Reflecting on The Acolyte

By: Jake Rajala

The Acolyte is arguably the most complex piece of Star Wars work. It has a Rotten Tomatoes score 79%, yet only 33% of Google users admire the project. It’s mind-boggling to say the least. I can safely say that I watched the entire piece and really enjoyed it. I would even say that I enjoyed it more than “Ahsoka”, “Obi-Wan Kenobi”, and “The Book of Boba Fett”. With that said, I’m going to take a deep dive and unfold five reasons why we love The Acolyte.

Rewatched four episodes of The Acolyte and the show is much better than I remember.
Sol being a Jedi Master who is emotional and selfish is so interesting. Qimir is goated. The writing is not as bad as I initially thought it was when the show aired pic.twitter.com/MZm77qh7gf

— Retney's Holocron YouTube (@retneysholocron) October 27, 2025

I warn you that there will be spoilers in this article. Use caution at your own risk.

• Characters

It’s hard not to love the effort and versatility of the actors in the show. Manny Jacinto, Amanda Stenberg, Dafne Keen, and Lee Jung-jae are the main actors. Manny could be noticed for his prior role in “Top Gun Maverick”. Amanda could be remembered for her sweet role in “The Hunger Games”. Of course, there was only one Amanda in the work, despite her having a twin in the show.

• Twist

I absolutely loved the twist in the show. It was one of my favorite twists among all of Star Wars projects. Of course, I’m talking about when Osha turns and kills Master Sol, who was one of the most powerful Jedi in Star Wars. It was very tragic and deep. This happened due to Sol telling Osha he killed her mother. The biggest twist has to be when Darth Vader tells Luke that he is his father.

“Luke, I am your father!” this iconic moment 🥲pic.twitter.com/Tt8Pe8C7cI

— sohom (@AwaaraHoon) September 9, 2024

• Bond between Sisters

The sisters have an impressive bond in the piece. I really disagree with their motives, but it’s nice to see a bond in Star Wars that’s on the dark side. We are accustomed to seeing Luke and Leia. I like to see how powerful evil siblings can be. Perhaps the murder of Sol can be a one-off.

• Evil one

Kylo Ren, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, and the list of cool villains go on and on. The sheer power of force and training from the evil figure (Qmir) in the piece is astonishing. He killed many people, despite being alone. The last time I saw a wretched character slaughter many Jedi at once was Darth Sidious in “Revenge of the Sith”.

one year of the acolyte also means one year of qimir / the stranger 🫶🫶

the best villain we have had in this franchise in a long time i love him pic.twitter.com/8gSM7GhNLU

— cam 🌌 (@camandfilm) June 4, 2025

• Forest

There is something beautiful about a forest in Star Wars. For some reason, forests and light sabers tend to go well together. It doesn’t have to be “The Red Woods”, too. The last fight was pictured in a dark forest. Rey’s first fight against Ben Solo was in a forest. We all know “Return of The Jedi” was in a forest, too. Yoda’s training for Luke was in a swamp.

The Acolyte’s second season was very sadly cancelled. I hope there will be a strong push for Star Wars fans to get the second season aired, as much as the Star Wars world wants “The Hunt for Ben Solo” to be on the big screen.