WARNING: Spoilers for the fourth episode of The Acolyte.
“Your final lesson is one you teach yourself. You will kill a Jedi without a weapon.”
The fourth episode of The Acolyte brings us back to the present story, leaving us on one of the most heart-racing cliffhangers done in a long while. While the episode had a shorter runtime, it still had much to offer. Mae being conflicted with her choices, Osha afraid to face her past, and the Jedi willing to keep this entire situation as secretive as possible, the episode sheds light on how human this world can feel despite being in a galaxy set far, far away.
Apprentice Respect
(Center to right): Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen) and Master Lakshay (Paul Bullion) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
We open on Khofar, giving us a glimpse into Kelnacca’s day-to-day activities before shifting focus to Coruscant. Back in the Jedi temple, Osha watches Jecki during a training session before giving her thanks for helping her find her sister. Having the former and current padawan of Master Sol sharing a moment of thanks and sincerity exemplifies mutual respect. Osha also offers to share stories about their master in the future. This is just wholesome Star Wars character interaction in true form, and I hope these two characters continue to forge a bond as demonstrated over the last few episodes. Especially if they can relate to each other regarding their master’s teachings!
Inner Conflict
Back on Khofar, Mae touches down on the planet continuing her pursuit of Jedi martyrdom. Meanwhile, the Jedi in the temple infer upon her abilities and prowess as a force user, wondering how and who trained her. Despite this issue slowly rising to a point of no return, Master Vernestra insists on keeping this situation under wraps, in fear of it reaching the High Council (one would presume Yoda would be intrigued by a dark force rising, but as we’ve seen in other Star Wars stories, that tends to happen right under his nose despite being very in tune with the force and his Jedi order.)
Once Vernestra concludes that Mae has been trained by another Jedi, she enforces that Mae is brought in and questioned – Vernestra shows concern that Mae is only a tool being used for a much bigger plan, mandating that the identity of her master is now a priority that must become known, hinting at a power shift that has yet to be fully revealed. Sol offers to be the one to take her in, on the condition that he bring along Osha in hopes that Mae can still be saved by way of her sister. If The Acolyte is successful at one thing, it’s reimagining past themes from earlier stories in this world and finding ways to utilize George Lucas’ influence being applicable after all this time. After all, this is not the first time we’ve seen a force user conflicted with their choices, path in life, and actions and consequences in Star Wars. This is something that is intrinsically tied to the DNA of the franchise.
Definition and Survival
Master Sol leads a small order of Jedi in pursuit of Mae, and the rescue of Kelnacca. During the troop’s trek into the woods of Khofar, they encounter some wildlife attached to some of the trees. Admittedly, it would’ve been nice to have leaned more into the fearful aspects of the bigger creatures present in Star Wars by having the entire swarm of insectoids pursue our Jedi flock, but given the episode is already tight on runtime it’s easy to understand why only one was cut down. However, it does provide some context for Osha slowly becoming more comfortable with the force again, allowing her to be more accepting of things that she could not accept in the past.
The Dark Force User Revealed
In the episode’s climax, Mae gives in to her emotions, and chooses to surrender herself to the Jedi, ties up Qimir and continues onwards toward Kalnecca. Upon her arrival, Mae see’s that Kalnecca has been slain – and only one person can be responsible. The Jedi arrive not too long after and of course, in dark side fashion the potential Sith reveals themselves by gravitating behind Osha and using the force to push her, and the rest of the Jedi aside before the screen cuts to credits. If there was one moment in The Acolyte that garnered reaction, it was probably this. (Unless you’re one of those angry fans still mad about two witches concieving twins by way of the force from the previous episode, then you’re probably still mad about this shows very existence.)
Who is the identity of the dark force user in The Acolyte?
Despite a shorter lengthed episode, with some things less expanded on than others, this episode’s cliffhanger has fans all over asking a single question – Who is the dark side user training Mae in The Acolyte? Answers from fans and others alike range from a spectrum of many characters. While some would believe cheekily that it may be the tracker Bazil introduced in this episode, others are confident that it is indeed Qimir (played by Manny Jacinto), Mae’s helpful smuggler assistant putting up a front and facade to elude her and the rest of the Jedi. While this seems obvious, other candidates would be more surprising and fulfilling – one of which would tie in greatly with the rest of the tapestry of Star Wars as a whole.
Darth Plagueis the Wise
That’s right, The Acolyte very well could be setting up one of the most iconic Sith Lords in the galaxy that would go on to mentor Sheev Palpatine, later known as Darth Sidious. While the Expanded Universe/Legends canon has largely depicted Plageuis as a person of the Muun, it would not be the first time that Disney has reworked the previous Legends canon for their creative efforts. Also, given the history of Plagueis notoriously trying to achieve immortality (one feat his apprentice Palpatine did discover by the time of Return of the Jedi and culminating in The Rise of Skywalker) It would not be out of the realm of possibility to presume Plagueis achieved it as well, but in a different way. After all, as Sidious would later say famously Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith – “The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.” Now, I’m not outright saying that the dark user in The Acolyte IS Darth Plagueis, but it would be really cool to see this character finally get their live-action debut.
Darkness On The Rise
With the fourth episode now out into the world, it’s hard to call The Acolyte outright terrible. Sure, it may suffer from some noticeable flaws from episode to episode, but on the whole, any fan of Star Wars, longtime or padawan, should find something to enjoy in the vastness of this galaxy that continues to grow and expand. As mentioned earlier, while the episode was on the shorter side, the last few minutes delivering an awesome cliffhanger showcasing how powerful Mae’s master can be is enough to show the audience just how much of a threat this one character can be. Who will survive this encounter on Khofar? Will Osha be able to sway her sister back from the darkness? Will we see how Mae ended up with her new master? All will (hopefully) be revealed in due time, with only four episodes left in the season.
The Acolyte Season 1 drops new episodes on Tuesdays on Disney+.