Brutal. Just absolutely brutal. Were my eyes deceiving me when I saw the series getting a mere 4.2 stars on IMDb? For a Star Wars series? Wow. I’ve always had the urge to watch and/or read the Star Wars series in chronological order. That might be blasphemous to some of the most hardcore of fans out there, but it’s just not something I can help myself with. However, I always fall short and get distracted. But when I saw that The Acolyte, the first Star Wars series/movie in the franchise, chronologically, was getting a 4.2-star average, I was curious. Very, very curious. It was only recently released in 2024, and a quick search told me that each of the 8 episodes averaged out to almost $28 million in budget! What’s equally surprising is seeing Lee Jung-jae as the lead Jedi along with seeing Carrie-Ann Moss in the cast as well.

So the story revolves around a band of female witches that is able to harness the Force on a remote planet. Two female children, twin sisters, are to go through a ritual to signify them as the next leaders of the coven when a team of Jedi discovers their hideout and the power the witches possess. Their refusal to take no for an answer in “saving” the two girls led to a complete wipeout of the coven, save for one of the sisters. Master Sol eventually takes her under his wing to train as a Jedi, but it eventually fails. So honestly, the story is whatever here. It’s not the worst of ideas, but I was never a fan of stories where twins are involved. You just know that it will likely lead to the directors using the good ol’ switcheroo method somewhere in the story. That and/or when the eventual side swap will occur, where the good twin will eventually and slowly become the evil twin and vice versa. It’s not always like that, obviously, but I just couldn’t shake that gut feeling.

I think one of the biggest negatives here is the lack of character development and interest in Osha and Mae. It just feels all over the place. Evil Mae doesn’t feel evil enough, and good Osha somehow feels fake at times. I think they made a bad choice in casting Amandla Stenberg for the role. Two things I’ve noticed in the story are how the coven of witches operated along with the Jedi being cast in a different light. Firstly, the witches community on Brendok was all female. They had no males. Not even male slaves. This explains how the twins were created and the power they wield by controlling the Force. Did this make them bad people? Surely they had to learn to control the Force in order to defend themselves. Although on a remote planet, they surely know they couldn’t hide forever from the galaxy. However, I don’t believe we were told of what their ultimate goals were in the long term other than to survive. Maybe that’s what made them so dangerous? Then we have the Jedi. In an attempt to cover up the disaster on Brendok, they twisted the truth and failed to report the details to the council. Upon discovering the twins and their power, they wanted to “recruit” them regardless of their age and how it was inappropriate. They basically wanted the power to themselves, all in the name of serving justice in the galaxy.

Next we have the Stranger. Or who I’d like to call the Temu version of Darth Vader. I just couldn’t help myself. I mean, yes, sure, he’s a Sith and the villain, but again, I just found that he doesn’t have the charisma at times to pull it off. Another bad casting job? We don’t really get to see any of his time with Mae as his pupil nor their time training together, and I think that was a wasted opportunity. It’s funny how once Mae discovered who her master was in Kohfar, she just fled and used her sister to get aboard the ship, a la the good ol’ switcheroo. She knew that he was still on the island, and she left her sister with him, even after just discovering she was alive. Out of all the parts, I was most excited when they showed a glimpse of someone hiding out on the mysterious planet the Stranger and Osha were on. I had to look it up, but it was none other than Darth Plagueis, the Sith who trained Palpatine! The book by James Luceno is a must-read.

I don’t know if they will continue with this arc of Osha and the Stranger, but I hope not. It’s just not a very exciting story. Subpar acting all around, along with a lack of character development and a mediocre plot just seems like a wasted opportunity, especially one that cost this much. The fight scenes is what I’d expect via the lightsabers and whatnot, but would it have hurt them to show more of Master Vernestra’s awesome sword instead of just that one quick bug kill scene? I mean, $28 million per episode. Cmon’ man. I also noticed that although the timeline is supposed to be about a hundred years prior to Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, it doesn’t feel or look any different. The one part I noticed was when they were in the ship, and somehow, they decided to use a turquoise color for the interior, like it was some suburban home in the 1950s. Anyway, I don’t even have to look to know that part of the low score on IMDb is due to some viewers not liking the DEI cast. But alas, The Acolyte is still pretty terrible. I’m sure many hold very high standards whenever the Star Wars franchise is concerned, and I don’t blame them, as I am guilty of that. But yeah, whatever. Just bring on Darth Plagueis arc.