Coming from showrunner Leslye Headland, it’s no secret that The Acolyte has faced more than its fair share of controversy and criticism. While the vast majority comes from a place of toxicity and intolerance coming from vocal subsects of the Star Wars fandom, there are justified criticisms to be made regarding the series’ writing and overall structure. Keeping that in mind, it certainly begs the question of whether or not The Acolyte actually works as the effective prequel to The PhantomMenace it was certainly marketed as.
How The Acolyte Connects And Sets Up The Phantom Menace
Connections And Key Foreshadowing To The Skywalker Saga
Firstly, The Acolyte does feature some intriguing ties to The Phantom Menace, as well as to the greater Skywalker saga. This includes simple references, such as featuring the Trade Federation in the show’s premiere. However, there are also much bigger revelations, including lore expansions around Anakin Skywalker’s unique birth and existence as a living vergence in the Force as was revealed in the first Star Wars prequel film. The show’s primary reveal was that twin sisters Mae and Osha Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg) were artificially created by their mother using a Force vergence on the planet Brendok, originally one being split into two.
This primary focal point and reveal in The Acolyte connects to Anakin’s more natural conception as the Force’s destined Chosen One. It also has ties with Palpatine’s Sith master Darth Plagueis who also had the power to create life through the Force as well. The Acolyte also has more connections to The Phantom Menace that are more aesthetic, such as the impressive lightsaber choreography and stunts inspired by Darth Maul and the iconic “Duel of the Fates” with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
There are also parallel arcs between The Acolyte and Phantom Menace. Case in point, Master Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) and his desire to train the uniquely powerful Osha despite being too old is an intentional mirror to Qui-Gon and Anakin. It’s certainly a prime example of the classic line by George Lucas about the Star Wars timeline being like poetry with repeated stanzas from era to era. There are also newfound pressures from the Republic being placed upon the Jedi, seemingly foreshadowing how the Order eventually becomes too subservient to the galactic government as seen in the prequels.
How The Acolyte Doesn’t Work As A Phantom Menace Prequel
There Are Still Unanswered Questions The Acolyte Failed To Answer
That said, there are still some key ways in which The Acolyte fails to set up the events of The Phantom Menace as much as some might have expected. The biggest example was the show neglecting to fully explain why the Jedi believed the Sith were extinct before the debut of Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, even as dark threats were rising and being sensed by masters such as Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson). A full cover-up was even instigated to hide the truth from the Republic about all the Jedi murders carried out by Mae and Qimir (Manny Jacinto), having been motivated by past Jedi failures.
As concerns about “splinter orders” and “rogue Jedi” were voiced, the show ultimately didn’t go as far as many were likely hoping in terms of setting up the Jedi’s blindness to the Sith’s existence. Furthermore, Vernestra herself is teased at the ending of The Acolyte seemingly revealing her suspicions of dark side users to Grandmaster Yoda himself, complicating the issues about the Jedi’s ignorance of the Sith (or lack thereof) in The Phantom Menace even further. Likewise, it’s also never shown how the Jedi are aware of the Sith’s Rule of Two in The Phantom Menace, an enduring mystery many hoped would be revealed in this new Star Wars show.
The Primary Mae/Osha Mystery Took Precedence
Instead, the primary mystery about Mae and Osha’s unique conception took precedence for this first (and hopefully not only) season of The Acolyte. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, there are plenty of avenues that could have been set up for The Phantom Menace that were ultimately left unexplored. As such, it makes The Acolyte feel like the first chapter in a much bigger prelude to Episode I, one that will hopefully still be told with more seasons for the sake of continuity and completion (despite the show’s very divisive reception).
What The Acolyte Could Still Do To Become A Dynamic Phantom Menace Prequel
More Seasons Could Serve As A Stronger Prelude
More seasons would certainly help make The Acolyte feel like a more complete prequel to The Phantom Menace. Having been teased with a brief cameo at the very end of The Acolyte’s finale, Yoda having a genuine role in future seasons of The Acolyte would certainly go a long way in terms of setting up the events of The Phantom Menace, particularly when it comes to the Jedi Order and their gradual decline. However, much of the opportunity for greater storytelling and setup for the future likely lies with the dark side.
With so many of The Acolyte’s Jedi cast having met their demise in this first season, there’s so much more room for Qimir and Osha’s stories to continue. To that end, their arcs could also reveal more about the legacy of the Sith and their operations before Palpatine’s rise to power. For The Acolyte to truly feel like a strong prelude to The Phantom Menace, the dark side and its primary players before the Skywalker saga need to be primary focal points. As such, the show did set up the perfect character who could help make that happen: Darth Plagueis the Wise.
Darth Plagueis Has The Strongest Potential
Having been briefly featured observing Qimir and Osha from the shadows, Darth Plagueis clearly has a role to play in future Acolyte seasons when and if Lucasfilm orders subsequent seasons of The Acolyte. His power was already teased with the Force vergence and the artificial creation of Mae and Osha, so seeing Plagueis himself in the show’s finale is very exciting. The cameo also promises an even greater focus on the dark side and how the Sith’s ultimate revenge was put into motion by Palpatine’s master.
All in all, Plagueis more than likely holds the key to helping The Acolyte feel more like the true prequel to The Phantom Menace it could still become. The Acolyte as it currently stands feels like a half-measure and first act. On its own as a single season, it fails to fully set up The Phantom Menace in many of the ways one would have hoped, though it could likely do more if given the space to do so (preferably with a stronger and more focused storytelling structure going forward).
All episodes of The Acolyte are now streaming on Disney+
