KPMJ Artami

I set out watching the Acolyte as someone who has loved Star Wars from childhood. I really wanted to like it but it’s just not very good. This series is a disappointment. There are some good elements, the fight scenes are entertaining and the chase scene where Sol and Mae go through an asteroid field was visually spectacular, but the show is really let down in the writing. It lacks any subtlety or depth and it does a poor job of bringing in the viewer to care what happens to Osha/Mae. We are introduced to Osha/Mae in the first episode, Mae is in a fight scene with a Jedi in a bar and kills the Jedi with a throwing knife, dressed like a Ronin. You then see Osha later on as a goofy mechanic with pip a handheld robot. Osha gets framed for her sister’s crime. Then for some reason her old Jedi master brings her in on an investigation to find her sister, her sister gets a Jedi master to commit suicide and Osha lets Mae escape. It’s a snooze fest for the first 3 episodes which are disjointed and clunky. Episode 4 and 5 were the strongest, we learn why Mae is trying to kill the jedi at last and we get introduced to Brendok. There are some genuinely silly parts here, we learn that they are from a family of witches who fled to Brendok - Osha wanted to become a jedi but one of her mothers and Mae didn’t want her to, and Mae starts a fire and nearly everyone dies. In later episodes, we see the tragedy from Mae’s perspective and Sols (Sol was Osha’s master until she quit the jedi). The writing tries so very hard to make the viewer see the jedis actions on Brendok as being unforgivable, but they do a bad job of this. When the jedi first meet the Brendok witches, they mind attack a jedi who just wanted to go home. They then say the want to test young Mae/Osha and Osha passes saying she wants to be a jedi. Mae is furious and is egged on by one of her mothers to prevent Osha from doing this so she starts a fire which is soon out of control. The jedi return as they sense Osha/Mae are in danger, the witches are armed and their other mother starts turning into a smoke monster and Mae - Sol understandably thinks they are under attack so he kills the smoke witch. The other mother then turns into a smoke witch and possesses the Wookie jedi who attacks the other jedi. For some reason all the other witches who are chanting die suddenly and Sol tries to rescue Osha and Mae, but can only rescue Mae. And from that we’re supposed to totally sympathise with Mae who wants to kill them all? The turn to the dark side for Osha is bad, she sees the Stranger try kill her, her sister, kill a bunch of Jedi and then she cannot resist him - seriously. And the scene where she force chokes Sol is so bad, and don’t get me started on the annoying walking beaver thing Basil. That is just dumb and clumsy writing. If you want to watch a contemporary Star Wars show that is well written- watch Andor instead. I regret watching this series.