Now that all of the episodes have been released, is the season worth watching?
From the beginning, The Acolyte has been burdened by warring factions looking to use the show as a stage for, uh, ‘discourse’, to put it mildly. All of this has had the unfortunate effect of bad-faith actors drowning discussions of the show in hyperbole and snark. I’ve met people in real life who have refused to watch the show because of the sheer volume of hatred spewed at the show’s creator and assumed this to be—while not justified—at least indicative of an extremely bad T.V. show.
So, let’s put aside the misogyny and the review bombing and ridiculous people upset over alien birthdays (a real phenomenon I’m not about to explain). Let’s also put aside the diversity of the cast—something good for the Star Wars franchise and the industry as a whole, but no rational person would argue intrinsically makes the show better (anti-Acolyte loons love to assume that’s how people who happily accept the existence of minorities in Star Wars think).
Any new Star Wars story is going to exist inside a maelstrom of conflicting expectations and perspectives. ‘There’s no pleasing everybody’ is an understatement when it comes to this franchise. As a fan, I try to approach new Star Wars stories—especially the hit-or-miss T.V. shows—with zero expectations. I’m not ready to hate; I’m not ready to love. Let’s just see what this is all about first before coming to any conclusions.
“The Boy Has No Patience”
Figuring out what this show was about proved to be a bit of a challenge, though. The week-long wait between each of the show’s eight episodes was excruciating—not because I was dying to know what happened next, but because I was frustrated with the pace of the show, which was unbearably sluggish at times.
Entire episodes would pass without progressing the plot, and the two flashbacks episodes totally ruined the flow of things. The second one—which comprised all of episode 7—was especially dull given how it was just a rehash of the first flashback episode, but from a new perspective. The extra meaningful story moments this conveyed were minimal. It really felt like there was missed opportunity to combine these episodes into one.
I also can’t help but feel like The Acolyte would’ve worked better as a movie. Some of the episodes were so short—even shorter once you take out the recaps and logos and credits—and some dialogue scenes so snooze-inducing and begging to be cut that I’m sure there is a great two-and-a-half hour film somewhere in this show.
Not to mention the fact that episodes themselves lacked structure. Even in limited series television, each episode should tell a distinct story with its own arc. Here though, each episode of The Acolyte just felt like a part of a whole, but not in a good way. The lack of rising tension and climaxes in each episode made things feel extremely underwhelming.
“Give Yourself to the Dark Side”
It is perhaps unfair of me to wish we’d gotten this story in such a radically different format, but I can’t help look for a solution to these pacing issues when they’re the biggest hurdle in my enjoyment of the show, which otherwise is pretty good. There are some exceptionally great moments here and there, too, like the fights in episode 5, and Jedi Master Sol’s whole mysterious, guilt-ridden thing.
These moments aren’t as frequent as I would like, but for me, they make the show worth watching, as does the tone and content of the show, which delves into areas Star Wars has never been before. This isn’t a fun, light-hearted, or particularly touching story. It doesn’t come close to emulating the thrills and emotionality of the original Star Wars trilogy, which is bound to be off-putting for some.
The Acolyte is a bleak, dour show about secrets, murders, and doing bad things for good reasons. Adding moral complexity to the influence and practices of the Jedi council isn’t new ground, but the topic has never been broached overtly as it is here. I’m a guy that watches Se7en and Zodiac for fun though, so I have to say that I really like this tone. I don’t think that this is what Star Wars should become all the time now—indeed, the darker, tougher-to-market elements of the story might’ve been what prevented it from being done as a movie—but the Star Wars universe is filled with dark corners, and I like that we’re finally getting to explore one.
“Be Mindful of the Future”
The core of the story of course revolves around Amandla Stenberg’s dual performance as Oshi and Mae—twins and opposites. Their relationship fits seamlessly into the thematic world of Star Wars, and Stenberg gives a great performance—not once would you ever be confused about which twin is on screen. Lee Jung-jae as Master Sol really stole the show for me though, both in characterisation, arc, and performance. He nailed the Jedi vibe and his character was written with compelling depth. Manny Jacinto also has an enviable screen presence.
This season ended in an interesting place, too. It developed the arc of these characters in a significant way, while obviously leaving a lot of room for more story. It’s strange—after the dismal third episode that was dragged down by both its pace, goofy choices, and rough child acting—I had all but given up on The Acolyte. Being able to view the story as a whole has changed things for me, though.
Now, I hope we get a second season. I believe there are enough interesting components to the show that are worthy of more story. If the right lessons are learned from this middling first season, I could easily see future seasons of The Acolyte becoming some of my favourite stories ever.
The Acolyte isn’t perfect. Neither is it an abomination and an affront to Star Wars fans everywhere. While I do think there is significant room for improvement, I think not having to suffer a week-long wait between episodes will make for better viewing now that the entire season has been released. Overall, there are enough good elements in the show to point to a promising future, but I wouldn’t say that the show is worth the time of anyone who isn’t emotionally invested in Star Wars already.
***
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