Series Review: The Acolyte
Warning! This article contains spoilers.
It’s no longer simply good vs. evil. The tales of the LOTR and Narnia, and the OG Star Wars films, where good ultimately prevails over evil, are probably seen as outdated nowadays. It’s no longer just black and white. There are a lot of gray areas. I suppose it’s because that’s essentially how real life is. We are all capable of both good and bad. Though I still like to revert to these well-loved classics, I welcomed The Acolyte with open arms, albeit unwillingly at first.
I am not a die hard Star Wars fan, but I grew up watching the original ones, and when Episodes 1 to 3 came out, I could understand the backlash at that time, and so much more when Episodes 7 to 9 were released. Still, I watched and enjoyed all of them, though there were some parts that might have caused me to almost drowse off to sleep. 😀
However, when the other films and series were launched, I just couldn’t keep up anymore. I am not geeky in that sense, I couldn’t remember all the characters, events, places, timelines, technologies, and others. After watching a movie, I tend to forget most details already, not unless I did a rewatch, or it holds something significant, poignant, or personal for me, I suppose. By the time several series were already out, I’d quite accepted I wouldn’t be able to watch all of them anymore. I did watch The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, though, um because of Grogu / Baby Yoda, of course. 😀
I must admit, what got me interested in watching this series was hearing Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game) and Manny Jacinto (The Good Place, coincidentally my father knows his uncle lol) were part of it. Plus, the main actress was born to African-American and Danish parents (Amandla Stenberg). Talk about diversity! (But then again, Star Wars has always been all about cultural diversity, right? I mean, the characters are all from various planets lol). Some time ago, perhaps fresh from his Squid Game fame, I had heard that Lee Jung-jae would be part of the franchise, but I didn’t remember which film or series it would be. Then, a few weeks ago, my dad sounded so excited, asking me if I knew who Manny Jacinto was. Well, he sounded vaguely familiar,so I googled him. So I realized he was the funny guy from The Good Place; I wasn’t able to finish the whole series though.
Anyway, back to the series. I was diving into it without any knowledge as to when in the timeline it takes place. It turned out that it is a prequel to all of the Star Wars films. That’s why it is said to be a good starting point for someone who is a newbie of the franchise. Fans may not be so keen on this one and I’ve heard there are debates on whether it’s canon or not (of which, I am honestly now aware of lol). However, I was still amused with the visuals, plot, acting, scenes, themes, and the overall feeling of the series.
It began with a solitary assassin looking for a Jedi master. When she found who she was searching for in a bar, she approached and challenged her, “Master Indara, we have unfinished business. Attack me with all your strength.” Suddenly everybody at the table started laughing. The thought of the young lady fighting a Jedi was just so humorous. Master Indara raised her hand to silence them. But the woman was relentless, she was not joking around, so she started attacking the other customers of the bar. Though Master Indara was still reluctant, a fight ensued between them, as she had to save the innocent onlookers. It was clear that Indara was at an advantage, but she was eventually outwitted by the anonymous girl. Before her untimely end, however, she glimpsed a tattoo on the assailant’s forehead, causing her to recognize who she was. The next scene showed what seemed to be the same girl, but as she was going through her day, she seemed to be so innocent that you would feel that it couldn’t possibly be the same girl. She was working as a “meknek,” repairing faulty ships. Later on, she was apprehended by her friend during her Jedi training days. Of course, she defended herself, but alas, the bar owner was there as a witness. Moving forward to the next scene, Master Sol was having a class discussion with some youngsters. Master Vernestra was observing them, waiting patiently for the lesson to come to an end. Once it was over, she brought the news to Sol, a suspect was in custody, an old padawan of his, Osha Aniseya. It was clear from his expression that he had some sort of attachment with his former pupil. He also couldn’t believe it that she could murder someone who saved her a long time ago. Fast forward to several scenes, the teacher and student were finally reunited, and Osha concluded that it was her twin, Mae, was alive. At first, I thought, Oh no! Not another mistaken twin identity trope (Coincidentally, I just saw A Simple Favor a few weeks ago). But I still stuck with it because it is a murder mystery! I was also curious to know why one twin was bent on killing the very people that the other one looked up to. Master and pupil decided to look for the other twin, who they thought already died sixteen years ago.
The Acolyte was thrilling to watch, with its twists and turns. But there were some parts that are a bit problematic for me. Though a lot of questions would be eventually answered as you progress through the series. For one, I was surprised that Mae could easily kill two Jedi masters; she didn’t even have the intense and difficult training from them. It turned out she was also following the orders of someone much more wicked and powerful. Master Torbin accepted the poison without much struggle. What grave sin could he have committed to this girl that he would just acquiesce without any protest?
I couldn’t get over the fact that they got fraternal twins for the younger version of the twins, but just the same person acted as the adult twins. Of course, child labor laws are different, one child actor can’t work for long hours, so it’s easy to deduce why there should be two different actresses for the roles, as opposed to the adult one. But I just feel they could have gotten identical twins instead. Yes, having fraternal twins made it easy to distinguish between the two of them as children, but still it felt strange to see them as identical as adults, but fraternal when they were young. The children were brilliant actresses, though. Another reason that I think they should have gotten identical twins is that the characters were later revealed to be just one, created by some magical use of the Force, and then split into two bodies. (Though this wasn’t explained clearly yet in the series.)
The third episode was just too much cringe for me. I was surprised to hear about a secret society of witches in the Star Wars universe, but it turned out I was way behind there. There were the Nightsisters in Ashoka (okay, I’ll watch that one next). But there were still some plot loopholes. Everything just felt so rushed. I am starting to dislike the Jedi by this point, it almost seemed like they were kidnapping children to train! I know that is not the case, but that seemed to be evident in this episode. Shouldn’t the parents have consent? Even though one child explicitly stated her desire to join the Jedi and leave the coven, I couldn’t help but feel that there was some form of coercion. But then again, Master Sol was also right to fear for the children’s safety. Still, the children’s mother was there, surely she wouldn’t allow any harm to befall her precious children? As I mentioned earlier, a lot of the questions you might have in this episode would be answered eventually. But as with many shows with sequels, after the questions have been answered and problems resolved, the end would mean more questions would arise.
We could see in this series how the Jedi could also be morally questionable (though we know that already in later films of the franchise too). Master Sol and Master Indara chose not to disclose the whole story of what happened in Osha and Mae’s home planet, Brendok. Indara told Sol not to confess something very important to Osha to protect her. In the course of the series, I felt that Sol should have found the opportunity to tell Osha the truth and explain why he did the things he did. By the time she found out, coupled with Qimir’s seduction (maybe who could turn away from that man? lol), it was too late. Halfway through the series, you could already predict that the good one would turn to the dark side. It just felt like the natural trajectory where the story was going. However, it might have been better if it didn’t happen that fast. I preferred a sort of slow burn for this one. You can’t just turn your back easily and quickly from something you held dear for most of your life and embrace something you initially abhorred so suddenly. But then again, she had been through so much already, and the sting of rejection was never easy. And Qimir could be so convincing! Also, they crammed a lot in only 8 episodes, so I guess that’s that. Speaking of Qimir, that was one big surprise for me. At first, I thought he only had a minor role.
As for Master Vernestra, I couldn’t imagine what bigger secrets she was trying to cover up to lie about everything in the end. It also saddened me that Master Sol died before being able to reveal the power in Brendok. When he whispered, “It’s okay” to Osha and didn’t even resist, I felt it was his way to make amends for all the wrong things he did. When he was desperately defending himself initially, I just wished he would admit that he had made some bad decisions. Going back to the time that he was escaping with the three others with Osha in their ship, he wanted to confess to Osha, but Indara stopped him. I wonder why he didn’t explain that to Osha? Finally, I also realized what Qimir meant when he said that his acolyte should kill without a weapon.
When the time came when the twins had to make some serious decisions quickly towards the end, I was a bit taken aback that they still wanted to part ways (again!). It was such a quick reunion. I knew Osha would turn to the dark side, but Mae still seemed ambiguous. But perhaps there could only be one acolyte. The title isn’t “The Acolytes” lol. It is interesting to note that when you go back to when the twins were young, it was not obvious who was supposed to be the good one. Both were just as naughty, and they were always fighting. However, as adults, Mae of course, was seen as the evil twin right away. In the end, the tables were turned, with Mae ending up with the Jedi (but with her memories erased). Indeed this is the best story arc, where there was a reversal of roles: evil and good, to balance the scale, as what Master Vernestra had said. But how it all transpired might not be so convincing, though. Everything just happened so fast. The transition could be quite confusing. But when Mae chose not to kill Sol and turn herself in, we knew there was already a transformation within her. (She also didn’t want to kill Kelnacca previously.)
Oh, the ending was also a surprise! I almost forgot about that one. It’s yet to be confirmed if The Acolyte would be renewed for another season, but I’m watching out for that. Honestly, I didn’t think I would actually like this show at the beginning, but in hindsight and as I was writing this, I recognized my deeper appreciation for it. It might have been a divisive show, but whether you are a Star Wars fanatic or just a casual viewer, this has something something for you. I thought it was amazing that Sol’s blue lightsaber turned red when Osha held it, but when I searched online how it was possible, I noticed a lot of people didn’t like it at all (Anakin’s didn’t turn red when he killed a lot of people). There are other points of contention, but I guess that’s what makes a show interesting.
Originally published at http://gingaquino.wordpress.com on July 25, 2024.
