And with that, the divisive first season of The Acolyteis now complete.
Like most Star Wars live-action series, The Acolytesaved its biggest surprises for the last episode. Before this, however, many of my colleagues here at Star Wars News Net (including myself) remarked on how the series overall felt slow.That’s not the case here. In fact, I’d say that there was too much here in the season finale. There were moments where I felt events were rushed, and many moments that I felt were not explored enough. But while the finale felt unevenly paced at times, I think it has enough big moments to make a solid case for a second season.
Spoilers ahead…
Let’s get the elephant out of the room: Darth Plagueis. Even though his name wasn’t mentioned, the small glimpse at the shadowy figure deep within the caves is enough to surmise that that is Darth Plagueis. I’d be extremely shocked if it wasn’t considering how accurate the character looks compared to the books and comics. And in my opinion, including Plagueis was a good call. He is such a well-known and beloved character within the Star Wars Sith mythos that, eventually, the franchise needed to show him somewhere. And with The Acolyte set 100 years before The Phantom Menace, the timeline fits perfectly. How his and Darth Sidious’ story lines up with Osha and The Stranger remains to be seen, but it’s the perfect setup for a follow-up narrative. I just wish they’d shown more of him.
But let’s rewind and talk about the overall positives of the episode. It’s great to seeThe Acolyte ending on one of its strong suits: fight sequences. The parallel duels between Osha and Mae, and Sol and The Stranger are very impressive with moves and abilities not yet seen onscreen. With Osha and Mae, it was great to see hand-to-hand, martial arts combat that is rarely seen in Star Wars. Watching Amandla Stenberg and the stunt coordinators perform sweeps and ground vaults — all in long takes — is a definite plus for Star Wars. And it’s nice to see Sol and The Stranger going all-out, utilizing multiple Force abilities in combat, including a Force Repulse reminiscent ofThe Force Unleashed.
Another positive I want to talk about is Master Sol’s confession and the Jedi cover-up. I’ve made this comparison before onSWNN Live!, butThe Acolytereally is Star Wars’version ofThe Last of Us: Part II. Everything down from the major story reveals, the character deaths, and how it villainizes traditional heroes mirrors the story of The Last of Us: Part II. I think the show does a good job of muddying the water surrounding the Jedi and showing how the Sith were able to rise during this period. And I also want to give praise to Lee Jung-jae who also did a fantastic job of humanizing the morally grey character of Master Sol. I’ll say this as well…just like how I can see both sides for and against The Last of Us: Part II and how it makes us see certain characters in a different light, I can also see to some degree both sides for and against Master Sol in The Acolyte.
But that brings me to something I didn’t like about the episode, which was the flow of the ending. There were some characters we needed to spend more time with before the show ended, especially Vernestra Rwoh. Her decision to hide the truth from the Senate tribunal is highly questionable and I still don’t quite understand her reasoning. This also means she’s largely responsible for the rise of the Sith and could’ve possibly prevented that rise from occurring, but chose not to.
Also, why do we see Vernestra going to consult Master Yoda after she hid the truth from the Republic Senate? It’s too late now to seek his counsel. Mae is another character that I think fits this criticism. Why does she stay behind when she probably had time to get on her ship and part ways later with Osha? Why does she seem totally okay with Osha leaving with The Stranger, when there’s still so much they don’t know about him? Some more explanation would’ve been helpful.
Going into this season finale, I was about 75% sure thatThe Acolytewould receive a second season. After watching this, there’s no doubt in my mind that the writers and Leslye Headland are already working on more seasons. And after this finale, I do want to see more. I’m interested to see what they do with Darth Plagueis and how Osha’s story fits in with the overall timeline.
However, there’s also no doubt in my mind that The Acolytehas to — and eventually will — make changes going forward. Whether you agree or not with the viewer criticism, executives are paying attention to it. It’s up to Lucasfilm to filter out the brash and irrational rage from the genuine and reasonable critique. The Acolyte has to address some of its weak points going forward, while also capitalizing on its strengths. It’s great in the action and plot reveal categories, but it needs to improve upon pacing and character motivations.
For more breakdowns onThe Acolyte, be sure to check out my editorial on whyStar Wars should ditch weekly episode releases. And be sure to tune in and join the conversation this Thursday for SWNN Live!, the live-streamed podcast where members of the team including myself will discuss the finale in greater detail.
Jay Goodearl
+ posts
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
