This week's sixth episode of The Acolyte was a little more subdued than last Tuesday's action-packed bloodbath, but it did reveal some new details about the mysterious Sith(?) villain known only as The Stranger.
Major spoilers follow.
In addition to confirming that he used to be a Jedi, the Dark-side warrior shows a much calmer, almost vulnerable side in "Teach/Corrupt," and while he does seem to be manipulating Osha in an attempt to make her his new pupil, there might also be a genuine connection between them.
A romantic connection?
Some fans have already "shipped" the characters, and during an interview with Collider, showrunner Leslye Headland did suggest that their dynamic could head in that direction - but that may not necessarily be a good thing for Osha.
"It's so clear what's going on. So anybody that's picking up on it, congrats, awesome. But again, the dynamics had to be what they are after what he did in [Episode] 5. He cannot seem like an alpha male-y, intimidating — we know he's capable of that from 5 — but that cannot be his dynamic with her. It wouldn't make sense! We have to see this other side of him, and we have to see specifically the way he is with her. He never let Mae see his face, and he let her see him naked. You know what I mean?
The character design was very, very intentional. But also this is, again, this is the story of the bad guys. So unlike Rey and Kylo, where Rey is always in these lighter colors, and he's in black, then the Sith would be in white and the character, really, that's struggling with both sides would be wearing gray. It just seems like it had to be that way."
Headland also confirmed that the mysterious "unnamed planet" where the Stranger brings Osha is not Ahch-To.
"I know it's similar, and it was intentionally supposed to be similar in terms of terrain and feeling isolated and surrounded by water and less lush green and more rocky. But the idea is that cortosis is mined on this planet, so I don't think that's the case with Ahch-To. Part of the reason this is his home base is that cortosis is a very rare metal. I don't think we say it explicitly in the show, but that's a reason it's not Ahch-To."
What did you make of the latest episode of The Acolyte? Drop us a comment down below.
In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.
Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.
"I really wanted to tell a story about the Sith," showrunner Headland told EW in a recent interview. "That was kind of my dream Star Wars idea. But it felt like the time period to do that in would be something pre-Phantom Menace. That seemed to be the most interesting trajectory for the Sith: How did the Sith go from the Rule of Two and being quote-unquote 'extinct' to Palpatine coming into power without the Jedi knowing about it?"
Award-winning composer Michael Abels, known for his work on Get Out and Us, scored The Acolyte.