The Acolyte

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.

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.

Every character decision changes without sufficient reason.

. Series that doesn't understand the spirit of the story at all.

. Nothing new, None Logic, Silly character, Every character = Bad performance.

. .

The end of a simple lie unreasonable. Insulting both the characters and the audience.

. There's only the director who doesn't know about this universe.

Storytelling, investigating, using powers, thinking, just simple writing. On post-it paper Then take and paste them together. Without knowing how logical and lore the story written in the novel or real life. People are not stupid.

. .

End-credit (Cameo) look Stupid!!!

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.

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.