Teach/Corrupt

This show continuous to be really bad TV. However this week was almost an improvement.

A 2/10 and only really bad TV this week, and perhaps not the vomit inducing filth we got earlier.

However we can here really highlight one of the core problems of this show; the acting. The "twins" lady basically only have one facial expression and we could easily find a better actress at any local drugstore. The Green lady, who was cast due to nepotism, is even worse. The rest have a range from awful to passable. 25% of this show could have been saved by simply casting correctly, and in this episode that becomes clear as day.

Another big problem with this show is the writing, or rather the storytelling. We are 6 episodes in now with about 3 hours of runtime, and what we've been told so far could have easily been told in 40min, or one episode. What have actually happened? We have broken canon on multiple occasion, some Jedi has died for some reason, we've jumped planets several times for some reason, and the twins have switched places and everything move conveniently forward in a very cringe straight line. That is basically it. What is the point here? Where are we going with this story? The "murder mystery" never was a mystery, the weird space witches got to sing cringe and then die. What is the direction? Who is who? Why are the worst most wimpy characters in all of star wars white men? Why is that tiny animal non-binary thing sniffing around very creepily?

Many questions, but sadly apathy is starting to sink in. I simply do not care anymore. This is Star Wars now? Okay, time to move on. I could not care less.

Lots of suspense building and much better dialogue and acting than many previous episodes. I was pleased that they didn't drag out certain elements of the story and that we will be getting to the heart of the matter shortly. So to fill up some the required character count, let me just say once again that it was Lee Jung Jae that brought me back to Star Wars as a series to enjoy, and he has been absolutely stellar in this series. This episode was less action-packed, but that's 100% okay, because the backstory was well presented and I'm even more invested in the outcome. I remain very hopeful for a second or even third season.

After the most dramatic episode of "The Acolyte" so far, the follow up is...underwhelming. There are a few twists in the tale here that don't make a lot of sense, with lazy writing at the heart of it. Clunky, awkward dialogue riddled with cliches. Can't Disney do any better?

It's interesting that some people really liked "Teach/Corrupt" and other people didn't like it at all. I'm in the former camp. Couldn't get excited. Some strange choices by certain characters wrecked all the momentum from the last episode. It was interesting that just when something exciting happened at the end of the episode, it faded to black and it's basically, "Come back next episode."

One good thing: the scenery in this episode was brilliant, especially those scenes by the water.

It's very easy to see why the 30 minute episode is not fitting for most Star Wars projects. The first season of Mando and Andor were great Star Wars TV shows that benefited from the TV show format. That's not the case with every other Star Wars show I've seen and Acolyte is no exception. Drip feeding is 30 minutes of show at a time is agonizingly slow. It cuts off all tension in between episodes which really harms the experience of watching the show. This episode was no different. It starts off extremely boring and slow, when it finally builds up to something interesting, episode is over. Imagine watching Avengers Endgame and the show cuts away right when Captain America leads the final charge towards Thanos and says "please wait a week to see the rest." That's a terrible idea but that's what Disney Star Wars shows do EVERY, SINGLE, EPISODE.

I feel like if the Acolyte was developed as a movie it would r be getting as much hate as it has gotten. All of the problems would still exist but at least in a movie you'll feel somewhat satisfied after watching the full length. These writers don't know how to write for a TV show, I don't know if they're skilled enough to write for a movie either but this is really starting to tick me off. When is Disney Star Wars going to man up and make their next project into a movie?

The writers detailing more backstory and character history of the Jedi order and emergence of the Sith is an undeniably great idea. It should provoke nerdgasms in Gen X fans like myself. For me the narrative of Teach/Corrupt has some interesting moments for characters like Qimir and Osha, but it also underwhelms. The visual storytelling on the "unknown planet" is good and the dialogue between the two is okay. However, for me the direction of Qimir's portrayal involves some questionable creative decisions. In the previous action-focused episode he was a suitably vicious Sith Lord, whilst here in more reflective character-driven scenes he is reduced to a brooding young, pinup who appears like he's trying to act cool to impress girls. I guess it's all meant to be part of the seduction of the dark side, but for me this portrayal as a baddie lacks credibility. This might be because I am a forty-something male, but I think a young Sith should show moments of unfettered passion, rage and occasionally spit pure venom with dialogue. I do not blame Manny Jincato, who seems like a really good actor hampered by the script and direction to bring out this persona.

I think other scenes are equally problematic. Lee Jung-jae deserves credit for doing his best to inject life and emotion into scenes involving Sol and Mae. One moment where he has to express anger and frustration with pure body language and facial expression is brilliant, but additionally he has some weak material to work with. Several exchanges where the dialogue simply either explains what has happened, comments on something, says how something feels or speculates what might happen feels awkward. There is little he can do to improve clunky exposition in a script.

The sub-plot involving the character Vernestra feels like it's leading somewhere interesting, but scenes of her visiting previous fight scenes feel quite repetitive.

The characters have not made me fully invest in The Acolyte, particularly Osha and Mae. It is not the fault of Amandla Stenberg, who does her best with the material. It feels like the mysterious past and fate of the two are being drawn out by the slow pace of the overarching narrative to the point that frustrates.

Generally the visuals and art design are as great as you would expect from Star Wars, so I have no complaints there.