Star Wars: The Acolyte Ep 1 & 2 Reviews
I’m going to come out and say it: I’ve never had any interest in Star Wars: The High Republic. I understand the premise and why people like it well enough. After all, seeing what the Jedi and Republic were like a half-century before the Prequels sounds like a good idea. However, I spent my teen years reading stories from the Star Wars universe that took place thousands of years before the films, and they seem far more interesting than The High Republic. So when I heard that the Disney+ show The Acolyte would take place in that era, I wasn’t as excited as I normally would be. Still, Star Wars is Star Wars, and that motivated me to at least give this new show a shot.
After seeing the first two episodes, here’s my initial verdict: it shows promise, but it will have to work hard to meet it. Hard.
The Acolyte: A Tale of Two Sisters
Taking place around a century before the rise of the Empire, one of the main things the back-to-back premiere makes clear is that this isn’t a story about one person. It is a story about twin sisters named Osha and Mae, played by the same person. Disney tried to hide that fact, but fans seemed to figure it out for themselves. What makes this important is that in Star Wars, twins are special, especially ones who share a connection to the Force. They represent this duality of light and darkness and how both influence the other. And while neither seems that interesting so far, it is this duality that is central to who they are as characters.
The full story will likely be revealed as the show progresses, as that is part of the greater mystery going on. What we do learn is that when they were kids, a fire started that killed their mothers, the end result being that both sisters thought the other was dead. In reality, Osha was taken in by four Jedi stationed on her planet and trained as on, but left before she reached knighthood. Mae, on the other hand, has been training as an assassin under someone whose identity is a secret, even to her. Now she’s going after the Jedi involved in the incident in revenge.
What Did the Jedi Do?
I went into this show all but blind, so I don’t know about any of the fan theories. However, I did piece a few things together from the dialogue in both episodes. Osha has spent years believing her sister was responsible for whatever happened on their homeworld and that the Jedi saved her. The actions that Mae takes in the two episodes, though, seem to indicate otherwise. Mae seems to hold the four Jedi at fault for whatever happened, and the fact that one of her targets (who she talks into killing himself) says that they thought they were “doing the right thing,” lends credence to this.
Whatever happened, it must have been bad if a quartet of Jedi chose to lie about it, including Osha’s former master, Sol, played by The Squid Game’s Lee Jung-Jae in one of the better performances so far. If the show can keep my attention long enough, maybe seeing what happened will be interesting. However, I must emphasize how it’s going to need to work for that.
I’ve Never Been Interested in The High Republic
It probably has to do with me growing up with the pre-Disney EU, but I’m going into The Acolyte with a certain level of bias. I’m just not that into The High Republic, and so far, the story and acting aren’t helping that much. One of the actors said that Anakin blew up the Death Star in an interview! Even a basic Star Wars fan knows that’s not right!
It also doesn’t help that the action isn’t exactly up to par with what I like in Star Wars. That includes the scaled-down stuff we’ve had to see in other shows like The Mandalorian, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. The fights aren’t as interesting as they could be!
It is not a total loss though, as The Acolyte dips the franchise’s toes into something I think has been underrepresented for years: martial arts. We’ve seen how Force users can block weapons and blaster bolts with their powers. Ergo, shouldn’t the most experienced be able to use that to fight? Forget using lightsabers. They could use the Force to be martial arts wizards!
Apparently, someone on the show had the same idea, because most of the fights in these two episodes are based on martial arts. They aren’t that exciting, but I’m hoping that things will get better. Especially when our mysterious Dark Sider, who likes to make these grandiose speeches about breaking Jedi, gets involved.
This is Going to be an Uphill Battle
So, as my statement at the beginning indicates, The Acolyte isn’t the most exciting or interesting thing I’ve seen from Star Wars. I’ve already seen plenty of people either loving it or hating it, but these days, that’s par for the course with what Disney makes, and with the exception of Andor, I’ve watched most of it. Even if it’s only to kill time, I’m probably going to keep watching The Acolyte and hope for the best. Whether you watch it or not depends on how much you love Star Wars as a whole. That, and whether or not you will focus on House of the Dragon’s new season.
