The Acolyte split opinions when it hit Disney+ back in June but it was clear from the start that a certain group of Star Wars fans wanted to sabotage the series through review-bombing.
While it would be wrong to give them too much credit for the sad, lonely hours they whittled away posting fake reviews to Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, the negativity surrounding the show did lessen interest. Crucially, Lucasfilm failed to deliver a story that hooked general audiences.
The news of The Acolyte's cancellation still comes as a surprise, though, and the fact there will be no season 2 means several plot threads are left unresolved. We're also left with a long list of unanswered questions which are unlikely to ever be addressed unless it's in a comic book or novel most fans will never even read.
Below, you'll find the main dangling plot threads left by The Acolyte and insights into where we believe the show was heading next. Check this feature out by hitting the "Next"/"View List" buttons...
7. What Was Darth Plagueis Planning?
The finale didn't even make us wait 15 minutes before Darth Plagueis showed up. As Qimir and Osha left the unnamed planet, the Sith Lord - who clearly wasn't a young Muun at this point in the timeline - was shown watching them from The Stranger's cave.
In the Expanded Universe, Plagueis murdered his master, Darth Tenebrous, on a cortosis-rich world called Bal'demnic. After this reveal, it seemed safe to say that's where The Stranger - and potentially his Master - call home.
Regardless of whether Plagueis is stalking Qimir from afar or The Acolyte's secret big bad, he was likely here to further his goal of becoming immortal. His EU counterpart was obsessed with cheating death and creating life, so the villain starting with Mae and Osha made sense.
6. What Was The Stranger's Deal?
During the finale, The Stranger vanished and reappeared on at least two occasions, and while that might have been a sign of how powerful he is, some fans question whether he was ever even real!
In the Star Wars sequels, Rey and Kylo Ren both use Force projection powers, as does Luke Skywalker when he battles his nephew in The Last Jedi. What if the monstrous Plagueis was doing the same, using Qimir as a front to manipulate Mae and Osha?
That could explain why he appeared to grow angry right after Osha refused The Stranger's offer to become his pupil. Regardless, we still don't know whether Qimir planned to overthrow his Master or what he had in store for the Galaxy after finally gaining his own "Acolyte."
5. Will Mae Remember Her Past?
The Stranger wiped Mae's mind to stop the Jedi from discovering where he and Osha are. Now, she remembers nothing beyond the age of 8 when the Jedi inadvertently killed her mother and the coven she was so committed to.
That gives Mae a fresh start, all while her "twin" embraces the Dark Side as Qimir's new Acolyte. Vernestra Rwoh clearly believed she could be of use, though, and it's easy enough to imagine her memories eventually returning.
What Qimir did to her can't be entirely foolproof and could fade with time. Osha also seems pretty adamant that they'll one day reunite, though that meeting is now one we may never get to see play out on screen (leaving us unsure of how these two fit into the wider Star Wars mythos).
4. Can Vernestra Rwoh Be Trusted?
Some fans felt that The Acolyte depicted the Jedi as "villains." That's an overly simplistic view of what the series did; in reality, we were simply seeing how the Order's arrogance eventually led to their downfall, just as Senator Rayencourt predicted.
Vernestra Rwoh covered up what happened on Brendok and allowed everyone to believe Sol was a killer to protect the Jedi and stop the Senate from investigating them. She did so to stop them from interfering in how the Jedi police the Galaxy.
We believe Rwoh had good intentions, but the fact she once taught Qimir raised a whole new set of questions. She claims he turned to the Dark Side, but that scar on his back suggests the Jedi violently attacked him. Now, their shared history looks set to go unseen.
3. Was There ANOTHER Sith Master?
Qimir never explicitly stated that he's a Sith and seeks an Acolyte, not an apprentice. He also wanted the Power of Two, something that could be altogether different from the Rule of Two (which means there can only be two Sith at any one time).
With that in mind, it's possible Plagueis is his Master and Qimir was looking to betray him and use the Force how he sees fit. Alternatively, Tenebrous may be alive and Emperor Palpatine's future Master has been sent there to kill a potential usurper.
Without a second season, there are lots of ways to read into this ending. Disney has established that more than just the Jedi wield the Force, so that could extend to the Dark Side as well. The chance to explore the Force in that way might have just been lost.
2. Why Was Kylo Ren's Theme Used?
Kylo Ren's theme was used sporadically throughout the second half of The Acolyte, leading to theories The Stanger may be the founder of the Knights of Ren. That's still possible, though it's just as likely a result of his Master betraying him as Luke did to Ben Solo decades later.
Lucasfilm has played deliberately coy when it comes to The Stranger's identity. Qimir was a cover, and while Vernestra knows who he really is, there has to be a reason why we've been told so little about him.
It's worth noting that Darth Tenebrous, Plagueis' Master, also had a second, unofficial apprentice, "Darth" Venamis. We don't think that's Qimir, but as we're referring to EU storytelling, who knows how those characters were once going to be reinterpreted?
1. Where Was This All Leading?
Tenebrous also coveted immortality and, when Plagueis killed him, he secretly transferred his "maxi-chlorians" into his apprentice. With his consciousness hidden in his fellow Sith's body, the plan was to lay in wait and eventually possess the Chosen One.
However, his plan backfired when Palpatine - during the events of The Phantom Menace - murdered Plagueis, leaving him trapped in a Force purgatory of sorts. Many years later, the Emperor utilised a similar power to transfer his mind into a series of unsuccessful clone bodies.
As noted, The Acolyte seemed to be setting the stage for the Sith Lord to study Mae and/or Osha so he could create the Chosen One, a.k.a. Anakin Skywalker. That made this his origin story and an exploration of how, decades later, Palpatine used that to rise to power.
Unfortunately, the way things ended means we're left to fill in a long list of gaps ourselves and, as things stand, this finale is every bit as unsatisfying as the many other unresolved plot points in the Disney-owned era of Lucasfilm...