Between Light and Dark: ‘The Acolyte’ Challenges the Moral Practices of the Jedi Order
This article includes spoilers.
A Hundred Years Ago In a Galaxy Far, Far Away….
Before I say anything else about the new live-action Star Wars series, I’ll just say one thing. Manny Jacinto brought sexy back to Star Wars. I had no intention of watching The Acolyte because of the allegations of assault, harassment and homophobia against Lee Jung-jae, who starred in Netflix’s hit series Squid Game. But when I found out that Manny Jacinto was playing an antagonist, through a series of thirst edits on the Internet, I had never sprinted so fast to watch a Star Wars series.
Ok, let’s be serious now. The Acolyte is set in The High Republic — a hundred years before the events of The Phantom Menace. This era hasn’t braced the live-action series before and shows the Jedi at the height of their rule. The Jedi Order is the institute that believes in peace and prosperity by following strict rules to save the galaxy from the Sith.
Fans who casually follow Star Wars know about the light versus dark — Jedi versus Sith orders. Jedi who wield the Force are good people, while the Sith use the Dark side of the Force to alter the universe and rule the galaxy. The Acolyte challenges the Jedi versus Sith dichotomy and questions the institution’s principles by examining their faith, self-presumed righteousness, and space colonisation.
What if there are bad people in the Jedi Order? Who is allowed to make rules and change decades of tradition? Do Jedis have the authority to implement power and rule over planets that are out of their jurisdiction? These questions are answered with the original story written by Leslye Headland, the showrunner of The Acolyte, who also created Netflix’s Russian Doll. She crafts a story that feels and looks different from the rest of the galactic tales in the franchise. It’s an intriguing story that shows the Jedi in a different light. It examines the flaws of blindly following a religious order that saves the world with noble, good intentions from evil by hiding the truth for centuries.
The story of The Acolyte starts with the murder of Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) in a tavern by a young woman (Amandla Stenberg). The Jedi Order believes that the apparent murderer is Master Sol’s (Lee) former Padawan, Osha (also played by Stenberg), who quit the Order six years ago. But he isn’t convinced she could murder Jedi Masters.
The newly-graduated Jedi Knight, Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett), and his young Padawan track her half a galaxy away working as a meknek (freelance mechanics) for the Trade Federation. When Osha receives the news that her long-dead twin sister, Mae, could be alive and killing Jedis who were stationed in their home planet, Brendok, sixteen years ago, she teams up with Master Sol and his current Padawan, Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen), to find her sister.
Meanwhile, Mae is on the hunt to kill the second Jedi. She tracks down Master Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman), meditating at the temple. Unable to penetrate the Force, Mae visits Qimir (Manny Jacinto) at the apothecary to help her complete the mission. Qimir hands her a poisonous drink but warns her that Mae’s Master will be unhappy if he finds out that she has chosen to kill Master Torbin using this method.
When Mae attempts to take Master Torbin’s life, she gives him the choice of confessing what happened in Brendok or drinking the vial. He chooses to drink the vial and dies, before telling her that he deeply regrets what happened in Brendok. Before Master Sol and Osha can arrest her, Mae escapes and heads to Khofar with Qimir to hunt down Kelnecca (Joonas Suotamo), a Wookie Jedi.
The Beginning of the Fall of the Jedi
The show’s central mystery revolves around what happened in Brendok sixteen years ago. The third episode “Destiny,” directed by Kogonada, follows Master Indara and Master Sol’s visit to Brendok with a then-young Torbin and Kelnecca. It rewrites the so-called good intentions of the Jedi Order by crafting a story that involves Mae (Leah Brady) and Osha’s (Lauren Brady) tragic childhood.
This flashback episode is Osha’s perspective of the events on Brendok. She doesn’t want to be attached to her twin sister, Mae, and wishes to join the Jedi Order. Master Indara and company arrive at the village to investigate their activities, suspicious that the coven harbours two Force-sensitive children. They demand to test if the twins are gifted with the Force, which, by their rules, they have every right to do.
The twins’ mothers, Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Mother Koril (Margarita Levieva) are afraid that the Order will take the twins away from them if they learn how they were conceived. Mother Aniseya asks them to fail the test. Despite her orders, Osha passes the test. She packs her bag to leave but Mae locks her inside the room. After Osha finally escapes, she watches her twin sister fall to her death. Master Sol saves Osha and returns to the ship. Osha learns that her entire village, along with the coven, has been destroyed.
The seventh episode “Choice,” directed by Kogonada again, uncovers the truth of what happened in Brendok — from Mae and Master Sol’s perspectives. Master Sol and Master Indara, with her Padawan Torbin, and Kelnecca are researching the planet’s field. Torbin finds the work useless and restless to return home.
While Master Sol examines the forest, he finds Mae and Osha practising the Force. He doesn’t have a Padawan of his own but seeing the twins, he finally has a chance to take one of the kids back to Coruscant. Mother Koril shows up and takes them back to the village. She is afraid that someone, a Jedi perhaps, might kidnap them. Master Sol follows them to the village and spies on them. He learns that the planet is inhabited by a powerful coven who practises the Force differently than the Jedi. Master Sol urges Master Indara to visit their village. He believes that the coven might be taking advantage of the twins.
The Acolyte stands out from the rest of the live-action series because it challenges the moral practices of the Jedi Order. It questions the Jedi versus Sith dichotomy and their rule-based institute while bringing to light their self-serving intentions. It outlines the flaws of the Order. This aspect has been shown in the prequel trilogy but was never directly explored in this depth; it certainly shook some tables.
But Headland isn’t suggesting that every Jedi behaves like this. The Jedi Order has been known to take or kidnap — it depends on how you want to perceive it — Force-sensitive kids from their homes to train them to be Jedis. An example is in The Phantom Menace when Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) is taken from his mother to join the Order and train to become a Jedi. By taking him away from his home, even with all the noble intentions that the Jedis had, this practice creates many problems. Headline takes the opportunity to craft a compelling story that questions this kind of practice within the Order.
Noble Intentions or Greedy Purposes?
The episode “Choice’’ explores the Jedi’s failures. Mae and Osha are Force-sensitive kids part of a witch coven that practises their own interpretation of the Force: the Thread of Destiny. The witches of Brendok possess the power to control people for an extended amount of time using mind tricks and hypnotising them by verbal instructions. Mother Aniseya also has the power to enter people’s heads and command them to do things against their will. The powers of the witches of Brendok are much stronger than the Jedis. This episode shows the beginning of the Jedi Order treating the Force as a religious cult that kidnaps kids from their homes to indoctrinate them. They believe that only certain people should be allowed to use the Force. If they don’t maintain this order, people from different cultures can interpret and misuse the Force with bad intentions.
Mother Aniseya calls out the so-called “noble intentions.” She implies that if the Jedi take matters into their own hands, even with good intentions, it will destroy the Order. The Acolyte examines the intentions of the “noble” Jedi masked with greedy purposes. It is an institute that has shown its failure by using powers that align with a religious cult. The tragedy of Brendok is the direct result of Jedis tampering with traditions and practices that don’t follow the institution’s rules and principles. The hidden revelation shows the darker side of the Jedi who stole Osha and used Mae as a scapegoat to save the sanctity of the Order.
“Someday those noble intentions you all have will destroy every Jedi in the galaxy.”
The Jedi Order is a flawed institution. This is why The Acolyte is a successful series that shakes up the formulae. The Jedi versus Sith dichotomy is challenged and observed with meaningful characters with each of them having their own nuances.
However, the central idea of the series is to show that their good intentions will lead to the galaxy’s destruction. Master Sol is a complex character who, even with the best intentions, commits bad acts. He convinces the Council to train her as his Padawan, believing he is the good person who “saved” Osha from Mother Aniseya. Also, the series examines Osha’s anger towards the Jedi Order. It’s the consequences of one person’s action that leave a tragic chain of events that ruins the lives of another person.
In Osha’s case, she loses her home and family because of Master Sol’s self-serving plans to find a Padawan for himself. Osha looks at Master Sol as a father figure. The betrayal of learning the truth about what happened in Brendok is a revelation that changes the trajectory of Osha’s life and she leans closer to the dark side, harnessing its reign on her slowly until it is ready to be unleashed — with the help of The Stranger, of course.
The Acolyte is not afraid to portray the Jedi as bad people who make horrible decisions. It takes risks to dive deeper into, what is essentially, the Jedi Order as space cops who colonise the galaxy making demands and establishing rules wherever they see fit. It’s a completely different perspective from what fans have seen in the way Jedi act.
It is still, however, interesting to me that it challenges the Jedi concept of good versus evil. The Jedi believe that they don’t bear the consequences of their actions. They are invincible because the Force is what protects them from their actions. The Jedi only draw their weapons unless they’re threatened. But after the events on Brendok, it’s clear that the Jedi also have the power to reframe their narrative.
The Unchecked Powers of the Jedi
Headland presents another character who repeatedly hid the truth from the Republic. Master Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson) is a Jedi Elder who orders Master Sol to pursue Master Indara’s killer. But when things go into disarray on Khofar, she decides to keep it quiet. Master Vernestra doesn’t know what happened on Brendok but she suspects that Master Sol’s party might have something to do with Mae targeting the Jedi Masters who were on that planet sixteen years ago. When Master Vernestra is made aware of what happened after Master Sol and company left Khofar, she travels to the planet to investigate and ensure that the Senate is not made aware of what happened.
“I think the Jedi are a massive system of unchecked power, posing as a religion, a delusional cult that claims to control the uncontrollable.”
However, Senator Rayencourt (David Harewood) finds out and visits Master Vernestra to confront the Jedi about their unfair institutional power. Rayencourt shares his honest opinion, “I think the Jedi are a massive system of unchecked power, posing as a religion, a delusional cult that claims to control the uncontrollable.” Vernestra replies that the Jedi don’t control the force. Rayencourt reminds her that it is not the Force that is the problem, it is the Jedi’s emotions. He criticises that some Jedis cannot control their emotions, which could lead to the destruction of the Order. If not now, it will be soon.
The foreshadowing of the fall of the Jedi is constantly presented in The Acolyte. But these events don’t happen for another century, but when they do, no one can stop it. In the prequel trilogy, Anakin (Hayden Christensen) couldn’t control his emotions and fell to the Dark side of the Force, eventually becoming the Sith Lord Darth Vader and seeing the end of the Jedi Order. Rayencourt foresaw this a hundred years ago. He knew that the Jedi’s path to acting as heroes and the image of perfection would lead to the their downfall. It’s an unfair, imbalanced state of authority that will go unchecked for years.
Not only this, Master Vernestra has secrets of her own. The Acolyte reveals that Qimir/The Stranger was a former Jedi Padawan of Master Vernestra before he turned to the Dark side. In the first season, Qimir tells Master Sol that he “lost everything” on Khofar. He keeps the details vague, but it’s clear that the former Jedi Padawan was part of the Order before he left. He also has scars on his back struck by Master Vernestra’s lightsaber whip or lightwhip. When he senses that his old Master has arrived on Brendok, he is visibly shaken by it. Perhaps the answer to Master Vernestra and Qimir’s backstories will be revealed in season two.
The Dark, Seductive Side of the Female Gaze
Now, let’s get back to Manny Jacinto. Everyone say, Thank you, Leslye Headland and her brilliant writing team, for bringing romance back to the Star Wars universe because women like me were dying, salivating, hyperventilating, kicking our feet and screaming from the top of our lungs to bring some hot and heavy chemistry to the screen. This is the hottest a Star Wars antagonist has ever looked in a very long time.
We don’t get to see enemies-to-lovers in this universe that often, and it’s about time! The women’s desire to see hot villains on screen is much stronger than the dark, seductive side of the Force. This is what has been missing from the Star Wars franchise! The series of thirsty edits posted on TikTok and Twitter/X was enough for people (especially me!) to watch the series.
Speaking of thirst edits, Teresa Tran writes about applying the power of the female gaze to the Dark side of the Force. It certainly has had a positive reaction to the fandom’s female audience. Qimir is horrifying but his mannerisms are seductive. He appears physically attractive and shows off his fighting capabilities. In the fifth episode, “Night,” Qimir/The Stranger fights a group of Jedi wielding his red lightsaber that divides into two. He wears a helmet and headbutts them. He shows off his martial skills by blocking the attacks with his gauntlet. Qimir’s martial skills are impressive, and he smirks and kills Osha’s friends. Who can blame him, honestly? I’m sorry, okay! I was down so bad! The temptation to root for the dark side has never been this strong. Ever.
Headland and Jacinto ensure shows a sense of humanity to his character. Tran continues that, at the beginning, when Qimir pretends to be working at an apothecary, he appears nervous and awkward and stutters when he speaks to people. Tran calls this characteristic “loser-ism.” Basically, he’s the most pathetic person on the planet. No one actually pays attention to him because he’s always in the background. But he’s approachable, listens to women and helps them out. This is not the kind of hero that is normally on screen but it is still an attractive characteristic that appeals to the audience.
While Qimir is clearly an antagonist, Headland writes this character with an empathetic perspective. Qimir shows vulnerability and tenderness towards Osha. He knows the connection he has with Osha and urges her to join him in the Dark side. After the events on Khofar, he takes her back to an unknown planet to make her see that working together will make them stronger. He also tries to make her see that Master Sol is not the person he appears to be. Qimir desires Osha. He seeks The Power of Two. The series did not explore this interesting concept in the first season, but this phrase is not an unknown concept.
The first demonstration of the Force dyad was shown in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, where Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Ben Solo/Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) could communicate telepathically across galaxies. In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) (Somehow, Palpatine returned.) mentions that Rey and Ben are “a dyad in the Force”, where two Force-sensitive beings are tied together possessing the powers of Force-healing, sensing the other’s surroundings and resurrect the dead. It’s not a power that has been seen for generations. Rey and Ben are the long-prophesied Force dyad, wielding immense power.
Because The Acolyte is set in The High Republic, the practice of the Force dyad might not be familiar to the Sith. One theory is that Qimir is searching for his equal to access the Force dyad abilities beyond what Jedi has imagined. According to the Sith principles, the Rule of Two prophecy, there can only be two Siths — Master and apprentice. Perhaps Qimir thought Mae was the perfect apprentice. But when she fails her training, he realises Osha is the best candidate.
The episode, “Teach/Corrupt” is filled with many scenes of Qimir trying to make Osha see that what she has learnt about Master Sol and the Jedi Order has been a lie. According to Headland, every interaction between Qimir and Osha was intentional. It shows Qimir’s empathy and vulnerability towards Osha, unlearning the Jedi Order’s principles.
In the last scene of the episode “The Acolyte,” Osha finally accepts her fate and Qimir joins her by her side. It will be interesting to see what happens with this dynamic. That scene means that Qimir and Osha finally see themselves as equals who can show vulnerability through honesty and not manipulation. This is the female gaze at work here, people!
Oh, the female gaze of it all. The Acolyte’s impact on the female audience is a story that will be told for years to come. Headland’s aim to craft a story that shifts away from the binary of good versus evil and away from nostalgia is a step in the right direction. Her focus on catering to female fans of the universe with a diverse cast has won the hearts of many while staying true to canon.
Even if the so-called fans from a particular side of the fandom reviewed bombed the series, and made racist remarks towards Stenberg, claiming that it was poorly written and the story was boring, the truth is that The Acolyte’s female perspective is what makes the Star Wars universe appealing.
Thank you, Headland. I cannot thank you enough for this. Fueling my delusion and crafting a story of enemies-to-lovers in one of my favourite franchises really gets me going. It’s refreshing to see antagonists through a female gaze from a franchise dominated by male fans.
The Acolyte is an example that proves the female gaze is essential to portray the spectrum of girlhood — I meant to say, light and dark. Headland takes a bold move by challenging the Jedi versus Sith principles and reminds fans that sometimes stories can be told without bringing nostalgia and legacy characters, with a dash of a woman’s perspective to show a man’s nuanced layers. Hopefully, Mickey Mouse will renew it instead of listening to algorithms or one particular side of the fandom.
Here are some reading materials to learn about the genocide, ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation in Palestine:
Books about Palestine on Verso Books
Books about Palestine on Haymarket Books
More reading materials on Palestine
Operation Olive Branch is another useful resource to help families evacuate to Egypt and buy medicine and food by donating directly to their GoFundMe links.
You can also join the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement, a Palestinian-led movement as a form of resistance to Israeli occupation:
Read about Readers for Accountability on their website.
