REVIEW: The Acolyte – Season 1, Episode 5, “Night”

“You carry a Jedi weapon, but you are no Jedi.”

Television Reviews

***SPOILERS***

In “Night,” the battle between the Jedi and the dark Master is on. Several background NPC Jedi die, and Sol and Yord are injured. Sol faces the Master alone and senses something familiar. Meanwhile, Jackie finds Mae and fails to arrest her. Mae’s Master shows up and fends Jecki off long enough for Mae to escape. Yord and Osha encounter the light-loving space moths as Sol and Jecki attack the Master, rescuing Mae. Before Osha and Yord can save them, Jecki is killed. The Master is revealed as Qimir. Yord is killed. Osha attaches Pip to Qimir using Pip’s light to attract the bugs. Mae knocks Sol out and tries to reason with Osha. When this doesn’t work out, Mae also incapacitates her sister and takes her place, leaving with Sol. Qimir finds Osha. 

I don’t know where to start. I usually have something nice to say about this show, be it the visuals or the music. I didn’t particularly notice the music this week, but the visuals are not good. Smilo Ren/Darth Teeth/whatever you want to call him, his mask looks even worse in this lighting. There are also some occurrences that don’t necessarily violate lore, but they look dumb as hell. Smiley makes a Jedi kabob with his lightsaber at one point, and I was left wondering if that was meant to be funny. I can’t take that seriously, okay? I can only be so open-minded and suspend disbelief so far. This is just nitpicking, but I found his bare arms goofy. Why not cover his arms with that black fabric as well? Is he just showing off his biceps? Osha also escapes from him at one point by using her droid to draw those big moths to him. I get the idea here; she learned something in the last episode and used unconventional means to best a superior opponent. But it looks and feels dumb. A Sith Lord is stopped (albeit temporarily) by big bugs who are attracted to light? Okay. It’s also weird how Osha takes the time to tell Pip (her little Walkman-like droid) that she loves him before using him in this way. Pip hasn’t been important in any of the other episodes. This relationship hasn’t been displayed or developed in the show at all, so it just comes off as an awkward, overly-dramatic moment. Finally, one more issue I have with this ridiculous scene. In “Day,” Osha agonized over her actions leading to the death of one moth, right? Well, here, I can only assume that ol’ Smilo will kill at least a few in self-defense. Why is she suddenly okay with murdering several of them when she felt bad about one? Is it because of Jecki’s bizarre line about it being an honor to see anything join the Force? Is it an honor now that Jecki herself has died? I’m getting ahead of myself.

I found the scene near the beginning where the Jedi keep saving one another silly. It was redundant, confusing, and went on way too long. It’s also weird how Osha was ready to dip in “Day,” but now she refuses to leave Sol’s side, insisting that she and Yord go back. This also leads to Yord getting killed. Does that make you feel bad, Osha? Also, where the heck was Sol at the beginning of the fight? He just shows up to save Yord and Osha’s dumb asses. Where did he go when the random Jedi were fighting Smiley? Also, I knew these unnamed Jedi would die, but it actually did surprise me how many major characters they killed. I almost want to give the show a point for that, but we didn’t really get to know Yord or Jecki. I didn’t know them well enough to love them, so it’s hard to be shaken by their deaths. They were pretty nasty, though; Smiley got three lightsaber stabs into Jecki’s chest and snapped Yord’s neck. Brutal.

Why does Sol find Qimir “familiar”? Is this just from questioning him on Olega, or do they have an actual history? This whole exchange was bizarre. Why not kill Sol when Smiley/Qimir had the chance? He’s the only Jedi who poses a challenge for him, who he doesn’t quickly bring down. And he’s on the hit list! They’re telegraphing Sol’s hand in the death of the witches pretty heavily. The Acolyte is never subtle, that’s for sure. When Sol asks Smiley why a master would hide his face from his pupil, he replies, “You tell me.” This comes in addition to Sol repeatedly promising to tell Osha everything when they’re safe. Sol is the only character I’ve found any humanity in, the only enjoyable personality in The Acolyte. Now as most of us predicted, they’re going to tarnish his character and remove the show’s one redeeming trait. Regardless, Lee Jung-jae has done a great job portraying a true Jedi. Regardless of what they do to him in the next three episodes, he has brought warmth, humanity, and a sense of genuine concern for others to an otherwise hollow, heartless show. Leslye Headland and Amandla Stenberg are apparently big Star Wars fans, but Jung-jae is the only one who has displayed any real understanding of what it’s all about. 

The twins switch places at the end, with Mae knocking Osha out and taking her clothes to join Sol, who doesn’t notice this or sense it in the Force, for some reason. And Qimir takes Osha in, even covering her with a blanket. What is this, Wife Swap, Jedi edition? Why does Qimir even care about Osha? He spared her before when he fought the Jedi, as well. Also, this was a lame reveal. Qimir was the only character hinted to be the Master; he was the only one on Khofar who could have gotten to Kelnacca in time, and he was manipulative towards Mae. That made me think it had to be someone else, like Master Vernestra or even Koril, the girls’ biological mom, who we didn’t see die in “Destiny.” Mae is pretty dumb for not figuring this out. How did the Jedi not sense any darkness in Qimir when they questioned him on Olega? He also defines himself as a Sith to Sol, meaning there’s absolutely no way the Jedi don’t know the Sith are back. People have defended this bizarre plot thread since the trailers came out, saying, “Maybe he’s not a Sith.” Well, he is, and even he knows it. I dont know how they’ll write their way out of this, but I don’t care at this point. The Acolyte is good for Master Sol and some unintended laughs, and that’s it. 

“Night” seals the deal: this is a lousy show that likely had bad intentions from the start. Each episode has been worse than the last, and this one is no exception. “Night” is packed with confusing action, clumsy, uninspired reveals, and ponderous dialogue. I say this show was probably conceived in bad faith because we now know Qimir is a Sith, and the Jedi realize it. The only reasonable explanation is a cover-up by Vernestra, which paints the Jedi in the worst light. This also means what happens in the prequels is the fault of the High Republic Jedi for keeping such a bizarre secret. I get that Vernestra only cares about politics and looking good, but why risk extinction or, worse, the galaxy’s destruction? I give up, guys; I hate the show. I have tried at every turn to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I’m tired. I’ll be back next week because I hate myself and want to suffer, I guess.