– Spoiler Review –
Sticking the landing, albeit in a sort of stumbling way, the season one finale of The Acolyte, “The Acolyte,” offers plenty of exciting promise for future seasons, as the story reconverges on Brendok with Osha, Mae, Master Sol, the Stranger, and Master Vernestra Rwoh coming to terms with what’s next.
Episode after episode, the varying length and eight count total has slowly felt more and more like it just wasn’t enough for these characters and their story. While the stellar performances from Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, and Rebecca Henderson buoy the emotional beats and resolution in the season one finale “The Acolyte,” the show’s overall lack of time with the characters robs the finale of fully landing like it should’ve. This was really noticeable despite the Yord Horde or not, as Yord and Jecki Lon certainly could’ve had more time on screen before they perished, as they were just really getting fleshed out and interesting before their demises, but with the shorter run times and limited screentime as the show focused on plot over characters, it wasn’t enough to make me connect with them (though I was still quite shocked when they died). Focusing on moving the plot, with character beats and arcs meant mainly for Mae, Osha, and Sol, also left full alien characters like Kelnacca and even Vernestra with the short end of the stick in the development department, while it was harder and harder to avoid sensing each episode was rushed, especially with the uneven pacing or the sharp editing. Even an extra episode, or two, could’ve allowed these characters to breathe more, so when Mae and Osha make their pivotal decisions in “The Acolyte,” they wouldn’t have felt instantly inevitable given we got here so quickly and were pointing in this direction rather obviously the closer we got to the finale. It also stops The Acolyte the show from fully saying what it wants about the Jedi Order, the systems it works in and perpetuates, and the alternative paths available, as it just begins to touch on these things but some the nebulousness with the quick episodes leads to open interpretation or a sense they could only go surface deep, yet interviews point to a more nuanced idea behind many of the show’s choices. Case in point, we only learn a key detail from interviews with showrunner Leslye Headland that in Wookiee culture, using one’s claws is largely frowned upon and there is vital to Kelnacca’s decision to hide away on Khofar, and having this in any of the episodes somewhere would’ve given more context to the Wookiee’s story* and made his path more tragic, especially since it seems like something easily added or mentioned with even one additional scene. A few additional scenes with characters would’ve gone to great lengths, as it’s the small moments and missing details filled in later which ultimately make The Acolyte’s season one finale stumble on its way to landing its ending, though it still manages to stick the landing and leave fans asking for more.
Mae’s love for Osha dictating her actions grows more and more apparent with each episode and it only grows in the finale. Once Sol explains to her what they did, Mae pushes at him and his reasons not for telling Osha the truth after all these years, but he’s still too sure of his choices as to want to admit he could be wrong. Not content to remain in Sol’s grasps, Mae ends up escaping the Jedi shuttle in an escape pod ship thanks to her Pip, drawing pursuit by the Jedi Master, though he’s prevented from shooting Mae down thanks to Bazil, who disables the ship’s weapons, allowing the twin to land on the nearby planet: Brendok. They both make their way to the abandoned, burnt home of the coven, where Sol is haunted by the past and Mae visits their old room, reminiscing on the past. When Osha arrives, their role reversal is nearly complete, as while Osha looked out of place in Mae’s clothes initially but she seems born for them now, while Mae in Osha’s civilian outfit, Pip on her hip, looks more fit to be on the lighter side of things. I loved Mae’s expressions in the fight the two end up having, which is slickly done and hard to tell a double/special effects were used to make the two fight, as her surprise at her sister’s raw anger and screaming must be like looking in a mirror: was this what she was like when they met for the first time earlier this season? Mae’s wanted revenge on the Jedi, but it was to make them answer for their sins against her family, including her sister, and her need for revenge has cooled ever since Osha came back into her life, so watching Osha become what she was cools such an instinct even more. Mae does want her sister to know the truth, which Osha still doesn’t believe could be possible, Sol killing their mother, so she runs off to confront him in hopes of getting the confession. After Sol disarms the Stranger in their duel, Mae arrives and instead of killing him, like the Stranger wants and suspects from a vision Osha had, she wants him to face justice for his crimes, forcing him to finally confess once Osha is in earshot. Mae’s ultimate choice, to help her sister finally do what she wants by sacrificing her memories of them, reveals to Osha the deep love she always had for her in a way she’s always wanted to share with her sister. In fact, it’s at direct opposition to how Sol treated Osha since leaving Brendok, as Mae selflessly allows her own path to be altered if it means Osha can finally have what she wants, asking Osha what she wants instead of telling her what she thinks might be best for her. This leaves Mae in an unfortunate position going forward, her memories wiped by the Stranger and now in the hands of the Jedi, where Vernestra Rwoh wants her help tracking down the Stranger/Qimir. Will she be able to understand why she made the choice she did if Osha finds her again? Or will the Jedi have done to Mae what they did to Osha the next time we meet her, truly reversing their roles and lives? While it made sense Mae couldn’t go along with the Stranger and Osha, given what we know of the Sith and how they operate, a little explanation/reminder of this could’ve helped make it seem less weird, while Osha asking for him to free her sister still doesn’t answer why they decided to leave Mae behind rather than taker her and hid her elsewhere. Was it to give Osha and the Stranger a chance to escape? To help stonewall any following investigation? Either way, I really liked this progression for Mae, as she comes off as more compassionate and selfless than anyone else we’ve met in the season, and having her finally being able to love her sister like she’s always wanted gives her a bit of closure before she’s wiped of her memories.
As for Sol, wow were we blessed with Lee Jung-jae’s performance throughout the season, especially here in the finale. Basically up until his death, Sol keeps telling himself the lies he’s maintained for years, they did the right thing with intervening and he’s only had noble intentions with his actions, doing what he thinks best for Osha. The key detail is his insistence he knows what’s best for Osha, something Master Indara warned him about on Brendok before everything went to shit, as it begets misguided assumptions and never truly lets Osha breathe on her own, like she hoped and wanted when going to become a Jedi as a child. As much as he likes to tell himself he did the right thing, his actions have always haunted him and he gets a fresh dose of their pain, as the pivotal events we saw in “Choice” provide echoes to him as he searches the compound. Despite his selfish love of Osha, Sol is still a powerful Jedi Master, so he’s able to hold his own, and then some, in his clash with the Stranger when he arrives to the compound. Their fight ended up being my favorite of the season, as while the stunt team impressed time and time again, this only really wins because of Sol showing off some sick moves without his saber, in the middle of their fight. The Stranger got to do much of the same in “Night,” but now Sol does it in a cool defensive way and I’d love to see more Jedi action like this in the future. Sol certainly had good intentions, there’s no doubts about it, but even when he’s confronted by Mae after disarming the Stranger, he sticks to his belief he did nothing wrong when she says she wants him to face the High Council for his crimes. Something in him breaks though, under her further scrutiny and questioning, and he finally admits he killed Mother Aniseya, though he claims it was the right thing to do because with Mae supposedly dead (by his own actions), there was no evidence of the vergence the Jedi were sent to Brendok to discover. How could they effectively prove the twins were the same person, created and split by Mother Aniseya (and maybe some help, but we’ll get into that soon)? Covering it up, hiding the truth from Osha, Sol thought these things would allow for her to be trained as a Jedi, as otherwise she’d have been cast out, all of which he thought was the best for her. She’s understandable angry about the revelation and is no longer hiding her negative emotions, giving into them instead, and uses them to reach out and begin to choke Sol for his continued belief he did right by her. Given how much time Sol and Mae/Osha have had on screen, this was one of the most emotional moments of the finale for me, as they were the most developed, and Sol was a favorite of mine despite his actions, so how he dies hit pretty good. As she’s choking him, Sol begins to cry, as he finally realizes what he actually needed to be for Osha and how right Indara was all those years ago, and it shows how much he did love her, no matter how misguided it was, when he tells her, moments before he dies, it’s okay. It’s the most selfless he’s ever been with his love for her and if that’s how he has to die, giving her what she actually deserved, he seems to make peace with it here, a final moment which feel perfect for the overly compassionate man we’ve come to know over the course of the season. If there was ever a great case for showing the flaws a Jedi can have despite the institution’s reputation, Sol is one of the best Star Wars has done. I’d love some more flashbacks of Sol in future seasons, maybe him training Osha even, if only to have Lee Jung-jae chewing up more scenery, but if this is the last we see of him, it’s a fitting, powerhouse final scene for the actor and character.
When the finale begins, “The Acolyte” shows Osha still in the Stranger/Qimir’s helmet like we saw her at the end of “Teach/Corrupt,” but she’s distressed, panting, so he attempts to pull her out and she utilizes the same ability her mother used on Torbin all those years ago. It’s an early hint at the power she has inside, after connecting with her emotions, as there’s plenty of fear on her face once Qimir fights through the effects and removes the helmet, meaning she tapped into it to produce such a powerful effect. She tells Qimir she saw a vision of Mae, holding a lightsaber, her hand outstretched and killing Sol and he realizes this is a vision of the future, though he seems shocked, as according to Osha it looks like Mae will finally fulfill the goal he gave her to kill a Jedi without a weapon. He’s eager to go see this and Osha wants to stop her sister, so they go together, not before she tells him she won’t train with him, likely ending their connection once they get to Brendok. After reactivating the elevator her sister blocked all those years ago, Osha finds Mae in their old room, and much like I mentioned before, her anger is simmering already, as she confronts Mae over their past and what she perceives is her sister’s future actions, finally taking the last thing from her if she kills her old Master, a scene brimming with Amandla Stenberg’s killer abilities as an actor. Mae makes a great point though, revealing it’s not Osha who failed as a Jedi, since she couldn’t get over her anger with Mae or grief from her mother’s death, but rather Sol who failed her since he couldn’t help her get over those emotions. Osha can’t accept this yet, thinking Sol possibly couldn’t have lied to her, even despite her time with the Stranger, and the fight between sisters ensues until Mae uses the distraction of Vernestra Rwoh’s ship arriving to flee.
But the truth certainly sets Osha free, as when she hears Sol’s confession, and he tries to justify it still, she gives into the negative emotions and fulfills the vision she had, having picked up Sol’s lightsaber upon arriving on the scene, and begins to choke Sol to death, wanting him to finally be silent, to stop his lies. In a way her vision wasn’t wrong, as technically Mae and Osha are the same person, split in two (potentially by accident, I wonder) when created by the Force, so if she saw Mae she saw herself…or she was assuming it wouldn’t be herself. Either way, she’s in it now, fulfilling the goal to kill without using a weapon, as she fully embraced her negative feelings in a way Mae never could, as her revenge wasn’t out of hate but out of a sense of justice more than anything else, so Osha’s sort of always been the right candidate for the acolyte position for some time now. As she gives in, she bleeds the kyber crystal in Sol’s lightsaber, turning it to the dark side’s preferred red, a first to be seen in live-action! This isn’t an easy choice, especially with Sol crying and telling her it’s okay, so the struggle and the way her blade doesn’t completely bleed fully, shimmering blue at the tip before the red over takes it, is just an interesting image as the pain over Osha’s face over what she’s done. As Mae helps Osha escape the compound, the two end up under the bunta tree, but the Stranger, who fled the scene as the Jedi arrived, appears with them. It’s here where Mae gives her love selflessly to her sister and Osha picks what she wants: to train with Qimir and let her sister go. The final shot of Qimir and Osha in the finale is them back on the unnamed island-filled world, holding hands, looking out at the view, ready to conquer together, a triumphant moment for Osha despite it being giving into the dark side…however a certain cameo appearance purposefully cuts at this moment, but we’ll cover that at the end. Overall, Osha’s journey, just like other things this season, could’ve benefitted from more time, especially with her and the Stranger together, but we’ll definitely get more in any future seasons, while I quite enjoyed seeing her go from Jedi hopeful to acolyte to the dark side of the Force instead, which was a nice change of pace from most Star Wars stories. What does the future hold for her and the Stranger? Will she remain an acolyte or take his place? And how will she react whenever Mae and Vernestra might catch up with them? Things I look forward to seeing in the future!
As for Vernestra, in the season so far I’m mainly invested in her sections since I’ve been a big fan of hers from the High Republic era books, as we haven’t gotten to know her much as a character in the show, and there’s only been hints of the wider galaxy and its politics in this time frame with her sections, but nothing more. Thankfully, the finale gives her a bit more to do, not only in her interesting choice in the final moments of the episode, but also in her interactions with Senator Rayencourt (David Harewood). I recently enjoyed Harewood’s work in Alan Wake II, a thrilling horror game from one of my favorite developers, Remedy Entertainment, and he is nothing short of fascinating in his few scenes as the Senator with doubts about the Jedi Order. Whereas characters like this in Legends always came off as antagonistic, and often later were revealed to be some pawn in a dark figure’s game, Rayencourt seems like anything but, as his concerns lie with protecting the galaxy from the Jedi if one of them were to lose control of what he considers uncontrollable: emotions. Vernestra bristles at the accusations, and while it might seem like it’s because she doesn’t think the Jedi could ever falter, the rest of the finale tells us this isn’t the case, as her concerns over his statements has more to do with how the galaxy perceives the Order, and why she’d care is very interesting. After Vernestra reassures Rayencourt they’ll be bringing this internal threat to an end soon, she assembles a group of Jedi in hopes of resolving the situation, as Sol activated his shuttle’s tracker so the Order could come to Brendok and he can prove the twins represent a vergence. When they arrive, an earlier theory, which I had my doubts about, is confirmed: Vernestra senses Qimir/the Stranger and immediately knows who he is, which she later reveals to the mind-wiped Mae, he was her student at one point! Her ship is named after her Padawan in the publishing initiative, Imri Cantaros, but their relationship and what happens with him ends up all positive (so far!), so I am eager to learn more about her and Qimir, how she came to know he “turned to evil” and if it has anything to do with her line a few episodes ago about tipping the scales, as if that was something he potentially said to her. They never meet this episode, as he only watches her from the shadows at one point, but the way he hides, even with the helmet on, certainly makes the Stranger seem younger and less threatening than we’ve ever seen him before, maybe hinting all his bluster about not trusting the Jedi has some holes in it, like he still wants Vernestra’s approval. This definitely opens up the door for a lot more Vernestra development in future seasons, one thing I’m absolutely here for and could give fans of the show, who only met the character here, a chance to grow more interested in her beyond her choices this episode.
With Osha and the Stranger gone and the Jedi only finding the mind-wiped Mae and Sol’s dead body, and the Senate Tribunal looking for answers, what’s Vernestra Rwoh to do? Reveal the truth, a pupil of hers is going around killing Jedi and took one of their other ex-students with him? Expose the Brendok events and how it led to such a situation? On first glance, Vernestra’s choice of a cover story of a cover story seems like the shadiest thing she could do, but further exploration reveals her potential reasons are far more nuanced than one would expect. Vernestra tells the Chancellor, along with the Senate Tribunal, Sol went rogue and killed the other Jedi from Brendok when the truth of what they did threatened to come out, even admitting those Jedi covered up crimes themselves. While this is the Order protecting itself from its terrible deeds, and she certainly is doubly washing over the death of the coven in the process, notice what she doesn’t mention: Mae or Osha, let alone the Stranger, her ex-pupil. In one respect, she’s protecting Mae much like Sol did with Osha many years before, as the poor girl is obviously mind-wiped and if the truth was out there, how she was created and who she trained with, she’d never be allowed to leave or be free, instead be a test subject of the Republic who, while the Jedi Order are propping up these days, has many issues of its own. Secondly, Vernestra not exposing her own actions with her ex-pupil, and leaving his role in everything out of it, how would it look to the Senate, with Rayencourt eager for an external review of the Order, if not only Sol’s ex-pupil Osha and her role in events, but Vernestra’s own, teamed up and joined forces? Rayencourt’s fears would come true in his eyes, with two Jedi no longer able to control their emotions, and the Order would be embroiled in investigations and red tape and be hampered in a way they haven’t been in centuries. This is a moment where the Order is protecting itself, absolutely, but it feels like it comes more from a far different concern they have than how the public views them: giving their enemies fodder against them. If the Sith were ever to return and/or politically, as they become more intertwined with the Republic than ever before, they are hamstrung by the Senate, would they be able to appropriately respond to a threat to not only themselves, but the galaxy at large? I’m curious how much they realize they put themselves in this place, not staying more independent from the Republic, but I’m curious if we’ll see why they go down such a path by the end of the publishing initiative, which wraps in by June 2025 or so. Regardless, the episode ends with Vernestra, who we saw earlier requesting a meeting, coming to find Jedi Master Yoda himself, a cover up pro like he did with the Nameless situation on Dalna at the end of Phase II (which was set 150 years before the Light of the Jedi, the opening book of Phase I of The High Republic initiative), saying they need to talk, as she’s been operating on her own accord but she knows now she needs more eyes on the situation. We know the Jedi know about the Rule of Two for the Sith, but when did they learn about it…and how? Will we see them come to know this in future seasons or will we find out they already know, so maybe she and Yoda will discuss the potential? Will Yoda be more important in future seasons? Will we see the High Council? If he does come into play, hopefully it won’t take away from more Vernestra Rwoh!
While Yoda’s cameo is big, there’s one about 12 minutes into “The Acolyte” which is far bigger and left me, much like I was as the Stranger cut down Jedi in “Night,” shouting obscenities at the screen in pure delight: DARTH PLAGUEIS! The Master to Palpatine’s Darth Sidious, whom talks about the elusive Muun Sith to Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith, had his story fleshed out quite considerably in the Legends novel named, well…Darth Plagueis. This rocky, island-filled watery planet with cortosis veins is from the book, most likely, so what else will the show canonize in future seasons? But more importantly, what is Plagueis’ role in the events of The Acolyte?! This we know little about and can only surmise and theorize for now about, as does Plagueis, creeping from the caves the island, watching the Stranger and Osha head off to Brendok, imply he’s truly watching from the shadows, Qimir none-the-wiser about his existence? Is he Qimir’s Master, and he’s been holding back information from Osha? And what role did he have, if any, with the creation of the twins? We know from the book and Palpatine’s story Plagueis not only wanted to prolong his life, he tried to create it too, so did he give Mother Aniseya the knowledge and let her do the rest, so there would be no trace of him in the handy work? Sol does say only few in the galaxy have ever had the power to use a vergence to create life, and the way the Stranger looks at Sol when he talks about it seems like he might know someone, and Aniseya’s last words sound like something a Sith might’ve told her, so the implication is there this was Plagueis, to some degree, already mucking about with creating life. If he isn’t Qimir’s Master now, then he’s just watching these dark side users to see if either or any are worthy of joining his cause, or maybe even he’s trying to manipulate them from afar to his own ends. Needless to say, Plagueis’ appearance here is ginormous, with big implications for where the show could go in any potential future seasons.
Here are a few other things:
- Curious if there’s more to the rhyme the twins shared than originally realized, as neither knows who taught them it…something for future seasons to explore? Or is it our shadowy figure in the cave behind the rhyme?
- *Thankfully, we have more about Kelnacca on the way in September’s comic one-shot, The Acolyte: Kelnacca #1, written by Cavan Scott, a key architect to The High Republic publishing initiative!
- Why did Bazil want to spare Mae now after attacking her in “Teach/Corrupt”? I think the little dude’s cute, but of all the characters, his motivations are very unclear and I can’t tell if he’s being used for the laughs or for more.
- Bleeding a kyber? This has been canon’s interesting new addition to kyber crystal lore, as we first see Ahsoka undo the bleeding an Inquisitor did, giving her the signature white blades, while Charles Soule showed us it in multiple stories: Darth Vader bleeding his crystal led to a fun alternative reality dream sequence; when Ben Solo became Kylo Ren and bled a crystal; and recently when Luke Skywalker attempted to cleanse a crystal (much like Ahsoka did). It’s also been seen on-screen prior, by a High Republic-era character nonetheless, in Jedi: Survivor. It’s a fascinating bit of lore and it was a delight to see it happen here!
- Want more connections to lore in the galaxy far, far away in this show? Look no further than the connections extraodinaire Numidian Prime himself!
- UPDATE 8/20/2024: The age of streaming has many downsides and this is one of them, as the cost of the show and the amount of viewership has seemed to be the likely cause of Disney/Lucasfilm not renewing The Acolyte for a second season. There’s plenty of upcoming publishing content, like references books, an adult novel with Vernestra Rwoh and Master Indara set before the show, and even a Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar prequel novel too, but hopefully the show’s story will find its way to publishing somehow…or it gets renewed, eventually done the line, when Disney/Lucasfilm tries caring about creativity over profits again.
The Acolyte season one finale episode “The Acolyte” might highlight the series’ shortcomings, but its wonderful performances, exciting sense of what could come next, and various resolutions make it a memorable, nuanced ending.
+ Stenberg and Jung-jae really deliver
+ Vernestra’s choice and the nuance of it
+ So many implications and places future seasons could go, from Osha and Qimir to Plagueis to Yoda!
+ Rayencourt and the glimpse of the larger politics at play
– Exacerbates the season’s pacing issues
– Not everything lands as emotionally as it could
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE ACOLYTE REVIEWS
Season One: 1.1/1.2 “Lost/Found” & “Revenge/Justice” | 1.3 “Destiny” | 1.4 “Day” | 1.5 “Night” | 1.6 “Teach/Corrupt” | 1.7 “Choice”