Mini Series The Acolyte 1.04 - Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

A couple of interesting points caught my attention this episode:
- There were no signs of a struggle in Kelnacca's house; just a dead Wookie with a lightsaber wound sitting on his chair. So this makes me wonder, did his attacker strike the killing blow before Kelnacca saw him and reacted? Was Kelnacca killed elsewhere and staged here? Did Kelnacca see the attacker and allow him to get that close thinking he wasn't a threat for some reason?
- Why kill Kelnacca? Before now, this murder spree was framed as being motivated by Mae getting revenge on the Jedi she perceived as being responsible for what happened 16 years earlier. But when Mae changes her mind - and heads straight for him at a quick pace - Kelnacca is dead by the time she gets there. While it's certainly possible someone (Qimir or other) could have beat her there, why would they rush to kill him? Was it to frame Mae / drive her to not surrender to the Jedi after all? Or to prevent Kelnacca from sharing information on something?
- Why does Kelnacca have drawings from the coven in his home, including the symbol on Mae's forehead? And why symbols in addition to Mae's? How would he have seen more, does this imply something further about what happened 16 years ago?
- Who are these Jedi who have gathered in the Temple to discuss the situation? Vernestra refers to them a "a council", without any identifying title. Is this an official body? Or an unofficial group of Jedi who have decided to do their own thing? They do seem to have sufficient autonomy to do whatever. But Vernestra seems unequivocally in charge, whether a sanctioned group or not.
- What is happening in the Republic at this time? There have been references to political risk for the Jedi, the need to keep things from going public and hidden from the Senate, a couple of times now. What's up with that, and is it going to play into the storyline with the Sith?
- Holden immediately speculates whether this might be a splinter Order, suggesting such a thing is not unheard of. Kinda unsettling that they'd jump to that in a situation where Jedi Masters are being murdered by the people in question. (Though she does also consider " or something worse".) Vernestra seems positive that Mae must have been trained by a Jedi, and places paramount importance on finding out who that is. This all makes me wonder whether there's some reason the Jedi would worry about rogue Jedi plots.
- Vernestra seems very sure that Mae can be brought in without needing to be neutralized. Is this Jedi naivete or does she have some other knowledge?
- I agree with what some others have said regarding potential discrepancies between these happenings and TPM. I think a red lightsaber doesn't necessarily equal Sith. All Sith may have red lightsabers, but not all red red lightsaber wielders have to be Sith. So while it is likely that this will turn out to be Sith-related, there are reasons the Jedi may not see it as an ironclad conclusion based on just a red lightsaber.

 

Whyyyy are these episodes so short? This could have been so much better if there was room for the dialogue and performances to breathe

 

If you listen to the Jedi in the meeting, they conclude that Mae's master is a Jedi, not a Sith.

 

So that Kel Dor isn’t Plo Koon. Her name is Ithia Paan.

 

I think there are 2 pretty simple solutions to "KiAdi problem"

1. As others have mentioned - there isn't enough evidence presented after all this for Ki-Adi to know

2. Seemingly more likely to me, that throw away line in TPM is why he ended up in this show: He's still trying to cover it up 100 years later (which, let's be real, is not nearly as long in the Star Wars universe as it is in ours. Think how some things stay classified for quite a long time in our current society). This show, at least in part, is trying to establish the "sins" of the Jedi that allowed it to be completely overcome by the Sith in the prequels, and that honestly makes sense given that Palpatine was obviously engaged in his plan many decades before TPM. KiAdi was the first to speak in that scene so, it's not a far reach to think that he's quick to play on the ignorance of the council. That's an easier path for an increasingly political Jedi council than saying "Yeah, y'all remember that thing 100 years ago, and it was tied to that really suspicious thing we did 16 years prior that kicked off that whole affair". Basically, while everyone is worried about this conflicting with canon, it more likely is enriching it because it's helping establish how political that council really is and how much vested interest and politics is guiding their decisions rather than trusting the force. Of course there are 4 episodes that could wreck that theory but I think it's more likely to be proven correct.

 

On another note, I feel like the Sith at the end of the episode is Mother Aniseya. The long look at Osha only seems to make sense in that context, and, also, I feel like Mae senses it once Osha is in the frame with her and that's why there's such a look of horror beyond what she had already shown.

I thought Jodie Turner-Smith's performance in Episode 3 was far and away the best performance of this series, so I'd be delighted if she had more lines.

 

Maybe he said no?

So they can kill the character?

 

I do think Mother Aniseya is the Sith Master but I think Mr. Helmet is Qimir. It’s just too much of a coincidence that he and Mae get separated only for the Sith Lord to suddenly appear. Although maybe it’s a misdirect and it is Mother Aniseya!

 

Red lightsaber =/= Sith. Even Dooku doesn't get named a Sith Lord immediately upon wielding a red lightsaber. If anything in Disney canon Anakin is the exception to the rule for how many people he was able to kill without his lightsaber bleeding. But he's the Chosen One.

 

The actor in the suit I'm 90% sure is black when you pause on the hand (both in Episode 4 and the trailer)...soooooo....

And seriously, Sith X spends a LONG time looking at Osha, like "I've been waiting 16 years for this moment" long and it would make no sense at all for someone else to care about her (just mow her down and get to the Jedi otherwise)

 

This is the first episode of the series that dropped off a bit for me, but it's largely due a structural choice, and I still thought there was a lot to like.

Essentially, this very much felt like half an episode, whereas the three previous episodes still had their own internal arcs. Even "Destiny" had missing gaps in the narrative, but still felt complete because we know it was from Osha's point of view. This episode seemed very evenly split between Mae and Osha, despite only have the single worded "Day" title. No prizes for guessing what next week's episode title might be.

Khofar is definitely the most intriguing and mysterious planet so far, and I dug how the photography really highlighted the scale of the environment. I was also a bit surprised that such a large Jedi team was sent to find Mae and Kelnacca, but maybe that was both in anticipation of the dangers of Khofar, the unknown status of Kelnacca, and the possibility of encountering Mae's master. I must admit, I started to bump against the frequent platitudes from some of the Jedi, particularly Jecki's pep talk to Osha in the forest. It felt more natural coming from elders like Sol or Yord rather than someone younger than Osha. Also, the big bugs in the forest felt like an obvious choice for an obligatory creature fight, so I was surprised that there wasn't much consequence in the moment. More to come from that, no doubt.

Ultimately, it felt like this episode prioritized the cliffhanger above everything else, and so it felt incomplete just as the tension was really ratcheting up. That being said, wowza what a final five minutes that was, starting with Bazil catching Mae, the shocker of Kelnacca's dead body, and the arrival of the Sith Lord. I particularly loved the dimming light on Mae's face after she discovered Kelnacca, as well as the Sith descending out of focus behind Osha. Really cinematic stuff, and arguably the best sequence of the entire series so far.

Bazil rules.

7/10

 

Yep, so you're saying he will be written to be an idiot. Brilliant.

 

Spoiler

Look at some of the gifs on Twitter that show a close up of that scene. It’s very clearly a male hand. Also you can match up the mannerisms. There’s no doubt that that is Qimir.

 

Also notice that Bazil goes missing for an extended period of time.
[paraphrasing]"We've lost Bazil. Who would have thought we'd need a tracker to track our tracker? [/paraphrasing]
Bazil alerts the search party when Mae has been found. The Jedi show up at Kelnacca's front yard, and Bazil's gone again. A little while later, Darth Floaty McFloaterboat shows up.
How would Qimir have known the whereabouts of Kelnacca, unless he had a tracker? (Such as Bazil)

Did Bazil kill Kelnacca? Maybe. Maybe not. I'm thinking it's harakiri, but under the influence of someone else. Like Bazil.
The floaty one had humanoid arms. Do you know who also had humanoid arms? The trespassers who stepped on Kelnacca's lawn, who is now a floaty marionette operated by who? Yep, Bazil.

 

definitely the most underrated show in recent years.

the show is like 4 episodes of watching the Vespa squad hang out

 

The book of Boba Fett was atrocious. From the very start it was bad. He had been in the belly of the sarlac so presumably hadn't ate yet he came out 4 stone heavier than when he went in. As if that wasn't bad enough they took every opportunity to get his helmet off so he could flash his big white teeth at the camera. It was awful and I was gutted as I was super excited for it at the time.

 

Well I don't think the Sith apprentice or Mae is gonna make it through this whole story alive. So Ki Adi probably secretly thinks he already met the Chosen One (Osha) who destroyed the Sith (master and apprentice) and brought balance to the Force already but she ultimately didn't wanna become/stay a Jedi so the remainder of the middle management Council kept it to themselves out of graditude.

 

Some of these characters (such as Vernestra) have absolutely no issue with keeping information secret from the rest of the council. I mean, for crying out loud, two Jedi Masters have been murdered and they suspect it's due to a splinter Order or rogue Jedi who has some larger plan... and yet, they decisively decide not to tell the Jedi High Council because of some concern over scandal and political consequences. Given this behavior, I think it's entirely plausible that information on what happened on Khofar gets covered up/compartmentalized even more with some of the people in the earlier briefing not being told the truth of what happened. It seems highly stupid (unless there is background context we haven't been told), and yet it would be consistent with the behavior so far.

 

Maybe Mundi is secretly on the Sith's payroll and that is why every time a mysterious warrior is found, he moves the discussion away from the Sith topic. His death on Mygeeto was falsified, that is why he was shooted by clones so easily. And before on Geonosis he showed his true self with those flamethrowers.

 

That was good. Loved seeing Bazil the hamster. It was a short episode great seeing more of the Jedi Temple, Ki Adi Mundi cameo, nice. And gets alot of jedi red shirts. Seeing Jecki in training. More connection between Jecki And Osha. Rip Kelnacca. Love the reveal of the Sith lord thats soo likely Qimir. Him and Mae scenes just gives soo mutch hints...