The Acolyte Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Episode 8

On The Acolyte Season 1 Episode 8, “Episode 8,” we get the conclusion we’ve been anticipating for Osha, but things with Mae still feel unmoored and inconsistent. For a show that has been fairly well-done throughout, the finale leaves a few things to be desired.

First and foremost, it’s always frustrating when a show sets up a finale for a continuation into another season without any confirmation that there will be one. It’s an understandable tactic. However, when there isn’t a confirmed follow-up season, these unanswered questions could end up loose threads.

Before diving into what made this episode one of the weakest of the whole season, let’s look at the moments that were satisfying and worth our time.

Osha’s Journey Takes a Left Turn — That Was Expected

Since we started, there has always been this nagging feeling at the back of our minds that Mae wouldn’t end up as the Acolyte learner but instead would transfer the role to Osha. After all, Mae’s anger was understood and justified, while Osha’s lack thereof was simply because of what she didn’t know.

Throughout the season, the more Osha learned, the more we could see she was changing her opinion about the Jedi Order and whether or not they actually saved her life. At first, it felt like she might align herself more neutrally and support her sister’s vengeance.

However, in the last couple of episodes, her intrigue about Qimir’s teachings and her disdain for Sol’s actions come through much more strongly than Mae’s ever have. When they switch roles and Mae gets some face time with Sol, we see the “darker sister” falter multiple times to enact her plan for the aging Master.

Osha taking Sol’s life during the final showdown with her, Mae, The Stranger, and Sol feels satisfying in that it completes the journey she’s been on all along. We get to see the switch flip in her mind when she fully embraces the darker side of the force and kills her former mentor for killing her mother and lying about it.

In fact, we aren’t as surprised as we might’ve been about this change in roles because all along, we suspected these two girls would pull 180s. Osha’s flip to the dark side is completed by the official changing of the saber she wields from blue to red. 

It’s a cool visual to see her light up the lightsaber, only for it to slowly shift from the blue blade into red. It causes her to pause and not officially harm Qimir/The Stranger like she was planning. That, too, shows just how much her allegiance has changed.

Mae’s Writing Continues to Be Inconsistent

If Osha’s writing and characterization were perfectly executed, then Mae’s were not. This season, the writers have treated Mae as a secondary character with less significance.

Through this lack of consideration, the writing for her has been woefully unsteady. On the one hand, when we first meet her, Mae is described as a cold-hearted, one-track-minded killer. 

Then, suddenly, without preamble, she is insecure about Qimir/The Stranger and his teachings. She isn’t sure about the goal of her mission anymore. 

At first, viewers can kind of dismiss this shift as being because she saw her sister. However, now that we can look at the season as a whole, it points to a more serious issue.

Even as a small child, Mae is depicted as a more volatile individual with a strong sense of herself. Then, we get to the midway point of the season, and suddenly, Mae doesn’t trust who she is and isn’t sure of her goals either. 

Then, during this final episode, we see Mae shift even more and refuse to kill Sol. Not because she feels compassion for him but because she wants to trust his fate to the Jedi Council. 

This alone feels completely out of character and doesn’t match the Mae we first met in the season’s opening sequences. Without any explanation for why she would suddenly trust the Jedi to deal with one of their own’s mistakes we are left scratching our heads as to why Mae spared his life.

The Plot Is Scattered And Unorganized

The biggest issue with The Acolyte Season 1 Episode 8, “Episode 8,” is that the plot jumped around and didn’t have much magic or flow. All along, this show has shown us that storytelling can be tight and compelling. Only for the ball to get dropped in its final hour. 

We went from Vernestra Rwoh talking to a senator about her actions to Sol fighting The Stranger. Then, we went back to Coruscant to see Master Rwoh gather a group of Jedi to return to Brendok for Sol.

Then, we witness the showdown between Osha, Mae, Sol, and The Stranger without much context for Master Rwoh’s simultaneous response to sensing Qimir on Brendok. By the end of the episode, when Master Rwoh blames everything on Sol to the Senate and tells Mae her version of the truth, we are left feeling major whiplash.

While it is cool to see elements like the change of the saber blade in real-time, the addition of familiar Senators, and the visual of Yoda, these hardly make up for the lack of direction this episode seems to contain.

Just like with Mae, we are given no context clues as to why Master Rwoh goes from a mild-mannered Jedi Master who seems to be forthcoming and honest to being someone who would continue to spread lies about the actions on Brendok, both times.

While Master Sol getting thrown under the bus was to be expected, especially after The Acolyte Season 1 Episode 7, “Choice.” It wasn’t expected that Master Rwoh would then also say that he took his own life and that she wouldn’t even mention her rogue former padawan. 

It’s an interesting shift in how we perceive her, and I’m still unsure if that was a good writing choice. Put against everything else that doesn’t make the grade with this episode; it appears to be weak, uninspired writing that could’ve been explored better.

The Acolyte Succeeds Overall

That being said, overall, this show is extremely successful. It takes a period of Jedi lore that we haven’t explored much and gives us something to root for. 

This is the story of two sisters separated by tragedy who come back together in love to achieve their own goals. When Osha gives The Stranger permission to wipe Mae’s memory, there is a bittersweet layer to that action. 

We see these two sisters come together once more like they haven’t since they were children. If we get another season, exploring how these sisters interact with the world will be interesting.

While this episode didn’t quite hit the mark, the rest of the episodes have made for a compelling story. It might be frustrating not to have all the answers we wanted from this season, but if we get more, there is still room for the show to grow.

 

What did you think of this episode of The Acolyte? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Acolyte Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.

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