SummaryMaster Sol's (Lee Jung-jae) investigation of Jedi murders brings him into contact with his former padawan (Amandla Stenberg) in the live-action Star Wars series set 100 years before "The Phantom Menace."
SummaryMaster Sol's (Lee Jung-jae) investigation of Jedi murders brings him into contact with his former padawan (Amandla Stenberg) in the live-action Star Wars series set 100 years before "The Phantom Menace."
The Acolyte provides just that. Seeing the Jedi at the height of their powers is impressive. But seeing them, at their apex, utterly confused and at times powerless is even better. Jedi are being hunted but they have no idea who’s behind it or what the motivation is. Neither does the audience. The mystery of this series is what will keep you riveted to your screen.
“The Acolyte” delivers plenty of grim fun — and some witches, and more than one delightful, thoroughly soapy trope, having carved out a space and time where a murder mystery can movingly riff on some classic Star Wars hero’s quest silliness.
This show was beautifully done, has characters with deep flaws, making them all the more beautiful. You find yourself questioning which side is right, and which one is wrong, which is a nuance a lot of Star Wars Media lacks. I can't wait to see what happens next in Season 2!
The Acolyte‘s first four episodes are a brilliant addition to the larger Star Wars universe. By looking backwards to the waning days of the Jedi Order, Leslye Headland has pushed the franchise further into the future than ever before.
Like the prequels, “The Acolyte” ponders many dark and complex subjects but, so far, lacks proper depth in this consideration. Still, “Star Wars” has always felt too torn to cast its White Knight heroes in too negative a light and thus has never quite committed to what could be much more morally damming parables. Nonetheless, “The Acolyte” feels like it’s going there. Now, it’s a matter of whether they’ll probe past the surface.
Things may skew a little familiar in the early running but the subversive Headland surely has some more sneaky rug-pulls up her sleeve, a tantalising prospect that makes The Acolyte worth sticking with.
Despite the reported $180 million budget, it’s a show that shrinks the world rather than expanding it, blowing its money on lavish set pieces rather than building out environments for us to inhabit. The Acolyte acts like it’s swinging for the fences, but when the time comes, the best it can manage is a bunt.
Episodes 1-5, I was very invested in the story, but then episodes 6-8 you could tell the showrunners weren't certain what to do next. Sol is the unfortunate scapegoat in the story once he begins telling the story. If the premise of the series was to make the Jedi look evil and manipulative and the Sith victims of the Jedi Code, well then they succeeded. The use of Force Powers was phenonmenal, the Light Saber battles where nicely choreographed. The quick character reveals were a pleasing touch. The new regime still struggles to get Star Wars just right, because of the need to add in the "drama fluff" in storytelling. These stories tell themselves, All Natural, No additives necessary.
The big negative right out of the gate is the writing. I wanted to enjoy the show and have another Star Wars installment that further developed the timelines, themes, and narratives of the Jedi, Sith, and the galaxy's operations. Unfortunately, the writing is drab, and the characters are badly underdeveloped. Plot lines are introduced like they're thrown at the wall, and no one cares what sticks.
Presenting the Jedi in a negative light, as deceitful or harmful, is a stark departure from their traditional portrayal. This portrayal offers a unique perspective from the writers' interpretation of these iconic characters and their role in the Star Wars universe. A perspective that is wrought with failed writing and complete misunderstanding.
The Master Sol character was the only slightly redeeming part of this show, but he was written as such a flawed character that his decisions were hard to rationalize. Meanwhile, the character Vernestra Rwoh, portrayed by Rebecca Henderson, is flat and lifeless. She is supposed to be a Jedi Master, someone to look up to and carry the values of the Jedi as a whole, and she's written as horribly flawed, selfish, and twisted. These qualities directly contradict the Jedi and their values. Her character would have never made the rank of Master and would have been thrown out of the order. However, the writer and director had a distorted vision of burning the Jedi from within. Then, the villainous Stranger and Mae are made out to be almost heroic in their warped agenda to harm the Jedi.
Leslye Headland's legacy towards Star Wars will forever be tarnished for producing such garbage. With nepotism on full display, she has her significant other play the Vernestra character. Sadly, Rebecca's acting skills leave a lot to be desired. Staring into space with an angry expression is hardly acting. Her lack of intelligent dialogue is apparent from her first scene. For a Jedi Master to make such stupid decisions because of a "do what I say because I'm the boss" attitude wouldn't fly in any situation, especially not one for a role model and position of leadership. Again, a complete lack of understanding in writing dialog and understanding the characters was fully displayed.
Pretending this is a good show is an act of delusion. You're lying to yourself if you can gloss over all the bad writing, bad acting, overblown budget, lack of character and story development, and humanizing the villain. What could have been and what we got are on opposite ends of the spectrum, and we don't benefit from being spectators.
The Acolyte had its promise but delivers mostly bland performances with few standouts. The show, given its core fanbase seems designed to draw controversy. There are plenty of bad apples bringing up points that are centered not around plot or characters, but I'd like to think these are far in the minority.
Overall there is incredibly poor storytelling, more cringy moments than I can count, and above all a tale that goes against all Star Wars is, both thematically and lore-wise. Leslye Headland should have never been given the helm to this catastrophe, and her wife being given a major role as the blandest character with poor makeup only shows the quality of oversight she had in this show.