In the penultimate episode of The Acolyte, we finally learn what really happened on Brendok all those years ago.
Spoiler warning! These reviews will be spoiler-free for the week in question, but will discuss previous episodes in detail.
The entirety of The Acolyte has hinged on one big secret; what exactly happened on Brendok 16 years ago?
We got half the story in episode 3 which showed up the coven of space witches, known as the Night Sisters. This is Mae and Osha’s family, and we also found out Mae wanted to prevent Osha from leaving with the Jedi and thus started a devastating fire.
Episode 7, which is directed by South Korean filmmaker Kogonada, as was episode 3, gives us the full picture. We won’t spoil the nuances of that reveal but let’s just say, we don’t learn anything particularly new – or at least, nothing we didn’t already expect.
The episode does, however, give us more insight into Sol as a character and paints him in a slightly new light. It’s something I particularly appreciated from this episode, even if I was disappointed by it as a whole. If you promise a big reveal, you need to keep that promise and deliver on it. Episode 7 does not.
At least we get more of Master Indara (Carrie-Ann Moss), Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) and Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman) as well as a plethora of little Star Wars references. The group are on Brendok to investigate a vergence – a particularly high concentration of the Force in one place. The Jedis believe Brendok to be uninhabited, referencing the Great Hyperspace Disaster.
As the Jedi later test Mae and Osha’s blood, Torbin refers to their “M-count”. This is of course their midi-chlorian count, something mentioned in The Phantom Menace. You can test one’s Force sensitivity from their blood, which seems handy, though the concept has largely been rejected by fans.
This episode, more than any previous one, does attempt to slightly turn the tables and showcase that the Jedi can be so blinded by their need to protect that they’re willing to do anything to achieve their goals. Sol especially is presented as someone with a strong need to save Osha, so much so that it leads him to cause more harm than good.
It is nice to see the witches back, and Jodie Turner-Smith, playing Mother Aniseya, is a particularly welcome presence. In fact, I would be much keener on a series that followed the witches and their customs, their use of the Force. With his two episodes, Kogonada has made them into mysterious, slightly dangerous beings and certainly leaves us wanting more.
I’m repeating myself here, but I still don’t know where next week’s finale will go. The central conflict is vague, muddled and plain dull. Episode 6 hinted that Osha might be going to the dark side and once she learns what really happened on Brendok, she might embrace the darkness offered by Qimir (Manny Jacinto).
There’s still so much potential in The Acolyte, but it’s been plagued by poor writing and the inability to craft a believable, intriguing mystery. I’m trying to head into each episode with an open mind and will do so next week as well, but the series keeps letting me down. I can only hope next week’s finale is powerful enough to at least partly redeem an uneven series.
The Acolyte is now streaming on Disney+ with the series finale released next Wednesday.
