After the Sith reveal last week, this week’s episode slows down as Osha is tempted. Here’s our The Acolyte episode 6 review.
Spoiler warning! These reviews will be spoiler-free for the week in question, but will discuss previous episodes in detail.
Last week’s episode of The Acolyte was the first time that Leslye Headland’s series felt like it was confident in what it was doing. The episode not only killed off several characters, but it also finally revealed who had been hiding behind that menacing mask.
Manny Jacinto’s Qimir was revealed as Mae’s Sith Master. We don’t want to brag, but we did call it in our review of episode 4. The reveal itself was deliciously handled and this week, Jacinto remains the show’s highlight.
At the end of episode 5, Mae secretly switched places with Osha, boarding Sol’s ship and will presumably be up to no good. Osha, meanwhile, is stuck with Qimir on an “Unknown Island” which looks an awful lot like Ahch-To, the planet where Luke Skywalker was hiding in the sequel trilogy.
Episode 6, titled ‘Teach/Corrupt’, is slower in pace than last week’s action-packed episode, but intriguing nonetheless. The episode’s best moments are between Qimir and Osha as we finally find out why Osha left the Jedi Order. Qimir begins slowly, but surely, to lure Osha into the dark side as he seeks “the power of two”.
It’s not entirely clear what Qimir means by this. He could be referring to the Rule of Two, which states that only two Sith lords could exist at the same time. Perhaps Qimir is looking to further train Mae or Osha as his apprentice.
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He could also be referring to something similar as the Kylo Ren and Rey situation in the sequel trilogy, also known as a Force dyad, a powerful connection between two Force wielders. Qimir might be looking to form the dyad himself with one of the twins or perhaps he suspects that the dyad would be at its most powerful between Mae and Osha.
Those with excellent hearing might have also recognised the music sting in last week’s episode as Kylo Ren’s theme. Headland confirmed the music was used, but couldn’t reveal why. Fans have theorised this could be the start of the Knights of Ren.
This is where the show’s main issue lies. We’re on episode 6 and I’m still not sure where this is going or what The Acolyte is about. Qimir and Sol are the strongest, most intriguing characters, whereas Osha and Mae’s narrative seems slow and lacking in dramatic chops. Mae’s motives are still imprecise; is she in this for revenge? Does she want to gain power by joining the dark side?
Jacinto is largely the reason episode 6 works as well as it does, even though little actually happens. His performance as Qimir is compelling and mysterious, completely overshadowing Amandla Stenberg’s work here, which is a shame. Stenberg has always been a confident actor, but it seems her characters are too vaguely written.
While scenes inside Sol’s ship lack tension and intrigue, this episode continues The Acolyte's upward trajectory. With only two more episodes remaining, we still hope Headland can bring her series to a triumphant close.
The Acolyte is streaming now on Disney+ with new episodes every Wednesday.
The Acolyte episodes 1 & 2 review | A wobbly but promising start
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Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 3 review | An intriguing flashback episode
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