Summary
TheStar Warsfranchise’s new Sith Lord appears to have the perfect countermeasure against alightsaber whipinThe Acolyte. The Stranger, also known as Qimir, is a self-proclaimed Sith who has proven himself to be skilled enough to strike down numerous Jedi Knights in a battle. This could even includeJedi Master Vernestra Rwohif the two ever duel in a future episode ofThe Acolyte.
Rwoh uses a unique purple-bladed lightsaber with an alternate mode that turns it into a lightwhip. The lightwhip debuted in theStar WarsLegends continuity’s classic Marvel comic series, with the Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya using such a lightwhip as her signature weapon. Lightwhips are rare and extremely deadly lightsaber variants in bothStar Warstimelines, but one of the weapon’s initial appearances reveals that it can be countered with a specific combination of lightsaber types.
Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode Guide - Cast Members, Biggest Takeaways & Easter Eggs
Here’s everything you need to follow along with Star Wars: The Acolyte, from references and trivia to main takeaways from each new episode.
A Lightsaber & A Shoto Can Defeat A Lightwhip
In their first duel on Kinooine, Lumiya handily defeated Luke Skywalker, thanks to her exceptional skills as a Sith and Luke’s unfamiliarity with her signature lightwhip. Before their next bout, Luke hastily constructed a secondary weapon:a red-bladed shoto (short-bladed lightsaber), which gave him the necessary offensive and defensive augmentations to disarm and defeat Lumiya. Luke rarely used his shoto afterward, but he began using it again decades later when Lumiya resurfaced.
The hasty construction of Luke Skywalker’s shoto likely resulted in its red blade. The weapon uses a synthetic lightsaber crystal yet it is not tainted by the dark side in any way, making it one of the few heroic examples of a red-bladed lightsaber.
Dual-wielding a lightsaber and shoto allows one to catch the tendrils of a lightwhipwith one weapon while attacking with the other, though this, notably, does not guarantee victory over a lightwhip wielder. Moreover, a skilled enough duelist can still manage to defeat a lightwhip wielder with only a single standard lightsaber, as Luke Skywalker demonstrated in his final duel with Lumiya on Terephon. As shown inThe Acolyte, Qimir fights with both a standard lightsaber and a shoto, keeping the latter as a hidden attachment to the former. Qimir uses his hidden shoto to devastating effect againstJecki Lon.
Why The Jedi Stopped Using Lightsaber Whips
The Acolyte features the first-ever lightsaber whip - but why are lightwhips so rare, and why don’t more Jedi use them in battle against the Sith?
Qimir Specifically Crafted His Weapon To Counter The Lightwhip
It may not be coincidental thatQimir wields both a lightsaber and a shoto. The shoto debuted one issue after the lightwhip in the Legends continuity and, given the strong influence Legends-era lore has had onThe Acolyte, a duel between Qimir and Vernestra Rwoh may occur in an upcoming episode. Qimir’s two weapons could give him an advantage over Rwoh, or at least allow the two to duel on equal footing, but there is another implication in Qimir’s weapon combination.
Qimir claims to have been a Jedi before joining the Sith, and he happens to use the exact combination of lightsaber variants ideal for countering a lightwhip.This might indicate that Qimir is aware of Rwoh’s signature weapon, perhaps having once been her apprentice before falling to the dark side. If true, their potential confrontation inThe Acolytewill be as emotionally driven as it is visually exciting.
The Acolyteepisode 7 is now streaming. New episodes release Tuesdays at 9 PM ET 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.
