TV Review: ‘The Acolyte’ Episode 6 Excels And Fails At The Same Time
by Frank Martin
Right from the beginning, it was extremely apparent that The Acolyte was going to be a show that varied wildly in quality. Some aspects are phenomenal while others falter. This week’s episode is no different. It does a great job exploring the Force and the many aspects characters can approach it from. But the show still suffers with some tedious mistakes in terms of acting, production design, and cheesy dialogue that do not rise to the level of quality that the themes in this show demand.
After slaughtering most of the Jedi in last week’s episode, Qimir (Manny Jacinto) brings Osha (Amandla Stenberg) to his island hideaway on an unknown planet. She’s not a prisoner, but her means of escape are extremely limited. She’s forced to listen to his philosophy on the Force, which sways her to his side — as evident in the episode’s closing moments when she puts on his helmet. Meanwhile, Sol (Lee Jung-jae) tries to inform the rest of the Jedi Order about what happened while Mae (also Stenberg) pretends to be Osha. He eventually finds her out and subdues her. This leaves a situation where both Masters have each other’s former apprentices as a captive audience.
Even though they have played an extremely important part of the Star Wars universe, there’s a lot about the Sith that’s a mystery. No one truly knows how their philosophy has survived so long. The Acolyte promised to shine some light on this, and it has done so very sparingly. This episode provided a lot of insight into that lore, and the series is best when it flushes that aspect out. But the plot and characters are still muddled. It’s hard to know why characters do certain things as they seem to contradict themselves in every scene. And even though there are tidbits here and there of quality storytelling, the show is going to need to wrap up very strongly to end on a positive note.
The Acolyte streams Tuesdays on Disney+.
