Star Wars’ Skywalker Saga was meant to conclude with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, yet The Acolyte just reinforced what Star Wars movies and TV shows have shown since the sequels: Star Wars doesn’t know what to do without the Skywalkers. It’s true that some of Star Wars’ best movies, such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, haven’t centered on anyone in the Skywalker family tree. However, its place in the Star Wars timeline means that those stories are still relevant; after all, Darth Vader is still a major player in that movie.

The Skywalker Saga doesn’t only refer to Anakin, Luke, and Leia, though. Rather, characters connected with the Skywalkers are also part of their Saga, blurring the lines of what is meant to be over in Star Wars. While many recent Star Wars shows have shown the issues with these blurred lines, The Acolyte just made one decision that is perhaps the best example of this persistent Star Wars problem.

The Acolyte Was Said To Have No Prequel Trilogy Cameos

The Acolyte was said to have only brand-new characters on-screen, which was a thrilling concept and seemed accurate for most of the show. In fact, The Acolyte’s showrunner, Leslye Headland, specifically said that she was only pulling from the High Republic Era or Star Wars EU, so while some characters would be completely invented for the show, others who were new to the screen would be familiar, particularly from the High Republic books. Initially, The Acolyte was true to its word.

The show focused on a few key characters, including twins Mae and Osha, a host of Jedi, and a new villain named Qimir/the Stranger. Especially toward the beginning of the show, these introductions worked well. Osha and Mae were compellingly mysterious, and while Mae had a harsher exterior, Osha was more relatable and quickly became a likable character. The Jedi, too, were plenty interesting, and Master Sol, Yord Fandar, and Jecki Lon worked very well as a group, reminiscent even of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano’s constantly bickering triad without being too directly linked to them.

Perhaps this is why The Acolyte unfortunately relied upon an old trick that points to an inability for Star Wars to let go of the Skywalkers.

However, it was the villain, Qimir, who really took the internet by storm. While audiences did love Yord, some of them even creating a group named ‘the Yord Horde,’ nothing sent the internet into more of a frenzy than The Acolyte episode 5’s Qimir reveal—of both his face and his biceps. However, every death in The Acolyte began to take its toll, and many of those well-liked characters swiftly died off. Perhaps this is why The Acolyte unfortunately relied upon an old trick that points to an inability for Star Wars to let go of the Skywalkers.

The Acolyte’s Cliffhanger Hinged On A Skywalker Saga Connection

While interviews with actors, directors, and showrunners can of course include misdirects, especially in Star Wars, a franchise in which so many things are kept secret, it was disappointing to realize that Headland had said there would be no prequel trilogy cameos in The Acolyte only for that to prove profoundly untrue. The first prequel trilogy cameo was Ki-Adi-Mundi, and viewers were already unhappy with that, as it seemed to retcon the Jedi master’s age (although that isn’t actually the case). However, The Acolyte’s finale introduced a cameo much more significant than Ki-Adi-Mundi’s.

The final shot of The Acolyte revealed the back of Master Yoda’s head as Vernestra Rwoh presumably came to inform him of all that had transpired and seek his guidance on her cover-up. However, Yoda’s cameo directly contradicted what Headland had said throughout interviews for the show. In fact, at one point, Headland was asked whether Yoda would be in the show, and she said he wouldn’t be because The Acolyte was meant to focus on different stories.

Yoda’s cameo directly contradicted what Headland had said throughout interviews for the show.

Again, this could have been a misdirect because interviewers were getting too close to the truth, and Yoda’s cameo was meant to be a massive shock at the end. The problem with that is, the cameo actually fell a bit flat. It didn’t fit with all that the show had been going for regarding telling different stories and, frankly, it didn’t have the impact it was meant to have. If anything, the much more exciting cameo was Darth Plagueis’ creepy appearance on the Unknown Planet. Really, that would have been a much better, more original, and more chilling final shot.

However, this is precisely the issue with Star Wars’ inability to let go of the Skywalkers after the Skywalker Saga was meant to have concluded. Sure, Darth Plagueis still has some Skywalker Saga connection as well, as he was Palpatine’s Sith master. His connections to the prequel trilogy and the larger Skywalker story are quite different from Yoda’s, though.

This is precisely the issue with Star Wars’ inability to let go of the Skywalkers after the Skywalker Saga was meant to have concluded.

For one, Plagueis has never appeared in Star Wars movies before, whereas Yoda was in all three Skywalker trilogies. For another, Master Yoda had direct contact with Anakin and Luke Skywalker, even training Luke himself. His appearance brings all of this backstory and context with it, while Darth Plagueis still feels like a brand-new character, even as he shares a connection with Palpatine and, therefore, the Skywalkers to a more distant extent. This unfortunately seems by design, though; because of this connection, Yoda is sure to get a reaction. Essentially, because of his Skywalker Saga history, Yoda is guaranteed excitement.

The Skywalker Saga Isn’t Over

In truth, the Master Yoda cameo at the end of The Acolyte really undercut the show’s story. It felt almost as if the show didn’t trust itself to stand on its own merits, so it called in a Skywalker Saga staple that would automatically work as a cliffhanger. However, this wasn’t The Acolyte’s only reliance upon a Skywalker connection, even if it was the most obvious. Rather, from very early on, Osha and Mae were already heavily linked to Anakin Skywalker through the Chosen One prophecy.

While Osha and Mae are not the Chosen One, their shared backstories with Anakin were always going to bring him to mind, which was no doubt intentional. Specifically, Osha and Mae were seemingly created by the Force and were confirmed to have no father, just like Anakin. Moreover, a Force vergence played a role in their creation, again tying them to Anakin’s origins. Yes, Star Wars is a franchise built on ‘rhymes,’ or parallels, with other shows and movies, but it was a bit disappointing that this story seemed so familiar.

The Acolyte is far from the only Star Wars show incorporating the Skywalkers themselves and other major players from the Skywalker Saga, though. In fact, therein lies the problem. While the Skywalker Saga is meant to be over in Star Wars, the Skywalkers keep appearing in brand-new Star Wars shows. This makes it difficult to identify what exactly the Skywalker Saga includes and what it means for the saga to be ‘over.’

Is Star Wars Really Done With The Skywalkers?

Recent shows have not only included cameos from Anakin and Luke Skywalker but also made them essential to the plot. Luke appeared in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, playing a vital role in Grogu’s Jedi path and return to Din Djarin. Anakin appeared in Ahsoka, pushing Ahsoka to finally embrace the identity of a Jedi in the World Between Worlds and then even appearing as a Force ghost watching over her, suggesting he might be in the upcoming Ahsoka season 2. Hayden Christensen also reprised his role as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Recent shows have not only included cameos from Anakin and Luke Skywalker but also made them essential to the plot.

To be clear, these cameos and storylines aren’t a bad thing—quite the opposite. It was absolutely delightful to see Hayden Christensen and Mark Hamill return to these roles, and it will be wonderful if they continue to do so. These characters and these actors are beloved in the franchise for a reason. The issue isn’t with them, it’s with Star Wars’ inconsistency. Star Wars is meant to be moving on from the Skywalkers, but is it really?

After all, the Skywalker Saga ‘ended’ with Rey adopting the name Skywalker, and she has an upcoming movie, muddying the waters again. It’s possible the Skywalkers are always going to be central to Star Wars, and that isn’t an issue; it only becomes an issue when the franchise (or shows within the franchise) insist the Skywalker Saga isn’t central but relies upon it anyway. Star Wars just needs to clearly define what it means for the Skywalker Saga to be over, especially when it comes to stories connected to the Skywalker trilogies, as The Acolyte made clear.