Jordyn Marris

The Acolyte sets itself up early on as being a new flavour of Star Wars, taking some steps away from the Skywalker Saga to focus on a time before that. From the first scenes in episode 1, the show introduces the first threads of the major players and plots. asking questions about what's going on. The show is a mystery show, one that does not resolve after answering one question, but instead holds many questions whose answers are uncovered as the series progresses. The action scenes are some of the best in Star Wars in a long time. Fights are carefully choreographed, and the wirework and effects team add in an element of The Force that almost feels missing at times in other Star Wars media. If you're a fan of Star Wars video games, you may appreciate that. The casting choices were very well done. There are many who claim Amandla Stenberg's acting falls flat or lacks emotion, but even within the first episode we see plenty of her talent. There are many emotions not just in her voice at times, but in her expressions, in a way perhaps too subtle for some. This is all before even mentioning that she is managing to do so while playing as two characters in the same show with different personalities. All of the Jedi were expertly cast as well. Carrie-Anne Moss quickly introduces us to what the Jedi of this time period are like in comparison to what we're used to. Lee Jung-jae's casting as Master Sol is perfect, and his dedication to the role truly shines through his performance. It is still baffling to hear he learned English for this role, and that should be commended. Rebecca Henderson brings Vernestra Rwoh from The High Republic novels to life on the screen, and truly contrasts with the others in a way that shows the character's age, wisdom, and careful guidance through what is a rocky time for the Jedi. Charlie Barnett and Dafne Keen as Yord Fandar and Jecki Lon respectively also shine in their roles, showing the burden of recent promotion and doing one's best contrasted with a youthful studious wonder. These two only improve when they begin to share more scenes. Manny Jacinto's performance as Qimir is also fresh. A weasel, and a bit clumsy, but with a hint of a mysterious history. He's charming, in an almost cute way, as he bumbles about. The team behind the show also managed to bring in many deep lore cuts that may be missed by some. Being set in the era of The High Republic, plenty of references to events in that time may be picked up on by readers of those stories. Characters make on-screen debuts that have been a long time coming. On a personal note, the show really resonated with me. I help run a Star Wars roleplay group with many close friends. This show felt like the kind of adventure we would have in our own stories, and waiting each week after a new episode dropped brought the group closer together to speculate and theorise and have fun just talking about how exciting the show was during what was otherwise a quiet time for the group. I long to go back to that time. If you haven't seen it yet, before forming opinions on the show, give it a full watch. The series is eight episodes, each maybe just over the half hour mark. Decide for yourself whether you had a good time by the end of it. Don't go in seeking to rag on Disney or nitpick details. Give the show a fair chance in its entirety, because that's the only way to get the full picture and understanding of what the creators were aiming for.