Star Wars: The Acolyte Ep 8 Review
From the very start, I’ve made it no secret that I didn’t find the concept behind The Acolyte interesting. I’ve never been interested in anything from the so-called High Republic era of Star Wars, and this show did little to change my mind. However, I kept watching it because I love Star Wars and wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. Sadly, much like The Book of Boba Fett, The Acolyte failed to tell a good story or give us a satisfying ending. If anything, seeing the show try to use Master Sol and what he did to push the idea that the Jedi aren’t good doesn’t feel novel. It feels like a half-baked attempt to deconstruct the Jedi by pointing out their flaws, and even then, it doesn’t do a good job. The finale only serves to cement that in my eyes.
And, just rip the band-aid off, spoilers will be in effect from this moment on.
Sol Died Because of the Poor Communication Kills Trope
From the moment Qimir said the Jedi would call him a Sith, we all knew the story could only end in a certain way. To preserve the canon, Qimir would either be revealed to not be a Sith, or everyone who knew about him would join him or die. While there’s still no confirmation on the former, the latter ends up coming true: Sol dies.
After Mae escapes Sol (again), the remaining cast converges where this story began, on Brendok. A quick duel ensues between Qimir and Sol/Osha and Mae, only for Mae to get him to admit to the truth: that he killed Osha and Mae’s Mother Aniseya.
He should’ve also mentioned the fact that it was by complete accident and because he thought that Mae’s life was in danger, though. Osha heard everything. Giving into the pent-up anger Sol fostered in her with his omission of the full story, Osha Force chokes Sol to death, much to her immediate horror and remorse.
This entire series is an example of the “poor communication kills” trope in action. I honestly hate that trope. It makes me shake my head and think about how much trouble could be avoided, and Sol’s fate proves it. Had he and the coven discussed things, no one would have had to die in this series. Osha wouldn’t have held onto that anger and resentment if he told the truth. He likely would have gotten thrown out of the Jedi, but better that happens than what we get in the series.
And it would seem the Jedi didn’t learn anything from this. Though that might be by design.
The Jedi Don’t Learn Anything
So, with the Jedi coming for all of them, Osha, Mae, and Qimir need to disappear. Thus, Osha makes a deal with Qimir. He’ll spare Mae if Osha agrees to become his new acolyte and Mae turns herself into the Jedi. And for good measure, they agree to wipe Mae’s mind of Osha altogether.
I’m sorry, what? That’s their plan? Wipe Mae’s mind just when she and Osha start reconciling, and then hope it will throw off the Jedi? There’s no guarantee that the mind wipe will remain permanent, as, by the end of the episode, Mae’s starting to fill in the blanks herself. Plus, the Jedi, who decide to spare her because of her amnesia, choose to tell her about Osha anyway and ask her to help them track down Qimir. Vernestra Rwoh admits that she knows Qimir was involved as she was her former Padawan! So, the whole thing feels like a pointless stopgap measure!
Sol Got Screwed Over Even in Death
To add insult to injury, to keep the already jittery Senate from looking too deeply into the incident, Vernestra comes clean about the Brendok cover-up. Then, she creates a new cover-up blaming all the murders on Sol, saying he killed his comrades before taking his own life.
Thus, Sol will likely go down in history as a killer and a screw-up. Which he is, but blaming him for the other Jedi’s deaths feels so unfair. Were I a more cynical man, I would walk out on the Jedi at this point in disgust.
But I won’t. Because none of this is new to me.
Nice Try, But I Refuse to Hate the Jedi
I think the whole point behind The Acolyte was to show what happens when the Jedi wind up being the bad guys. If that’s the case, and this was to make us hate the Jedi, then I’m glad the show failed. And I have several reasons why.
Firstly, seeing the Jedi screw up like this isn’t anything new. The Prequels showed us how arrogant, insular, and narrow-minded had become in the thousand years since the Sith went into hiding. They threw out Ahsoka when they thought she had turned on them, and they didn’t even register the culprit was someone else. Not to mention how their lack of focus on mental and emotional health did no favors for people like Anakin.
Secondly, if Disney thinks this is the worst thing that the Jedi could hope to do, they have low expectations. I’ve read stories from the old Expanded Universe where the Jedi let their beliefs lead them to commit real atrocities. I.e., when a group of Jedi Masters had a vision that made them think that one of their Padawan would become a Sith Lord, what did they do? Kill them in cold blood and frame the survivor as the killer.
No, really. That was an entire comic book series! And they did that on purpose, whereas Sol did it by accident.
Lastly, in spite of stories like this and The Last Jedi doing their absolute hardest to make us think the Jedi can suck, I refuse to buy into that. And neither should you.
The Jedi are Still the Good Guys!
Here’s the thing: I figured out a long time ago that the Jedi aren’t perfect. They make mistakes, screw up a lot, and it can occasionally lead to consequences on a galactic scale. But here’s something that all the haters and detractors seem to forget: for all their faults, the Jedi are a force for good. They protect the Galaxy from evil like the Sith. And without them, the entire Galaxy would be far worse off, so whenever I see people using this series and other examples as reasons why the Jedi stinks, I refuse to buy into that.
You failed, The Acolyte. I still love the Jedi, and I always will. And despite what the show has done, it’s just a small part of a much larger and cooler story. So instead of complaining about The Acolyte, I’m going to forget about it, hope that it doesn’t get a second season, pray that it’s good if it does, and move on with my life.
Lastly, I didn’t like that they shoehorned someone who may or may not be Darth Plagueis for my sanity.
