"Star Wars: The Acolyte" Series Talkback (Spoilers)

[Frontier]

Osha is, unsurprisingly, strong in the Dark Side. Strong enough to have her own "visions."

Stranger's face when he finds out Mae actually succeeds the test: "Wait, she actually pulled it off? I genuinely did not see that coming."

I honestly didn't think Sol's explanation would satisfy Mae, whether or not it was an accident (and Mae did, y'know, start the fire) or her mom was really doing something so suspicious that Sol seemed justified (from his perspective) of acting in self-defense. Of course it also doesn't help that Mae just...isn't that likeable. She stole her own sisters' Pip Droid!

Et tu Bazil? You were the one character I had 100% faith in! Though I guess he was working for the Council, not Sol.

Osha's even dressing like a Sith now.

That blonde Jedi looked like he was born to basically just be a secretary.

Always nice to see David Harewood. He definitely seems to be enjoying himself here. Though being an anti-Jedi politician trying to establish checks and balances and promoting the fallibility of the Jedi seems doomed to fail in light of the Prequels.

True Sith alert? Is that seriously

Spoiler

Plagueis?

That's the Strangers' Sith master?

I feel like the most unequivocally positive aspect of this show is the Lightsaber fights.

I guess they HAD to do a twin fight.

Stranger didn't seem surprised by the "Vergence" bit.

Honestly felt like they were trying to make Sol come off worse than he actually did in the flashback so it would feel more justified to die. Like why did he do such a bad job of explaining himself or his actions? What happened was bad but it felt like they were having him spin it worse than it actually was. I don't even get why he was so caught up in the "Vergence" thing.

I love how Mae keeps flip-flopping. "I'm going to kill the Jedi to get my revenge! Now I'll turn myself in to be with my sister! Now I'll just keep trying to kill Jedi and bail on everything including my sister! Now I'm going to do things the right way and bring Sol to justice! Now I'm just going to leave my sister with my Master who is clearly dangerous and bad for her, but it's what she wants so I'm going to let her do it this time around!" The character is all over the place. And now she's mind-wiped!

Honestly most disappointing part of the finale was Mae not dying. She doesn't deserve to get mind-wiped and keep this plot going and it would've been a stronger finale with her dead. I mean, is anyone actually emotionally invested in her relationship with Osha? They're treating the twins' relationship like it's a core of the series when it's just so...shallow and underwhelming.

I don't even want to think of how Imri and Stellan would view Vernestra if they saw her now. Like I thought she was going with full transparency but of course she uses Sol to keep the cover-up going knowing full-well who was actually behind everything. And her own involvement with them. And I guess now she feels it's her duty to finish things and clean up her mess with Mae tagging along. I'm sure that will end well.

Does that count as Sith hand-holding?

Don't rope Yoda into this mess.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

I don't even want to think of how Imri and Stellan would view Vernestra if they saw her now. Like I thought she was going with full transparency but of course she uses Sol to keep the cover-up going knowing full-well who was actually behind everything. And her own involvement with them. And I guess now she feels it's her duty to finish things and clean up her mess with Mae tagging along. I'm sure that will end well.

Well, she's far from the only Jedi who had to cover up a truth from avoid others from knowing it since Obi-Wan didn't tell Anakin's stepbrother Owen that he turned to the dark side by stating that he was killed in action during Order 66 in the end of Revenge of the Sith to which Owen blamed him for his death and indeed, he never knew the truth as he and his wife Beru would be killed in the first half of A New Hope.

 

[Yojimbo]

These lightsaber battles against Qimir were awesome. Loved the nods to Wuxia in this episode's battle.

Osha is, unsurprisingly, strong in the Dark Side.

Kyber bleed was freakin' awesome. But yeah, made sense she washed out of the Jedi because she couldn't control her emotions.

Though being an anti-Jedi politician trying to establish checks and balances and promoting the fallibility of the Jedi seems doomed to fail in light of the Prequels.

The irony. If only there were more politicians that thought like him, things might have been different a century later.

True Sith alert? Is that seriously

Spoiler

Plagueis?

That's the Strangers' Sith master?

That was a tantalizing cameo. I agree that's him. It would make sense he'd be interested in Osha given how she was created. But now there's 3. So Rule of Two is broken for now...

Honestly felt like they were trying to make Sol come off worse than he actually did in the flashback so it would feel more justified to die. Like why did he do such a bad job of explaining himself or his actions? What happened was bad but it felt like they were having him spin it worse than it actually was. I don't even get why he was so caught up in the "Vergence" thing.

Yeah, some of the writing like this needs better polish if the show gets renewed. But in-universe, Sol shoulda mentioned the smoke monster ability, too.

Honestly most disappointing part of the finale was Mae not dying. She doesn't deserve to get mind-wiped and keep this plot going and it would've been a stronger finale with her dead. I mean, is anyone actually emotionally invested in her relationship with Osha? They're treating the twins' relationship like it's a core of the series when it's just so...shallow and underwhelming.

But since they're not twins and the same person, that begs the question of what happens to one when the other dies?

I don't even want to think of how Imri and Stellan would view Vernestra if they saw her now. Like I thought she was going with full transparency but of course she uses Sol to keep the cover-up going knowing full-well who was actually behind everything. And her own involvement with them. And I guess now she feels it's her duty to finish things and clean up her mess with Mae tagging along. I'm sure that will end well.

I don't think I can read the High Republic comes the same now knowing the person Venestra becomes. A cover up to hide a cover up and throwing a corpse under the bus. Wow. And to cover herself, she's hiding the existence of Sith from the other Jedi so she can go kill her ex-padawan Qimir on the sly.

 

[Frontier]

These lightsaber battles against Qimir were awesome. Loved the nods to Wuxia in this episode's battle.

I think this show will definitely be most remebered for the lightsaber fights. And Sol and Stranger carrying the entire show on their backs .

Kyber bleed was freakin' awesome. But yeah, made sense she washed out of the Jedi because she couldn't control her emotions.

And now her Sith weapon is Sol's lightsaber...which is very Dark Side .

The irony. If only there were more politicians that thought like him, things might have been different a century later.

Granted, I don't get completely up and up vibes from him either .

That was a tantalizing cameo. I agree that's him. It would make sense he'd be interested in Osha given how she was created. But now there's 3. So Rule of Two is broken for now...

It begs a lot of question. Did he train The Stranger? is Stranger using Osha to undermine and defeat him ?

Yeah, some of the writing like this needs better polish if the show gets renewed. But in-universe, Sol shoulda mentioned the smoke monster ability, too.

I don't think the sisters would have cared but a "I had no idea what she was doing and I thought she was trying to attack" would have been a legitimate defense. It's not like he stabbed her while she was just standing around talking :.

But since they're not twins and the same person, that begs the question of what happens to one when the other dies?

There's a lot of questions that still need to be answered about how the twins work and what exactly they are/meant to do .

I don't think I can read the High Republic comes the same now knowing the person Venestra becomes. A cover up to hide a cover up and throwing a corpse under the bus. Wow. And to cover herself, she's hiding the existence of Sith from the other Jedi so she can go kill her ex-padawan Qimir on the sly.

The irony is she actually once lectured a Jedi about not covering up a mistake on their part only to see her actually do the same here .

 

[Yojimbo]

Granted, I don't get completely up and up vibes from him either .

Yeah, I saw some theories he's a Sith, too. lol.

It begs a lot of question. Did he train The Stranger? is Stranger using Osha to undermine and defeat him ?

Yeah, if he did train The Stranger then the implication is he wants to slay his master so the Rule of Two is upheld. But then, would The Stranger really carry about a rule like that? It would be a hell of a coincidence that he was on that planet and happened to see the two. There will be some eye rolls if it all leads to the 'real truth' of Anakin's creation. I think most fans think Palpatine secretly manipulated midi-chlorians to create him but his mother was unaware of what happened.

 

[Frontier]

Yeah, I saw some theories he's a Sith, too. lol.

What are the chances that yet another Sith would infiltrate the Senate underneath the Jedi's noses and try to screw them over? Though honestly Harewood plays a mean villain .

Yeah, if he did train The Stranger then the implication is he wants to slay his master so the Rule of Two is upheld. But then, would The Stranger really carry about a rule like that? It would be a hell of a coincidence that he was on that planet and happened to see the two. There will be some eye rolls if it all leads to the 'real truth' of Anakin's creation. I think most fans think Palpatine secretly manipulated midi-chlorians to create him but his mother was unaware of what happened.

He said he wanted an Acolyte for companionship...considering the other guy probably isn't great company, that might be part of it, even if Stranger isn't hardcore Sith.

 

[Yojimbo]

What are the chances that yet another Sith would infiltrate the Senate underneath the Jedi's noses and try to screw them over? Though honestly Harewood plays a mean villain .

7/17: I took him as just brusque. Or it really is just his plan to move up the ranks. He's right but... the whole thing about the Jedi becoming a political body seemed like the wrong choice. Y'know, they should be outsiders looking in - not part of it. And well, Palpatine took advantage of it.

He said he wanted an Acolyte for companionship...considering the other guy probably isn't great company, that might be part of it, even if Stranger isn't hardcore Sith.

True. I'd wear that helmet, too, if I that was the only other person on the planet.

7/18: Headland comments on Plagueis, confirming the Stranger and Osha will be a "bittersweet tragedy," and emphasizes the role of the Sith on this show, "They’re not running the First Order. They’re not running the Empire. They’re not the Chancellor of the Senate. They’re hiding out. The Sith [in this time] are fighting for survival."

 

[Frontier]

7/18: Headland comments on Plagueis, confirming the Stranger and Osha will be a "bittersweet tragedy," and emphasizes the role of the Sith on this show, "They’re not running the First Order. They’re not running the Empire. They’re not the Chancellor of the Senate. They’re hiding out. The Sith [in this time] are fighting for survival."

Sounds like things will go very well for them until Palpatine turns up .

 

[Yojimbo]

Sounds like things will go very well for them until Palpatine turns up .

I'm not all that clear on the rule. Stranger taking on a student automatically means one of them has to die at the very least. Him or Plagueis Or Plagueis will just kill both and be on the look out for another apprentice, eventually meeting Palpatine? But he would probably be very interested in Osha given what we know about him and about her origins.

I think they delve into this and Stranger's backstory in season 2 granted it's greenlit. I hope season 2 will be more sequential and not rashomon in structure like season 1 was.

 

[Frontier]

I'm not all that clear on the rule. Stranger taking on a student automatically means one of them has to die at the very least. Him or Plagueis Or Plagueis will just kill both and be on the look out for another apprentice, eventually meeting Palpatine? But he would probably be very interested in Osha given what we know about him and about her origins.

My understanding is, baseline, you need a Master and an Apprentice. The Apprentice is expected to try to usurp the Master and to that effect needs their own Apprentice (or Acolyte) while the Master has the right to replace the Apprentice with someone more suitable, if they so deem it.

I think they delve into this and Stranger's backstory in season 2 granted it's greenlit. I hope season 2 will be more sequential and not rashomon in structure like season 1 was.

But...but we need to learn what happened to Mae on Brendok and how she met the Strange. I guess .

 

[Yojimbo]

But...but we need to learn what happened to Mae on Brendok and how she met the Strange. I guess .

That but I think they might it back further to when he was Vernestra's padawan and fill in up to the present.

 

[Frontier]

That but I think they might it back further to when he was Vernestra's padawan and fill in up to the present.

Can't wait until we get "what did Vernestra do?" and then when it's finally revealed it turns out it's not anywhere near as bad and we basically watched the same episode twice .

 

[Yojimbo]

Can't wait until we get "what did Vernestra do?" and then when it's finally revealed it turns out it's not anywhere near as bad and we basically watched the same episode twice .

They really threw Vernestra under the bus on this show. I lost track of the HR comics but sad that this the kind of person she becomes.

I'm guessing he didn't suppress his emotions like Jedi "should" and kept it a secret then it blew up in his face and Vernestra killed him to hide what he did to keep the Jedi Order "pure" but of course, he survived. Maybe he fell into a tunnel shaft at the last second.

 

[Frontier]

They really threw Vernestra under the bus on this show. I lost track of the HR comics but sad that this the kind of person she becomes.

I'm guessing he didn't suppress his emotions like Jedi "should" and kept it a secret then it blew up in his face and Vernestra killed him to hide what he did to keep the Jedi Order "pure" but of course, he survived. Maybe he fell into a tunnel shaft at the last second.

Maybe it was like Luke with Ben only Vernestra actually committed. I wonder if he was always interested in the Dark Side even before ?

 

[Yojimbo]

Maybe it was like Luke with Ben only Vernestra actually committed. I wonder if he was always interested in the Dark Side even before ?

Good points. Maybe they will show that ritual of when the padawans have to find their kyber crystal and make the lightsaber. But when he first activated his, it bled red so Vernestra panicked and impulsively moved to kill him before others learned his nature.

 

[Yojimbo]

The Art of book has a quote basically confirming Stranger becomes the first Knight of Ren.

 

[Frontier]

The Art of book has a quote basically confirming Stranger becomes the first Knight of Ren.

He definitely had the mask and aura farming down .

 

[Yojimbo]

There was a senate scene removed from the last episode.

 

[Frontier]

There was a senate scene removed from the last episode.

We needed more David Harewood...

 

[Yojimbo]

2/5: Here's a breakdown of more bits from the Art of The Acolyte book.

3/3: Headland confirms a couple things like Ki-Adi-Mundi, Qimir not being a true Sith, back scars were from Vernestra, Mother Koril is still alive, Darth Plagueis studied Osha and Mae and passed that knowledge to Palpatine who then created Anakin, and Yoda would have helped Vernestra with the cover up in season 2.