Why can’t the force-sensitive use their powers as they choose?
The Acolyte has been divisive, to say the least. From preemptive review-bombing from folks mad that there dare be a Black woman leading a Star War, to some legitimate struggles with exposition, all the way to the glee of some fans seeing the series finally exploring the High Republic in live-action, there has been very little in terms of middle ground opinions about creator Leslye Headland’s take on the era. On a personal level, I find the exposition necessary for an era that new fans haven’t explored before, have enjoyed Amandla Stenberg’s performance as Osha and Mae and think Manny Jacinto and Lee Jung-jae have given us new and nuanced takes on the dark and light sides of the Force, but also want to know why Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh’s green makeup looks so patchy.
That is to say that, by and large, The Acolyte has been a success in my eyes (even if I do wonder if Vernestra actress Rebecca Henderson did something to upset the makeup department, because Dafne Keen’s Jecki looks just fine). But while playing in a “new” era has been elevated by some very solid performances across the board, it’s the series’ exploration of the Jedi’s authoritarian nature that I find most interesting.
In media, there are few things better than a scrappy screw-up character. Is their life together? No. Do they make the right decisions? Rarely. Are they trying? So, so hard (or, in Han Solo’s case, sometimes). But, on the flip side, there are few things worse than a sanctimonious screw-up. They justify their crappy behavior in all of their self-righteous glory by insisting that they were doing it “for the greater good” or that it was fine because their “motives were pure,” and the Jedi have fallen into this category more often than not in Star Wars history.
“Only the Sith deal in absolutes,” a certain Jedi once said. But the statement is, in itself, an absolute. Some of our greatest Jedi heroes have screwed up and proceeded to throw themselves into exile, leaving the rest of the galaxy to clean up their mess (I love Obi-Wan and Luke too, calm down). And that’s without considering their autocratic beliefs on who gets to use the Force and who doesn’t, or the little fact that they manipulate and take children from their families, never to be seen again.
These frustrations with the Order have been why I have always found the Gray Jedi to be the most interesting faction in the extended canon. Gray Jedi walk the line between the light and the dark, never succumbing to either but believing in true balance of the Force. They also think the Jedi Code is bullshit — and they’re right.
So to see the Jedi’s weird rules and otherwise authoritarian nonsense challenged in The Acolyte by both the coven of witches on Brendok and Jacinto’s Qimir is extremely engaging. Even Jung-jae’s Master Sol goes against the code by having a moral center that extends beyond the Jedi’s rules and having an emotional attachment to his former Padawan. Whether or not that attachment extends from fatherly caring to responsibility for the terrible fate that befell Osha and Mae’s family all those years ago remains to be seen. But, regardless of the outcome, it’s the very exploration of whether the Jedis’ behavior is actually honorable or simply hoarding power that keeps me tuning in to watch The Acolyte each week.
History is written by the victors, and often it is those victors who are the oppressors. While the Empire may have won in the time of the Original Trilogy, we’re protected from their false narratives because everything we know is told from the perspective of the Rebel Alliance and smaller factions that are set against the Empire’s regimes. But did the Jedi get the chance to tell their own version of history before the Empire rose to power? Are the sacred Jedi texts just bullshit? We already have plenty of canon information about their complicated past with the Mandalorians…
In the action-packed Episode 4, Qimir says he simply wants to use his ability as he so chooses, without Jedi oversight. A valid sentiment, as the Jedi do not own the Force, and one that was shared by Osha’s coven. Then, in Episode 5, the (heavily implied) Sith (or Knight of Ren), alludes to the Jedi doing something terrible to him. Did his parents fall to the same fate as Osha’s? Did he have a child that the Jedi wanted to train as their own and he put up a fight? We don’t know!
A Brief History of Jedi Going Out Like Punks in The Acolyte Episode 5
Qimir’s Sithly-origins might have been obvious from the jump, but these questions of morality and the exploration of the Jedi and their rule is what makes The Acolyte so, so engaging.
Like Sol breaking the Jedi Code, Qimir challenges what we know of Star Wars characters who have a proclivity for the dark side. He might have been “under cover” in the apothecary earlier in the season, but seeing a supposed Sith (or Knight of Ren) acting straight-up goofy was an unexpected joy. For a franchise not interested in “dealing in absolutes,” Star Wars is historically very cut and dry about its heroes and villains (sometimes cartoonishly so).
The depth that’s happening in The Acolyte has led to the most interesting that the Jedi — and perhaps even the Sith — have been since 1977. By dealing in shades of gray we’ve rarely seen before, Headland and the rest of the team behind the series is challenging everything we once knew about the Jedi as the supposed heroes of the galaxy. I can’t think of a more interesting way to breathe life into a franchise that has been struggling with its identity for some time, and I can’t wait to see how the series wraps up.
