Across seven weeks, The Acolyte has set up an intriguing mystery involving the High Republic’s Jedi and a handful of unaffiliated Force users. Some, like Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner Smith), are victims of the Jedi’s noble intentions. Others, like main antagonist Qimir (Manny Jacinto) and his one-time padawan Mae (Amandla Stenberg), are dead set on hurting the Order any way they can.
As each party pursues their agendas and conceals their secrets, The Acolyte is taking its time answering its most compelling questions... and with only one episode remaining, that time is running out. The Acolyte hasn’t yet been renewed for a second season, so there’s a chance the show could be headed for a dissatisfying cliffhanger. Showrunner Leslye Headland claimed the writers “threw everything into Season 1,” but if that’s the case, then its finale will have a lot of loose ends to tie up before the credits roll. Here are the most pressing questions The Acolyte needs to answer in Episode 8.
4. Is that “unknown planet” the one we think it is?
In Episode 6, Osha (Stenberg) winds up face-to-face with Qimir on the island he calls home. Said island bears a striking resemblance to the planet Ahch-To, where an older Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) spends years in exile. But despite their similarities, The Acolyte’s planet isn’t Ahch-To. “It’s an uncharted planet,” Headland told Collider.
Wherever it is, it’s notable for its deposits of cortosis, the super-rare ore that Qimir uses to get the edge on Jedi combatants. This planet may be a canon version of Bal’demnic, an ocean world featured in the non-canon novel Plagueis. There are already theories that Darth Plagueis — aka the Sith that taught Emperor Palpatine everything he knew — could appear in The Acolyte, so this could be the next step in bringing more Sith into the show.
3. Why were Mae and Osha created?
The latest episode of The Acolyte raises a few uncomfortable questions about Mae and Osha’s origins. After taking blood samples from the twins, the Jedi on Brendock learn that they aren’t just identical siblings but share the exact same genetic coding. That gives a new (and creepier) meaning to Mae’s “Always one but born as two” adage.
Mae also sheds some light on Ascension, the ritual her coven performs in The Acolyte’s big flashback, which may involve some kind of “sacrifice.” The witches also call Mae and Osha the “future” of their coven. Were the twins created as a form of sacrifice? The coven certainly seems agitated by the idea of Osha joining the Jedi Order. There were clearly plans in place that the Jedi interrupted; hopefully The Acolyte will actually clarify them before the end of the season.
2. What’s Qimir’s deal?
The Acolyte started as a web of intrigue focused on Mae and Osha’s shifting dynamics with Mae’s Sith teacher. But as the season went on and placed more emphasis on the twins’ tragic past, The Acolyte branched into two separate timelines. There’s a particular emphasis on the past in Episode 7, which re-tells the events of Episode 3 from a new perspective. That perspective reveals a devastating truth that will affect Osha’s potential turn to the dark side, but it also pulls the focus from Qimir’s role in the narrative, which is especially frustrating after all the revelations teased in Episode 6.
Headland has said Qimir was originally “a tee-up” for a second season, meaning that if The Acolyte were to score a renewal, he would likely play a larger role there. That’d be fine if Episode 6 hadn’t spent so much time teasing a tragic backstory of his own, one that involves a Jedi Master (who may or may not be Vernestra Rwoh). Just a few throwaway lines flung open a whole new trove of questions for The Acolyte to answer. Why was Qimir ousted from the Jedi Order? Who gave him that scar? What’s his plan, aside from gaining an apprentice and “the power of two” that comes with it? With The Acolyte headed for an explosive confrontation between Mae, Osha, and Sol, Qimir will likely be present. But will the finale have the space to do his story justice?
1. Will Osha actually turn to the dark side?
After Qimir’s seduction in Episode 6 and the Brendock flashback in Episode 7, Osha’s turn seems all but inevitable. The Acolyte has been building towards a shift in allegiances since the twins first switched places, and it hasn’t been subtle. Osha seems poised for a villain arc, however brief, especially once she learns that Sol murdered her mother in a fit of panic. But with so much ground to cover in The Acolyte’s finale, Osha’s final choice could easily be the season cliffhanger. Hopefully, that won’t be the case, as this is by far the most important question for the series to address. If nothing else, we have to know whether Osha will officially join Qimir, choose to forgive Sol, or ignore them both and team up with her sister. The Acolyte is ultimately about her relationship with Mae, so their fate should take precedence in the finale.
