Witwer's take as Darth Maul, though, was amazing. The whole mentally insane was very suiting and it really makes you feel pity for the guy - he was this badass Sith Lord in EpI, and now he's living in his own scum and only half the person he was.
I love how he's ranting, half-crying and giggling in insanity and Savage asks him who cut him in half - for a second Maul stops the whining and looks right at him and says "REVENGE"... a total "oh, sh**'s going down" moment.
When I first saw the behind the scenes video with Sam Witwer, I thought "OMG, he is totally over-acting, and he's gonna blow this". But in the context of the animation and Maul's manic behavior it works. And the "Revenge" moment at the end of the episode was a great way to wrap things up.
The serpent came across as something out of Paradise Lost to me. And I also see the echoes of LOTR, too.
As for Obi-Wan and Yoda knowing Darth Maul's name? I would suspect that the Jedi learned Maul's name following the Naboo crisis depicted in TPM. Sidious told the Neimoidians that he was sending Darth Maul to them, so they knew him by name. Nute Gunray and Rune Haako may not have given up Sidious in interrogations following the invasion of Naboo, but they may have given up Darth Maul's name.
One thing that momentarily took me out of the episode though? The cargo ship's walker landing gear. It just seemed like too much of a stretch considering that this starship was just some bulk freighter.