The Acolytemight be the most interestingStar WarsDisney+ series. It’s definitely not the best or the worst, but it might be the one most worthy of in-depth discussion. Like it or not, this is the kind of thing that this franchise needs. It’s compelling, bizarre, complicated, and different from the things that came before. Exploring new corners of the galaxy should have been the mandate for these series since Disney bought the franchise. Experimentation yields new discoveries.The Acolyteis over for now, but where did it end up?
The discussion aroundThe Acolytehas covered almost everything but the show itself. Like anything that dares to have a woman or a person of color on the poster, the show was thesubject of review bombsbefore its first episode aired. Once the show was out, the complaints about writing and editing struggled for space with the concerns about the cast’s racial makeup. This grim fate will seemingly befall any show with an even mildly diverse cast, but it’s quickly faded into the background.
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Rotten Tomatoes Score
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The Acolyteis thestory of a pair of twins, connected by the Force and separated by a deadly tragedy. Osha and Mae Aniseya are split across the galaxy, each believing the other to be long dead. In the High Republic era, the Jedi Order presides over centuries of uninterrupted peace. Their sense of control is rocked when Jedi Master Indara, one of the mightiest of their number, loses her life in a brutal attack. A witness points fingers at Osha, a former Jedi Padawan who turned to a quiet life as a mechanic. When the Jedi arrive to investigate, Osha quickly reveals that she couldn’t possibly muster the hate or power necessary to kill a Jedi. Through a series of psychic connections, she realizes that Mae is still alive. Reunited with Jedi Master Sol, her former mentor, Osha works to catch her missing sister and stop her killing spree. Their work uncovers a plot to take several more livesand a shadowy figureconducting it all from a distance.
After Mae claims her second victim,a silent Jedi monknamed Torbin, Osha and Sol realize that the murders are tied to the event that separated the sisters. They discover Mae’s mysterious ally, Qimir, who leads the duo to a rendezvous. They confront Mae, who insists that she’ll soon kill all four of the Jedi who she met on the planet Brendok in her youth. Osha tries to stop her, but Mae escapes. Osha examines the story of her youth, recalling her life among a cult of Force witches on Brendok. She remembers defying her mother’s wishes to follow the four Jedi who appeared to examine the group. Mae is happy with the life she and her sister have on Brendok, leading her to go to great lengths to prevent Osha from leaving. After Mae starts a fire, the witches wind up dead, and Osha is forced to leave with Sol. Back in the present, Mae and Qimir work to hunt theWookie Jedi, Kelnacca, on Khofar. Mae quickly decides that she’s more interested in reconnecting with Osha than pursuing her master’s dream of killing a Jedi without a weapon. She betrays Qimir to the Jedi, but just as she moves to turn herself in, she finds Kelnacca dead. Sol and a small army of Jedi surround Mae, prompting her masked master to appear.
In a brilliant fight sequence, the lightsaber-wielding warrior known as the Stranger goes toe-to-toe with several Jedi. The Stranger cleaves through his armies,using illegal techniquesand a mysterious helmet that seems to short out lightsabers on contact. The Stranger loses his mask in the bout, revealing Qimir as a mighty Sith. Qimir kills several Jedi on his path to Mae. Before he can repay her for betraying him, Sol incapacitates the Sith Stranger. Osha gets Qimir carried off by giant moths, while Mae stuns Sol to provide the sisters with some alone time. They quickly devolve into an argument, prompting Mae to knock Osha out and switch outfits. This leaves Mae on Sol’s ship and Osha alone with Qimir. Mae tries to convince Sol to share the truth about the Brendok incident, but he sees through her ruse and stuns her. Osha initially struggles against Qimir, but he reveals that he was once a Jedi Padawan and convinces her to try out hissensory deprivation cortosis helmet. Sol tells Mae the story as she wakes up. Both siblings learn the truth about their pasts.
How doesThe Acolyteend?
The penultimate episode ofThe Acolyteis a second takeon the third episode’s flashback. Mae and Osha were born through a vergence in the Force. The witches that raised them molded them to use their mysterious powers and inherit their unique tradition. Indara, Torbin, Kelnacca, and Sol traveled to Brendok to investigate the vergence. They learned of Osha and Mae and insisted on a chance to test them as potential Jedi. The witches conceded to the idea with the knowledge that the alternative would be unpleasant. Though the twins' mother recommended that they fail on purpose, Osha takes the test seriously and succeeds. Torbin finds a high midichlorian count in their blood and discovers that they’re one shared consciousness split into two bodies. Though Osha wants to leave and join the Jedi, Mae would rather die. She locks down the compound, but Sol and Torbin invade. This leads to a confrontation. Mae ignites the deadly fire by accident, prompting her to scream for help. Their mother, Aniseya, uses her powers in a vague way. Sol quickly kills Aniseya, starting a much more brutal assault. Despite the witches' best efforts, the Jedi escape the compound. Sol scoops up Osha,and the Jedi agreeto blame Mae’s fire for everything. Omitting the details about their mom, Sol makes off with Osha.
Back in the present, Osha and Qimir agree that they’ll have to chase down Mae together. Qimir extends Osha an offer to become his new acolyte. She refuses,as Darth Plagueis watchesfrom a cave. All forces converge on Brendok. Osha and Qimir track Mae while a group of Jedi hunts Sol, believing that he killed the other Jedi on Khofar. Qimir fights Sol to a standstill, but Mae leaps in and disarms the Jedi Master. She refuses to kill him, forcing him to admit that he killed Aniseya. Mae wants to make Sol stand trial, but Osha overhears his admission. Osha uses the Force to choke Sol to death, achieving Mae’s goal of killing a Jedi without a weapon. She takes Sol’s lightsaber as its cracked kyber crystal changes the blade’s color. Mae and Osha escape the Jedi. Osha agrees to learn from Qimir, leaving to join the Sith. She and Mae reconcile. Qimir wipes Mae’s memory, allowing her to leave the situation in peace.Jedi Master Vernestra Rwohtakes Mae away to the Jedi Temple. Under pressure from a mounting Senate investigation into Jedi corruption, Vernestra decides to pin everything on Sol. She also reveals that she was the Jedi that trained and abandoned Qimir. In the final shot, she meets Yoda to discuss the events.
The Acolytetells a convoluted story that doesn’t exactly stick the landing. It sets up an unreliable story in the early episodes, and though it pays off by the conclusion, it isn’t as revolutionary as it could have been. As a whole,The Acolyteis still well worth watching. There are still plenty of mysteries to solve whenThe Acolytereturns for season two.
