Shades of Reason

"Fueled by assistance from the criminal world, the Sith and Death Watch commence an assault on Mandalore."

On Zanbar, the Shadow Collective gathers to strategize Death Watch's scheme to takeover Mandalore. Maul commands their criminal associates to target various locations within Sundari, with the intention of sparking civil unrest and diminishing the political strength of the Duchess Satine Kryze. The plan involves Death Watch then intervening to "halt" the chaos, thereby securing popular support. As the meeting ends, Bo-Katan Kryze expresses her reservations about trusting the criminals to Pre Vizsla. Vizsla assures her that they require Maul and the criminals to instigate chaos in Sundari, weakening Satine's position and paving the way for citizen acceptance. Following the takeover of Mandalore, they intend to eliminate Maul and his criminal elements. Meanwhile, Savage Opress voices his suspicions about Vizsla's potential betrayal, a sentiment echoed by Maul. Maul acknowledges that openly ruling would attract the Jedi's attention, necessitating Vizsla as the public face of Mandalore for the time being, until a suitable replacement is found.

The Shadow Collective makes their way to Mandalore and initiates their assault. The different criminal organizations seize control of the docks, raid a bank, and engage in gunfire within the city streets. While the Duchess tries to reassure her populace, Vizsla and his forces arrive, ostensibly "arresting" the criminals. Subsequently, Satine is removed from power and imprisoned alongside former Prime Minister Almec.

As Vizsla solidifies his authority and orients the Mandalorian people towards a resurgence of their warrior traditions, Maul proposes an advance on the Council of Neutral Systems and the 2000 systems under their jurisdiction. However, the Death Watch leader clarifies that he lacks interest in expansion. Death Watch then betrays Maul and Opress, with Vizsla pledging to deliver Obi-Wan Kenobi to them.

Imprisoned, Maul declares that they require a puppet to govern Mandalore, surmising that the prison must contain political prisoners suitable for their purposes. They then stage a breakout and search the prison for a fitting candidate. Prompted by an offhand remark from Satine, Maul selects Almec. He then proceeds to the throne room and challenges Vizsla to a duel for control of Death Watch, a challenge Vizsla is compelled to accept due to honor. They engage in a fierce duel, with Vizsla initially gaining the advantage before Maul destroys his jetpack. Vizsla then disarms Maul of his lightsaber and lunges for the final blow. However, Maul overwhelms Vizsla with his martial prowess and seizes his Darksaber after subduing him. Asserting that only the strongest should lead, a defeated Vizsla offers no resistance as Maul executes him. Despite his triumph, a faction of Death Watch dissidents, led by Bo-Katan, refuses to pledge allegiance to an outsider and flees.

Almec is reinstated as prime minister. Addressing the Mandalorian people, he falsely accuses Satine of Vizsla's murder. He then informs Maul of his plans to establish his new administration, with the Sith warning that he will be held accountable for any failures. Almec then inquires if Maul has any additional plans. Maul simply instructs him to govern Mandalore.

"Shades of Reason" saw an adaptation into the young reader's book titled The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy. Star Wars Insider 137 initially reported the episode as the fourteenth of Season Five; however, this order underwent revision following the magazine's release.

According to a post on the official Star Wars: The Clone Wars Facebook page, as well as the Trivia gallery for the episode on StarWars.com, a mural displayed on the Sundari Royal Palace's royal platform, depicting a battle between Mandalorians and ancient Jedi, shared a similar artistic style with the cubist artwork Guernica by Pablo Picasso. Further to these official statements, the mural's composition (with characters positioned on the left and right sides of the image) and theme (soldiers on the right aiming guns and a sword) bear resemblance to another painting by Picasso, Massacre in Korea. StarWars.com verified that the Royal Palace mural was a distinct painting from the one in Governor Vizsla's residence featured in "The Mandalore Plot."

Early in the episode's development, the creators considered including a scene where Vizsla's severed head would roll down the stairs after his defeat. This idea was later abandoned due to its graphic nature. Unlike a similar edit in "Eminence," this cut occurred very early in production, though it was eventually reinstated in the DVD/Blu-Ray release.

The trivia gallery for the episode confirmed that the location Ziton Moj attacked was Peace Park from "The Mandalore Plot," which still bore the scars from the Death Watch bombing from the same episode.

The tour droid destroyed in this episode shared the same body design as the droid that provided Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala with transportation at Mos Espa in Attack of the Clones. Similarly, the Mandalore Banking Center was a revised version of the Mandalorian Hospital from Season 3.

The episode's Director's Cut was featured on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Five DVD.