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Star Wars is a vast, rich tapestry of storytelling. Since the first film’s release in 1977, we have seen the franchise traverse across George Lucas’s galaxy in various forms: New stories and others expanded on film and television; stories written for the page and others written for video games. The original three films have been the jumping-off point for all of the Star Wars stories in the last 47 years – and the tales feel endless. No matter which story you find yourself diving into next, whether Lucas is involved or not, it always feels like stepping into a familiar world. Many may feature new characters and new settings, but you know you’re watching Star Wars, and that isn’t only because of the appearance of a lightsaber.
The Acolyte review
Creators of Star Wars projects, like The Acolyte’s Leslye Headland, know that what connects each part of the franchise to the next, across each medium, are its themes. Like many entries before it, the latest Star Wars television series is about the threads that bind people and their destinies. Destiny even if laid out in the stars or written in prophecy is always a choice. The Acolyte is also a story about outsiders forging their own path, whether in darkness or light. What’s also explored here like in many of the franchise’s narratives is the transformative force that is the past. The past guides each character on the path they choose and lingers on their minds like a wound unable to heal.
The Acolyte introduces the audience to the first Star Wars live-action adaption featuring the High Republic. Set 100 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, this era is considered a golden age for the Jedi. It’s a time marked by prosperity and peace, with the Jedi at the height of their power. However, when the Jedi discover they are being hunted, it becomes clear that the Sith are beginning their rise from the shadows.
The series follows Osha (Amandla Stenberg), a former Jedi turned Mek Nek. Working much like a human version of an astro-mech droid, she’s tasked with repairing the outside of the freighter where she’s stationed. She couldn’t be further from the Jedi homeworld of Coruscant if she tried, but that doesn’t stop them from paying a visit.
She seems to have left the Jedi on decent terms as she and her visitor, the Jedi Knight Yord (Charlie Barnett), greet each other as old friends. But when Osha reaches for her handheld repair droid, Pip, Yord puts his hand on his lightsaber. This visit isn’t meant to be a cordial one: Osha is the prime suspect in the murder of a Jedi Master. Arrested and taken to Coruscant, she finds herself reuniting with an old life that she never thought she’d see again, including her old Master, Sol (Lee Jung-jae). As Jedi continue to be hunted while Osha’s under the watchful eye of her old Master, she’s cleared of wrongdoing and is sent on a mission with Sol, Yord, and Sol’s new Padawan, Jecki (Dafne Keen), to follow the trail of a mysterious assassin trained in the Force. Along the way, Osha finds herself having to confront her past, one full of grief and anger, while the Jedi fight a new battle between the light and dark side of the Force.
Within the first few minutes of The Acolyte’s first episode, a fight ensues that makes it known that this is a series that will be lacking in the typical “swoosh swoosh” of a lightsaber or “pew pew” of a blaster. Instead, we see Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) fight against an assassin in hand-to-hand, “Force-fu” combat. It’s not often we see someone without a lightsaber go up so fiercely against a Jedi. It’s a unique and welcomed change to the stunt choreography that is impressively executed in a Wuxia-inspired style.
The fight choreography isn’t the only thing that feels fresh in this series. While we revisit familiar settings like Coruscant, we are also introduced to lush new environments with practicality and real-world details that feel reminiscent of the original trilogy. The Jedi are given a new look as well, their attire matching a flourishing Republic with shades of white and gold, but that also seems to get darker over the four episodes critics were given to review. This creates not only a fresh look but one that is reminiscent of how Anakin Skywalker’s attire gets darker as he gets closer to the dark side. With new planets also come new cultures and characters, and the characters in The Acolyte are compelling, especially Osha whose past is explored to highlight the themes of family and duality that permeate the franchise. The relationship between Master and Padawan also remains an emotional pull.
“No one can kill a Jedi,” Anakin Skywalker unironically once said. But of course, we know now that that’s not the case. The Acolyte feels to be largely about the Jedi and their weaknesses. In the past, emotion has been the weakness focused on the most, but this series goes beyond that. The Jedi’s weakness is the fact that they’re just individuals. Beings that are flawed and not some great, immovable things that can’t be shaken. The separation between the light and dark sides has been very clear more often than not throughout Star Wars, but it has often been tested. The line between the two becomes blurred more than ever here, as the series suggests the Jedi’s fight for peace might be all a lie, and a dark secret is left to be uncovered.
Grade: A
The Acolyte
An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.
Release Date: June 4, 2024
Director: Leslye Headland
Cast: Amandla Stenberg , Lee Jung-jae , Manny Jacinto
