Mini Series The Acolyte 1.01 - Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

I enjoyed this first episode of Star Wars: Brave New Worlds.

 

I like the comments of the jedi having political enemies. So could we see some rival senators against the Jedi?

 

lol at my somehow misspelling of He to Toes.

 

Liked it a lot. Slightly patchy dialogue, but instantly likeable characters and refreshingly nice sets and effects for a Disney+ show. The early action scene was strong. Very promising.

Quote of the episode: "Put your clothes on, Yord."

 

I really enjoyed Ep1 even if it did feel a bit too familiar. The mystery is intriguing and the characters are strong enough. It actually gave me Star Trek vibes at times, although maybe that was partly because of little things like the magnetised space boots and the snow cave location.

What I do like is that the Jedi are consistent with the Vulcanesque qualities we see on display in the prequels and pre-BBY cartoons/animations: considerate, honourable, uptight and (in some cases) a bit arrogant. Sad to see Indara killed so early on but glad to see Sol is going to be leading the charge.

I did think the idea of the Jedi leaving a suspected Jedi killer in the custody of a bunch of droids was pretty dumb. And that BG Centurian rip-off was too easily beaten.

I'll watch Ep2 later.

 

I liked it. Not perfect, but totally enjoyable. Master Sol is actually a great Jedi character.

 

It kind of felt like the British Royal family in a way. An old institution that many see as outdated and privileged.

 

So far, it hasn't. It feels much like it does a century later. Maybe the ship designs betray an earlier age? Otherwise it's the usual Jedi Temple (I suppose they don't really need to get the decorators in), the usual cantina, the usual dark ship interiors (are the Naboo the only people who enjoy marigold?) and the usual speech patterns. You could say that it is set 20 years after ROTJ to me and the fact that the Jedi are still about would be the only thing that make me question it.

 

And that's why they should have used the soundtrack from American Graffiti.

 

My favorite bit was the childhood poem/ saying that Osha and Mae shared. That sequence was well-directed too.

Overall, I enjoyed this a lot.

My feeling, though, is that the direction is the weakest part of the show. Atmosphere is sorely lacking. Feels like it was shot on the Galaxy’s Edge set.

 

I'm interested to hear the last point - maybe my standards are low given what we've got from Disney+ shows other than Andor, but I thought the sets in episode 1 were really quite nice (apart from the Jedi Temple which was maybe a little flat) and the show exhibits noticeably more visual flair and dynamism than the Filoniverse efforts. Atmosphere-wise I enjoyed the juxtaposition between stark outdoor spaces and claustrophobic, carefully lit spaceship interiors, building a mysterious and foreboding vibe.

 

Or at least sneak in the tune of Happy Days, but with different lyrics.....

Taungsday Taungsday crappy days
Taungsday Taungsday crappy days
Taungsday Taungsday crappy days
Taungsday seemingly every day
Mopin' all week with you

 

On the era not looking particularly distinct from the prequels, I agree - not entirely the show's fault given the visual language set by the High Republic comics, but still a bit of a shame. The white/gold Jedi robes are the most significant difference and they look pretty good most of the time.

But yeah, a bit disappointed with the High Republic setting in general on this front. For a long time I've been hoping for a Star Wars project set in the distant past that actually gets creative with the difference in era, like the old Tales of the Jedi comics did.

 

I don’t think significant differences just a hundred years before TPM would make much sense. This is a galaxy-spanning civilization that has existed for at least 25,000 years so a century is nothing. Now the first Jedi film is where I think they should get really creative.

 

The original and prequel trilogies look like distinct eras though. Obviously something pretty significant happened in between those but I think there's still scope in this show to have more older looking tech, costumes and architecture.

 

The OT takes place on mostly backwater planets because the Rebellion is in hiding whereas the PT takes place in the more civilized parts of the galaxy because the heroes are the main power in the galaxy. That’s pretty much the only difference. The technology, clothing, etc. looks pretty much the same.

 

Military hardware looks very different because of political changes in the galaxy and a degree of technological advancement. This show is supposedly trying to show a snapshot of the decline from a vibrant, prosperous era to a stagnant and decaying one in the prequels - it would make sense to have that reflected a bit more in the aesthetic IMO.

 

I never even watched a trailer and decided to go in blind to give Acolyte the best shot. Let me say how much I enjoy the vibrancy of this show. It's nice to see the light robes, and vibrant colors compared to all the grays and browns. I enjoyed the costumes, special effects, and flashy choreography.

That said this is something I'll be watching for Sol, Jecki, and Yord. I blame the lovable idiot Yord for the decision to send the prison ship guarded by just a stupid droid. On the other hand, the masked person waving a red lightsaber around at the end is just that. The Murderer gunning for revenge has some heart in that she didn't straight-up collateral everyone in the bar including the bartender and their kid. A shared traumatic past. Osha has her own grief demons locked up inside her which is supposed to muddle up the reveal they are twins. These aren't interesting characters yet. The predictability of this episode made it feel unapologetically campy.

The other thing I'll watch to see is if this is where the political damage started for the Jedi a full 100 years in the past. The real interesting mystery is less the murders and more what happened in the past and that is the part that is really dangerous to the Jedi politically. The Jedi make decisions for the greater good and sometimes their code can make them seem cold to a normie. Perhaps that the most dangerous criminal was being low-key tortured is foreshadowing.

Let's see where this goes.

 

We might get a line of dialogue that's something like....

"Our devotion to this ancient religion has not helped us conjure up the stolen 78 RPM shellac data records, or given us clairvoyance enough to find the Acolyte's hidden fortress." -- Yord

 

Although I thought this one has the potential to bomb I must say that the first episode definitely had prequel vibes and the story feels interesting. Sure it had some flaws but what I saw looked promising. 7.5/10

 

And the way he's passing his glasses.LOL

 

Really liked this, a promising start to the show. Loving the portrayal of the Jedi so far. Heart in the right place but not perfect.
9/10 from me and on to the second episode.

 

Overall, I liked this pilot. I’d rank it well above the first episodes of Obi-wan, Andor, BoBF, and probably below Mando and Ahsoka. It’s by far the best looking live action show, and at times better than the Disney era films too. The writing is hit or miss though, but the action is excellent.

The Good

• Production Design - the sets, the costumes, the droids, ships, aliens, overhead cgi shots, it’s very good. We finally have a vibrant color palette as well, everything feels alive and warm even on the ice planet. The only other Disney era production that *looked exciting* this way was TRoS, and it’s great to see Star Wars finally get the decadent production it deserves.
• Action - from extravagant fright choreography to sizzling explosions and spinning crashes the action delivers. Amandla Stenberg has great great energy as Osha without going overboard to Shia LaBeof degrees of jitteriness. I’m looking forward to some proper lightsaber duels, we might be in for a treat.

The Bad

• Writing - specifically characterization, it’s just not there for me. With exception of Sol none of the characters are interesting nor are the performances particularly captivating. The green bald Jedi master is particularly flat. The only part where the dialogue felt dynamic was the prison break out where I cracked a few smiles, otherwise it’s all too understated and Osha’s line about needing a “paycheck” was out of place. Say “credit flow” or something, we get she’s a working lady but you can do that without forcing modern irl language.

The Ugly

• Yord - well he’s not *ugly*, dude’s a very handsome lad. But please, we don’t need a Jedi Himbo, it’s cringey. The shirt-off scene was face-palming CW high school stuff. I think LFL can attract and keep teenage audiences without getting thirsty for hunky idiot-dorks.

Feels like this show has promise and will go for big character moments down the road. I think they already have the world building almost covered, the key will be bringing it home with a good story and memorable characters in that world.

 

I think it’s the lighting mostly, followed by set design and shot composition. It looks overlit, without much contrast (can see everything in the shadows), and the sets often look fake. I don’t know. The rocks look like polystyrene? There’s a 90s TV vibe to it. I looked through episodes of Mando S1 and Andor, and they both just look more…naturalistic and artful. Maybe the use of lots of sets with greenscreen instead of the Volume also contributed, as they weren’t able to bring in that natural lighting you get from the huge LED screens. I like the show a lot, but was hoping for something more visually beautiful.

Sometimes I think we’re a different species.