This week's penultimate episode of The Acolyte, "Choice," brought us back to the tragic events of Mae and Osha's past to reveal what really happened on Brendock all those years ago.
As we all suspected, the Jedi - Sol, in particular - played a much bigger role in the destruction of the coven and the death of Mother Aniseya than either of the twins realizes. We also learned some interesting new details about Mae and Osha, and how they came into existence.
It's suggested that the sisters aren't actually twins at all, and were "created" by the coven via a Force vergence on the planet and are essentially two halves of the same being. Details were left intentionally vague, but showrunner Leslye Headland has now confirmed that we will find out more in next week's season finale.
"Tune in next week. Tune in next week," she tells Nerdist. "We definitely aren’t going to leave you hanging. You do a show like this, you take a lot of risks, you don’t really save a lot of those types of questions for season two. There are a lot of things you do save for a season two, but that kind of question is not one of them."
This new information has led to speculation that Mae and Osha could potentially turn out to be more powerful than any Jedi - maybe even on par with Anakin Skywalker, who was also "birthed" by the Force.
Headland was quick to shoot down this theory, explaining why the sisters will never be as powerful as "The Chosen One."
"It’s like when you’re doing an experiment and it’s the first round of it. They are maybe not the first, but one of the first experiments of this particular use of power. So the twins are weaker than Anakin, for sure. They are going to fall short of what will eventually become the Chosen One. They will never achieve what that is, because in my mind, Aniseya could only do so much. She’s not powerful enough to create one person.
The twins split, Aniseya’s power split, and therefore a lot of her philosophy is about the power of two. About the fact that they must stay together. They must stay together. The twins are stronger together if she keeps them together. And obviously there’s an analogy to this of the isolationist feeling, not just of the coven, but also of family. 'If I can keep you safe, if I can keep you safe then you won’t get hurt. You won’t get hurt.'"
Even so, it seems clear that Mae and Osha have yet to unlock their full potential, and we will likely see them join forces in the finale. But will they team up to face The Stranger, or Sol and the other Jedi... or both?
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.