The Acolyte

Bad acting, bad directing, bad writing, and bad production are what define this series. So its not a surprised this episode is the same. Situations occur, as it did with the episode before, that were suppose to be shocking, but they weren't. Its not shocking because you know they were going to happen, and they were written poorly and occur for no logical reason other than they wanted to write a shock or they wrote themselves into a corner. We already saw that the Jedi did nothing wrong, that there is no reason to cover up anything, and they were clearly defending themselves. But the writers continue to push this false and illogical narrative that they did. It's just lazy and bad writing. Just like how people constantly swing their motivations in changing directions for no real reason other than the shove the plot along. The writers are literally telling us, "Look, the Jedi are bad, that is the way it is and I can't think of why or how they are, just accept it. Stop criticizing me for my lack of skill in writing. You're the problem, not me." The show as a whole is just horrible. It's just plain garbage.

I watched every minute of every episode, i've discussed the show in painstaking detail, i know all the theories, interpretations, etc.... so trust me, i'm in a position to come to a judgment. This episode included a lot of 'something real just happened!' moments, and most of them were either very predictable or not nearly as monumental as the writers envisioned.... and much worse, the number of loose ends (and red herrings) were just way too many to say '...yeah but it's a fun show.'... and part of that is because the show isn't fun. This episode showed up just how half-baked all the ideas were the whole time. It's very 'Lost'-esque.

You know how most season finale's tend to wrap-up the various plotlines, bringing together multiple separate threads into a satisfying revelation, perhaps leaving a few open to setup the next series? Not this show!

The Acolyte ends by just making its own story pointless and meaningless. Characters completely change their world view and allegiances in an instant. They use cheap tactics like mind-wiping to get rid of plot inconveniences. Then the show just ends. A few people have died, a few people have changed sides and that's it.

The thought The Acolyte left me with was "what was the point of all of that?"

Side note: Amandla Stenberg fighting herself might just be the worst action scene I've ever seen. I can understand the challenges posed with having to stitch together two shots of an actor fighting to make it look like their fighting themselves but the choreography is AWFUL and Amandla looks so wooden and awkward. It feels like this was not in the original script and thrown in at the last second without giving her any time to train/practice.

The arc of Osha and Mae has been a long drawn out affair and although the resolution is decent, it feels overdue. There are not many plot specifics I can reveal without spoiling but it's safe to say that it concludes the first series with a good mix of Jedi action and character moments.

For me the flaws of the Jedi are used to create some fairly good drama like in prequel trilogy, but the central characters (aside from Sol) have been less interesting than those on the periphery like Vernestra. The highlight of this episode by far is *what it implied could have been coming in a second season. There are two moments that tease certain characters that are very effective, * but we know it leads nowhere.

Like previous episodes the dialogue is problematic. So much is over-explained by the show's characters in various scenes it goes beyond frustrating to the point where I am numb to it. I am guessing this is for a target younger audience in whose ability to interpret a plot the writers show little confidence.

For me the standout performer is Lee Jung-jae who convincingly presents a tortured soul and contends with simplistic exposition dialogue in recently learned language. This has to be admired. I also enjoyed the cameo by David Harewood, who plays the part well and delivers one iconic line with the appropriate sarcasm required.

The biggest disappointment for me was one key moment of a character who fully changes before our eyes with an act of vengeance. This should have been done with much more passion, obvious anger and vindictiveness befitting the dark side of the force. Unfortunately it is quite bland and emotionless. I do not blame the actor, as the director should have controlled it better. Additionally, Manny Jacinto does not convince me as a Sith Lord. I might be a bluff old traditionalist, but attempting to turn this type of baddie into a cool, pin-up type does not work at all for me personally. This character's dialogue harps on about emotions being a source of power, yet he is portrayed as pretty bland in my opinion.

All the visuals and sounds are very good as you would expect from Star Wars. One transition from two characters kicking each other to two lightsabers clashing is excellent.

It *finished the first season of The Acolyte with a new hope that better material was to come in the future, but now we know it is all academic.

The season finale was above average for Acolyte's standard throughout it's 8 episodes. That's not a compliment though.. It's better than terrible but worse than good.

In terms of their "sith focused" show that was sold as "Frozen meets Kill Bill" - I didn't see anything remotely Sith, Frozen or Kill Bill..

The writing was bad. It seemed like the writers knew where they wanted to go, but had zero clue as to how to get there. From there the story was simplistic with no complexity. Empty on Star Wars lore, depth or mythology which I guess is why they added the twins? - To add some drama to this otherwise empty show.

The storytelling was even worse. With an estimated $180 million budget - it looked terrible. It sounded terrible. How does it sound terrible?! This is STAR WARS?! Or it should be.. Sound have been Star Wars' stronger side?!

• The plot, the themes and the dialogue are somewhat contradictory. They do not line up, which give the episode finale and series in general, this sense of being "all over the place".

Character design and development were bad. Almost every set looked feeble, small in scale and often fake. Every jedi looked generic and the acting was even worse; Except for Lee Jung-Jae, he did brilliantly.. Too bad his character wasn't written brilliantly.

"A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author."

• G. K. Chesterton

And this show tells us a lot of truths about it's writers..