I’m Already Excited For A More Promising Season 2

Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode 8.

The Acolyte episode 8 is an improvement over its two predecessors, but problems persist as more interesting Star Wars stories are lost amid uncompelling plots and characters. When The Acolyte was first announced, I could not wait to experience a story about the Sith rising to power beneath the feet of the Jedi in Star Wars’ High Republic Era. Unfortunately, the show was more content to push that storyline to the side in favor of uninteresting characters that simply needed more time to breathe, as evidenced by the time of The Acolyte episode 8’s ending.

The Acolyte Episode 8 Wrapped Up Its Central Story Fairly Well

My criticisms of episode 7 have been somewhat lessened

Firstly, I would like to give The Acolyte episode 8 props for proving me slightly wrong. I was fairly scathing in my review of The Acolyte episode 7, criticizing the show for not knowing what story it wanted to tell. The show mostly wrapped up lingering plot threads involving Mae, Osha, Sol, Qimir, and Vernestra Rwoh, with only teases at the other story I accused of muddying the waters of The Acolyte.

It’s clear The Acolyte season 1 always intended to tell the story of Mae and Osha. The Sith-centric story I thought was buried beneath is instead being teased for future seasons, proving my own expectations of what the show was got the better of me. More mysteries set up potential future stories, but, for the most part, The Acolyte episode 8 gave closure to its core characters, and that’s great.

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The Acolyte Episode 8 Continues To Raise The Bar For Star Wars Action

The Acolyte’s stunt crew must be Star Wars mainstays

Another positive was the rematch between Sol and Qimir and the fight between Mae and Osha. The former featured the fast, flowing, expert choreography of The Acolyte episode 5’s lightsaber battles, while the latter employed the hand-to-hand combat of the first two episodes. While some slow-motion moments in Qimir and Sol’s battle come across as cheesy, the combat remains the absolute best part of The Acolyte. Hopefully, the series’ stunt team is tasked with upping their game for upcoming Star Wars TV shows, as they have set the standard for the franchise’s action.

The Acolyte Episode 8’s Season 2 Teases Are Exciting

One specific tease fixes a common season 1 criticism

Aside from the fight sequences, The Acolyte episode 8’s best moments involved set-up for season 2. While it’s unclear if season 2 will happen, it’s evident that Leslye Headland has sprinkled plot points throughout that could be picked up going forward. One of these plot points involves Vernestra Rwoh, whose role I was critical of before the finale. The show was not giving Vern a good enough reason to be part of the story, but the season finale’s confirmation of her hidden history with Qimir rectifies this.

The biggest teases, however, came in the form of Darth Plagueis and Master Yoda. The latter appeared briefly in the final scene, while the former was shown skulking in the shadows, watching Qimir and Osha. Plageuis’ inclusion is overwhelmingly exciting given so much of his Star Wars history is shrouded in secrecy. Naturally, more Yoda is always good too. If these teases are capitalized on in a potential Acolyte season 2, they need to be front and center to avoid the show’s biggest problems in season 1.

The Acolyte Episode 8 Sums Up Two Major Problems With The Story

Osha & Mae’s story is not compelling, yet longer or more episodes would’ve fixed this

If the appearances of Plagueis and Yoda prove anything, it is simply that The Acolyte season 1 chose the wrong story to tell. What should have been an exploration of compelling characters and how the Sith became the power they were in the prequels was instead cast aside for Osha and Mae’s story. I have tried so hard to invest in the twins’ story, but the show simply did not do enough to make me care for either of them. Amandla Stenberg performs both roles admirably, but the writing is sorely lacking.

If a story everyone wants to see, like that of Plagueis’ rise to power, is being built on the foundation of an original story, the latter has to be compelling. In The Acolyte‘s case, Mae and Osha’s journey was not. Sol and Qimir stand tall as the two most interesting characters in The Acolyte, yet both were pushed to the background in service of exploring the twins. This would not have been an issue had the execution been right, but the season finale proved otherwise as more character beats were entirely rushed through.

To make Osha and Mae’s journey more compelling, The Acolyte simply needed longer episodes and more of them. This is a criticism I have aimed at the show for weeks, as life-changing, universe-altering moments are delivered with little rhyme, reason, or explanation. The show simply leaves too much context and nuance to be worked out by the audience for major character decisions, all while being frustratingly obvious in reveals that should have had more mystery.

In The Acolyte episode 8, Mae decides to completely wipe her memory of her sister. This comes after oscillating between killing Jedi, serving Qimir, turning herself in, stowing aboard Sol’s ship, doing nothing, deciding to kill her sister, and then not killing her sister. More screen time was necessary to explore Mae’s complex emotions and her drastic changes in motivation. It was also needed to explore her childhood with Osha in greater detail and Osha’s connection with Sol. The moment Osha kills Sol falls almost entirely flat, as we’re only told of their intense connection rather than seeing it.

The fix would have been as simple as The Acolyte having 10–15 episodes. This apparent mandate of eight 25-40 minute episodes is not sustainable to tell a story as dense and complex as The Acolyte clearly wanted to. Hopefully, this criticism will be addressed if future seasons of the show are announced, and if the compelling Sith infiltration story hidden in season 1’s frustrating story comes to the fore.

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

The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes – all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.

Pros

• The finale wraps up the main storylines fairly well
• The teases for season 2’s storyline are intriguing

Cons

• Osha and Mae’s journeys didn’t turn out to be all that compelling
• The series still needed more episodes to tell a well-rounded original story