This review contains full spoilers for Star Wars: The Acolyte Season 1, episode 8.
The Acolyte’s season came to an end with a busy finale that certainly made use of its 48 minute runtime (the season’s longest episode) with a lot of big moments and big confrontations. It also set up a lot of elements for a far-from-guaranteed Season 2, leaving many questions unanswered in a way that's more frustrating than enticing.
One story that is definitely wrapped up though is Sol’s. The final two episodes of the season cast this character in a very different light, revealing his foolhardy, selfish actions on Brendok and how they led to him killing Mae and Osha’s mother, plus the death of the entire coven. Last week’s look at how this all played out was poorly told and highlighted the flaws in The Acolyte’s storytelling. This week, seeing Sol away from that yet still dealing with the aftermath, was more engaging. While he may harbor some regrets, Sol was ultimately a stubborn as hell guy who could never admit that he was in the wrong when it came to intervening with that coven. It was an involving way to go with this seemingly noble Jedi, presenting a highly flawed character in a way that avoided him simply being evil.
I also liked that while Mae decided to spare Sol’s life, the initial parallels to Luke throwing his lightsaber aside and refusing to kill Vader actually had a very different meaning here – it wasn’t because Mae felt some sense of forgiveness or love for Sol. Instead, she wanted his guilt to be outed to everyone and for him to pay for his crimes in way he’d have to endure. Elements like this meant Mae had some of her better moments in the finale as she came face to face with Osha and Sol, but her overall portrayal through this series still ultimately feels wildly inconsistent.
Of course, Sol wouldn’t be taken into custody after all. Osha kills him after hearing him confess to murdering her mother. This was hardly a shocking event, given the last few episodes had put her on the path towards making this Dark Side turn, but it felt like natural progression. And Sol essentially let her do it. While it initially seemed bizarre he wasn’t fighting back, he told Osha it was okay, rather than using his own abilities to try to counter her Force choke.
Also, seeing the kyber crystal within the lightsaber Osha claimed from Sol 'bleed' and turn red as she made this choice was a cool visual (the idea that kyber crystals can change like this is an established concept, though I’m sure there will be plenty of debates/arguments about why it didn’t occur for Anakin’s youngling-killing lightsaber in Revenge of the Sith).
Meanwhile, on Qimir’s unknown planet, we saw… freaking Darth Plagueis?
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Last week, I assumed Mae and Osha were the Vergence in the Force, but it turns out they are instead a result of the Vergence. That means we still don’t know what the hell the real Vergence is and how exactly the girls were created, especially since Koril (who presumably is still alive out there) didn’t pop up again – one of many “We’ll deal with this in a potential Season 2” aspects of this stacked finale.
Meanwhile, on Qimir’s unknown planet (AKA Not-Ahch-To) we saw… freaking Darth Plagueis? It sure seemed like that’s what was occurring, as we saw this creepy, ghoulish figure, who looked like some previous depictions of Palpatine’s Sith Master, watch Qimir and Osha from afar. But the finale offered no other details about him and he didn’t show up at the end when Qimir and Osha returned to the planet. We can speculate that he’s Qimir’s Master, but we still don’t exactlyt know what Qimir meant about wanting to harness the Power of Two, nor how that plays into what this other guy’s role is. We also don’t know what his current dynamic with Probably-Plagueis is. Is Qimir still doing his bidding, assuming he once did? Did he leave this creep, who has now stalked him to this planet? It’s all uncertain. Ultimately, we have a mysterious source of power on Brendok (the Vergence) and a mysterious source of power on Not-Ahch-To (Probably-Plagueis) but no real explanation yet for either, which feels like too much at once even if a second season was already greenlit.
Rather than Probably-Plagueis providing the season's concluding heft, much of the dramatic weight of the final moments instead rested on Vernestra and her outright lying about Sol. She named him as the one who killed all the other Jedi through the series, rather than Mae and Qimir. This felt weird and muddled because Vernestra hasn’t been fleshed out enough for this accusation to have weight. As is so often the case on this show, you can feel the vestiges of a good idea here – Vernestra has been trying to protect the Jedi’s reputation this whole time and thinks putting all the blame on Sol as a rogue Jedi is the way to do that. But we didn’t really get to know her or feel the bond between her and Sol enough for this to have the punch it was meant to have.
Vernestra was part of one standout scene, though, as she squared off with Senator Rayencourt (Supergirl’s David Harewood, making a strong debut) who wanted the Jedi to be investigated. Rayencourt’s reasons for distrusting the Jedi, calling out their “massive system of unchecked power” and “delusional” belief that they can control emotions, were great, even though things got a bit too on the nose with how much he predicted the future when it came to a Jedi eventually losing control. However, bringing in Rayencourt at all at this stage was yet more blatant Season 2 set up at a time when there was already enough to deal with.
Bringing in Rayencourt at this stage was yet more blatant Season 2 set up at a time when there was already enough to deal with.
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One place the finale did get to shine was in its fight scenes. Combat choreography has frequently been a highlight of The Acolyte and the big lightsaber battle between Sol and Qimir was another thrilling clash for the series. There were many awesome touches, from the pair's lightsabers cutting through the walls, to the amazing moment where Sol used the Force to deflect two sabers that Qimir had hurled towards him. The hand-to-hand fight between Mae and Osha was also exciting and well executed, particularly considering it was one actress playing both sides of the fight, assisted by a body double and some VFX face swapping.
Also, in a show that’s had some sequences with notably weaker effects work than is the Star Wars norm, the chase through the asteroid field was very cool. Obviously we’ve seen asteroid fields in Star Wars action scenes before, but this one had its own distinct touch as we saw all of that debris pushed aside in the wake of Mae and Sol’s ships hurtling forward.
Given the sexy-flirty vibe between Osha and Qimir that was established in episode six, it was not out of nowhere to have them end the episode holding hands (and holding Sol’s corrupted lightsaber). I just wish the finale had spent some time more directly continuing that burgeoning, dark love story. There is something fun about having this potential Dark Side couple on a path to doing bad things together in more ways than one. It felt like the finale could have better shown that part of their relationship throughout, rather than frame Osha’s decision to become Qimir’s apprentice as being only motivated by her wanting to help Mae.
