The Acolyte

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.

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.

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.

In my review of the first episode. I said this was Star Wars as a mystery.

In the end there was no mystery here, apart from how this rubbish was ever greenlit.

As I may have mentioned before. I'm not really a Star Wars fan, more of a Trekkie. So I never view it as a fanboy, especially the toxic kind that froths like a mad bovine on YouTube.

The finale is an incoherent mess and I dread to think there could be a second season of this garbage.

Sol is a rubbish Jedi, it's like he passed as a Jedi master because someone felt sorry for him. He gets the basics wrong and that means explaining to Osha and Mae how their mother really died.

The Acolyte has no good guys. Osha and Mae have effectively gone over to the dark side. The Jedi are also lying, deceitful monsters. No wonder Senator Rayencourt has their number.

This show is very underwritten and just bad tv. Disney is forcing shows because "its the wave". Good shows like House of the Dragon are succesfull because episodes are 1hr long and each episode is its own story. The Acoloyte uses 2 30 minute episodes to show one night. It shows the same story twice through a different perspective but the second perspective doesnt change anything. Its just bad TV. If they made this a movie and really focused on a good script and making the whole movie feel connected, it would have been good. The only shows disney have made which work are Andor and Mando. Each episode is different with sub stories while each epsidoe drives the main plot forward. Everything else theyve made, beside the animated shows, should be movies.