Friday, July 19, 2024

Recap: The Acolyte Episode 8 — The Acolyte

The last episode of the season puts in overtime to wrap up the loose threads, and we get a couple of A-list cameos and more stellar lightsaber choreography

Remember last week when Osha put Qimir's helmet on? It's got some serious power, and it enabled her to see the future. She sees Mae kill Sol—and she knows she's gotta stop her. As we know in the Star Wars universe, though, always in motion, the future is. Qimir asks her if she'd ever consider training with him, and she gives a final no. (Also a note: I've referred to Qimir as the Master, and he's sometimes called the Stranger. I'm using Qimir for convenience sake.)

As they depart, an evil-looking alien figure watches their ship leave the atmosphere. Who is this guy!?! The internet seems to be fairly sure that this is Darth Plagueis the Wise! There have to be two Sith, obviously, but this was a fun surprise. Is this where he learns how to create and save life? Or was it he that instructed the witches that created the twins?

Meanwhile, Sol and the kidnapped Mae are above Brendok, and he wants to contact Master Vernestra to inform her that the vergence on the planet that created the twins is in fact real. As they're talking, though, Mae escapes and jets off the Jedi ship in a fighter, and we get treated to a pretty awesome chase sequence through the fine particles of a planetary ring. She crashlands and Sol sets off after her.

Back on Coruscant, Vernestra speaks with Senator Rayencourt, a politician who's heard there's a murder investigation concerning several Jedi. He reads the Jedi to filth, and calls the Order a "massive system of unchecked power posing as a religion." He questions their rejection of emotionless calm, as it's only a matter of time before someone snaps. Of course, he's right.

He admits that he's reported the Order's lack of transparency to the Chancellor, and Vernestra realizes they're in some deep bantha fodder. She summons her aide to collect as many Jedi as possible without causing suspicions—they've just received Sol's emergency beacon and are headed to Brendok.

Qimir and Mae are approaching Brendok as well, so it appears the showdown in this finale will happen where it all began. Qimir approaches Sol and they begin dueling in some more of the most awesome lightsaber choreography we've seen in years.

We also learn why Osha left the Order: she failed because she could never quell her negative emotions over the loss of her mother. Mae counters that it's Sol that failed, as he's the one who killed their mother. This angers Osha, and she's driven to attack Mae. Mae, on the other hand, is mad that her sister believes that the Jedi are in any way good people.

Mae intercedes in Qimir and Sol's duel, and Qimir instructs her to strike him down to finish her training. Like a certain Skywalker in the future, she refuses. Instead, she wants Sol to face the Council, the Senate, and the Republic to answer for what she believes are his crimes from 16 years ago.

It's then that we get the bombshell that Osha and Mae aren't twins—they're the same person, created somehow by the vergence on Brendok. Mother Aniseya used the Force to create life. (Sidenote: I like the idea that there may be multiple vergences throughout galactic history. Perhaps that's how Shmi Skywalker gave virgin birth to Anakin?)

Sol confesses to killing Aniseya (though the circumstances were clearly not murder), and Osha is in disbelief. He admits that he didn't tell her (or anyone else) because they would have taken her out of Jedi training. Overcome with anger, betrayal, and sadness, she begins to Force choke him, and ends up killing him. Is this a Dark Side act? Or is it simply human vengeance? Where is the line drawn for individuals in this universe?

Qimir hands her Sol's lightsaber and it turns red—she's bled the crystal! A bit on the nose, of course, but it shows what's she now capable of. Mae convinces her to escape as the Jedi begin storming the fortress.

These poor girls had their lives upended years ago by a tragic and unfortunate misunderstanding, and they've been manipulated for years by both light and dark Force users. They need to get out there in the universe on their own. They reconcile, and it's about damn time. It doesn't last long, however.

Qimir finds them, and Osha has to make a choice. She agrees to train with him if he lets Mae go. He agrees, and says he'll attempt to erase Mae's memory of both Osha and him so the Jedi can't use her to find them. They leave, and the Jedi arrive to arrest Mae.

On Coruscant, Mae has lost her memory, indeed. Vernestra reveals the truth to the Council about Sol's actions, and the Council wants to start the external investigation. Rather than frame as it as proof that the Jedi need some work when it comes to oversight, she states that it's just the actions of one bad man.

Mae's memory is so wiped that she doesn't even know she has a sister. Vernestra says that she needs help finding someone—a pupil of hers before he turned to the Dark Side. So that's who Qimir is! We get a final shot of Osha and Qimir on a distant planet, master and acolyte.

The season ends with Vernestra walking up to none other than Yoda as she asks for advice. And that's it!

I don't know why I didn't think about the fact that Yoda was alive during the High Republic—of course he was! He's nearly a millennium old by the the time we meet him in the prequels. But what this means is that the Sith hadn't actually been extinct in the Old Republic era. But, as we're learning more and more, the Jedi aren't perfect.

That, it seems, is one of the themes of The Acolyte. I know a lot of folks have taken issue with the dethroning of Jedi (first with Luke in The Last Jedi, and now this), but I think it makes sense. They're just people; they're bound to be imperfect. And especially with this show, it helps build up the explanation of what happens to Anakin Skywalker and Darth Sidious.


The Math

Baseline Score: 8

POSTED BY: Haley Zapal is a lawyer-turned-copywriter living in Atlanta, Georgia. A co-host of Hugo Award-winning podcast Hugo, Girl!, she posts on Instagram as @cestlahaley. She loves nautical fiction, growing corn and giving them pun names like Timothee Chalamaize, and thinking about fried chicken.