Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 8.
Summary
Now thatStar Wars: The Acolyteseason 1 has come to an end, I’ve found myself wrestling with thisStar WarsTV show for one important reason. Like any recentStar Warsproject,The Acolytehas certainly had its ups and downs, but what makes it stand out in its own unique way is the evident love forStar Warsthat sits at its core. Perhaps more than any other property produced under Disney’s ownership to date,The Acolytehas brought in beloved pieces of the formerStar WarsExpanded Universe, now known as Legends, and has mirrored newer stories.
From the long-awaited live-action debut ofDarth Plagueisto the playing of Kylo Ren’s iconic theme in multiple places,The Acolytedoesn’t struggle to pay tribute toStar Wars, but it has missed something essential about this beloved franchise. It’s something that I clung to throughout the series and grasped onto week after week, even when the worst would happen to characters we didn’t even get to have or know for very long. The finale, however, shattered every remnant of it, leaving it fractured in my hands and my heart. This thing wasStar Wars’defining message: hope.
The Acolyte Ending Explained: The Shadow Of Darth Vader Descends In The High Republic Era
The Acolyte episode 8 wraps up season 1 of the High Republic show by casting the shadow of the dark side, and Darth Vader, over the Jedi Order.
The Acolyte’s Finale Has No Sense Of Hope
We Know the Tragic Fate of the Jedi Happens Because of All This
I didn’t realize at first why I was filled with such helpless frustration and anger afterThe Acolytefinale’s credits started to roll, but the more I began to process it, the more it dawned on me.Even in the darkestStar Warsstories, there’s still a glimmer of hope at the endthat promises brighter days ahead. For example,Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sithshowcases the tragic downfall of the Jedi and the rise of theGalactic Empire, but it still ends with Luke and Leia’s birth, promising that they will one day save the galaxy.
The Acolyte, however, doesn’t end on this kind of note, not even for the Sith. WhileQimir (Manny Jacinto)may have finally gotten the pupil he’s been wanting inOsha (Amandla Stenberg), Darth Plagueis' appearance on their secret world as well as what’s already known about the Sith’s story in canon proves that things won’t end well for the two of them. As for the Jedi, they are caught in a complicated string of lies, and everyone knows that it’s these lies and cover-ups that will ultimately pave the way for their future downfall. Everything feels hopeless.
The Jedi’s Deaths Have No Meaning
None of These Sacrifices Have a Meaningful Purpose in the Long-Run
What was worse for me was watchingMaster Sol (Lee Jung-jae), who was easily my favorite character inThe Acolyte, meet his demise in this finale and instantly become the Jedi’s scapegoat. His death, however, was only the last of many others in this TV show. Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett) andJecki Lon (Dafne Keen)were two other hard-hitting fates in episode 5, and now, they also won’t get their proper justice. I know that this was the point of it all, to highlight the Jedi’s hubris and flaws, but that knowledge still doesn’t help my withered, aching heart.
This was the point of it all, to highlight the Jedi’s hubris and flaws, but that knowledge still doesn’t help my withered, aching heart.
At least inRogue One: A Star Wars Story, anotherStar Warsproject where the main heroes die,those sacrifices all end up meaning something. What the members of Rogue One died for ended up being the first, crucial step in saving the galaxy from the tyranny of the Galactic Empire, and that made it much easier to digest and process what had happened to them. This is also the case with several otherStar Warsdeaths, including Tech (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Kanan Jarrus (Star Wars Rebels), and even Obi-Wan Kenobi (A New Hope).
Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode Guide - Cast Members, Biggest Takeaways & Easter Eggs
Here’s everything you need to follow along with Star Wars: The Acolyte, from references and trivia to main takeaways from each new episode.
This Was Intentional, But It Didn’t Work For Me
I Still Wish There Was More Hope
As I said before, I understand that all of these story choices were intentional.The audience was meant to feel frustrated by the Jedi’s actionsand angered by the fact that these Jedi have all died because of that first, initial lie told about Brendok all those years ago. It was also made quite clear leading intoThe Acolytethat this was going to be a story told from the perspective of the Sith, which made it even more clear that the show would end this way. Unfortunately for me, however, it still doesn’t work.
My favorite part aboutStar Warsis the fact that even at the characters' lowest points, there’s still hope to hold on to.The Empire Strikes Backset the precedent for this with its ending, and that has since carried on into the many other storiesStar Warshas told ever since.At no point didThe Acolytereally have this kind of hope beaming through its storytelling, yet I still held out hope for Sol to tell Osha and the Jedi the truth and for them to work things out, but his swift death crushed that hope.
How Could The Acolyte Have Been More Hopeful?
Is There Really Another Way This Story Could Have Been Told?
The problem is, of course, that it’s hard to imagine how elseThe Acolytecould have told this story and maintained a sense of hope. If I had to think of a way this could have been accomplished,I would have focused on the Jedi in this sense and not the Sith. The Sith are meant to be hopeless; it’s the shattering of hope that gives them their victories. I would have liked to see the Jedi be honest a little more in that they still weren’t sure of what or who was killing the Jedi, but that they would find them.
The Sith are meant to be hopeless; it’s the shattering of hope that gives them their victories.
This would have avoided the crushing hopelessness and despair of them blaming everything on Sol, who, in death, had no chance of defending himself. On the contrary, I can see how this could have had the potential to raise more questions and concerns about potential Sith in a way that could have risked contradicting canon. It would have had to strike a very delicate balance, but ifThe Acolytehad pulled it off, I think this story could have achieved the hopeful heart ofStar Warswhile also remaining faithful to its own central message.
The Acolyte
Cast
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
