The series 'The Acolyte', part of the 'Star Wars' film universe, has concluded on Disney+. The new show was supposed to offer a different perspective on a galaxy far, far away and become a dark story of the rise of the Dark Side, but it turned into a...

Immediately after the premiere, 'The Acolyte' divided fans and critics into two different camps. The former began to praise the series (80% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing), while the latter simply destroyed the show (17% on the same 'Tomatoes' at the time of writing). In such situations, it's better to trust yourself and see for yourself, but there is an opinion that critics often turn a blind eye to the story, direction, and acting, giving preference to relevance and inclusivity. Of course, it's not to say that the audience score is super fair, but this time it is closer to the real state of affairs in a galaxy far, far away.

What's the Plot?

The plot of 'The Acolyte' unfolds a hundred years before the events of 'The Phantom Menace', that is, in 132 years before the Battle of Yavin (BBY). At that time, the Galactic Republic was experiencing an era of prosperity and was at its peak, and the Jedi were messengers of peace, with their Order operating across almost the entire galaxy. One fine day, on the planet Ueda, an unknown girl wielding the Force kills Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss), and all suspicions fall on Osha (Amandla Stenberg), who perfectly fits the description. The Order arrests her, but on the way to Coruscant, criminals sabotage the ship, and it crashes.

Osha's former teacher, Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), doesn't really believe what's happening, so he volunteers to personally find the suspect among the wreckage. Accompanied by new Padawan Jecki (Dafne Keen) and Jedi Yord (Charlie Barnett), Sol sets out on a search, which will reveal that the girl is not guilty, because a second assassination attempt occurred on the planet Olega (clearly a good job there).

This time, the target was Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman), who had been meditating for several years, and now all the facts point to the culprit being Osha's twin sister, Mae (also Amandla Stenberg), who supposedly died in a fire 16 years ago. It turns out the girl survived, became the apprentice of a mysterious man with a red lightsaber, and now her goal is to kill the Jedi who once invaded the planet where the sisters grew up.

Taken to the Extreme

Since its announcement, 'The Acolyte' was an extremely intriguing project, until its creator Leslye Headland started doing 'Comedy Woman' and saying that according to canon, the droid R2-D2 is a lesbian woman*. Since then, the series began to raise some concerns, not because everyone suddenly believed such statements, but because it became clear that the showrunner, with her jokes or real thoughts, simply didn't care about the fans of the film universe. And how can you respect a product whose creator doesn't respect those for whom the product is made?

In general, the premiere was awaited with great apprehension, which, unfortunately, came true. And it's not even about excessive inclusivity or stupid moments that many have nitpicked (like fire in space or flammable stone cliffs), but that the project is simply uninteresting and weak both in terms of acting and script. But let's take it one step at a time.

When assembling the team, Leslye Headland set a condition: potential workers should not be familiar with 'Star Wars' (at least before production began). This practice is not new within the film universe, as Tony Gilroy was also unaware of the state of affairs in a galaxy far, far away, but ended up making one of the best live-action series within the franchise. Apparently, Headland was inspired and thought she could do the same, but no. The projects turned out to be on completely opposite poles.

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Open material

'The Acolyte' starts as a detective story, but almost immediately reveals all its cards to the viewer, so it's unclear why it continues to flirt with the genre when there is no mystery and none is expected. Then the series tries to delve into drama, but the characters are so flat, caricatured, and uninteresting that there is simply no one to empathize with. The Jedi are portrayed as a bunch of degenerates obsessed with their power and control over the Force. They try by all means, as strange as it sounds, to maintain a monopoly and disrespect other Force users, interfering where they are not welcome.

And while fans know perfectly well that the Order is an imperfect structure with long-outdated rules (as mentioned in 'The Clone Wars'), 'The Acolyte' reduces the guardians of the light side to complete fools. Honestly, if the Jedi were such idiots in 132 BBY, then the Sith simply missed a bunch of opportunities to seize power much earlier. Among all the Jedi shown, only Indara and Jecki deserve respect, while the rest in 'The Acolyte' are presented in a bad light.

And it's understandable, the series is about the Sith, and to make the audience empathize with the negative characters, the protagonists have to be made worse than the antagonists, which is exactly what happens with Sol, who is presented in the project as the embodiment of masculine abuse. The writers turned him into the most disgusting Jedi with the dumbest motivation (many have problems with that here). So it turns out that practically the only bright side of the series is a follower of the Dark Side. Qimir, played by Manny Jacinto, is a true diamond in the rough. He is excellently acted (unlike the extremely wooden sisters), dressed super cool, better developed than the others, and fights effectively. Such are 'Star Wars' nowadays.

What Irony

Working with characters is apparently not Leslye Headland's forte. Some become caricatured fools, others become disgusting degenerates, and the intergalactic beaver (damn) gets an unjustifiably large amount of screen time, annoying more than amusing. So you have to choose the lesser of several evils, forgetting that it's still evil.

'The Acolyte' is overall an extremely banal series, although its potential was promising. Any plot twist is telegraphed long before the viewer is told about it. Not to mention, there is simply no balance between characters, as one hero becomes stronger than another in a snap for the sake of the situation. There's no point in giving specific examples because spoilers would be unavoidable, but it's very noticeable while watching.

In cinema, much can be forgiven, because if something is done excellently, you can overlook the problems, but Leslye Headland's show has far more flaws than merits. Decent visuals and good fight choreography certainly cannot compensate for an empty script and poor acting. It's a shame, because in theory, 'The Acolyte' could have been a very good series about a previously unseen era, the ambiguity of the Sith, and new interesting characters. But in practice, it's unclear how the High Republic differs from the Decline, except for the Jedi's clothing; the Sith became ambiguous because the Jedi turned out to be stupid, and the new characters... We've already mentioned that, no need to repeat.

If 'Star Wars' continues to develop in this direction, the sequel trilogy will turn into true gems of the film universe. It will be rediscovered and loved. Perhaps this is the real goal. The cunning 'mouse corporation' is simply hinting, 'You didn't appreciate the movies? Then take this, folks. You'll remember our wonderful Mary Sue.' Honestly, while watching 'The Acolyte', you can't shake the thought that a solo series about Qimir would bring much more pleasure than one about the useless twins. And even the extremely ridiculous fan service in the finale did not brighten the situation. I want to believe that Leslye Headland is not actually bad and meant well. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

What's the Verdict?

Calling 'The Acolyte' an experiment, we must admit that it failed miserably. The word 'hope' plays a significant role in 'Star Wars', so we hope to get clear answers to all the stupidities of the finale if it is renewed for a second season (although, to be honest, I wouldn't want that). Of course, the show is not as disgusting as it is painted on the internet, but it is still a boring, uninteresting, and unnecessary project, ruined by total disrespect from the creators. How good that they have a universal excuse where viewers are racists/sexists/homophobes and so on. Although the fans themselves are now closer than ever to turning to the dark side, especially since watching the series, anger and hatred are the predominant emotions.

*The LGBT movement is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation.