One brief Easter egg in Star Wars: The Acolyte proves that the Jedi’s rules against attachments are hard to follow, even for the most well-respected Jedi. Star Wars: The Acolyte takes place toward the end of the High Republic era, roughly 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. As such, not many characters from Star Wars’ High Republic publishing initiative are present in The Acolyte itself, with one prominent exception: Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh, a Mirialan Jedi prodigy who was a mere 15 years old when she passed the Jedi trials and became a Jedi Knight.

By the time of The Acolyte, Vernestra Rwoh lived a life. She’s survived the reign of the Nihil – a dangerous group of Jedi-hating marauders led by Marchion Ro – has had to deal with the loss of dozens if not hundreds of Jedi, questioned her role in the Force, and dealt with strange and intriguing Force-related powers. Vernestra has seen it all and risen to the rank of Jedi Master, and yet, even for someone so accomplished, the Jedi’s rules against attachment can be hard to accept.

Vernestra Rwoh’s Spaceship Is Named After Her Former Padawan

Custom Image by Lewis Glazebrook

In The Acolyte, it is revealed that Vernestra’s ship is (still) called The Cantaros. Vernestra’s very first Padawan was Imri Cantaros, a young, eager, and gifted Jedi hopeful who lost his first Master in the wake of a Nihil attack. After the death of his Master, Imri struggled to control his emotions – one of his Force abilities made him an incredibly powerful empath – and Vernestra talked him through the anger and the grief. In the end, she asked him if he would like to accompany her as her Padawan, and Imri agreed.

Later, there was a period where Vernestra believed that Imri had died on Starlight Beacon, a Republic space station destroyed by the Nihil. In the wake of the destruction and Imri’s presumed death, Vernestra sets out as a Jedi Wayseeker, letting the Force guide her purpose for a time. In the end, Imri was found alive and he and Vernestra were reunited. But if, even over a hundred years later – by which time Imri would have long since died of natural causes – Vernestra’s ship is still called The Cantaros, does that not prove that she was never truly able to let him go?

Do Masters Ever Really Let Go Of Their Padawans?

The Jedi are not supposed to form attachments. That doesn’t mean they can’t cultivate friendships – the relationship between a Master and a Padawan is built on trust, loyalty, and camaraderie, after all – but the Jedi learn to let each other go. Padawans outgrow their Masters and set out on their own, and Masters take on new Padawans as time goes on. Sometimes, though, it seems that some Padawans are harder to move on from than others.

The Jedi are not supposed to form attachments. That doesn’t mean they can’t cultivate friendships – the relationship between a Master and a Padawan is built on trust, loyalty, and camaraderie, after all.

Certain Jedi have proven that the bond between a Master and their pupil goes further than the norm – look at Obi-Wan and Anakin, Anakin and Ahsoka, Master Sol’s lasting attachment to Osha, and now Vernestra’s lasting attachment to Imri Cantaros, even 100 years later. None of them have truly been able to let go of the other, leading to “dangerous” emotions like regret, guilt, and loss. Attachments are hard to overcome, so it’s no wonder even the most accomplished Masters, like Vernestra in Star Wars: The Acolyte, have a difficult time letting go of their Padawans.

New episodes of The Acolyte premiere Tuesdays exclusively on Disney+.