi that a long-lost enemy has returned to haunt him.
Details from "Brothers" initially appeared in the young-adult novel The Wrath of Darth Maul, penned by Ryder Windham, which was published in January 2012.
This episode was the first in the series to showcase a red opening logo, replacing the usual yellow. The same red logo is also featured in the subsequent episode, "Revenge," due to its continued focus on Maul and his brother.
The broadcast version of this episode commenced with Dooku discussing the threat of Opress with General Grievous. Originally, this scene was intended to conclude Act 1, while the true beginning of the episode was to be the scene where Mother Talzin mapped the route to find Opress' brother, Maul.
The deleted scene entitled "Savage in the Diner" was included in the Jedi Temple Archives section of The Complete Season Four Blu-ray release. This scene contains the sole dialogue of waitress droid Marwigo, and although it was removed, Ashley Eckstein still received credit for voicing the character in the final cut of the episode.