The Acolyte: Episode 4

Hello there!

Welcome to my latest episode review for The Acolyte. The reviews will follow my usual format: an overview of the plot (so be aware, there will be spoilers!), my review of the show, then a few “Moments in Canon” – references that link to other media and the galaxy as a whole, though they may be lacking compared to usual as this will be my first foray into the High Republic Era, having not yet read any of those books or comics. Today, we’ll be looking at Episode 4: “Day”.

Plot Summary

On the planet Khofar, Kelnacca busies himself around his makeshift home. On the walls are a number of symbols similar to those on both Mae and Mother Aniseya.

At the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Mae meets Jecki after one of the padawan’s lessons. She explains that she is leaving as Osha is now the Jedi’s problem, and thanks her for helping find her sister and prove her innocence.

Mae and Qimir arrive on Khofar and begin their search for Kelnacca. Qimir notes that the planet is mostly uncharted, and that to find the Wookiee, he had to enter a forest that even most bounty hunters would avoid—something that he had done specifically for Mae, not her master. He also warns Mae that the revelation of Osha’s survival changes nothing.

 At the temple, Sol and Vernestra brief a small council on Mae and her murders of Indara and Torbin, as well as the belief that Kelnacca and Sol are also targets. While some of the Jedi discuss the possibility that Mae was trained by a Splinter Order, Vernestra is sure that it is a fellow Jedi. However she refuses the suggestion to alert the Jedi High Council as they would in turn have to inform the Senate, which she feels would inspire fear and mistrust. The council agree to deal with it themselves, and Master Holden is assigned to extract Kelnacca from Khofar and intercept Mae. Following the meeting, Sol speaks privately to Vernestra and requests to be the one to bring Mae in, as he feels that his history with Mae will see him more likely to bring her in alive than Master Holden, allowing them to then try to find the truth about her master. Vernestra agrees, and Sol puts together a group including Yord, Jecki, a Tynnan tracker named Bazil and Osha, whom he convinces to come with them and help, noting how Mae’s feelings had softened in their last meeting at news that Osha was alive.

As Mae and Qimir make their way to Kelnacca, Qimir asks about the rule that Mae must kill a Jedi without using a weapon, while asking her how she plans to kill the Wookiee. She avoids the questions and instead asks for information on Qimir’s link to the Master, to which Qimir only says that he owed the Master, noting how the Master collects people. Mae notes her surprise at Osha being with the Jedi, and asks Qimir how she was, to which he notes that she seemed in over her head, but fond of the Jedi Sol.

Arriving on Khofar, the Jedi begin to search for Kelnacca, with Bazil leading the way. As they walk, Osha tells Yord that Sol believes Mae can be saved, but that if that proves impossible, she asks Yord to stop Mae, as she doesn’t trust herself not to hesitate again. Yord notes that Mae has always been Osha’s wound, and suggests that Sol brought Osha so that she could face herself as well as Mae.

“We’re not defined by what we lose. We’re defined by what we survive. You survived a lot.”

As the group travel through the forest, they pass through an area of trees with some strange pods on them. Investigating one of these, Osha disturbs the “pod, which is revealed to be a large moth-like creature. Sol ignites his lightsaber to defend her, and the creature is drawn straight to the light, allowing him to kill it. As they continue traversing the forest, Osha notes to Jecki that she was able to sense the creature. Osha continues to open up to Jecki on some of her past feelings towards Mae and her past. Continuing on, the group realise that they have lost Bazil.

Qimir and Mae stop for a rest as they near Kelnacca’s home. While they rest, Mae explains that killing a Jedi is not a test, but the “final lesson” as attacking a defenceless person goes against everything the Jedi stand for. But she also says that though she wants it more than anything, she feels it is impossible, and that if she can’t do it, the Master will kill her. Qimir convinces her to rest to regain her nerve, and goes to find water.

Both the Jedi and Qimir hear a scream from Mae. Qimir reaches where he left Mae, but finds himself caught in a trap which she had laid. Mae reveals that she has realised that she doesn’t have to continue with her plans anymore, as Osha being alive changes everything as Mae is loyal to her sister rather than the Master. She plans to turn herself in to Kelnacca and the Jedi, offering what information she knows in exchange for her freedom. Qimir warns her that the Master will kill her, but Mae is confident that he would have to find her first, and would never find his way to Kelnacca without a guide.

As the Jedi near their destination, Sol appears to hesitate, sensing something. Osha speaks to him and tells him that she feels more able to face her sister now, but Sol says that she will not face her sister, but instead, both she and him will face their past, promising to explain everything once they get Mae back to the ship.

Mae finds Kelnacca’s home, but also comes face to face with Bazil, who alerts the other Jedi. Feeling that she will be better off having turned herself over to Kelnacca before the other jedi arrive, she rushes into the Wookiee’s home, only to find that Kelnacca has been killed already, notably by a lightsaber. She realises that the Master is already there.

The jedi arrive at Kelnacca’s and demand Mae come out and turn herself over. As Mae watches on from inside the home, a dark figure appears behind Osha, who had been told to hold back for her safety. Sol senses the new masked figure and the Jedi turn to see them approach until they are right in front of Osha. The figure ignites a lightsaber, revealing a red blade. All of the Jedi ignite their sabers and charge the figure, who uses the Force to throw Osha aside, before using the Force to throw back all of the Jedi with one push.

Review

I’ve gotta be honest, I was actually quite disappointed by this episode, and were it not for those final few minutes, this review would have been a lot more negative.

With the way that these last 3 episodes have gone, I now feel that there is a pacing issue with the show. I mentioned that episode 2’s ending with Kelnacca felt odd given the next episode was devoted to the past, and I can’t help but feel that the scene could have been left out and episode 3’s flashback and this episode’s opening scene still done the same job. But it’s more than just one moment. We saw multiple scenes repeating information we already knew in earlier episodes, but now it feels like we haven’t spent the time needed on Mae’s changing loyalty, which made her turn seem far too quick and simple in this episode, while the couple of scenes building chemistry between Osha and Jecki and Osha and Yord just highlighted to me how few moments we have had like this through this first half of the series, which now that they are at risk leaves me caring about these characters less than I expected. Meanwhile, after this episode, I can’t help but agree with Alex Damon of Star Wars Explained that many of these episodes feel like they are ending abruptly—the others haven’t been so bad, but to cut to the credits at such a crucial moment was more than just a cruel tease! It really feels like once again, Star Wars is cutting quality for a set runtime not too much longer than a long movie, rather than using the series as an opportunity to tell a longer story, with the extra focus on characters that this allows.

Away from the pacing, I am still enjoying the show on the whole as it looks great, and this was another great opportunity to highlight the quality of shooting on location, while it was also great to see a number of different alien races portrayed once again, mainly in the Jedi Temple. Bazil will surely go down a treat with fans in the same way that the droid characters usually do, and while Pip does not get the same level of coverage as most droid characters, they got a fun moment in this episode.

But let’s now focus on those final moments, which were the highlight of the episode (prior to the quick cut). Though it was a shame we didn’t get to see more of Kelnacca, I thought that the reveal of his death was done really well, and while I thought initially that this was just going to land Mae in more trouble with the Jedi, the reveal that it meant the Master was there was even better, as the stakes suddenly shot up. I loved the decision for the initial reveal of the Master in this episode to be out of focus in the background of the shot focused on Osha, as that soft slow glide to the ground behind her felt like such a horror moment, while the mask looked incredible! Those moments of them coming face to helmet with Osha were so tense as I worried what he would do to her, while the ease and confidence by which they used the Force to deal with everybody hints at their strength. I assume that the blackout means that all of our group were knocked unconscious, so what will we find next week? A bunch of Jedi corpses? Or just a couple of missing twins I can’t wait to find out!

Before finishing this section, I do just want to put forward a theory, so warning now that this paragraph has potential spoilers for the rest of the series. While the Master’s identity is yet to be revealed, I’m currently of the opinion that Qimir is the Master. Much like Palpatine hid from the Jedi in plain sight, Qimir hiding from his own apprentice by pretending to be someone brought in to help them allows them to closely watch Mae’s actions and thoughts when she thinks that she is away from her master. It’s worth remembering that he slipped in part of the Sith code when speaking to her during episode 2, while his discussions with Mae about how she will kill a Jedi without using a weapon (and the reason for it) allows him to test her and potentially guide her without her realising. We also know that both characters are on Khofar at the same time, and have never seen them in the same place together, while the swapping between Mae and the Jedi with little focus on Qimir allows for the situation that when he “went for water”, he slipped away to Kill Kelnacca and stopped for water on the way back (he noted that they were only 10 minutes away, so it wouldn’t take long) and while he seemed helpless in Mae’s trap, he could have easily released himself the moment that she left and helped back to ensure that she found the Jedi dead. Time will tell if I’m right, but do you have any theories on the Master’s identity?

“An apprentice who doesn’t know their master? It’s absurd.”

A few final thoughts on the episodes:

• I’m so glad to find out that Ki-Adi-Mundi is as much a stupid know-it-all now as he is in 100 years. Also on this note, I like how the story did not feel the need to bonk us over the head with his identity, with it only confirmed in the credits. Is that also Plo Koon in Sol’s group? The credits didn’t confirm it, so I doubt it, but they were minimal when addressing the wider cast.
• Vernestra continues to frustrate me, and I think that I would feel this even more so had I got to know her already in the High Republic stories, as my understanding is that she was a relatively free thinker, but apparently now is so sure of herself and her beliefs that she won’t consider other options. Hopefully Phase 3 of the High Republic shows some reason for her personality to begin to change.
• I’m a little disappointed that the style of the episode titles has changed as I loved the duality in the first 2. I do however wonder if this is being held back to call next week’s “Night”…

Moments in Canon

“I swear, we need a tracker just to track our tracker.”

• Though an established member of the Jedi Order, Ki-Adi-Mundi does not appear to be a member of the Jedi High Council at this time
• Yord notes that many Jedi learn to speak Shyriiwook

What did you think of the episode?

Thanks for reading. May the Force be with you….