Wrap Up on the Acolyte

At the end of the Acolyte’s two month reign over Disney Plus, it begs the question, was it worth it? With a slow start, but exciting middle couple episodes (episode 5+6 remain a highlight of the series as a whole), did it stick the landing? The answer is…sort of.

Picking up where episode six left off, episode 7 finally tells the backstory of what happened on Brendok. What should have been an exciting turn of events and reveal of various character motivations and histories, it ended up being a series low as the writing was awfully clunky, and it turned Sol into a confusing mess. The jedi are on Brendok searching for a force vergence, something that is so powerful it would’ve sparked all of this life to form on the planet that had not been seen since it had been visited last. It’s been several weeks, young padawan Torbin desperately wants to go home to Coruscant, and Sol finally spots forms of life in the twins Mae and Osha. An overwhelming sense of attachment he suddenly feels for Osha, he makes bad decision after bad decision until eventually he kills the twin’s mother, causing the coven to possess Kelnacca, and subsequently forcing Master Indara to kill the whole coven to detach their possession of him. Sol chooses to save Osha over Mae, and instead of telling Osha or the council what really happens they blame it on Mae and call it a day.

Episode 8 picks up with Qimir and Osha, who had just placed the Sith helmet on her head. After a vision of Osha seeing Mae kill Sol with the force, the two are compelled to go back to Brendok where Sol and Mae have crashed. Right before Qimir and Osha leave, a character that is confirmed to be Darth Plagueis, is seen creeping around the shadows looking at them. On Brendok, we are treated to another series of incredible lightsaber choreography between Qimir and Sol. If this show has given us anything, it is the rehabilitation of action sequences in Star Wars. It’s exciting and creative how these characters are using the force, and Qimir’s secret double bladed lightsaber is a highlight to see in action as well. Eventually, Sol’s wrongdoings are revealed to Osha, and after not being able to access the force for the entire season she finally does, choking Sol to death. And with him, the secret of the Sith dies as well.

The jedi council arrive shortyl after to save Sol, and realize that Qimir is there, who  rushes the twins to safety. Osha agrees to be his Acolyte, and he wipes Mae’s memories of her sister so that she cannot reveal to the council where the two are or what has transpired. The series ends Master Vernestra telling the republic that a horrible accident happened around Sol, blaming him for the current and past events on Brendok entirely. She declines to admit anything about the Sith, even though she is aware that Qimir, her once padawan, had an involvement with it. The republic wants to look into the jedi, but the council asserts that they are fine and this is the act of one jedi. Later, she is seen going to master Yoda for council.

There’s some good in these last two episodes. The action sequences cannot be denied as some of the best in all of Star Wars. Being able to see a light sided force user fall to the dark side in a way that mirrors Anakin but is unique to itself is fun. Learning more about the jedi of old, and how they are so obsessed with their own power they are not seeing the faults in their training, and refuse to let anyone get involved with their order but themselves, sets them up for the perfect failure of the prequels. It brings about interesting ideas like, is Qimir/The Stranger the first Knight of Ren? The introduction of Plageuis is very exciting, but also perplexing. What is he doing on that unknown planet? Is he Qimir’s master, or was he drawn there by the two’s force energy? The Sith are controlled by the rule of two, but are constantly having secret padawans of their own so is this what Osha is? Or is this interaction maybe going to set up the rule of two? The future of where they’re going with that is exciting.

I still have questions over Qimir’s character. How did he learn of the twins and what happened on Brendok? How old is he? When did he leave the order and why? It ended in a satisfying enough way that I’m okay with having those questions as long as they are answered in a season two. What I’m left dissatisfied with is everything that happened with Mae. I’m utterly confounded by this character and her emotions. It seems that they wrote Osha’s arc and tagged Mae along in the background. She is constantly changing her attitude and opinion toward things without any type of motivating factor, from disobeying her master for her sister, to fighting Osha and ending up on the ship with Sol, to actively agreeing to have her memory wiped so her sister can go off with Qimir. There are pieces of a character here that make sense, but they don’t fit together. And ultimately, what is the purpose of the twins? Why were they created, how were they created, and what future is left for them that we are propelling toward? This show also took place in a time that felt freeing from the Star Wars that came before, unshackled by bundles of lore, but the inclusion of Plageuis as well as Yoda in the very episode seems to directly attach itself to the prequels. Star Wars seems incapable of making products that don’t become incestuous projects to each other, constantly feeding into other areas of Star Wars so people can look like that meme of Leonardo DiCaprio on the couch pointing at the tv excitedly.

This was a project that was willing to take risks and do something different, even if it does not execute its ideas perfectly. And I will champion for projects in this universe to continue to be able to do that, and look forward to hopefully another season of the Acolyte, and other shows and movies that take risks and dare to be darker and different than the canon films we’ve gotten so far. While not a perfect series, the Acolyte shows the potential for Star Wars to continue to grow and produce exciting projects in the future. It is also a product of the failings of Lucasfilm, and could be an omen for what is to come next. Only time will tell.