TV Review: ‘The Acolyte’ Is Off To A Slow But Promising Start

The High Republic is a relatively new era of Star Wars. So far, it’s primarily been a setting for novels and comics, but there has been enough material for it to be considered a full-fledged era. The Acolyte is the first time this period has been depicted in live action. The Republic is strong and the Jedi are a powerful organization, but The Acolyte seems to focus on the Sith, an organization that had been largely absent from the Star Wars universe for centuries (if not millennia) before the story takes place. The first episode is being very careful and slow with how this subject matter is being presented, which makes for a particularly frustrating first episode.

It begins with an assassination attempt on Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss). The assassin, Mae (Amandla Stenberg), is well trained in the Force, which causes the Jedi alarm. Indara is killed, which leads to a former Jedi apprentice, Osha (also Stenberg), being arrested for the murder. While she is being transported, a breakout attempt causes her ship to crash and her former master, Sol (Lee Jung-jae), goes searching for her. As it turns out, this apprentice had a twin sister who was believed to have died years earlier. They think she is the mysterious assassin and go out in search of her.

After many different Star Wars shows that focus outside of the Jedi, it is interesting to dive back into this realm — especially in a completely different time period. The show also tries to give off a very different kind of Star Wars vibe to it. It has many martial arts elements and focuses on a mystery at the heart of the Jedi conflict with the Sith. Although this episode didn’t do a lot to hammer these points home, it definitely left seeds to be expanded upon later. It introduced some interesting characters and set them on an interesting path. So while the first episode may not have delivered, this series has the potential to do so as a whole.

The Acolyte streams Tuesdays on Disney+.