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Across its first three episodes , The Acolytehas pay off off to a propulsive , if frail , begin . The serial , created byRussian Dollco - creator Leslye Headland , is one of the only truly original ( i.e. , not a spinoff ) piece of Star Wars media that Disney has make in the 12 years since it acquired Lucasfilm . As depressing as that is in and of itself , it ’s also helpedThe Acolyte . The show , for all of its flaws , feels fresh . It is n’t weighed down or suffocatingly constricted by the outcome of any other Star Wars movie or TV show and , therefore , has the freedom to research its characters and plot exactly how it wants .
That does n’t meanThe Acolytehas been able-bodied to wholly fend off making the same mistakes as all of the Star Wars title that have come before it . On the reverse , the serial , which focuses on the reemergence of the Sith near the end of the High Republic era , has struggled in its depiction of the Jedi Order . The Acolytehas , consequently , revived an consequence that has chivvy its franchise ever since 1999’sStar Wars : Episode I — The Phantom Menace .
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Are the Jedi cool samurai or boo-worthy space cops?
For 16 years , Star Wars fans ’ collective perception of the Jedi was free-base entirely on a few characters have throughout the franchise ’s Original Trilogy — namely , Obi - Wan Kenobi ( Alec Guinness ) , Yoda ( Frank Oz ) , and Luke Skywalker ( Mark Hamill ) . The first three Jedi that Star Wars devotee ever meet were , in other words , interesting and eccentric figures grappling with their own internal battle . Each of them had identifiable personalities that popped onscreen , and that only made fans build up the Jedi Order in their minds even more .
ThenThe Phantom Menacewas loose in 1999 , and its looker were shocked — and a piece thwarted — to learn that the Jedi Order was , for the most part , made up of a crew of one - note , stoic monks who preached about the dangers of personal connectedness . This was , to be fair , exactlywhat George Lucas mean . The Prequel Trilogy is for the most part about how the Jedi were lead astray by both the politics of their prison term and their own arrogance , so the trilogy ’s line drawing of the spiritual order works within the context of use of the wider narration that ’s told acrossThe Phantom Menace , Attack of the Clones , andRevenge of the Sith .
In the year sinceRevenge of the Sithwas released , though , the Star Wars franchise has had a hard fourth dimension deciding what to do with the Jedi . Are they mean to be visualize as cool - headed samurai who only require to protect the galax ? Or emotionless , cop - esque figures who apply their presence and will on the planets and community they monitor ? InThe Acolyte‘s third instalment , titledDestiny , they come across more like the latter . Led by Master Indara ( Carrie - Anne Moss ) , the episode ’s Jedi characters push their style into a witch coven ’s passel dwelling and demand — under the unverbalised threat of military force — to quiz the Force - sensitive capableness of the coven ’s only nestling , Osha and Mae ( portrayed inDestinyby Lauren and Leah Brady ) .
A sinister side to the heroic Jedi
It ’s a jarring , dark twist , and it could only get worse if it ’s later on revealed that the Jedi feature in the episode had more to do with the deaths of Osha and Mae ’s fellow witches than the former , at least , currently know . For now , Indara , Sol(SquidGamestar Lee Jung - jae ) , and their fellow Jedi ’s actions inThe Acolyte‘s latest episode still force one to question what the head even is of the Jedi Order . Do the Jedi in reality make anything better ? Or do they just make it their mission to patrol the wandflower and — in sure example — track down Force - sensitive youngster and demand to test them without the consent of their parents ? If that ’s the suit , then one is inevitably left to question why they should even require to watch more Jedi - centric Star Wars stories moving forward .
There is , of course , a chronicle to be told about how the Star Wars universe ’s most muscular organizations , whether it be the Jedi , the Sith , or even a coven of Force - sore witches , take that its citizen to stick to only a sure turn of way of life . The Acolyteeven touches lightly on that idea in “ Destiny . ” However , the serial has still so far been ineffectual to pass how it wants its fan to actually view the Jedi Order . Outside of Sol , none of the show ’s Jedi character have register as particularly compelling or multi - dimensional . Yord ( Charlie Barnett ) and Vernestra ( Rebecca Henderson ) both seem as blandly one - note as most of the Jedi of the Prequel Trilogy , while Sol ’s Padawan , Jecki ( Dafne Keen ) , has only come across as mildly likable .
The Acolyte proves that Luke Skywalker was right
The Acolyte‘s Jedi problems are n’t unique to it and , if the show ’s first few episodes are any indication , there ’s a high chance it ’ll still be able-bodied to tell an finally satisfying level . But if even a show as imaginative and fearlessly creative asThe Acolyteis destined to have a hard time finding a new , balanced way to depict the Jedi onscreen , then that ’s not a serious sign for the hereafter of the Star Wars franchise . Frankly , the more we pick up about the chronicle of the Jedi , the more it looks like Luke Skywalker was right when he say inThe Last Jedithat it was fourth dimension for religious order to terminate .
That ’s not something anyone should be saying about the character who are essentially mean to fill the “ in force guys ” roles in a franchise that , for all of its many complexities , is still a fagot - tale - esque space opera house about the never - end conflict between good and evil .
New episodes ofThe Acolytepremiere Tuesday nights on Disney+ .
