Chris Connor reviews the season finale of Star Wars: The Acolyte…
The Acolyte has been an intriguing prospect across its first season. On the one hand it has shown us a plethora of new worlds, characters and concepts tapping into an uncharted era of the Star Wars universe. However it has felt rushed and lacking in cohesion at points with questionable motives from both the heroes and villains and two extended flashback episodes robbing the central story of momentum. The decision to kill off multiple characters, while a bold narrative decision, has also robbed us of an opportunity to connect with some of the more promising characters in the show. So, does the finale stick the uneven landing or end in a disappointment?
With a slightly longer runtime the finale for the most part manages to weave together the disparate narrative threads as all rounds lead back to Brendok and the events of 16 years before, with Sol revealing the truth to Mae while preparing for a confrontation with Qimir.
As with previous episodes the action when it comes is some of the best under Disney’s Star Wars tenure with some thrilling lightsaber action and also more martial arts styled choreography. Hopefully future projects can build upon this with Skeleton Crew set to feature Jedi and of course the in development Rey-centred film.
It is frustrating that the storylines have intersected right at the end of the series, with teases for a potential second season. This episode gives Rebecca Henderson’s Master Vernestra her most prominent role to date, investigating the events on Brendok and setting her up as a major player for a potential season thrust into the heart of events at the end of this episode.
There are hints at wider events afoot than we have seen here, as a mysterious figure appears on Qimir’s planet who some are believing to be Darth Plagueis, of course referenced by Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith, and an appearance from him in Season 2 would tie this series in far more greatly with the Prequel films. The series culminates with a glimpse Master Yoda who surprisingly didn’t make more of an appearance but seems likely to feature prominently moving forwards if the series is renewed. These nods aside it is to the series’ credit it hasn’t thrust a lot of previously explored Jedi into the show, allowing the new characters and world’s to mostly stand on their own.
While uneven, The Acolyte does manage to wrap up the majority of its dangling threads while keeping enough in play to set the stage for a more expansive second season. Whether or not that gets the greenlight remains to be seen and it would certainly be a few years before we see it it on Disney+. This is certainly one of the season’s strongest episodes with much of the mystery resolved and playing on expectations of what fans might expect.
Chris Connor
