PreMaul is so one-sided, but one-sided in a very normal, our reality way.
Like yeah, we all heard stories about sleaky guys who think if they do anything for a girl, like give her a ride, compliments or be nice they're automatically entitled to that girl whole body and autonomy. Of course you have to sleep with me, I am nice to you, why wouldn't a girl want to be with me, I am nice, unlike all those jerk guys you'll find around- They do performative nice things so a girl will sleep with them.
And that's exactly what Pre does.
Pre finds Maul. He gives him new legs and clothing, even if he doesn't know who Maul is yet and if him and Savage can be any help at all- in fact, there were more reasons to believe they're wouldn't be helpful since the whole situation indicated they lost to Jedi!
He finds him and barely looks at Savage and instead goes straight to Maul. He touches his face and stares for an uncomfortable amount of time and makes up and excuse to bring him to the ship.
When we see Maul and Savage again, he is both getting new legs alongside already having new clothes (I wonder who put them on him, specially that shirt with the DEEP v neck.) Savage is also getting a new arm, he is 'in debt' already.
It's only afterwards Pre discovers they're sith lords and can be helpful. But I had a feeling that if he didn't find their lightsabers, he would have still followed a similar path of actions. But he wouldn't have enter the medical tent with Bo-Katan nor kept Maul and Savage together in there.
When he talks with Maul later, he prides himself, make his cause righteous. You can immediately tell Maul isn't believing that and he calls Pre out on the spot, asking why he just doesn't take Mandalore himself. That's when Pre uses what he discovers, he put his problems by side with Maul ones. He puts them on the same side and standing.
But if you look at it, he didn't even know Maul's name yet. He didn't bother to ask. He didn't actually believe they were equals because he saw himself as a leader fighting for his cause and Maul as a strong, pretty face that could be used for his cause.
And Maul's not dumb, he doesn't trust or believe Vizsla in any moment, but hes played all these games before. He knows manipulation when he sees it.
So they make the alliance. They go on to deal with the Syndicates, and then Pre continues to circle around Maul. Putting himself in front of him during fights, walking with him, following his plans to the letter, he talks about how well their alliance is going, how great they work together- But interestingly he never seems to does that with Savage, in fact he ignores his presence completely and focuses only on Maul. Even when Savage does the dirty work or show his abilities. Funny how he never interacts with Savage if it's not to threaten him to somehow control Maul- but he doesn't do that all the time of course, he only does that before the alliance and after it ends.
And the illusion break the moment he makes that mistake. The same mistake that cost him his life and he made when he first meet Maul, he touches him.
Maul pushes him off- and you can see it in his face he doesn't like that. He goes on to bring on his plan, his strategy. Maul doesn't go with it, in fact it seems that is this moment that he gets fed up with Pre because he then is very direct about his rejection about everything regarding Pre at all.
And just coincidentally, it's after this rejection that Pre starts to change.
He is not as flattering anymore, he starts planning the betrayal with Bo-Katan, he undermines Maul's planning.
And when he betrays him? It's the same thing he did at the start, he threatens Savage safety to push Maul down once again and touches him again when making that whole discourse, he straight up grabs him by the horns this time, apparently the face and shoulders weren't enough-
Pre Vizsla was a nice guy this whole time. The CW writers managed to make a perfect portrayal of a nice guy on complete accident.
