– Spoiler Review –
What follows “Day”? “Night,” of course, the fifth episode of The Acolyte, a breathtaking, action-packed, and utterly memorable entry where the masked Stranger is revealed in a deadly battle and the twins face an important decision.
The beginning of The Acolyte’s “Night” sort of felt like the show experiencing what us fans did over the past week, wondering what happened next after the masked Stranger aka Darth Teeth aka {redacted until later in this review} floated out of the shadows and blasted the Jedi with a wave of the Force: it starts by zooming in on a dazed Osha, the sounds of a lightsaber battle close but not in frame, who is wondering where everyone is and what happened to her Jedi friends. What follows is an almost non-stop action sequence of lightsaber clashes, revelations, and deaths, culminating in a change of the status quo without any hope of going back to the way things were as we head into the final three episodes of the season. The amount of death was surprising and intense, giving the Stranger an incredible reputation even before his mask comes off and the truth is revealed, though I didn’t have enough of an emotional connection to the main characters who perish given the pace and overall focus of the show so far. I certainly will miss them, as episode four “Day” started to make them more memorable and interesting, but at this point it’s more about the narrative opportunities they presented or could still have had than the persons themselves, though that’s not to say I didn’t feel affected by their deaths. I was shouting “Oh fuck” several times throughout, and the brutal, quick deaths where we don’t get to linger on their passing made them feel more ‘real,’ so to speak, as often death is more like that in real life than the big production/slow motion stuff movies/shows can typically use; the way this episode did it recalled a particularly devastating death in the penultimate episode of the final season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (if you know, you know, but yes, very niche reference, sorry dear reader). The remaining survivors are the characters I’ve grown the most attached to and interested in overall anyways, so there’s plenty of intrigue left with them, especially given what all happens here, I just wish the show could’ve been more consistent with its runtimes (or had more) to have better built up its characters than just move the plot along with some characters getting more to do than others. I think the final three episodes will really cement the character work on the survivors into something special, even with the requisite flashback to give us the full story of the past, but while this was the best episode yet, it still revealed some of the cracks with the show so far.
After catching up to the battle, Osha finds several Jedi in combat with the Stranger and he begins tearing through the “red shirts” before her very eyes, with Yord only sustaining an injury before she intervenes, drawing the Stranger’s attention away. Master Sol comes to her rescue, telling Yord to take the civilian back to the ship, and the two make off into the woods, leaving Sol to battle the Stranger. Sol attempts to gain information about the masked menace but if anything, we learn more about Sol in the process. It starts when he presses the Stranger about wearing a mask around his pupil, Mae, to which the Stranger sharply remarks, “Why don’t you tell me?” hinting at how Sol has hidden things from his apprentice, Osha. After a brief fight, the Stranger leaves Sol to intervene Jecki’s attempts to arrest Mae, but Sol joins his apprentice in battle eventually, though when Osha returns to the scene with Yord, tragedy has come, as well as even more pointed remarks by the Stranger to Sol. The Jedi Master tells Osha not to listen to the dark sider, claiming he’s twisted by darkness, but the Stranger’s response about how he’s accepted it and not hiding it, asking what Sol did with his own darkness, continues to paint an interesting amount of possibilities about what happened in the past. There’s a lot of anger on display in Sol’s battles with the Stranger, especially when he goes hand to hand with the dark sider after another death, so the possibility his calm, kindly demeanor is just a mask for what he’s been suppressing, in hopes he can still be a Jedi and not be considered a failure/labeled a Sith for giving into any anger, grows with every episode. Not knowing the full events of the past has left the Jedi’s true part in it obscured, but from Lee Jung-jae’s performance so far, whatever transpired has weighed heavily on Sol ever since, and this is further proof whatever really happened, his part in it will change our and Osha’s perception of him, especially since he’s taken too long to tell Osha the truth, which he promised last episode he would, and now he won’t get the chance. Telling her isn’t prevented by his death, in fact he’s one of the sole (sorry not sorry) survivors of the episode, but rather by a far more interesting complication, which we’ll get into that later. Either way, and no matter what’s revealed, Sol is my favorite character from the show thanks to his complicated story and Jung-jae’s performance.
While Osha/Mae are right behind Sol as second favorites in the show, Jecki was next, especially after some of her wise words and interest in Osha were brought to the surface last episode. She proves she’s a dutiful pupil, as the Stranger calls her, as her part of the episode begins when she comes for Mae, attempting to arrest her. Their fight might be overshadowed by all the excellent lightsaber choreography, but it’s still impressive, with Jecki using the environment around her to stop Mae’s blades and the way they are twisting and turning as Jecki puts on the cuffs, one at a time. I was a little surprised Mae didn’t try to refute anything Jecki was claiming about her, but maybe she felt it was futile, focusing only on survival instead of wasting her breath and effort on anything else. Jecki is eventually successful in cuffing up Mae, but the Stranger swoops in, trying to kill Jecki and also Mae for looking to betray him and prevent her from being taken back to the Jedi. Jecki puts up an incredible fight, though I expected nothing less from the studious Padawan of Sol, using both her own and later Kelnacca’s saber in the battle once the Stranger employs his cortosis-lined gauntlets/helmet to short out her blade temporarily, even managing to de-helmet the dark sider…moments before he brings her life to a swift end by splitting his handle in half and using a surprise second blade. Sure, the unnamed Jedi dying earlier, be it from a lightsaber to the gut, being pulled into the blade, to decapitations was brutal, but Jecki’s swift and sudden death was the first, but not the last time I was left shouting “oh fuck” before the episode ended.
While Yord and Osha head back to the ship, trying to follow the elusive tracker Bazil, who is still out in the jungle, sniffing away, Osha keeps trying to return to the fight, to help Sol and the others. Yord has a lot of confidence in his fellow Jedi and doesn’t want to go against Sol’s orders to get Osha to safety, someone Yord cares about as we saw last episode. When they must slow down to make their way safely through the umbramoths’ grove, Osha’s questions force Yord to mull over just how dangerous the Stranger is, while Osha’s idea to use the umbramoth’s against the Stranger bring Yord around to following Osha back into the fight to help others. From the implied history between Yord and Osha in the opening episode to their great conversation last episode, I was really growing to appreciate the nuances to the fastidious Jedi Knight (and his #Yordhorde), but all good things have to come to an end…After Jecki perishes, Mae, despite running again and the two Jedi trying to protect her from him before Jecki dies, the Stranger has her in his muscular arms, lightsaber to her head, only for Yord to show up to try and save the day. He grabs the Stranger’s helmet, using it to short out the dark sider’s blade, but he’s not strong enough when they have to go hand-to-hand, resulting in the Stranger killing Yord by breaking his neck. This leaves only Mae, Osha, Sol, and the Stranger alive and in the moments which follow, everything changes.
But before we go into that, how about we discuss the big reveal behind who the Stranger is (also so I don’t have to keep skirting around it)! I was definitely wrong in my theories, as I was assuming the show wasn’t going to make it the most obvious answer, but I’m not upset about being wrong and after seeing how it all played out, I’m glad it turned out to be Qimir. It’s Jecki who demasks the Stranger, revealing the messy mop of hair belonging to Qimir, in a shockingly cool shot, the gif of which I could watch on repeat. Manny Jacinto absolutely chews up this newfound revelation, showing the switch from purposefully demented dark side user to his jester-like Qimir personality, while he brings an intimidating physicality to the role, opting to do basically all his stunts while matching Qimir’s impressive—and for some, which I totally understand, attractive—physique with, like I mentioned, a controlled derangement. His fighting style, named after a Legends style that itself was originally only a fan-canon called Trákata, involves a lot of shutting off his lightsaber, a technique and visual I found very interesting and is obviously effective, both at killing Jedi and at showing how much of a maverick he is and how unpredictable he can be. Having a helmet and gauntlet made out of cortosis, an ore originally from Legends that jumped over to canon a decade ago in A New Dawn, which can short out lightsabers temporarily, is another tricky tool in his bag, and I loved how the choreography played around with it. As for Qimir himself, or whatever his real name might be, it’s hard not to agree with some of what he’s saying to Sol and others when they start asking him questions. He reveals he doesn’t call himself Sith, but he says the Jedi like Sol would call him it, so there’s the whole question of if he’s even a Sith in the traditional sense or just a dark side user, though a big interview with the cast about the show so far,* including Qimir’s reveal, has Jacinto referring to his character as a Sith. Which leaves the question, is he the Master or the Apprentice? I’ve thought the Stranger, before we even knew who he was, would be the apprentice, hence why he’s looking for an acolyte, and this seems to further confirm such a thought.
When Sol horridly says Jecki was only a kid after her death, Qimir’s rebuttal about him being the one to bring her into this dangerous situation both highlights a Jedi’s willingness to fight for light and life no matter the cost, but also how willingly the Jedi seem to let their youngest members be in danger. He tells Sol he wants to be free, free from the Jedi to use his power as he pleases, and to have an acolyte to pass along his knowledge and abilities, as after all, any dark sider, or Sith, wants a legacy since they have a hard time letting go. I found his comment about the Jedi making the rules very interesting, as it comes with a hint of meta-ness to it, as he claims it’s the Jedi who dictate seeing his face requires him to kill them all, not because he wants to or has a rule for it. It felt meta given Ki-Ad-“Sith have been extinct for over a millennia”-Mundi is in the show, working with Vernestra Rwoh’s mini-council on the problem, as fans, including myself, have made the logical leap anyone who learns Qimir’s identity likely has to die since Sith can’t have revealed themselves already. But in-universe it offers a glimpse at how the Jedi react to their greatest enemy, seeming to suggest the Jedi Order is more likely to assume someone is an enemy than someone worth attempting to redeem or help if they get even the faintest of whiffs of dark side activity. Qimir’s honesty is his most dangerous weapon, as the moment Osha attaches Pip’s light to Qimir and the umbramoths carry him away, she begins to interrogate Sol about Qimir’s comments on her ex-Master darkness. How could this dark sider know the truth of her Master and he’s not shared it with her? This lingering revelation to Osha that her Master maybe isn’t who she always thought he was is a big opening for Qimir to exploit, which feeds into my theory Mae and Osha will switch sides before the season is through, though in a way by the end of “Night,” they already do!
Between Mae trying to get away all episode and Osha trying to get back and help, the twins were on opposite tracks but collide in a big way towards the end. Osha manages to stun Mae when she runs away after Yord’s death, but Mae awakens eventually and stuns Sol after Qimir is taken away by the bugs. This leaves the twins alone together for the first time since those fateful events 16 years ago and their conversation is quite intriguing. I’ve really enjoyed Amandla Stenberg’s performances for each sister and seeing them together furthered my love for their work, though it did make me wish there was a little more inflection difference in their voices, as Mae and Osha started sounding a little too similar in the scene between them. Regardless, I love how this scene is the first in the episode to take place in day break, as if the shadows are lifted and the truth is ready to break through, which Mae attempts to do but Osha resists. Osha’s been sold one version of events for so long, even though her sister hugs her, says she loves her, and pleads for Osha to choose her, she’s unwilling to hear Mae’s take on the past, how the Jedi are the problem and they did something wrong. To Osha, Mae is the criminal, the one who is to blame, even despite the questions she has for Sol about what really happened, so Mae has to defend herself against her sister when she tries to arrest her. Pushing her with the Force, Mae decides to help Disney with their next remake, cutting her hair and starting a Parent Trap aka Master Trap, taking Osha’s place and leaving Osha behind!! Sol doesn’t seem to realize who’s really in front of him and he takes Mae back to the ship, though Bazil covertly joining them could maybe throw a wrench into Mae’s plans, as he’d know the difference. Could being around Sol and the Jedi show Mae the wrongs of her path? Or help push her to work even harder to help Osha? Or will she still try to kill Sol, without a weapon, as Qimir wanted? As for Osha, Qimir survives the bug attack and finds her, dressed as Mae, though it seems he might know they’ve switched given his closing line of the episode. He could be just as duped as Sol though, we aren’t thanks to Osha’s tattoo, but given Yord’s comment earlier about how Qimir can get into one’s head, and we see it happen when Mae is running earlier in the episode, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t know who he has in front of him (but I’ve been wrong before). And if he does know who she really is, as Lia pointed it out on Twitter, she managed to defeat him without a weapon, by putting Pip on his back and sending in the bugs, so she’s already a prime candidate for an acolyte…
Here are a few other things:
- Another aspect I enjoyed about the Qimir we’ve met and the one we meet here behind the mask is how Palpatine/Sidious employ a similar strategy, Palpatine being the kindly old man and Sidious being his full sinister self…mayhaps it’s one of the many things Qimir passes down to whomever ends up being his acolyte…or maybe he learned it from whomever is his master.
- *I was pretty surprised such a spoiler-filled interview over at Entertainment Weekly was put up the morning after this episode, but it was also interesting to hear from those behind and in the show about what’s all transpired, something we don’t always get. Jacinto talks about being able to be honest now, how he did nearly all his stunts and the fighting, Dafne Keen and Charlie Barnett talk about knowing their characters were going to die early on, Leslye Headland talks about being obvious with Qimir and how we’re entering a whole new phase of the show, and so much more! Definitely worth a read!
- Also in the EW piece, it’s mentioned episode three, “Destiny,” was filmed back-to-back with episode seven, though they don’t outright confirm we’re going to the past again…but between the footage and unanswered questions…it’s coming and it seems like it’s episode seven.
- The episode guide confirmed cortosis and Qimir’s unique fighting style, so these are always fun to check out afterwards!
- Hasbro has revealed a Black Series release for Qimir’s helmet, with preorders live on Thursday.
The Acolyte’s “Night” is a thrilling, action-packed, and explosive episode not to be missed, setting up for a new status quo in the final three episodes!
+ Qimir’s reveal and Manny Jacinto’s relishment of the moment
+ Master Trap aka Parent Trap with the twins
+ Sol’s struggle
+ Fight choreography and the quick, brutal deaths
– Exposes the rushed nature of the season
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”