‘The Acolyte’s Amandla Stenberg talks Oshamir, the violin, and that game-changing finale

Amandla Stenberg pulls off the final word switcheroo in The Acolyte.

All through The Acolyte‘s first season, Stenberg’s twin efficiency as twins Mae and Osha Aniseya walked the road between the Darkish Aspect and the Gentle. Osha begins the season as a supporter of the Jedi, regardless that her intense feelings and grief over shedding her household led her to be kicked out of the Order. Her sister Mae, alternatively, begins off as a devotee to a Sith grasp, hellbent on gaining justice on the Jedi.

However by the tip of The Acolyte‘s showstopping finale, the twins have swapped locations. Osha has turned to the Darkish Aspect, killing Jedi Grasp Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and turning into the Stranger’s (Manny Jacinto) acolyte. In assist of her sister’s new path, Mae agrees to have her reminiscences wiped, solely to wind up in service to the Jedi.

It is a game-changing finale, one which by no means loses sight of the relationships that drives it. A lot of that’s owed to Stenberg, who grounds the sequence within the connection between Osha and Mae. In an interview with Mashable, Stenberg mentioned the catharsis the finale presents each twins, route from showrunner Leslye Headland, and the already beloved ship between Osha and Qimir/the Stranger.

The next interview has been edited and condensed for readability.

Mashable: The finale of The Acolyte has so many second that made me cease and go, “Wow, I can’t believe we’re actually seeing this.” So I would like to know, if you had been studying the script, what was the second that caught out to you as the showstopper, one thing you could not wait to dive into?

Amandla Stenberg: I feel it needed to be Osha killing Sol. Leslye mentioned to me, from the very starting of the present, once we had been in pre-production, “It’s very important for a woman in a narrative arc to kill her father.” [laughs] I used to be like, “What does that mean?”

At first I did not perceive it. However then, as we continued talking on it, and I went on Osha’s emotional journey along with her, it made a lot sense to me, as a result of I feel it is the metaphorical father that she’s dealing with. It is the issues that she has been informed that she is, the issues she’s been informed she’s not able to, the suppression of self that she has partook in for many of her life, the emotional repression. All of that’s coming to a head in a second by which it is capable of launch itself, and it takes the type of this tragedy. Understanding that is the place Osha was arriving was all the time such a wealthy factor for me to get into as I constructed her arc over the season. How does an individual arrive to that time? It simply turned such a enjoyable query for me to delve into.

Sol’s demise can be the primary second we see Osha wield a lightsaber and the Drive. What did it imply to you to lastly take up these iconic components of Star Wars on this very emotionally charged context?

Oh my God, it was a lot enjoyable. I freaked out. Within the finale, I get to make use of a lightsaber and pilot spaceships. That was a dream come true for me; that was all I wished to do.

It actually felt like a end result of all of the work that I’ve executed to form of graduate — form of like how Osha is graduating into utilizing a saber.

It was very gratifying, as a result of I spent so a lot of these months coaching with knives or doing kung fu stunt choreography. So it actually felt like a end result of all of the work that I’ve executed to form of graduate — form of like how Osha is graduating into utilizing a saber.

Mashable High Tales

I really like how in that second, Mae’s response to Osha killing Sol is extra light and understanding than what we have seen from different Darkish Aspect turns in Star Wars. What does her presence and her response imply to Osha as she begins down this new path?

I am so blissful to listen to that. That was one thing that felt actually essential to me when approaching Mae’s function in these moments. Everytime you’re taking part in somebody, you must consider them as an individual. And I all the time felt that Mae was pushed by a profound sense of loyalty and emotionality and identification along with her household and the place she comes from. So I form of had that in my again pocket all through the season, even when it wasn’t revealed why she does the issues that she does.

I feel that Mae has this deep sense of gratification and launch [when Osha kills Sol], each in gaining justice by way of Osha and in addition by permitting her sister to be the empowered one of their dynamic. She is used to, since childhood, controlling the ability dynamic of their relationship, and he or she form of relinquishes that management in that second. There’s a whole lot of magnificence in his demise.

Then there’s that great parting second between Osha and Mae on the tree on Brendok. When it got here to capturing, I am curious to know which facet of the scene you selected to carry out first, and why.

I feel I selected Mae first, as a result of Mae’s perspective at that second simply felt very clear to me. I wished there to be the chance for there to be a softness in her. Each sisters, they, on this actually satisfying method, get to have these elements of themselves that variables out of their management had been stopping them from having till that second. And I simply wished to consider, “Okay, when Mae has experienced this retribution and this release, what parts of her do we get to see?” It felt crucial to me that there was a softness and a protectiveness that she felt over her sister, as a result of she’s all the time been motivated by her love for her household. That simply felt quite simple to me.

Each sisters…get to have these elements of themselves that variables out of their management had been stopping them from having till that second.

After which Osha goes by way of it. [laughs] Homegirl is within the trenches. I knew that Mae was going to be the supportive, guiding pressure in that second, so I let that efficiency information what Osha did.

Osha goes by way of such fast successions of change, whereas additionally being embodied. For me, it actually felt like her embodiment was going to seem like her permitting herself to really feel issues, which is simply what the Darkish Aspect is. It is unchecked emotionality. Her journey is her having this stifled sense of self and being so afraid of her feelings, to then attending to the place the place she’s allowed to really feel and launch.

Talking of the Darkish Aspect and feelings, I do know a whole lot of viewers have latched onto the Oshamir ship. I do know I used to be actually excited to see that hand-hold play out. What are your ideas on how issues shake out for them right here, and what the longer term may maintain?

It has been actually cool to see how into Oshamir individuals are, as a result of we did not essentially understand how individuals had been going to answer it.

Initially, the romantic arc was a way more vital a part of the finale. We had this complete debate round, “Should they kiss? What should happen?” And we simply wished to prioritize Osha’s alternative of going to the Darkish Aspect feeling extra autonomous. That was one thing that Leslye all the time spoke to. She mentioned, “I don’t want it to feel like Osha was manipulated into making this choice. I don’t want it to feel like it was something that was out of her control. I want it to feel like this was a choice that he made for herself, after she had all the information finally available to her.”

We simply wished to prioritize Osha’s alternative of going to the Darkish Aspect feeling extra autonomous.

So it turned extra essential for us to prioritize the ideological alignment that is occurring between Osha and Qimir, and that Osha is lastly acknowledged and seen in a deep method, allowed to be who she really is by this different individual. To me, that felt a lot extra romantically vital than any form of bodily intimacy might be.

There’s just a little violin melody in that closing second, and I do know that you simply play the violin. Have been you approached to play that?

No, I want I may say that was me; that may be so cool!

I acquired the possibility to play a chunk by John Williams on my violin, which was only a piece of video that we made as we had been selling the present. However I do not assume anybody was actually conscious I performed violin up till that time. Then our music supervisor got here as much as me on the premiere and was like, “What the hell! I would have gotten you into the studio months ago!” So if now we have the chance to return, possibly that may be one thing we may discover.

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