‘The Acolyte’ sticks the touchdown with a banger of a finale — and I want extra, stat

If I might sum up The Acolyte‘s Season 1 finale in a single phrase, it might be “payoff.”

Episode 8, titled “The Acolyte,” answered most of our greatest questions concerning the season. How did Mae (Amandla Stenberg) survive her fall on Brendok? Getting sucked right into a core tunnel. Would any extra Sith Lords be a part of the get together? Darth Plagueis would really like a phrase. And who was the Stranger’s (Manny Jacinto) outdated Grasp? Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) — known as it!

However greater than offering solutions, The Acolyte gifted us with satisfying resolutions to the arcs it had been constructing all season lengthy. Most distinguished amongst them was the push and pull between twins Mae and Osha (Stenberg), who we study are primarily one individual cut up in two due to the ability of a Pressure vergence.

The Acolyte finale embraces the ability of two — and of switcheroos

Ever since The Acolyte‘s preliminary twin reveal, we have identified a switcheroo was within the playing cards. Not solely by way of one twin taking over the opposite’s id (which each Mae and Osha do over the course of the season), however by way of ideology. Might the previous Jedi fall to the Darkish Facet, and the Darkish Facet person rise to the Mild?

As “The Acolyte” proves, the reply to that query is a convincing “yes.” When Osha and Mae meet one another as soon as once more, the visuals go away little doubt that one thing has shifted. Mae remains to be in Osha’s lighter civilian clothes, whereas Osha’s now wearing black. Her new hooded ensemble calls to thoughts a component of Mae’s very first costume, particularly the purple hood she wore when she killed Jedi Masters Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman). When Mae deserted her mission to kill the 4 Brendok Jedi, she left that total outfit behind. It is becoming, then, that Osha finishes the mission Mae set out on dressed similar to her.

In the long run, Osha is the Aniseya sister to kill Jedi Grasp Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and not using a weapon, not Mae. She Pressure-chokes him in response to studying he killed Mom Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) and lied to her about it. In the meantime, Mae would favor that Sol face the Jedi Council and obtain his punishment from them. It is a full one-eighty from their positions firstly of the season: Mae needed to homicide Jedi, whereas Osha hoped to convey Mae to justice by the Jedi. Later, as soon as the Stranger has wiped Mae’s recollections of him and Osha in order that Mae will not give her sister away, Mae finds herself on the coronary heart of the Jedi Order, whereas Osha prepares to coach with the Stranger. The 2 have not simply switched sides, they’ve switched the methods of energy they serve.

Past plot and character interactions, The Acolyte has visually hinted at this shift throughout the board, from the eclipsed moons of Brendok to the doubled “O” in its emblem, which additionally mirrors the eclipse. Even promotional artwork for the present highlights a darkish moon or planet because it passes throughout the solar. All this involves a head in Sol’s dying and the moments that comply with, once we see the kyber crystal in Sol’s outdated lightsaber bleed as Osha wields it. Pink eclipses blue, Darkish overcomes Mild, and Osha’s transformation is full. It is a phenomenal end result of visible storytelling, and deeply satisfying as well.

The Acolyte proves it is able to hold making an attempt new issues

Lee Jung-jae in “The Acolyte.”
Credit score: Lucasfilm Ltd.

There’s additionally a refreshing high quality to Osha’s journey to the Darkish Facet, as The Acolyte commits wholeheartedly to her “corruption” arc. That idea is nothing new for Star Wars: Anakin Skywalker is the defining instance, whereas the sequel trilogy ever-so-lightly trod that territory with Rey. However in each circumstances, going to the Darkish Facet is handled as a tragedy, a black-and-white ethical alternative. Osha’s flip, however, feels extra like a liberation. It is an opportunity to really feel all of the feelings the Jedi informed her to not really feel, an opportunity to mourn (and avenge) the good lack of her childhood. When Mae asks Osha what she needs, that is what she embraces. When she and the Stranger maintain palms and gaze off into the sundown, you sense she’s extra at peace there than she ever was with the Jedi.

This isn’t to say that The Acolyte presents the Jedi as universally dangerous or the Sith as universally good. It locations itself within the gray space of particular person human selections. Right here, we see supposedly well-intentioned individuals like Sol twist their private pursuits to suit their inflexible ethos, resulting in preventable tragedies just like the one on Brendok. The coverup of that incident has haunted each Jedi concerned, and given Vernestra’s twisting of Sol’s actions to cowl up the Stranger’s presence, it looks as if some Jedi have but to study from these errors.

The introduction of Senator Rayencourt (David Harewwood) establishes that The Acolyte hopes to proceed to place strain on the unattainable requirements the Jedi maintain themselves to. As he tells her, “it’s only a matter of time before one of you snaps.” You haven’t any thought, Senator. We all know Anakin is coming — however what number of different Jedi like him erred on a smaller scale and lined their tracks? We’re conscious of Sol and Vernestra, and if we get extra of The Acolyte, maybe we’ll study of much more.

The Acolyte finale actually has one thing for everybody — and hopefully it is a signal of extra to return

Amandla Stenberg and Manny Jacinto in “The Acolyte.”
Credit score: Lucasfilm Ltd.

Except for its sturdy storytelling and devastating story beats — I will be pondering of Sol’s final phrases to Osha and her parting with Mae for some time — The Acolyte has cemented itself as a Star Wars present that has just a little one thing for everybody. Nowhere is that clearer than within the finale, which ricochets between action-adventure, political intrigue, and deeply felt household drama with ease. Basic Star Wars stuff, proper there.

However there are additionally parts of The Acolyte and its finale that apply to smaller subsets of followers. Should you love the flash and aptitude of lightsaber fights, the Stranger and Sol’s closing showdown is one for the ages. Should you’re an enemies-to-lovers fan (hiya, Reylo shippers!), this finale doubles down on Oshamir and hints at large issues forward for them. Lore heads will cherish that temporary Darth Plagueis cameo, whereas followers of the unique and prequel trilogies will doubtless froth on the mouth over that fast flash we noticed of the again of Yoda’s head. (Might I’ve completed with out the gratuitous Yoda look? Sure, however it’s a small grievance over an in any other case excellent episode.)

This finale is an ideal storm of proof that The Acolyte is aware of what it is doing, each by way of Star Wars as a franchise and by way of plain outdated good storytelling. A Season 2 order (hopefully one with greater than eight episodes) ought to be a no brainer, permitting The Acolyte to maintain constructing an area for itself in that famed galaxy far, distant. Positive, the ability of 1 season is robust as is — however think about the ability of two. Or higher but, the ability of many.

All episodes of The Acolyte Season 1 at the moment are streaming on Disney+.