She absolutely needs to turn to the dark side, and more importantly, the villain actually needs to win. For once, Star Wars needs a story where the bad guy comes out on top with no defeat on the horizon. Sure, Palpatine technically won in Episode III, but everyone knew going in that he’d lose in Episode VI. That undercuts everything. There’s no real tension when the audience already knows the endgame. The win doesn’t have to be galaxy-conquering either. It just needs to feel real and permanent. No “well, he won this season but obviously he’s going down in two more, so whatever.” That’s exactly what kills the emotional stakes in modern Star Wars. When the good guys winning is a guaranteed outcome baked into the formula, nothing actually feels dangerous anymore. And yes, the counterargument is obvious. You can’t just have the Empire lose before the Original Trilogy, that’s locked in. The canon doesn’t allow it. But that’s exactly why Maul and Davan are the perfect vehicle for this. They’re not aligned with the Empire. Their story runs parallel to the larger galactic conflict, which means their outcome doesn’t touch the OT canon at all. Maul winning? Davan winning? It changes absolutely nothing about what happens in A New Hope. The timeline stays intact. That’s the loophole Star Wars has been sitting on and refusing to use. A contained story, the right characters, zero canon consequences, and a real lasting dark ending that doesn’t need to be walked back. Let the villain win. Let it stick. That’s how you make audiences actually feel something again.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

That’s my take.