5 Things I Loved About The Acolyte Finale (& 5 Things I Really Hated)

Summary

• Darth Plagueis’ appearance was genuinely scary.
• Osha’s full embrace of the dark side was chilling, especially her shocking act of killing Master Sol.
• The lightsaber color change from blue to red was a standout moment, showcasing innovation in the show.

The Acolyte is officially over, and though I mainly enjoyed the Star Wars show, here are 5 things I loved and 5 I hated about The Acolyte’s finale. The Acolyte, like many other Star Wars shows and movies, especially the newer ones, faced intense scrutiny before it was even released. Despite that fairly constant background noise of The Acolyte’s backlash and controversies, I remained optimistic about the show.

For the most part, the show delivered; many of the new characters were interesting, especially Qimir/the Stranger, and the lightsaber battles, particularly in The Acolyte episode 5, were thrilling. However, the finale was a bit more mixed. While there were many exciting moments in The Acolyte’s finale, there were 5 things I absolutely loved about the episode and 5 things I really hated.

10 The Jump To Darth Plagueis Was Genuinely Scary

This Is Exactly How A Sith Lord Should Be

The Acolyte’s showrunner Leslye Headland officially confirmed in interviews following the finale that the mysterious figure shown on the Unknown Planet was indeed Darth Plagueis, Palpatine’s own Sith master. This was one of my favorite moments in the episode because it was so genuinely scary. Not only was the jump to Plagueis entirely unexpected—an actual jumpscare in Star Wars, which is rare—but the ominous music was absolutely perfect as well.

Even after the initial shock of Plagueis’ appearance, though, his presence remained very creepy. He was clearly watching Osha and Qimir, which surely spells trouble for the pair if The Acolyte gets picked up for a second season (which hasn’t been confirmed). It isn’t clear whether Plagueis is Qimir’s master or not, but either way, he will want to understand how Mother Aniseya created the twins, as one of the powers he sought was the ability to create life.

9 Seeing Osha Go Full Dark Side Was Chilling

Watching Osha Kill Sol Was Brutal

Obviously, Star Wars has shown light side characters fall to the dark side before. After all, Anakin Skywalker is my favorite character in the entire franchise, and his fall defined the galaxy for generations. However, Osha’s fall to the dark side was downright cold. I’d seen this change coming, as she’d donned Qimir’s Sith mask in The Acolyte episode 7, but I hadn’t expected her to become so chilling so quickly, nor did I expect her to kill Master Sol.

That isn’t to say this decision for Osha to suddenly kill Sol didn’t make sense—quite the contrary. I’d long suspected Sol was not surviving The Acolyte because he was the final Jedi alive of the four that had been stationed on Brendok. Mae had set out to kill them all, so Sol’s death made sense to complete this arc. However, Osha killing her own beloved former master was a true surprise for me, even if she had good reason, and watching her Force choke him to death as he looked at her crying was shocking.

8 The Subtle Star Wars ‘Rhymes’ Were Perfect

I Loved The Connections To Previous Characters

Star Wars is well-known for its ‘rhymes,’ or the parallels that connect the various movies and TV shows. The Acolyte finale had several, all of which were subtle. The two that really stuck out to me were connected to Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back and Ben Solo in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The connection to Han came when Mae said, “See you in Hell, Jedi” to Master Sol as she escaped from his ship, clearly reminiscent of Han Solo’s “Then I’ll see you in Hell!” to a Rebel in The Empire Strikes Back.

These rhymes especially delighted me because Han and Ben Solo aren’t always the characters with parallels in newer projects.

The connection to Ben was even subtler and came when Mae climbed up from the side of a ledge where she had been hiding to avoid Sol. As her hand came up to grasp the ledge, the shot lingered in an image nearly identical to the one from The Rise of Skywalker when Ben Solo was climbing back up from the crevice into which he’d been thrown by Palpatine. These rhymes especially delighted me because Han and Ben Solo aren’t always the characters with parallels in newer projects, so this felt genuinely new.

7 Getting To See A Kyber Crystal Bled In Real Time Was Amazing

This Controversial Moment Was A Thrill

Audiences have been divided on The Acolyte finale showing a kyber crystal bled in real-time, with some up in arms about the decision. However, I absolutely loved getting to see Osha bleed Master Sol’s kyber crystal. For one, the actual visuals were incredible, and they finally revealed what the inside of a lightsaber looks like. However, it was the symbolism of Osha bleeding this crystal that I truly loved.

It was the symbolism of Osha bleeding this crystal that I truly loved.

What really stood out to me was the fact that this was the first lightsaber Osha ever saw or touched, and, now, this will presumably be her Sith lightsaber. That full-circle moment was impressively profound and thoughtful. Moreover, while much of the backlash has focused on this being a supposedly canon-breaking event, that isn’t the case. Bleeding a kyber crystal requires pouring one’s anger, pain, and hatred into the crystal, which Osha absolutely did, whether she meant to or not.

6 The Lightsaber Going From Red To Blue Was One Of Star Wars’ Coolest Moments

The Acolyte Managed To Deliver An Innovative Lightsaber Moment

Possibly my favorite moment in The Acolyte finale was Osha turning Sol’s lightsaber from blue to red. Following Osha having inadvertently bled the kyber crystal, she ignites the lightsaber and watches in shock (along with Qimir and Mae) as the saber goes from blue to red. This was an absolutely incredible moment and something truly unique in the franchise.

It must be difficult for Star Wars shows and movies to constantly bring something new to lightsabers, although there seems to be pressure to do so, as each show or movie tends to reveal a new color or design. The Acolyte had already done this to a certain degree with Qimir’s dual lightsabers, which included a dagger saber, and by bringing Vernestra Rwoh’s lightwhip to live-action. However, this moment where a lightsaber turned red on-screen was unbelievable and, arguably, one of the coolest moments in all of Star Wars.

5 A Reactor Shaft (Sort Of) Saves The Day Again

This Recycled Explanation Was Disappointing

Although I loved many aspects of The Acolyte’s finale, there were also several choices I was not a fan of, one of the biggest being the way Mae survived her fall during the fire on Brendok. This was one of the lingering mysteries even after episode 7 had revealed what happened on Brendok. Because episode 3 was from Osha’s perspective and episode 7 was Sol’s, no one knew how Mae had survived her massive fall from the broken bridge. My hopes were high that somehow either Mother Koril (whom I believe is alive) or Qimir had intervened to save her.

After all, it still isn’t clear who found Mae when she was waiting under the tree on Brendok after the fire. This could be explored in a possible season 2; however, Mae evidently survived her fall because she reached the core tunnel. Not only does this fall into Star Wars’ tired pattern of reactor shafts saving characters who seem dead (Palpatine and Darth Maul)—even if it wasn’t a true reactor shaft, it was close enough—but it also makes little sense. How did she get all the way over to the core tunnel from where she fell?

4 We Didn’t See Vernestra’s Lightwhip In Action

I Was Shocked The Acolyte Didn’t Show The Lightwhip In Battle

One of the biggest missed opportunities for me in The Acolyte was not showing Vernestra using her lightwhip in an active battle. To be frank, I was shocked The Acolyte didn’t take better advantage of this weapon. Although it did make an appearance—Vern uses it to kill what looks like a large bug at one point—not getting to see the lightwhip in action was a massive disappointment. In fact, The Acolyte even heavily hinted that such a battle was coming.

Not getting to see the lightwhip in action was a massive disappointment.

Not only was the lightwhip teased in trailers for The Acolyte, which led audiences to believe that it would play a larger role in the show, but also, the finale confirmed that Qimir had been Vernestra’s Jedi Padawan, and they even ended up on Brendok at the same time. This would have been an epic showdown, particularly because the lightwhip is established in the canon to be an ideal defense against the Forbidden Forms, which Qimir used. Sadly, this seems to be yet another example of something that could appear in season 2—a season 2 that might not come.

3 Slow Motion Force-Fu Just Didn’t Work

These Slow Motion Scenes Looked A Bit Silly

Star Wars’ Force-Fu fighting style has never quite worked for me, largely because the name doesn’t sound like something that is meant to be a serious, established term in the franchise. However, I like the concept of the Jedi relying on more than just their lightsabers, and I have enjoyed moments of this fighting style, which was also seen in Ahsoka when Ezra Bridger battled Shin Hati. This form was first used in The Acolyte in episode 1, during the fight between Mae and Master Indara, and that was a compelling battle.

The use of slow motion during Qimir and Sol’s fight made the otherwise epic battle seem unserious.

Despite that initial success, The Acolyte finale dropped the ball with this style because the use of slow motion during Qimir and Sol’s fight made the otherwise epic battle seem unserious. This was also simply unnecessary. The Acolyte episode 5 had some of the best lightsaber battles in all of Star Wars, arguably the very best since Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, so audiences were already excited for the action sequences. Trying to force the fight to seem even cooler by using slow motion was overkill and a bit self-indulgent.

2 Mae’s Character Made Almost No Sense, Which Was Only True In The Finale

The Decisions For Mae’s Character In The Finale Were Confusing

Mae had shifting allegiances and motivations throughout The Acolyte, but those remained fairly logical until the finale. At first, Mae seemed like a cold-hearted killer, obsessed with getting revenge. While that shifted somewhat when she saw Osha and realized her sister was alive, she maintained that the four Jedi who were on Brendok when she was a child needed to die. In fact, episode 3 and episode 7 validated why she wants to kill the Jedi, and I had a difficult time seeing her as an out-and-out villain when I learned she watched Sol stab her mother as a child.

Suddenly, Mae is solely interested in what Osha wants, enough so that she is willing to erase her beloved sister from her memory completely.

In the finale, though, Mae’s character entirely falls apart. Her motivations are unclear, and the end of her story makes no sense. Suddenly, Mae is solely interested in what Osha wants, enough so that she is willing to erase her beloved sister from her memory completely so that Osha can go train with the man who very recently tried to kill Mae and had held a lightsaber to her head like a gun.

Mae has consistently proven that Osha is her priority, but she’s now comfortable with Osha going off with this violent man alone? While I understand Mae asking Osha what she wants is meant to mirror Mother Aniseya, I just didn’t find this believable. Moreover, although a minor detail, Mae began acting like Osha in the finale in a way that made little sense, including telling Pip to “hold on” at one point, as though she cared about the droid, which had never been established.

1 Especially Toward The End, The Finale Was Basically Asking For Season 2

The Focus On Getting A Season 2 Weakened Season 1

In the end, my biggest grievance with The Acolyte’s finale (and, to some extent, the entire show) was the way it felt like an 8-episode pitch for a second season. Early on in marketing for the show, Headland said the door would remain open for a season 2 but that season 1 would feel like a complete story. Unfortunately, while The Acolyte certainly delivered on the former, I’m less convinced it did on the latter.

Much of the finale included cliffhangers that felt like they should have been part of the show from the beginning, such as the appearance of Darth Plagueis. While that cameo was thrilling and satisfyingly creepy, it did feel like a bargaining chip for a second season. Moreover, some cliffhangers just made absolutely no sense.

Some cliffhangers just made absolutely no sense.

Perhaps the best example is Osha and Mae agreeing to find each other again. It’s unclear how that would happen, as Mae’s memory was wiped and the entire point of them separating was so the Jedi couldn’t use Mae to find Osha. This alone also wouldn’t be enough to make season 2 a must-watch, as the twins’ relationship had been fairly confusing throughout the show.

Interviews with Headland during and after season 1 also frequently mentioned that these concepts could be revisited in a second season. Honestly, I do hope The Acolyte is renewed for another season, as I think there are a number of interesting threads that could be continued. However, the constant reminders that The Acolyte could be renewed were distracting and made the show a little less enjoyable.

All episodes of The Acolyte are now streaming on Disney+.