The seventh episode of The Acolyte has been quite the hot topic among fans and those who have watched the series. This one, however, is called ‘Choice’ and considering that this is the second last episode of the series, it focuses on the choices made throughout the series and their repercussions. Episode 7 tries to provide some answers and at the same time build up for the final episode through the use of flashbacks and present day scenes. But the delivery has raised many controversies among the viewers. In this article, we will discuss the highlights and the low lights of this episode, the plot and the characters and how this episode affected the overall show.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13820376/
- Platform: Disney+
The Flashback Frenzy
There is one major issue that has divided fans of the show and that is the use of flashbacks in Episode 7. The episode offers the Jedi’s side of the events that happened on Brendok, which gives a new insight into the tragic division of the twin sisters Mae and Osha. However, this approach provides useful background information; however, many viewers complained that the entire episode was spent on the flashback. The story could have been moved forward with some dialogues instead of a lot of rewind of the past.The flashbacks do help to reveal the reasons and the behaviors of certain characters though. We observe the Jedi’s search for a force vergence a significant convergence of force energy on the planet Brendok. This mission which is led by Sol and Indara becomes disastrous due to the interference of the personal feelings of the characters and the strict rules of the Jedi Order. Sol’s desire to make Osha his Padawan and ignoring the advice of Indara led to all the troubles that followed.
Jedi's Personality Development
Episode seven helps to reveal and understand the inner conflict of Sol, not that it was so clear and potentially opening the door for a second season, if there is one. He is very much attracted to Osha and he is very much afraid of failing, but I guess its for the wrong reasons, and this makes him take dangerous risks. This makes Sol a more conflicted Jedi, as he is describe to struggle with his feelings, something that is quite human but not very Jedi, sentimental attachments are usually the path to the Dark Side.On the other hand, Indara comes out as the most rational of the team, she is more practical and sticks to the Jedi ways while Sol is rather reckless, this dynamic makes the team fall apart, specially when Torbyn notice this argument between the two masters, and shows the internal conflict of the Jedi Order and their beliefs. Nonetheless, there were some complaints about the lack of development of the character Indara through out the entire series not just this episode, her rational behavior was frequently outshone by Sol’s hysteric fits, but there is a moment on the episode where her patience and rational thinking goes off the road too.
Mae and Osha, are still the main characters of the story, on this episode the main twist is that they are in fact two people sharing one mind in two different bodies is very interesting but then again I'm not sure if this unnecessary suspense, we would expect that after all this episodes production would bring more closure to the story. This idea is rather interesting but it opens more questions than it provides answers to, for instance What was the reason for their mother Aniseya to separate them? What can be concluded from this particular link? These questions remain unanswered as the episode goes on and the audience is left, again, wanting a conclusion.
The ending of the episode is quite messy after the dust is settle we got Kelnacca frustrated because the Witches got into his mind when he is suppose to be a Master Jedi at this point specially after knowing Torbyn went through the same experience. Sol gives in to his anger, very childish by the way, because Indara was not letting him take Osha as a padawan at first mainly because of his emotions, he gives in too easy and he was fixed on the idea that he needed Osha as his apprentice. Lastly and the final blow, Indara, I understand why she did it but on top of everything she is a Jedi, she joins Sol to cover up what happen and not tell the truth to the Jedi Council. I said the ending was too messy because in my opinion this is just too much explanation and jump through a lot of hoops to figure out what was very predictable.
The Episode's Action
Pacing plays a very important role in Episode 7, I consider that the shifting between the past and the present is quite chaotic and may be confusing at times as it does not allow the audience to get a smooth flow of the events. The episode tries to fit a lot of story elements, character developments and twists into a single episode which makes it feel quite messy, I felt that this rather random approach does not allow me to have the kind of immersive effect that was episode four and five.While the pacing remains a problem, there are some genuinely great scenes throughout the episode, for example the fight scenes are still well executed to the best and I don't understand why they didn't try to exploit this with having more of this action scenes. The fight scenes especially the light saber duels are very dramatic and the graphics are quite impressive describing the might of the Jedi, this time around giving context of how Kelnacca was mind control by the Witches and this led to the fight between Kelnacca, Sol and Torbyn. This and only fight scene serve as context to why Torbyn got the scar on his face and lost his left eye sight.
The final episode is coming and there are still many questions that have not been answered and many conflicts that have not been resolved. Will we get explain why the twins are so close? Where will Sol and Mae go to, running away from Master Vernestra? Lastly what about Qimir and Osha, where are this to standing?.
The Acolyte is a rather daring and some what innovative entry in the Star Wars canon but I understand it piss off a lot of the fan base when changing so many things at once. It tackles themes and moral questions that enrich the series, what most people would call "woke", although it does not always do it successfully so it fails on many aspects. The Acolyte has received a lot of attention and criticism, which is why it can be considered as one of the most provocative TV series of the Star Wars Universe, but in my final opinion its not the worst TV series I have seen and also it is quite entertaining at times.
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