THE ACOLYTE Season Finale Recap - More Shocking Revelations And A Big Return As [SPOILER] Finally Debuts

THE ACOLYTE Season Finale Recap - More Shocking Revelations And A Big Return As [SPOILER] Finally Debuts

The season finale of The Acolyte featured plenty of huge talking points, as the truth was finally revealed on Brendok, The Stranger got his Acolyte, and a major Expanded Universe character finally debuted.

By JoshWilding - Jul 17, 2024 07:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Source: SFFGazette.com

This article was originally published on SFFGazette.com. Head there now for more on Star Wars and The Acolyte.

The season finale of The Acolyte begins where episode 6 ended; Osha is wearing The Stranger's helmet but appears to be losing control, forcing the mysterious Sith villain to help her remove it. 

She had a vision of Mae killing Sol with one hand outstretched and a lightsaber in the other. This means her twin makes good on her promise to kill a Jedi without a weapon, prompting The Stranger and Osha to head to Brendok together. 

On Sol's ship, he argues with Mae about who should be blamed for what happened on the planet sixteen years ago. She breaks free and flees in an escape ship, prompting the Jedi to chase her down. However, as he readies himself to shoot her out of the sky, Bazil intervenes and they both crash on the planet below. 

Supergirl star David Harewood shows up as Senator Rayencourt, a Jedi-hating politician who wishes to hold the Order accountable. He threatens Vernestra Rwoh with an external enquiry, putting further pressure on her to keep the recent murders under wraps. 

The Stranger offers Osha her last chance to join him as they leave his home and it's then we see a shadowy figure in the cave they were in watching on: yes, it's Darth Plageuis! We don't know whether he's Qimir's secret Master, a rival Sith looking to eliminate a rival, or simply hiding out on a planet which we can now say is almost certainly meant to be Bal'demnic. 

What we do know, of course, is that he'll one day become Emperor Palpatine's Master, figuring out how to create life through the Force and perhaps even escape death. Is it possible that Plageuis and Qimir only want Osha to help the Sith Lord one day make Anakin Skywalker?

Sol and The Master clash on Brendok in an epic lightsaber duel, while Mae and Osha also come to blows. The latter reveals that her hatred for her twin and her grief is what stopped her from becoming a Jedi. She doesn't believe that Sol killed their mother but a little later on, he confesses to Mae (who refuses to kill him at The Stranger's request and instead argues the Jedi should pay for his crimes in front of the Senate).

Sol explains their mother used the Force and a vergence on Brendok to create Mae and Osha as his former Padawan watches on. Picking up her old Master's lightsaber, she ignores his pleas and, as he goes to tell her that he loves her, she uses the Force to choke him to death. As Osha does so, the blue Kyber crystal in Sol's blade turns red.

Vernestra senses Qimir and it's essentially confirmed that he was once one of the Jedi's pupils before whatever happened that left him with that lightsaber scar on his back.

Mae and Osha finally move on from the past but there's no happy ending for them, unfortunately. The Stranger says he will teach Osha, but if the Jedi apprehend Mae, she'll have no choice but to reveal where they are. With their permission, he wipes Mae's mind to make it so that she forgets her sister, though Osha does vow to one day find her.

Mae is arrested by the Jedi and remembers nothing of what happened to her after that fateful night on Brendok. Vernestra tells the Chancellor and his Senators that Sol murdered his fellow Jedi to cover up his past actions, explaining why no one knows about the Sith's return. Now, she needs Mae's help finding a former pupil of hers who turned evil...so yes, The Stranger was once a Jedi and the cover-up will likely continue.

The episode ends with Qimir holding Osha's hand as she becomes his Acolyte and, back on Coruscant, we catch a glimpse of Yoda as Vernestra tells him they need to talk...

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AC1
AC1 - 7/17/2024, 7:14 AM
Not bad but would've liked more answers about The Stranger's identity, also feel like Sol's reasoning for killing their mother was kinda forced - like they could've said he did it as an instinctual reaction out of fear and that it was a mistake, but instead they kinda just went "I did it because I thought it was right" without ever really expanding on it, almost like they just needed to push the plot to a point where Osha could kill him without spending too much time focusing on why or if she should.

So yeah, could've handled that a bit better, maybe shown how conflicted Sol was and how it was something he thought of as a mistake that he regretted, and in turn show Osha being a bit more conflicted about killing him. But it was cool seeing his crystal being bled and seeing the visual of a blue lightsaber turning red, seeing all the morally grey areas with these characters when Star Wars is usually very morally-binary, cool seeing Plaguis too, not a bad series but also not as good as it could've been and I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't a second season.
philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 7/17/2024, 7:42 AM
@AC1 - I tend to agree with you on what Sol’s reasoning for killing the mother should be. It would flow better with the idea of light side vs dark side.
Taonrey
Taonrey - 7/17/2024, 8:40 AM
@AC1 - think this series is the biggest offender to Disney+ weird runtime mandate. Show would’ve benefited from 10 to 15 minutes more each episode. The stranger identity would’ve been harder to figure out if there was more than one suspect lol. Sol motivation could’ve been more fleshed out and characters like Yord and Jecki would’ve benefited from more screen time
AC1
AC1 - 7/17/2024, 9:25 AM
@Taonrey - agreed, Yord and Jecki's deaths would've been a lot more impactful if we'd spent more time with them and knew more about them, even Indara's death in the first episode would've felt like more of a big deal if we'd spent more time with her at the start of the episode and her murder was treated more like a twist, and the two episodes before the finale probably would've worked better if they were combined into one flashback-heavy episode rather than an episode that felt a bit like filler followed by an episode that was just one big flashback meaning we didn't even see some of the main characters like The Stranger.
AntiDragon613
AntiDragon613 - 7/17/2024, 10:22 AM
@AC1 - I think you’ve nailed Sol’s real reason for killing the girl’s’ mother. He reacted out of fear, and an assumption that the mother was about to do something to hurt the children. I think Sol refuses to acknowledge that he gave in to his fear however, and that’s why he sticks with his “justified protector” narrative, as the truth is he was momentarily guided by his “darker” emotions, which he is ashamed of and sees as in-Jedi like. The mother even tells Sol that she would have let Osha go with him. I think this fits perfectly with the story the show is trying to tell and is in character for Sol, who is tormented by his guilt and is desperately trying to prove his actions were justified. Sol, more than any other Jedi character in the show, is guided by emotion and not logic, and in order to maintain a sense of his identity as a moral Jedi protector has deluded himself into thinking that his choices were for a greater purpose. But the truth of what happened on Brendok has eaten away at his sense of self and has had him questioning his identity for the past 16 years. He is desperate to prove to the Jedi Council that Mae and Osha are special, and that Brendok hides a Vergence, not to clear his name publicly (because the coverup of his actions had already worked and no one was questioning their story), but instead to prove to himself that he acted morally and isn’t a “bad person” like he fears. Instead of accepting that he made a mistake and trying to find inner peace and self forgiveness he is determined to prove to himself that he was correct so that he does not have to deal with his identity crisis/crisis of faith. This is the fear that Qimir is able to pick up on and exploit. I also think Sol’s “love” for Osha is interesting, as there’s the question whether or not he truly has feelings for her, or if that is just another self-delusion that he has created to feel morally superior, and to absolve himself of his guilt. Is he possibly projecting his obsession over what happened on Brendon onto Osha? Like an overbearing parent trying to heal their own childhood issues by treating their children the way they wish they would have been treated when they were younger, instead of doing what is what’s actually best to meet their children’s individual and unique needs.
AC1
AC1 - 7/17/2024, 12:11 PM
@AntiDragon613 - that's actually a really great read on it and has definitely helped me to make more sense of some of the things I'd had some doubts about!
Slotherin
Slotherin - 7/17/2024, 12:16 PM
@AC1 - well put
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 7/17/2024, 7:23 AM
is that it? all that build up and the only shot we get of this mean fella is him hiding in a cave rubbing one out in the dark like a chicken sh1t
User Comment Image
dagenspear
dagenspear - 7/18/2024, 1:40 AM
@BlackStar25 - I think what Luke did was more than a mistake. More him being crazy, which I think isn't the issue with this.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 7/17/2024, 7:25 AM
Cool that they didn't get to butcher him but that's basically a warning for who their next target is gonna be.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 7/17/2024, 7:28 AM
Man, what a finale. Great action, surprises to the end, and Plageuis . . . holy shit. If this show doesn't get a second season, it will be absolutely criminal.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 7/17/2024, 10:52 AM
@clintthahamster - It'll be more criminal if they waste another 200 million on this trite. Spend the money on more Mandalorian and Ahsoka episodes in their seasons instead.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 7/17/2024, 11:18 AM
@MrDandy - User Comment Image
MrDandy
MrDandy - 7/17/2024, 12:29 PM
@clintthahamster - Because things cost money.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 7/17/2024, 1:28 PM
@MrDandy - That's true. But do you really think that every time a season isn't greenlit, they distribute the budget between other shows that are moving forward? Because . . . no, they don't.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 7/17/2024, 4:42 PM
@clintthahamster - What surprises?
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 7/17/2024, 4:51 PM
@dagenspear - Plageuis poking his head out, Sol defeating Qimir until Mae intervened, Osha force-choking Sol to death after Mae tried to save him, Vernestra bringing Yoda in . . . you know, surprises.
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 7/17/2024, 7:31 AM
Second favorite episode of the series. Doubt this will get a second season but damn...that finale setup some interesting plot points moving forward.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 7/17/2024, 7:36 AM
@BlackStar25 - It will be a damn shame if we don't get to see where this story's going. Sure, the show was messy at times, but what a payoff.
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 7/17/2024, 7:42 AM
@clintthahamster - Yeah. I wouldn't be too bummed tho. If it doesn't get a second season, I can definitely see a comic story being told for sure.
theBlackSquare
theBlackSquare - 7/17/2024, 7:40 AM
I must admit I've really. really enjoyed watching this show through the comments section on the site.

I know for a fact it's given me more pleasure than if I were to actually watch the thing – better drama, a great cast of interesting characters. There's been highs. There's been lows. There's been some more lows. Less lightsaber action sure, but loads more fights. Thank you all!
dagenspear
dagenspear - 7/18/2024, 10:20 AM
@Apophis71 - If you weren't using expanded lore, you wouldn't be using the idea that the sith were thought to be extinct before the rule of two was invented, because from what I saw, that's not in the movies or canon shows pre Disney era. If it's not in those things, then there is no plot hole, because all the movies and pre Disney era shows developed, to my knowledge, is that the rule of two exists, the sith have been extinct for over a millenia, and then in TCW season 6 (I think it was developed pre Disney buy out) that the sith were many, killed eachother and Darth Bane invented the rule of two. Unexplained how these dots connect? Sure. Plot hole? I think not really. So I'm saying this show offers no real relevant information to this issue that filled anything.

Midichlorians is just giving a word to something. It doesn't change anything established before. The idea of the force being strong in a bloodline was suggested in ROTJ. Midichlorians just says why that is and how force sensitivity works, TPM even speaking as the force being a different thing from the midichlorians, for anyone who says that that's what the force is. If you want it criticize the idea that this is the first it's being used, fair, but it didn't really change the force's use as the OT suggested it in the movies I think.

Plot holes and contradictions happening in other things doesn't justify this story doing it.

Arrogance isn't what I'm debating. Their arrogance was shown in the PT, in the idea that they don't think the sith could have returned without them knowing, not that they knew and just didn't care at all. On top of the idea the suggestion that the jedi did a cover up of this and that led to their downfall when I think the senate interference is what the jedi should be pulling away from, as I think TCW and PT showed that they let themselves be made into tools of war for it and compromised in connection to being tools of the senate. That's the point of Dooku's turn. He resents that the jedi are puppets of the senate. I think this is the opposite of the flaws that led to the jedi being attacked. The council sent their most off the beaten path heroic jedi to allow for the mystery unraveling. That's not cover up logic. That's dismissal there's a real problem logic.

The idea that highly skilled villainous people could hide by hiding that they're villainous and not making a stupid show of themselves isn't something I find that unbelievable. The jedi were never just people who know everything going on. The sith only have to not make themselves known, because the jedi don't just know things out of the blue.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/18/2024, 11:07 AM
@dagenspear - THEY STATED IN THE FILMS THEY WERE WIPED OUT COMPLETELY A MILLENIUM AGO.

I am stating an impression I got ONLY from the films as never read any of the books/comics or watched any of the D+ shows. That in the original trilogy it was implied there had always been Sith and always only been two yet prequels seemed to contradict that saying there hadn't been any for a thousand years till proven they were wrong (thus putting in question how any would ever know there was ALWAYS only two, esp when the EU added that wasn't always the case but that is a side issue).

Nothing you can say will change an impression I got from decades ago watching the original trilogy then watching on premiere night every film since.

It doesn't matter if it was or wasn't true or that there was ever a time when there wasn't only two, or any of the specifics, I am saying the idea that most Jedi believed and the public line was non existed but a few suspected or knew that was not entirely true and investigating it makes sense.

Not even saying if the show is good, aligns or contradicts anything, does a good or bad job explaining anything.

ONLY that 'So the take away here is, Yoda and Mace knew about the Rule of Two because the Jedi have been lowkey covering up the Sith’s resurgence this entire time. This also lines up with the fact that Palpatine implied the Jedi knew about Darth Plagueis, but kept it hush, hush when he said' makes sense to me and lines up with the impression I got from the films only.

END OF STORY

P.S. I didn't have a problem that they came up with a term to explain with science a mystical thing, and look at it from a differing angle, I just know many did.

P.P.S A plothole to me is rarely an issue unless whilst viewing it takes me out of it which it didn't with the films, as I view it as something mostly that didn't need to be revealed, not necesarily an error, and can then be filled in later with prequels/sequels etc.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 7/18/2024, 7:38 PM
@Apophis71 - They didn't say in the movies that the sith rule of two was invented after they were thought to be extinct. If you came to that perception on your own, fair enough, I was wrong for that assumption, but it's not in the movies.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/19/2024, 7:23 AM
@dagenspear - That isn't the point at all and only stated anything about it as a side issue, they said always two AND wiped out a thousand years ago meaning there wasn't any ALWAYS unless there always was Sith after when they were supposed to be wiped out, duh.

However it was Lucas himself that dictated when the rule of two was first created in the backstory he wrote for episode one (and was talked about in a deleted scene from the film) that was then put into a short story in 2001. I know not all the EU has remained canon but something written by Lucas himself would likely remain canon.

Pointing to when the rule of two was created simply adds weight due to the fact before they were supposed to be wiped out there wasn't a rule of two so when stated that was always the case Yoda couldn't be talking about that ancient history and had to be talking about their history AFTER that point of supposedly being wiped including pairings before Palpatine (as if only a rule under Palpatine saying always doesn't make much sense either).

So when the prequels came along, from growing up with the originals, it seemed to me only a few were aware/suspected the Sith were not wiped out and investigating more seriously any signs of them.

Whilst the majority couldn't bring themselves to believe any survived and the public line being they were wiped out. As such the idea that the majority would suppress anything that undermines that hardcore belief of no more Sith unless/until something undeniable forced them to open their eyes never taking signs they were wrong seriously.

Thus only a few were open to and knew of the truth that there had always been some Sith hiding in the shadows and learnt enough that there was always only two helping to explain why they were more readily able to hide in the shadows.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/19/2024, 12:13 PM
@dagenspear - Dunno how much if anything your bringing to this from others shows...

...non of which I have seen other than animated stuff from the 80's...

...folk can take away differing things from what they watch.

I simply saw a contradiction in the there is ALWAYS two due to when Palpatine became known as a Master there had, supposedly, never been any Sith for at least a thousand years and at the time it was said had been non since. That is a contradiction IMO as how could anyone know there was only ever two if Palpatine was the first modern one anyone knew about and still was the Master, always suggest to me more than one Master, suggest several Masters over many human lifetimes to me.

I did not view the Jedi as stupid so in my headcanon it was an arrogance and hardcore belief system which blinded most to the Sith NOT having been wiped out completely, they would still investigate if any indications they may have returned but wouldn't commit more than a couple Jedi to do so as would tend to find it hard to believe they could return (or sending more than that could be percieved by others as fear/weakness at least thus undermine power/influence)...

...but in my headcanon a few like Mace and Yoda didn't buy into that line of thinking thus more open and aware of the signs and intel running counter to them being wiped out...

...and as such from pieces here and there Yoda would have been aware of several other Masters over the course of his long lifetime (even if never had solid proof to confirm that to the council) AFTER they were wiped out prior to Palpatine hence why he knew there was always only two after that point in time.

This all simply made sense to me from my study of many modern and ancient religions and mythologies that a hardcore belief system built over the course of many centuries tend to result in degrees of arrogance at the top that they are correct in their beliefs, everyone else is wrong with theirs (or lack of belief) which can result in blindspots...

...but always some within a religious order who don't fully buy into the party line, plus the entire faith system/religious order and/or it's power and influence can more readily collapse over a fairly short period if the beliefs are rocked enough at the foundations.

The backstory for Episode 1 Lucas wrote about Darth Bane only clarified the knowledge of always two WASN'T from prior to them supposedly wiped out which was the one other possibility to explain what I percieved to be a contradiction in how/why Yoda could or would say there was only ever two.

I don't see how that is a strange takeaway from only watching the films, to me the word ALWAYS used suggests several masters over the course of hundreds of years not only one over the course of the lifetime of Anakin.

The EU then confirmed some of those assumptions I came to as to when the rule of two came to be then Yoda knowing and talking about Darth Bane in clone wars.

The only point I think some would differ on is if/how much/how many of the Jedi were arrogant or not, foolish or not, actively covering up stuff running counter to their narrative or not, and all that kind of sliding scale stuff.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 7/19/2024, 5:35 PM
@Apophis71 - But the contradiction wasn't in the movies is what I'm saying.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/20/2024, 5:55 AM
@dagenspear - To my understanding of what ALWAYS means/implies it was, if in a thousand years there had only been one known Master that to me isn't ALWAYS (even if some may interpret that word in another way thinking it may have been talking about OVER a millenium ago that was the case and the new Master was sticking to that rule which may not have been the case).
dagenspear
dagenspear - 7/20/2024, 6:06 AM
@Apophis71 - But the movies never said the sith weren't the rule of two for a long time before their (thought to be) extinction.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/20/2024, 6:58 AM
@dagenspear - They said there hadn't been any for a thousand years and there was only ever two, nothing more than that so to me always two suggested a contradiction or that Yoda knew that not to be true if during the course of the six films there was only one master the whole time ...


... don't need any more details than that as to why/how I viewed ALWAYS and not for a millenium as a contradiction meaning there was more to it than that and my headcanon always was the likes of Mace and Yoda knew more than most Jedi were willing to accept, admit and acknowledge.
philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 7/17/2024, 7:49 AM
I was happy to see Plageuis. It would have been nice to have more of that this season.

This season felt very much like Prometheus to me. It had the premise of something l'd be interested in but did way too much stuff that I didn't care about and only slightly touched what I wanted.

To be clear, I think Prometheus is infinitely better, I just couldn’t help be reminded of how I felt.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 7/17/2024, 8:15 AM
@philinterrupted - Prometheus is the best comparison you could’ve made and I completely agree. All the filling got in the way of all the interesting stuff.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 7/17/2024, 4:45 PM
@FireandBlood - From what I heard about this, I think similarly. Andor was doing strongly in expanding on the empire and the rebels to me and what they do and how they operate. This just seems to have a couple things and then meander with pointless stuff.
thewanderer
thewanderer - 7/17/2024, 7:58 AM
The finale was better than I ever could have expected. Hoping we get a Season 2.
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 7/17/2024, 8:04 AM
THIS is where they choose to introduce Darth f*cking Plageuis ???
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 7/17/2024, 8:30 AM
@Doomsday8888 - It is. It was awesome.
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 7/17/2024, 9:35 AM
@clintthahamster
?si=wT-gJIAP4jP9mTXH
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 7/17/2024, 9:38 AM
@Doomsday8888 - User Comment Image
Slotherin
Slotherin - 7/17/2024, 12:19 PM
@Doomsday8888 - considering everything else takes place after he's dead, it makes a lot of sense
dagenspear
dagenspear - 7/17/2024, 4:47 PM
@clintthahamster - His design looked cliche to me and his appearance was about the most shug type of moment, because he's not doing anything much, just standing around. This really has not much of a point and doesn't resolve much to me.
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