Jeremy Wolter

I'll talk about the Acolyte below but first I want to talk about the reviews of this show. There have been several articles written about how this show has been review bombed, receiving more reviews by the third episode than other Star Wars shows did years after their full release (Google the following article title: In Three Weeks ‘The Acolyte’ Has More Audience Reviews Than Three Seasons Of ‘The Mandalorian’) If you read the one star reviews, you'll see a pattern that suggests people are being directed to leave the review or are feeding off of others and leaving similar content. For example, many mention the fire in space in episode one and claim this is a major mistake as fire can't burn in space. This idea is wrong as fire can burn in space if there is fuel, which is how rockets travel in space in the first place (i.e., they bring their own oxidizer). Another example, reviewers are angry that there is a Sith in this series despite Darth Maul supposedly being the first seen by Jedi in centuries. Naturally, there are potential explanations for this problem given the show isn't over and the writers/cast are well aware of Star Wars lore (Google the following article title: The Acolyte Reveals The Sith Lord Identity, Sets Up Major Twists To Protect Star Wars Canon). In essence, people are leaving a lot of bad takes (e.g., killing with a too short blade) that are wrong. There are some sexist and racist undertones to some of the bad reviews, as is apparent in the disproportionate number of bad reviews for female led shows (e.g., Acolyte, Ahsoka) compared to male led shows (e.g., Mandolarian, Andor, Obi-Wan) much like Marvel movies. However, most of the negative sentiment seems to be manifestations of anti-Disney predispositions. Disney has made some strange choices at times (e.g., not planning out the story line for episodes 7, 8, and 9 movies). Yet, the anti-Disney stuff is more than mere frustration at story design, it's an anger at violating the rules of a brand that has a lot of nostalgia for its fans. This anger results in Star Wars shows/movies getting overly harsh judgment form fans. As such, the critic reviews are a much better guide to the quality of Star Wars shows than user reviews. All that said, I was very mixed on Acolyte. The dialogue isn't great, and the story seems unnecessarily convoluted but some of the actors are strong (e.g., Carrie Anne Moss, Amandia Stanberg, Manny Jacinto). There are some great scenes and sequences (e.g., the prison escape, the fight in the introduction) but things seem improperly paced at times. That is, until episode 5, which is stellar. Looking back, you can see that the show was building to episode 5, which is a shame since people review bombed the show by the third episode. I'm not sure where the show will go, but it will be far better than a one-star review would suggest.