The season finale of The Acolyte was exciting for many reasons, but that cameo was something else entirely. Seeing Darth Plagueis in live action, even if only for a few seconds and hidden in the shadows, is something fans have waited for for a long time. We know his story and how it ends: it’s the tragedy Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) tells Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. But, more than just revealing his character, the series did it in a way that also raises many questions about everything happening with the Sith. For example, how many Sith are there during The Acolyte? And where do Qimir (Manny Jacinto) and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) fit into all this?

Shouldn’t There Be Only Two Sith?

The first question is almost mathematical in nature. One of the few laws the Sith have is the Rule of Two, created by Darth Bane millennia before the events of The Acolyte. It states that there should only be two Sith active at any given time: a master to wield power, and an apprentice to crave it. This is why we only see two beings named “Darth” at once. The idea is that, if there are more Sith, the grapple for power would be much bigger and could end up in their extinction, so the Rule of Two is a way of ensuring the continuity of the Sith’s Great Plan of galactic domination.

In The Acolyte, though, there are at least three beings with ties to the Sith: Qimir, Osha, and, now, Darth Plagueis. While it may seem that this is a problem with the Rule of Two, it’s important to keep in mind that the Sith have never been big at following rules. For example, in the awesome Darth Plagueis novel (now part of Legends continuity), Plagueis’ master, Darth Tenebrous, actually has two apprentices at once, both oblivious to each other. Plagueis only learns about this when this other secret apprentice, Darth Venamis, shows up to kill him. So, for a long time, there were three Darths.

The Rule of Two isn’t really a law set in stone, but more of a guideline for the Sith to keep their focus on the Great Plan and not on their internal power struggle. Darth Bane himself had more apprentices, for example. In The Clone Wars, Count Dooku (Corey Burton) was training Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman) in the ways of the Dark Side. Darth Sidious had two apprentices during the time he groomed Anakin Skywalker to join the Sith, too. So, the Rule of Two isn’t something to follow to the letter, but rather for the Sith to be mindful of, lest they kill themselves and go extinct.

How Does Qimir Fit Into the Sith Puzzle Right Now?

People wondered about the identity of the Stranger all throughout the first half of The Acolyte, and, when Qimir revealed himself as the big baddie in Episode 5, “Night,” it somehow raised even more questions about it. He is a Sith, but is he the master or the apprentice? The way he talks about it and behaves towards twins Mae (also Stenberg) and Osha makes it seem like he is the master. He is always talking about how he wants an acolyte and to achieve “the power of two,” so it would make sense to see him in a position of power. But, now, with Darth Plagueis around, Qimir’s role has once again been put in question.

The only thing known for sure is Osha’s role as Qimir’s acolyte, and this may start to provide some answers. There are some possibilities about where Qimir fits between Osha and Darth Plagueis. Taking an apprentice of his own may be the first step in a plan to kill his master, for example. Count Dooku intended to do this to Darth Sidious with Asajj Ventress, but Sidious found out and had Dooku kill his apprentice (although that didn’t quite work out). A Sith apprentice taking an acolyte while preparing to kill their master seems like a reasonable plan; that way, as soon as the master is dead, the Sith are back to being only two (in principle, at least).

If The Acolyte intends to keep closer to the story told in Darth Plagueis, then it would make sense for Qimir to be Darth Venamis. Plagueis is skulking in the shadows, which might hint that he has just found an opponent to his claim as a Sith. It’s possible, then, that Darth Tenebrous is already dead, and, if the Legends storyline is adapted, Qimir, being Venamis, could be unaware that his master had another apprentice. Plagueis could be spying on Qimir to eventually confront him in a possible next season of the Star Wars series.

Osha May Be the Key to the Sith’s Ultimate Plan

What we believe is the most likely theory, however, is that Qimir is actually Darth Plagueis’ de facto apprentice. Taking the Darth Plagueis novel as a basis again, the Muun Sith Lord should already be interested in experimenting with midichlorian manipulation and researching life-prolonging techniques. As Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) says in The Acolyte finale, very few have been as powerful as to create life, and Plagueis will eventually be one of them. Even if he has yet to learn this power, by now he should be well-informed enough to know about what happened on Brendok.

Osha has finally proven how powerful she is in the finale and, having been created by Mother Aniseya (Jodie-Turner Smith) thanks to the Force vergence on Brendok, she may be the key to Darth Plagueis developing his own technique. Qimir may be operating under Plagueis’ orders, taking Osha as his acolyte so Plagueis can better understand who she is and how she was created. It does seem, however, that Qimir has an attachment to Osha, and this could endanger Plagueis’ whole plan. The Sith love some backstabbing, so Osha should be careful with Qimir, and he, in turn, should be careful with Plagueis. If he turns out to really be Darth Plagueis’ apprentice, Qimir may be doing this just to end up killing Osha for his master — and, later, being killed himself, too.

Osha’s power and the vergence on Brendok will certainly play key roles in the future of The Acolyte‘s story. Palpatine doesn’t get to learn the power of eternal life, which is why series like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka are so focused on addressing his plans, but he does study it with Plagueis and, later, uses it in his pitch to lure Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side. But Plagueis having direct contact with Osha seems to be the key for him to unlocking this power. Right now, Plagueis is closer than ever to becoming “the Wise,” as Palpatine describes him to Anakin, and it’s all thanks to everything that happened on Brendok.

The first season of The Acolyte is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.