Wow. That’s all I can say at the start of this review after the fifth episode of The Acolyte, “Night”. The first four weeks of the series have been mostly building up to this grand reveal of the Sith, who made an appearance at the end of last week’s episode. This week was a fast-paced, action-packed story filled with tons of epic lightsaber fighting.
Let’s dive in to the review of this episode, and as always, full spoilers are ahead!
For the first time since 2002 in Attack of the Clones with Darth Tyranus, we just got a brand new Sith on-screen. The Sith in this episode is unlike what we’ve seen before, and I love his arrogant taunting, his masterful and unpredictable lightsaber skills, his cortosis armor, etc. Manny Jacinto absolutely crushed it in this episode. The reveal of Qimir as the Sith wasn’t a big surprise, but I don’t think the show meant it to be; they’ve left hints all along, and Leslye Headland said she thinks a twist in the story shouldn’t come out of nowhere. The reason the reveal came with such effect is that it comes right on the heels of a major character death (more on that in a moment).
So is he a Sith? Well, he introduces himself as one, but it’s not one-hundred percent confirmed. But I think it’s safest to assume that he is, in fact, a Sith, but my guess is that he’s not the Sith Master. My guess is he’s the apprentice – either the current one, or a former one since cast off – and that one of the big reveals of the show later on will be the identity of his master.
The cortosis armor was also a really awesome touch. The armor isn’t as strong as something like beskar (that Mandalorians wear), but it does provide some level of protection. Its real contribution, though, comes in that it can cause lightsabers to temporarily short-circuit, as we saw. This material was first introduced in Legends but has been mentioned a few times in canon, and the Stranger had it coating his armor and helmet. I loved the way that he used it to his advantage (as did Yord later), and how it led to more hand-to-hand combat in the series (I’m really glad we aren’t done with it now that lightsabers are involved). The cortosis armor was such a great design for this Stranger, and the fact that it’s a deep Legends pull makes it all the better.
What really stood out about the episode, though, was the lightsaber choreography. I think it will hold up to some of the very best in the franchise, and there were so many memorable moments throughout the fight – most of them by the Stranger. (I know he’s the villain, but he’s also a bit hard to root against, which is a sign that the directors and actors did it well.) And things got really dark. The biggest surprise of the episode wasn’t the reveal of the Sith, but just how many Jedi died. I figured all of the ‘nameless’ Jedi were goners, and I figured we’d lose one or two ‘named’ characters to give added weight. And even though there would need some explaining for how the Jedi could encounter a Sith and live and have the Jedi believing the Sith are extinct, I didn’t expect the show to make it so that only Sol comes out of this one alive (and I don’t think he’s making it out of the series alive, either). The ruthlessness of the episode took me by surprise, and I think it’s for the best that the showrunners had the guts to do it.
I think it’s also noteworthy, and especially tragic, that the Jedi didn’t actually do things wrong. Jecki was the only one who really stayed on mission with Mae, and then she more than held her own against the Sith. Seeing her work in tandem with Sol was just awesome, and it’s a reminder that we really haven’t seen all that much of a team of Jedi like this in live-action working together on the battlefield. I loved Sol Force pulling the Stranger right toward Jecki, who went on the attack. Yet despite doing everything well, Jecki was killed by the surprise lightsaber blade. Then with Yord, he actually approached with a brilliant strategy: he grabbed the cortosis helmet and used it to short out the Stranger’s blade. But even this strategy, this heroic moment, didn’t work, as the Stranger unceremoniously snapped Yord’s neck, killing him. The Jedi have heroic moments and still lose in this episode, which adds to the weight of it. The Stranger doesn’t play by their rules, something Yord notes, and they’re entirely unprepared for it. Sol manages to overpower the Stranger and almost kills him, but Osha keeps him from striking the killing blow against an unarmed opponent. Sure, Sol could kill him – but in doing so, he would lose himself. I think this scene is important because it seems like we’ll be learning about some less-than-great things that he’s done in the past, but this shows us that he really is, at heart, a good Jedi. He’s a good Jedi who has made mistakes, but he fights to stay true to the light.
The only thing that actually ‘defeats’ the Stranger in this episode is Osha’s plan to draw the bugs to attack him. What’s interesting with this is that Osha manages to defeat the Stranger without a weapon, which is exactly what he had been demanding of Mae. My guess is that this is a big reason why the Stranger seems quite interested in Osha at the end of the episode and why he might see her as the perfect Acolyte, because she actually passed the test that Mae couldn’t. I think the twist of the twins switching at the end of the episode sets up a very interesting final few episodes, and I’m really excited to see where it goes.
I thought this was by far the best episode of the series, and as I said earlier, I think the lightsaber fighting will hold up against some of the best in the franchise when looking at the choreography and inventiveness of it. The only thing that didn’t work about the episode were the transitions – I’ve been thrown off by them all season, but this episode was especially egregious. Like, what in the world are they doing with the editing? The wipes between battle scenes is especially jarring. But the editing aside, I thought this episode was great. And… I’m really curious why hints of Kylo Ren’s theme play as the Stranger approaches Osha at the end. Leslye Headland has said that’s intentional, but won’t get into why, and I’m wondering if it means that the Stranger or Osha will have some role in helping to start the Knights of Ren? We’ll have to wait and see, but I find that really curious.
Overall, this episode more than rewarded the build-up of the first four episodes by delivering a thrilling, action-packed, and brutal episode that shakes up everything for the final three episodes. It was easily the best of the series so far, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
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