The Acolyte is finally complete, and with it come the answers to many of our questions. The new series broke new ground in Star Wars with the story of (twins?) Mae and Osha Aniseya (both Amandla Stenberg) and flipped the tables on what the audience thought was going to happen time and time again, a merit of series creator Leslye Headland. The first season finale also gives fans plenty to think about, leaving the door open for further seasons and teasing a greater connection to the larger Star Wars universe. Let’s dive into it.
The Truth Comes Out About Master Sol’s Dark Deeds
One of the highlights of The Acolyte Season 1 is Lee Jung-jae‘s powerhouse performance as Master Sol. We meet him as a warm Jedi Master who is very fond of his past Padawan, Osha, and the current one, Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen). All that warmth hides a dark secret, however, and the past quickly catches up to him, and all is revealed when he takes Mae back to Brendok. Osha and Qimir (Manny Jacinto) — aka the Stranger — quickly follow.
Sol fights Qimir and Osha fights Mae in two separate quarters, but eventually reunite where, sixteen years prior, tragedy struck all the twins and the Jedi. Sol confesses to having killed Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) and also explains that Mae and Osha aren’t actually twins, but rather the same person, whom Aniseya created by manipulating the Force thanks to the vergence on Brendok. It’s not clear how the twins can be the same person, and even Sol can’t seem to understand. For the other three people present, what matters is that he pays for his crimes, and Osha, in a fit of Sith-like anger, Force-chokes him, revealing her immense power in the Force.
As Osha does it, the kyber crystal in Sol’s lightsaber turns red in her hand, revealing how the Sith get their red-bladed lightsabers. It’s a process called “bleeding,” which consists of killing a Jedi without a weapon, stealing their kyber crystal, and pouring Dark Side energy onto it, turning the blade red. She then commits to becoming Qimir’s acolyte on the condition that he erases Mae’s memory of everything that happened to protect her. It all feels right since the Jedi wouldn’t ever allow Osha to simply reveal what happened and let her go. Not with all her power and everything she knows.
On Coruscant, Vernestra Faces a Political Threat in the Senate
The political implications of the Brendok incident are something that has plagued Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) for a long time. She first mentions this in The Acolyte series premiere and then again in Episode 4. This time, she has a meeting with Senator Rayencourt (David Harewood), and he comes out in opposition to the Jedi Order’s vast and unchecked power, even proposing an independent review of the Order by the Senate.
According to Rayencourt, the problem with the Jedi is that, instead of mastering their emotions, they bury them, and that is potentially dangerous for the safety and stability of the Republic. All it takes is one Jedi snapping, and, with their power over the Force, everything is lost. The senator is right, of course, and that’s what eventually happens when Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) falls to the Dark Side in Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith. What Rayencourt doesn’t imagine is that the Senate could become just as corrupt as the Jedi Order, and that it’s these two factors together that eventually lead to the fall of the Republic. But that’s not for another century. He definitely knows more than he lets on, though, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he turns out to have some Dark Side connections himself in future seasons.
As for Vernestra, she solves everything by doing what the Jedi do best: covering things up. She blames the whole Brendok thing on Sol, whom she calls “a rogue Jedi.” As she reports all that at a Senate hearing, flashbacks show that she actually is sorry for this and gave Sol a proper Jedi funeral. Vernestra began as a young Jedi Knight full of potential in the High Republic stories, but, after a lifetime of trauma and heartbreak, has become just another gear on the Order’s engine, losing track of what it really means to be a Jedi: guarding peace and justice in the galaxy. In the very last scene, she meets Master Yoda (Frank Oz), hinting that, by the time of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, he is aware of the truth of everything, as expected. Or at least as much as Vernestra tells him.
“Have You Ever Heard the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis, the Wise?”
As Qimir and Osha depart their ocean planet headed for Brendok, a dark sillhouette gazes upon them from a cave. An alien of the Muun species, Darth Plagueis himself. He is known for being Darth Sidious’ (Ian McDiarmid) former master, and the Sith who discovered the secret to manipulating the midichlorians to create life, as Sidious tells Anakin in Revenge of the Sith. His brief appearance confirms him as part of the new Star Wars canon, but also raises many questions.
The Sith are known to follow the Rule of Two, a law according to which there may only be two Sith at any given time: a master to hold power, and an apprentice to crave it. But this rule has been broken many times before, as the Sith are not big on following rules and are known for backstabbing one another, masters and apprentices alike. As it stands by the end of The Acolyte Season 1, there are three Sith, then. Darth Plagueis himself is alive and aware of what is happening, and Qimir finally gets an apprentice of his own when Osha pledges to train with him.
This will inevitably lead to a confrontation between them, although what shape that will take is currently unknown. According to the Star Wars timeline, Darth Plagueis should either be at the end of his own apprenticeship or have just ascended to the rank of master and be looking for an apprentice. It’s possible that Qimir is his apprentice at this point and is trying to get an acolyte in order to eventually turn the tables on Plagueis. This is just one of the many possibilities for the future of the series.
Will There Be a Second Season of ‘The Acolyte’?
Season 2 of The Acolyte hasn’t been confirmed yet, although Leslye Headland has talked about her plans for the future of the series. Nothing is perfect, but the new series takes a bold stand regarding how Star Wars sees itself and the myths it has created around itself. It’s a refreshing stance, although it’s certainly not for everyone. It was definitely conceived with more seasons in mind, too, given how many questions were raised in the finale.
First, Darth Plagueis being revealed finally traces a direct parallel between The Acolyte and the Skywalker Saga. Brendok being a vergence on the Force and being where the Aniseya twins were created paves the path for Plagueis eventually learning and perfecting the path to creating life, and this is what Darth Sidious will use to lure Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side a century later. Qimir doesn’t seem that interested in this right now, but Plagueis can definitely cross paths with a young politician from Naboo with the potential and ambition required to be a Sith.
As for the Jedi, Vernestra confirms that Qimir was her apprentice once, before turning to the Dark Side. The scar on his back was probably caused by her lightwhip in a confrontation between them. How Qimir fell from grace is sure to be an interesting story, especially since Vernestra has always been a very by-the-book sort of Jedi. But this and other questions will have to wait for Season 2 of The Acolyte, which we sincerely hope to see soon. Until then, may the Force be with us all.
