The Acolyte

Synopsis

In the height of the Jedi Order and the Republic, a series of Jedi start dying that are all tied together to an event that happened in their past. The Order starts an investigation, but it leads to learning things they did not want to know.

Review

Oooh boy, this is going to be polarizing. IMDB gave this a 3.5, IGN a 6/10, and Rotten Tomatoes an 80%. People loved this or hated it and even the critics fall into that line. Also, this review takes place AFTER season 1 finished.

Let us start with the story. Firstly, this takes place about 100 years before the birth of Anakin Skywalker. On a high level, 4 Jedi are compromised when they meet a group of Force Witches that use the force differently than the Jedi. This action leads one of the victims to be corrupted by the dark side and they, years later, go on a revenge spree. Overall, the story is interesting, and I think presents what is a true issue in the later movies and series that has really come to light in the rise of the nerds. What I mean is that if you look at Episodes 1–3 that came out in the early 2000s, you'll ask “How did the Jedi not see this coming?” “How did they not recognize the Sith?” and this show really puts that into place. This bit of politics and drama in the show allows for the viewers to really understand the later implications. There is an overarching issue I have with the twins' story wise that would require me to talk about spoiler, so I won't.

Where this show excels is the fighting. There are multiple outstanding fight scenes that are so cool. From a traditional martial art style where there are no weapons, to brutal lightsaber combat that ends in beheadings and death that we haven't seen in a Star Wars video before.

Where this show fails is the acting and the poorly written characters. I like the story, but these characters are so quick to change without due cause, or to give up on a lifetime of morals very quickly. It is that agreement to ignore there the teachings of the Jedi Order that starts this whole show. There are a couple scenes that feel like forced soft-core romance novels, and it just seems out of place. The main 2 cast members who play Sol and Mae/Osha do an outstanding job and Lee Jung-jae should be commended for learning English just for this role. However, his more emotional beats fall flat and just feel forced. It very much feels like the over acting of The Matrix which is funny speaking that Trinity is in this show, and she is a prime example of the over acting. Speaking of her character, they give us absolutely nothing about her character in this show and so our first introduction is to her being immoral really.

Between the time I wrote this and before it was published (About a year later), Disney has decided not to renew this for a second season. I understand, it wasn't well received and without some additional interest to outside the show information, this show was missing some hard information. It stumbled on itself and that is sad to see because it had great lore potential.

My Rating

With the above, you'd think that I hated this show and my rating is more in line with IMDB, but I enjoyed it. It gave me exactly what I wanted which was more Star Wars. The lightsaber fighting is so good, that I have rewatched some fight scenes again just to see how smooth they were. The story is well within reason for the overall universe. My main concern is that this show, while 100% forcing multiple seasons, is not going to get renewed. There is scene that attempts to force this second season and to finish the story we will have to have one, but there is a lot of wrong with this show in its current format. I was entertained, so this show is getting a 7. Barely.

Parental Rating

No language, some cosmic violence, no gore, no sex, nothing crazy. My parents have never been huge Star Wars fans. Even though I can remember “Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope” (It was just called Star Wars at that point) being watching in the house when I was younger and playing G.I. Joe's during the opening title scene because I hated having to read during a movie. Based on the rules, my dad approves, but my mom is out.

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