Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Acolyte episode 8.
Summary
With the first season ofThe Acolytenow finished, there are still a few things that don’t make sense about the series' story. Although the recently aired season finale ties up a few loose threads, there are still plenty of character motivations and rushed plot moments that do not feel satisfying, both from character and story perspectives. Whether these moments were due to the failings of an 8-episode structure or otherwise, they stop the series from rising to heights it could have reached otherwise.
While the series may have its plot holes and pitfalls, that does not discredit the work that has been done.The Acolytehas more than a few spectacular moments, with jaw-dropping fight choreography, plenty of well-acted tension, and thought-provoking moments that recontextualize and even challenge how many viewers feel about the Jedi. Even so, these moments in the story have left audiences scratching their heads.
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10When Did Jecki And Osha Become Such Good Friends?
Their Friendship Did Not Build On Screen
AfterJecki Lon (Dafne Keen)’s death at the hands of The Stranger,Osha Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg)laments as if the two of them were old friends. While her death is sad, especially for one so young, Osha acts as though she and Jecki had the relationship of two best friends. This is especially jarring considering she barely mentionsYord Fandar (Charlie Barnett), who she had known for much longer.
Possibly due to the short structure of the series, Jecki and Osha never had the opportunity to build up their friendship on-screen.They missed out on the moments that would have built them up as friends in the eyes of the audience, making their relationship seem more as if they were acquaintances due to the circumstances as opposed to good friends. If the series had more time to build them up as friends, it would have made Jecki’s death even more tragic and impactful than it already was.
Jecki Lon
Jecki is the Padawan apprentice to Master Sol. Although she is young, she projects calm and conducts herself with maturity.
9Why Did Mae Switch Places With Osha?
Was She Trying To Kill Sol Or Turn Herself In To The Jedi?
After attempting to convince her sister Osha that they need to be on their own side and failing in the process,Mae Aniseyaknocks Osha out and switches places with her. At first glance, this could be rationalized given what her character is supposed to be. Mae’s goal at the beginning of the series was to kill all the Jedi that were stationed onBrendokwhen she and Osha were children.
How would pretending to be her sister help with that goal?
Since the beginning of the series, however, Mae has sworn off her life as an acolyte and claimed she was going to turn herself in to the Jedi. How would pretending to be her sister help with that goal? And even worse,why would she leave her sister on a planet with The Stranger, who may very well just decide to kill her?Mae’s motivation for this decision is never truly explored, as the series gives her little time on the ship withMaster Sol (Lee Jung-jae)regardless.
Mae
The former Padawan of Jedi Master Sol, Mae gets swept up into a sinister mystery—one that puts her into the center of a conflict in unexpected ways.
8Why Did Torbin Drink The Poison?
His Reaction Seems Extreme Considering His Role
When Jedi Master Torbin drank the poison offered to him by Mae, it was the first real hint that the Jedi were covering up some sort of great evil. After all, what he and the others did on Brendok must have been so terrible that not only did he take aBarash Vow, but he killed himself when offered the opportunity by one of the people his actions affected. However, now that viewers have all the information, his decision here seems drastic at best.
On Brendok, Torbin was only a young Padawan who wanted to go back home to Coruscant.The worst thing he did was rush in to the witches' home, only for Master Sol to be the one who killed Mother Aniseya. Little of the fault could be attributed to Torbin, especially when the Jedi Masters around him should have been the ones to handle the situation after it started to escalate.
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7Why Didn’t Mae Go With Osha And The Stranger?
They Could Have All Disappeared Together
One of the more curious decisions made in the season finale was the decision to wipe Mae’s memory and leave her to the Jedi. Although this does complete their switch, with Osha falling to the dark side and Mae going to the Jedi, it feels both unsatisfying and unnecessary.The same goal could have been accomplished with Mae going along with Osha and The Stranger without Osha having to lose a sistershe only just came to understand.
Not only does she lose this sister, but she also agrees to have all the memories of herself purged from Mae’s mind. The two of them have been so desperate to find each other again, Mae especially, that it makes no sense for the two of them to agree to this when there are other options available. Until it is potentially revealed that Mae needed to be with the Jedi for one reason or another, this decision simply comes across as a mishandled way of having Osha and Mae on opposite sides.
6Why Did Bazil Sabotage Sol’s Ship?
The Answer Is Not Entirely Clear
Bazilhas been a bit of a polarizing character ever since he appeared in episode 4, “Day.” He serves a single purpose in the plot, and that is to track down Mae using her scent. This continues on for every scene he is in, even after Mae switches places with Osha, his character only ever serving the plot when it is convenient.
However, when Master Sol is chasing Mae, he makes the strange decision to sabotage his ship, allowing Mae to escape.Bazil knows that Mae is the person they were tracking, clearly did not trust her, and yet chose to let her escapeas opposed to assisting Master Sol in her capture. This does not make sense, especially given the fact that Bazil essentially disappears from the plot after this questionable moment.
5Why Did Mae Decide To Turn Herself In To The Jedi After Seeing Osha?
Mae Flips From Dark To Light Much Too Fast
From episode 4 onward, Mae’s motivations are a little all over the place. The first moment that marks this shift in her character comes when she decides on a whim that she is going to leave her life as an acolyte behind and turn herself in to the Jedi. She does this before she was meant to killJedi Master Kelnacca, doing so because she now knows that her sister is alive.
While this change does show her love for her sister, the decision seems to come out of nowhere.
While this change does show her love for her sister, the decision seems to come out of nowhere. Not only does she completely shift her perspective after training in the dark side for what can only be assumed is a very long time, butshe does so knowing that her master will likely try to kill her. This decision is even more baffling in hindsight, considering she is only turned in to the Jedi after her memory is wiped clean in the season finale.
4Why Did Mother Aniseya Want To Split One Person Into Two?
Was It Intentional, Or Was It An Accident?
When the final flashback showed what really happened on Brendok all those years ago, one of the revelations made was that Osha and Mae aren’t really twins at all, but rather one person created by the Force and split into two. While at its core, this is an interesting concept and could later play intoDarth Plagueis' plans to create life using the Force, why would Mother Aniseya want to split one person into two? This is supposedly something that should be explained in this first season, or even explored in the slightest, but the answer is never made clear.
Whether the connection between Osha and Mae is the first example of aForce Dyador something else entirely, as it stands, there is little reason for one person to be split into two.Even adding that this was an accident or a result of an incomplete creation in theForce vergencewould have added to the story. Right now, it only seems like it was a neat idea with little else behind it, but hopefully there will be more of an explanation going into a potential second season.
Mother Aniseya
Mother Aniseya is the leader of a coven of Witches who value their independence and the preservation of their beliefs and powers.
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3How Did Osha Get Over The Deaths Of Yord And Jecki So Fast?
Osha Sides With The Stranger Despite The Fact He Killed Them
Despite the fact that Osha spends little time with either of them before their deaths at the hands of The Stranger,The Acolytemakes Osha seem as though she cares very much, at least for the death of Jecki. With Yord, she is said to have known him when they were training to become Jedi, even knowing him as a friend. However, she seems to care very little about his death after it happens, despite being there to witness it firsthand.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Osha seems to forget about their deaths entirely once her and The Stranger begin to forge a connection.The two of them barely spend any time together before they seem at the very least amicable, with Osha agreeing to train with him and holding his hand at the end of the season’s finale.It is an odd decision, leaving viewers to wonder if Osha cared very much about the two of them at all.
Yord Fandar
Yord, a Jedi Knight and guardian from the Jedi Temple, is an overachiever and a rule follower. His need to be a by-the-book Jedi can cloud his mind.
2Why Did Vernestra Rwoh Put All The Blame On Sol?
Especially When She Knew Who The Stranger Was?
Throughout the series,Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson)has consistently been a character willing to make questionable decisions. Not only has she been willing to hide things from the Jedi Council and the Senate, but she also proposed Master Sol as the one who killed all the Jedi that Mae and The Stranger were responsible for killing. She did so both knowing who The Stranger really is and seeing him at the scene of Sol’s death.
But why would Vernestra do this? She makes it clear at the end of the episode that she plans on finding him, who she clearly states has turned to evil. Knowing that he has not only fallen to the dark side but is capable of this sort of destruction,why would she keep this information from the Jedi who can help for any reason but to preserve the canon of the prequel trilogy?
Vernestra Rwoh
A prodigy among the Jedi of the High Republic, Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh was one of the youngest Jedi ever to achieve the rank of Knight. She served at a time of crisis for the Republic, battling on the front lines against the Nihil, the Nameless, and the Drengir, and proving herself wise beyond her years. Vern will appear in live-action in The Acolyte, set over a hundred years after she became a Master, at the tail end of the High Republic Era.
1Why Didn’t Master Yoda Act Knowing The Dark Side Was Active?
Vernestra Speaks With Him At The End Of The Episode
In a surprise appearance in the closing moments of the series finale, Vernestra Rwoh calls upon Master Yoda. She tells him that the two need to talk, presumably so that she can tell him of the existence of The Stranger out of trust for him and not the rest of the Jedi or Senate. If this is really the conversation the two of them have and Yoda knew about the rise in the dark side years beforeStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace,it starts to cause a variety of problems for the prequels as a whole.
For starters,why would Yoda not act with more insistence on the information that Darth Maul has appeared, with Qui-Gon Jinn describing him as a Sith? Will Yoda involve himself should there be a season 2? His appearance at the end ofThe Acolyteinspires more questions than anything, calling into question the motivations of one ofStar Wars’oldest characters.
Yoda
The aged Jedi Master had trained Jedi for 800 years by the time he met Luke Skywalker on the planet Dagobah. One of the most famed and revered Jedi, Yoda served as Grand Master of the Jedi Order for centuries; he was powerful enough to duel Darth Sidious himself, although he was defeated. Yoda exiled himself to Dagobah, where he learned how to become a Force Ghost and offered guidance to Luke Skywalker.
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.
