The Acolyte is one of the most divisive Star Wars TV shows, and here are 10 harsh realities of it I found a year after its release. I initially wrote reviews for The Acolyte in June 2024 upon its release on Disney+. I enjoyed the first few episodes and episode 5 greatly, yet the rest were disappointing overall.

The Acolyte could not match up to the heights of Star Wars’ best TV shows, though there were several compelling elements. The Acolyte‘s ending, for instance, set up an exciting story for season 2. However, the show has since been canceled, causing many to revisit it.

With The Acolyte season 2 unlikely to happen, and a year having pᴀssed since season 1 aired, I had the opportunity to go back and rewatch the latter. Although the show still contains some engrossing elements, I was left with 10 harsh realities of The Acolyte season 1 shining through.

10

The Acolyte Didn’t Know What Story It Wanted To Tell

It Was Split Between Two Tales

Perhaps the harshest reality of The Acolyte I found upon rewatch, which I initially noted last year, is that the show did not know what story it wanted to tell. At some points, it was a dark thriller about the rise of the Sith in Star Wars’ High Republic era. At other points, it was a story about two twins.

These twins were raised together before being separated, leading to the third story: two religious groups clashing and navigating the misunderstandings and ramifications they caused. The Acolyte only had eight episodes, meaning it did not have time to flesh each story out and was, instead, torn between them.

By the time the show wrapped up, The Acolyte felt too fractured to be coherent.

9

The Acolyte’s Main Characters Were Less Compelling Than Its Supporting Characters

Osha & Mae Were Poorly Utilized

If The Acolyte was going to forego the story of Jedi and Sith and classic Star Wars elements for the origins of two new characters, it was absolutely imperative that the latter story worked. Sadly, The Acolyte‘s focus on Osha and Mae did not. This meant that, throughout, they were the least compelling characters of the show.

If Mae and Osha’s story had been compelling, audiences would have latched onto this over typical Star Wars elements. That said, because their story was underbaked, audiences were left asking where the Sith-Jedi elements they were promised were. If Mae and Osha’s story had been better, these disparate threads would have gone hand-in-hand.

Given that the show was so split between disparate storylines, even the characters who worked did not get enough to do…

Also, linking to the first point, the Osha-Mae part of The Acolyte didn’t work, so it made the characters of another part work better, like Sol, Qimir, and Jecki. However, given that the show was so split between disparate storylines, even the characters who worked did not get enough to do, proving just how fractured The Acolyte was.

8

The Acolyte’s Main Redeeming Quality Is Its Action Sequences

The Fight Sequences Always Worked

To put it simply, the fight scenes in The Acolyte were brilliant across the board. The choreography, staging, blocking, and filming of every fight scene were masterful, allowing for some of the best action scenes in Star Wars TV. That said, this raises a harsh reality of The Acolyte, in its own way.

Given that the action scenes were so excellently done, it makes the rest of the show pale in comparison. The action is of such a high quality that the scenes feel as though they belong to a different show, as the character and story writing do not match them. For as good as the action is, it drags The Acolyte down overall.

7

Vernestra Rwoh Was An Unnecessary Addition To The Acolyte

All In The Name Of Getting A Known Star Wars Character Involved

When I heard that Vernestra Rwoh, one of the better characters from Star Wars’ High Republic books, was going to be involved in The Acolyte, I was naturally excited. Sadly, The Acolyte wasted the character. Other than having a known Star Wars Jedi involved, Vernestra felt like an unnecessary inclusion.

Vernestra’s role in the final episode of The Acolyte was much improved, but this was about the only time she felt ingrained in the story the entire season. Her set up for season 2 was compelling, yet we won’t get to see that now. As a result, Vernestra felt shoehorned into a show that already had too many characters to juggle.

6

Vernestra Rwoh’s Lightsaber Whip Was Cool, But Wasted

A Badᴀss Lightsaber Variant Was Underutilized

Stemming from my prior point, one of the coolest aspects about Vernestra in the High Republic books is her purple lightsaber, which can turn into an elongated whip. Not only is this a cool variant for the long-standing Star Wars weapon, but it is also tied to Vern’s worries that it was more linked to the dark side than a regular saber.

The Acolyte, however, failed to show how cool both sides of this weapon were. It was only used once in whip format to kill a giant moth creature. Beyond that, the whip was not used, nor was the exploration of how it could be construed as a dark side weapon brought up.

5

The Acolyte Wasted Some Major Cast Members

Some Iconic Actors & Characters Were Sidelined

Another harsh reality of The Acolyte‘s cast is how it wasted some members. An iconic actor like Carrie-Anne Moss was involved, yet she only appeared in a few episodes. Joonas Suotamo returned to Star Wars as a Wookie Jedi who also barely appeared. Even Manny Jacinto as The Stranger was wasted due to The Acolyte‘s focus on less compelling stories.

4

The Acolyte Needed More, Longer Episodes

To Make Its Story & Characters Work Better

Admittedly, this harsh reality of The Acolyte ties together a few others. To fix the storytelling and character issues it suffered, The Acolyte needed more, longer episodes. With such a split in story, The Acolyte failed to adequately flesh out individual parts of its overlapping themes and ideas. As a result, these themes did not work when they collided.

Osha killing Sol, for instance, did not land, as the show only told us about their connection rather than showing us…

As already mentioned, characters like Osha and Mae were underwritten, with Jedi like Kelnacca (Suotamo) and Master Indara (Moss) being sidelined. The Stranger and his connection to the Sith weren’t capitalized on, nor were Sol’s struggles with having a Padawan or his intense connection to Osha.

This all meant that several conclusions to these storylines did not work. Osha killing Sol, for instance, did not land, as the show only told us about their connection rather than showing us. This is only one example of how more time would have benefited The Acolyte‘s many stories, characters, and their arcs.

3

Star Wars’ High Republic Era Was Wasted On The Acolyte

The Acolyte Was Closer To The Prequel Era

I’ve already made my love of the High Republic books clear, so I was excited to finally see that translated in live-action. Unfortunately, I believe The Acolyte wasted the era of the High Republic. For a point in the Star Wars timeline when the Jedi Order was at its strongest, The Acolyte failed to showcase this.

Instead, The Acolyte tied itself more to the prequels by showing the Jedi at the start of their hubris-infused downfall that led to Palpatine’s rise. This would have worked if the show focused on the actual Sith involved, yet it did not. Moreover, it did not utilize the High Republic aspects of its setting.

Outside of a slightly different visual style for the Jedi, The Acolyte‘s characters could have been from the prequels. Ships like vectors or other High Republic marvels were not included, squandering that opportunity to see the Jedi at the height of their powers.

2

The Acolyte Only Has 1 Truly Great Episode

Episode 5 Shines

A big, harsh reality of a show with eight episodes is that only one is truly great. The Acolyte episode 5, “Night,” stands tall as the show’s best. This already looks bad on the other seven episodes, but this fact is made worse by the fact that episode 5 focuses the most on fight scenes over character and story work.

1

The Acolyte Season 2 Will Never Happen After Compelling Teases

Season 2’s Set Up Has No Destination

Finally, the last harsh reality of The Acolyte, one year later, is that the show’s most exciting teases for season 2 will never come to fruition. The reveal that Star Wars’ powerful Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis, was manipulating things behind the scenes will never be expanded on. Moreover, the inclusion of Yoda in the final scene will also have no real exploration.

It is already a sad fact that The Acolyte‘s most compelling aspects – besides its fight scenes – were teases of things to come that did not even exist in season 1, but the reality that we will never get to see these play out is perhaps the harshest of them all.