Summary
The Acolytehas received significant backlash, much of it before the show even premiered, but, like many DisneyStar Warsprojects, true criticism ofThe Acolyteis being swallowed up in outcries about the show’s supposed ‘wokeness.‘The Acolyteis the newest addition toStar Warsmovies and TV shows, and it represents a thrilling new era intheStar Warstimelineto be depicted on screen. Set 100 years beforeStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace,The Acolyteexploresthe High Republic Era, the golden age of the Jedi and the Republic.
Unfortunately, excitement about the new opportunities the show and this era make possible is being drowned out by review bombing and floods of trolling comments on social media. Even so (and while the show has plenty of merits, too),there are legitimate problems with the show that have nothing to do with the diversity of the cast. Here are 10 issues withThe Acolytethat don’t pertain to the show supposedly being ‘too woke.’
I Have One Massive Problem With The Acolyte Episode 6
While The Acolyte episode 6 improves on previous episodes in some ways, one major issue I have highlights a problem with the entire series.
10It Should Be Set Further Back In The High Republic Era
The Acolyte Is Set Too Close To The Prequels
Although it’s thrilling thatThe Acolyteis set in the High Republic Era because it’s such an under-explored period in theStar Warstimeline, especially on screen, this show feels set too late in this era. For one, settingThe Acolytejust 100 years before the prequels means that there is less room for the show to explore a greater stretch of time.The Acolyte’sshowrunner, Leslye Headland, has already confirmed she would be interested in additional seasons, butThe Acolyteruns the risk of encroaching upon the prequel trilogy era too much.
Already, in fact,The Acolytefeels too close to the prequels for certain plot points to make sense. One key example is the appearance of prequel trilogy Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi in the show. While many viewers were outraged that this meant a retcon of Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age (although that’s not exactly true, as his previous age was confirmed only in Legends), the larger issue is that it makes little sense that the events ofThe Acolytewouldn’t have been mentioned in the prequels if one of the Jedi Council members had experienced these events himself.
9The Show May Make The Jedi Irredeemable
The Acolyte’s Jedi Seem Guilty Of Something Serious
One of the major mysteries ofThe Acolyteis what truly transpired on Brendok, the planet on which twins Osha and Mae were born. At first, it seemed as though Mae had killed the twins’ entire family, which was the story both Osha and Master Sol told. However,The Acolyteepisode 3 revealed that the truth was much more complicated; while Mae might have started a fire, the twins’ family,the witches of Brendok, were not burned. They had clearly been killed in some other way.
That, combined with Mae’s mission to kill the four Jedi who had been stationed on Brendok at the time—Indara, Kelnacca, Torbin, and Sol—suggests that the Jedi may have been involved in the deaths of the witches. In fact,The Acolyteepisode 2 had already implied a significant level of guilt on the part of the Jedi, as Master Torbin chose death over confessing what he’d done to the Jedi Council.If the Jedi truly were involved in the murder of the witches, it would arguably make the Jedi irredeemable, which would be a grave move in the franchise.
8Characters Are Dying Too Quickly
Killing Main Characters Is Thrilling, But It’s Ruining Some Stories
The Acolytehas proven impressively willing to kill off main characters, breaking the mold not only forStar Warsbut also for television more broadly. This is undoubtedly a brave move, and it makes each episode suspenseful, as it feels like truly anything can happen. However,there can be too much of a good thing, andThe Acolytemay have hit that point with major character deaths.
The Acolytehas proven impressively willing to kill off main characters.
The Acolyteshocked audiences by beginning with the death of Jedi Master Indara, and that pattern continued in the second episode with the swift death of Jedi Master Torbin. While these were surprising (and disappointing specifically in Indara’s case, as many had been excited to see Carrie-Anne Moss' role in the show), they didn’t have as much emotional weight, as the characters had barely been developed on screen before their deaths. This changed in episode 5, though.
InThe Acolyteepisode 5, multiple unnamed Jedi fell to Qimir/the Stranger, but the episode also included the sudden and devastating deaths of Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon and Jedi Knight Yord Fandar. In addition to the brutality of their deaths and the sadness at losing two great characters, though,Jecki and Yord’s deaths reinforced thatThe Acolytemight be moving a bit too quickly through characters. The episode also saw the death of Jedi Master Kelnacca, the first live-action Wookiee Jedi Master, who had barely any screen time.
7The Episodes Are Too Short
Just As An Episode Gains Momentum, It Ends
The Acolyteis also suffering from a few issues pertaining not to content but to structure. In fact, the most recent episode, episode 6, made clear thatThe Acolyte’sepisodes are simply too short. Episode 6 included three separate plot lines: Osha being trapped on the Unknown Planet with Qimir, Mae deceiving Master Sol by pretending to be Osha, and Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh leading a group of Jedi to Khofar to uncover what had happened on the planet.
While this braided narrative would be a lot to fit into an hour of television,The Acolyteepisode 6 was just thirty minutes long. This meant that each unique plot felt rushed and, worse, just as the episode began to gain momentum, it ended. Unfortunately, each ofThe Acolyte’sepisodes is around the same length, meaning that this problem is not unique to this episode but rather applies to the show as a whole.
6The Hot Sith Pattern Might Be A Bit Too Much At This Point
Star Wars Has Used The Hot Sith Twist A Few Too Many Times
The Acolyteepisode 5 also included the major reveal that Mae’s quirky sidekick, Qimir, was actually the deadly masked villain, the Stranger. In addition to that, though, was the reveal that the Stranger was shockingly attractive, something that the minds behind the show were clearly aware of and wanted to highlight based on how many shots of Qimir’s muscles were shown. This then persisted inThe Acolyteepisode 6 when Qimir fully stripped down in front of Osha and then stood in front of her shirtless.
While an attractive villain is almost always going to win over audiences, and although Manny Jacinto’s Qimir is one of the best parts ofThe Acolyte,Star Warsas a whole may have employed the hot Sith character one too many times. This began inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sithwhen Hayden Christensen became Darth Vader, revealing that, prior to his Mustafar burns, Vader was a heartthrob. The sequel trilogy then took a page fromRevenge of the Sith’sbook, with Kylo Ren (although not technically a Sith) serving as a shirtless love interest as well.
Star Warsas a whole may have employed the hot Sith character one too many times.
5Some Parallels Are Too On The Nose
The Ahch-To Connection Is Just One Example
Showrunner Leslye Headland has acknowledged in interviews that some aspects ofThe Acolyteare a bit on the nose, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. George Lucas famously describedStar Warsas being like poetry because the different stories ‘rhyme’ with one another, implying that there will be clear parallels throughout the franchise. However,at times,The Acolytetakes this too far.
While the rhymes ofStar Warscan be lovely, some can feel too obvious. Unfortunately,The Acolytehas toed that line a few times, most recently in episode 6. Osha wakes up trapped on a remote island with Qimir, and it is immediately obvious that the planet shares a number of features with Ahch-To, the planet on which Luke Skywalker hid in the sequel trilogy and which was the location of the first Jedi Temple. This heavily implies that this location is key to the Sith, but the same message could have been conveyed (arguably better) with more subtlety.
8 Ways The Acolyte Is Totally Copying The Last Jedi
Star Wars: The Acolyte’s character dynamics have taken an interesting turn in episode 6, mirroring important moments from Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
4Eight Episodes Aren’t Enough
The Final Two Episodes Are Sure To Feel Rushed
Similar to the episodes being too short,The Acolyte’s8-episode arc simply isn’t enough. Not onlyStar Warsshows but also streaming shows in general have begun to adopt the 8-episode season structure, and it is a far cry from the 22-episode seasons ofStar Wars: The Clone WarsandStar WarsRebels. Particularly in a show likeThe Acolyte, which has so much world-building and character development to accomplish, a season of only eight episodes is just too rushed.
After The Acolyte, It’s Official: There’s One Big Problem With Star Wars TV
The Acolyte has certainly gained more popularity in recent episodes, but the show is still struggling with one pattern affecting most Star Wars shows.
In fact,even six episodes intoThe Acolyte, the show still feels predominantly like exposition, with background on Osha, Mae, Master Sol, and Qimir still being uncovered. While it is a mystery show, and therefore some background must remain shrouded in mystery, the amount of context still being provided seems to be preventing the plot ofThe Acolytefrom moving forward. Moreover, it’s difficult to imagine how everything that has been introduced inThe Acolyteso far will be wrapped up in the two remaining episodes in a satisfying way.
3Some Scenes Needed Better Effects
In Certain Scenes, The Effects Were Noticeable
In truth, some of the effects ofThe Acolytehave also been a bit disappointing, although that is not necessarily new toStar Wars. The franchise has long faced accusations that the effects are poorly done, but this criticism interestingly seems to have picked up since Disney acquired the rights toStar Wars. While some of this may just be more hate directed at Disney, inThe Acolyte, there have been a few scenes where the effects didn’t seem believable.
In fact, this was most obvious inThe Acolyteepisode 3, set on Brendok. At one point, Mother Aniseya uses the Force (or, the Thread, as the witches of Brendok call it) to throw a piece of fruit to the twins. While the Thread seems to intentionally be more visible on screen than the Force is, this moment nevertheless looked less visually believable than is typical of the franchise.
2The Dialogue Is A Bit Superficial At Times
Some Lines Have Fallen Flat
Although poor dialogue tends to be thrown out as a vague criticism of a show or movie, and whileStar Warshas often been accused of bad dialogue, inThe Acolyte, there have been some moments of weaker dialogue that were incongruent with the rest of the show. Unfortunately, this often came at the expense of Yord Fandar, who was otherwise a well-liked character. Because Yord was frequently meant as comedic relief in the show (particularly when he was the subject of a joke), his lines were the most fraught in terms of landing with the audience.
Sadly, that dialogue at times fell short, and this was especially true when the humor didn’t quite work. InThe Acolyteepisode 4, for example, Yord at one point quips,“I swear, we need a tracker just to track our tracker.“Although it was clearly meant as a laugh line, this dialogue didn’t quite work; instead, it felt a bit out of place. Yord wasn’t the only character with tough lines, though. In episode 5, Qimir’s line"Not very Jedi of you"also didn’t quite land.
1Some Mysteries Are Dragging Out For Too Long
The Mystery Of Brendok Is Particularly Slow-Moving
Despite the episodes and the season both being too short,there are some plot lines inThe Acolytethat are nevertheless moving too slowly. One key plot that has been going on for a bit too long is that of the mystery on Brendok. Yes, it is intriguing what really happened to the witches, but after six episodes, the mystery is beginning to lose its appeal. Hopefully, inThe Acolyteepisode 7, the secret will finally be revealed; however, this would mean that nearly the entire show explored this one mystery.
Despite these issues, however,The Acolytehas been an impressive show so far. In fact, the lightsaber duels inThe Acolytehave been some of the best in all ofStar Wars, and viewers are generally united in the opinion that Qimir is an excellent addition toStar Wars’villains. Even so, there are going to be flaws with any show, and these 10 reflect the problems inThe Acolytethat have nothing to do with the show being ‘woke.’
New episodes of The Acolyte release on Tuesdays at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST on Disney+.
The Acolyte
Cast
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
