The Acolyte has always had to make sure that the Sith remained hidden until Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and the show’s finale has finally explained exactly how it managed that. The Acolyte takes place in the High Republic era, about 100 years prior to The Phantom Menace. It also focuses on the Stranger and the inner workings of the Sith, though, and since the Jedi believed the Sith were extinct, The Acolyte had to be very careful with what it revealed about the Sith. While The Acolyte always needed to be careful with that secret, it had some bumps along the way.

At several points in The Acolyte, it seemed like there was no way the Sith could have remained hidden until The Phantom Menace. Ki-Adi Mundi’s cameo in The Acolyte seemed like a nail in the coffin, since he was a member of the Jedi Council in the prequels. Additionally, the Stranger’s massacre in The Acolyte episode 5 seemed to be conclusive proof of the Sith’s return. The Acolyte, however, clearly planned for those road bumps, and knew from the start exactly how the Sith would remain hidden. All the pieces came together in the finale of The Acolyte, and the Sith’s secret was protected.

A Jedi Conspiracy Kept The Sith’s Existence A Secret

The Acolyte episode 8 revealed that one Jedi in particular had overwhelming evidence of the Sith’s return: Vernestra Rwoh. After Osha killed Sol, she had far more knowledge about Osha, Mae, Brendok, and the Stranger than any other living Jedi. Vernestra also seemed to have a history with the Stranger, as she recognized him through the Force when she arrived on Brendok, and she may have even known the Stranger’s true identity. By all accounts, she should have pieced together that the Sith had returned, or at the very least that somebody very strong in the dark side was active in the galaxy.

Though Vernestra knew of the Sith’s return, that fact doesn’t actually retcon The Phantom Menace because of what she did with that information. Vern’s scenes in The Acolyte established that the Jedi were being pressured by the Galactic Senate to be more transparent. Unfortunately, Vern had already decided to keep the investigation into Mae’s killings secret, so she had to double down in the finale. The Acolyte episode 8 showed that instead of reporting the Sith’s return to the Council, Vernestra framed Sol for Mae’s killings and covered up the return of the Sith.

In essence, Vern framed Sol and hid evidence of the Sith because she didn’t want the Jedi to look bad in front of the Senate. This was likely more than just a matter of ego. Senator Rayencourt seemed to have a vendetta against the Jedi, and all the evidence Vern hid, from the tragedy on Brendok to the return of the Sith, would have given him ample ammunition to attack the Order with. In any case, though, Verenstra Rwoh’s actions kept the Jedi from being aware of the Sith’s full return, and set the stage for Darth Sidious to surprise the entire Order.

Yoda Was Aware Of The Conspiracy… But Were Other Councillors?

The end of The Acolyte episode 8 included a cameo from Yoda, and it seems that Vernestra told him about her conspiracy to hide the Sith’s return. Again, however, Yoda’s knowledge of the Sith’s return doesn’t necessarily retcon The Phantom Menace. Yoda has hidden information from the Jedi in the past, such as when he kept the Nameless out of the Jedi Archives, and he very well could have done so again with the Stranger. Yoda also seemed much more open to the idea of the Sith’s return in The Phantom Menace, which now seems like evidence that he knew more than the other council members.

The Acolyte episode 8 proved that Yoda was aware of the return of the Sith. He may not have been the only member of the Jedi Council who was aware though. When Qui-Gon Jinn first told the Council that he believed the Sith had returned, many of its members immediately dismissed his idea. In their next meeting, however, the Council was much more willing to believe him, with Mace Windu even referring to Qui-Gon’s idea as the “mystery of the Sith.” Now that The Acolyte proved Yoda knew the Sith had returned, he may have told the rest of the Council about Vernestra’s conspiracy without letting Qui-Gon hear.

If Star Wars does decide to make the Council aware of the Sith’s return in The Phantom Menace, it could play into some of the prequel trilogy’s interesting themes. The franchise has already established that the Jedi Order’s fall was a product of their own mistakes, but Yoda’s knowledge of the Sith in The Acolyte would make that even more prevalent. If Vernestra or Yoda had told the rest of the Jedi about the Sith’s return, they may have been able to prepare, and Palpatine would have had a much harder time infiltrating the Galactic Senate.

The Acolyte Hasn’t Finished Explaining This

Image via Disney+

While it already seems that Vernestra’s conspiracy explains why the Jedi still believed the Sith to be extinct in The Phantom Menace, there’s also clearly more story left to tell. Vernestra now knows that the Stranger was her former Padawan, and she’s enlisted Mae’s help to track him down. Though it hasn’t yet been confirmed, The Acolyte season 2 will almost certainly follow Vern and Mae in their search for the Stranger and Osha. That investigation will likely give Vern, and therefore the Jedi, even more information about the Sith, and it could explain how the Jedi forgot about the Sith even more explicitly.

There are still a few questions about the Jedi’s knowledge of the Sith that the finale of The Acolyte season 1 didn’t answer. For instance, nothing Vernestra knew about the Stranger would explain why the Jedi knew about the Sith Rule of Two, which Yoda referenced at the end of The Phantom Menace. The finale also didn’t reveal the Stranger’s fate, and with the Darth Plagueis cameo in The Acolyte episode 8, there’s still a very high risk of the Jedi discovering the true power of the Sith.

If it gets renewed, The Acolyte season 2 will have a chance to tie up those loose ends and provide a seamless transition between the High Republic and the prequel trilogy. It seems likely that The Acolyte season 2 could happen, based on how many viewers watched The Acolyte and showrunner Leslye Headland’s hints about The Acolyte season 2. Even if it doesn’t get renewed, The Acolyte has already provided a fairly clear explanation of how the Sith remained hidden, and it set up the tragedy of the Star Wars prequel trilogy rather well.