Warning! This post contains spoilers for The Acolyte finale.
Summary
From the timeThe Acolyte’splace intheStar Warstimelinewas confirmed, audiences were concerned that the newStar Warsshow would break canon and massively retcon the prequel trilogy; however,The Acolytehas concluded, and the canon remains safely intact.The Acolyteis set inthe High Republic Era, the period approximately 100 years before the prequel trilogy, largely considered the golden age of the Jedi and the Republic. Because it predatedStar Wars’movies and TV shows, many were worried that massive retcons were coming.
However, withThe Acolytefinale officially over, it’s safe to say that didn’t happen. Although there were various controversies throughoutThe Acolyte’s8-episode run and plenty of backlash to go along with them, in the end,The Acolytedid not disruptStar Warscanon, nor did it ‘ruin’ or significantly retcon the prequels. In fact,The Acolyte’sendingperfectly set the stage forStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menaceby addressing a few key issues that remained in question.
The Acolyte’s Surprise Cameo Fixes A 25-Year-Old Phantom Menace Problem
This shocking cameo at the end of The Acolyte’s final episode has massive implications for The Phantom Menace and for the entire prequel trilogy.
Mae
AlthoughThe Acolytefaced backlash, criticism, and even review bombing before the show premiered, once episodes began releasing, accusations that the show was breakingStar Warscanon increased considerably.Audiences had two main grievanceswith aspects ofThe Acolytethat seemed to be canon-breaking retcons. The first was that the introduction of Force-sensitive twins Osha and Mae ‘ruined’ Anakin Skywalker’s significance inStar Warsbecause they, like Anakin, were born without a father.
The twins being created with the Force by Mother Aniseya doesn’t change Anakin’s status as the Chosen One.
However,Osha and Mae aren’t the Chosen One, Anakin is, and the twins being created with the Force by Mother Aniseya doesn’t change Anakin’s status as the Chosen One. The other main complaint was that Qimir/the Stranger being a Sith meant thatThe Phantom Menacehad been retconned, as the Jedi in that movie said the Sith had been extinct for a millennium. However, this is inaccurate for a number of reasons.
For one, there were plenty ofclues Qimir isn’t really a Sith Lord, and, interestingly,The Acolytefinale didn’t confirm that he is a true Sith. If anything, the brief appearance of the figure who seems to be the Sith Lord Darth Plagueissuggests that Qimir is only a pretender after all. More importantly, though,The Phantom Menacehad already revealed that the Jedi were wrong about this; clearly, Palpatine was working in the shadows long before he was caught, so the Jedi had been incorrect about the Sith already.
The Acolyte Has Deliberately Avoided Breaking Canon
One of the most shocking reveals inThe Acolytefinale was the first on-screen appearance of one ofStar Wars’most powerful Sith, Darth Plagueis,solidifying thatThe Acolyteis embracing—not changing—the canon. Many had suspected that Qimir wasn’t the Sith master, if he was a Sith at all, and hopes were high that the Sith master would be revealed to be Darth Plagueis, Palpatine’s own Sith master. WhileThe Acolytedid not name him, the disturbing figure who appears briefly on the Unknown Planet seems to be Darth Plagueis himself.
The disturbing figure who appears briefly on the Unknown Planet seems to be Darth Plagueis himself.
Darth Plagueis has already been canonized, as Palpatine explained Plagueis' story to Anakin inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, but he had yet to appear on-screen. If this was indeed Darth Plagueis, as many suspect,this provesThe Acolyteis looking to pull fromStar Warscanonand set the stage for the story that’s already been canonized. After all, with just 100 years to go beforeThe Phantom Menace, it can only be so long before Darth Plagueis begins working behind the scenes and takes on his apprentice, Palpatine.
By revealing Plagueis at the end,The Acolytehas shown (even if it isn’t renewed for season 2) that Qimir and Osha don’t represent a change to the Sith lineage that leads to Palpatine and Darth Vader. Moreover, if there is a season 2, it could explore how the events ofThe Acolytesupport the canon even further. With all that has transpired, so much more has been revealed about the history that shaped Darth Plagueis' desire to create life and stop death—in fact,Osha and Mae being created by Mother Aniseya could feed into that directly.
Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Age Was The Closest The Acolyte Came To Breaking Canon
Oddly enough, one of the biggest controversies to come out ofThe Acolytewas the appearance of one of the prequel trilogy’s Jedi, Ki-Adi-Mundi. Some viewers were outraged by his cameo in the show, because it evidently broke canon based on his age. While this may have been the closestThe Acolytecame to truly breaking canon, even Ki-Adi-Mundi’s cameo didn’t really break canon or retcon the prequels.
Ki-Adi-Mundi’s cameo didn’t really break canon or retcon the prequels.
In fact, Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age was never confirmed inStar Warscanon. While it has appeared elsewhere, including a 1999 CD-ROM and a 2013 trading card, neither reference was canonized, meaning thatKi-Adi-Mundi didn’t have a canonical age prior toThe Acolyte. While that may not change the minds of those who were angry to see him appear in the show, it does mean that, officially,The Acolytedidn’t retcon Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age, and therefore never truly broke canon.
Vernestra Rwoh
The Acolytealso masterfully avoided a true retcon regarding the Jedi’s awareness of the Sithby making Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh a bit of a scapegoat. Shockingly, in the show’s finale, Vernestra changes from a Jedi who seems completely committed to justice and upholding the Jedi way to someone willing to lie and deceive to protect the future of the Jedi and the Order. Specifically, Vernestra uncovers the truth of what has really happened throughoutThe Acolyte, including Sol’s culpability inwhat happened on Brendokand the threat her former Padawan, Qimir, poses.
To ensure that the Senate doesn’t come snooping around and the Jedi don’t discover the darkness that has infiltrated their ranks, Vernestra hatches a plan to blame Sol for the deaths of the Jedi and seemingly confides in none other than Master Yoda that there actually is a darkness growing.This suggests that Vernestra and Master Yoda conspire together in a cover-up, which explains why the Jedi inThe Phantom Menacewere certain the Sith couldn’t be back—they’d been specifically told, as a part of this cover-up, that the Sith were long gone.
While this may make some viewers angry, specifically because it reflects poorly on Vernestra and Yoda, it was a brilliant way to avoid a retcon. Moreover, it provesThe Acolytenever broke canon. In fact, despite the controversy and the backlash,The Acolytestayed true to theStar Warscanon even as it introduced brand-new characters, Jedi crimes, and, possibly, Darth Plagueis himself.
The Acolyte
Cast
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
