The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland doesn't mind if you guessed the Sith twist ahead of time – in fact, she thinks it's better that way. Now, the following contains major spoilers for The Acolyte episode 5, so turn back now if you're not up to date!
If you're still reading, then you'll know that, in the latest episode, the mysterious Sith Lord was finally unmasked. It turns out that none other than Manny Jacinto's Qimir was the bad guy all along. Even more shockingly, he easily wiped out fan favorites Jecki and Yord with barely any effort. How's that for a twist?
"I think a good twist is not about hiding everything from the audience and then throwing it on them like, 'Hey, this is what you didn't see! We hid it so well that you didn't see this!'" Headland explained to Entertainment Weekly. "I think a good twist is telegraphing what's going to happen, and then once it does, executing it without an ounce of pity or sentimentality."
Plus, as Headland added, the obviously expendable nameless Jedi were there as a bit of a red herring. "That's what I loved about starting with the red shirts," she said, referring to the Star Trek characters (in red shirts) who are usually killed off. "You're kind of like, 'Oh, [they're] just going to kill a bunch of red shirts, and everybody is going to be fine and… OH MY GOD, JECKI'S DEAD! Okay, I'm listening.'"
The Acolyte continues weekly on Disney Plus. For even more on the show, check out our deep dives on:
- The Acolyte episodes 1-4 review
- The Acolyte release schedule
- What is The High Republic? The Acolyte’s new Star Wars era explained
- When does The Acolyte take place on the Star Wars timeline?
- New Star Wars show The Acolyte's sets were so big and detailed, the actors needed a map to get around and were literally “tripping on mushrooms”
- Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae on joining The Acolyte, making history as a Jedi, and why he thinks Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland has a "fresh take" on Star Wars
- The Acolyte creator talks pitching The High Republic – and the biggest challenge behind the new Star Wars era
- Star Wars' cute new droid has an incredibly wholesome inspiration behind it
- The Acolyte crew built lightsabers for the new Star Wars show that could be used "the way Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn use them"
- Upcoming Star Wars movies
- Star Wars timeline
- How to watch the Star Wars movies in order
