IR TV Review: THE ACOLYTE - EPISODE 5 [Lucasfilm/Disney+]

The intent of "The Acolyte" is to show the idea of the pupil depends on their inherent psychology from the get go. Anakin, as a character, was likely wracked by trauma and abandonment issues before Qui Gonn even got involved. With Mae and her twin as the series continues into Episode 5, the dark and light are split not just by the Force but what they think happiness or tradition means in their world because of their childhood. When Sol and his team arrive on a planet where the darker twin is planning another assassination, the master and the apprentice are entering the next step of their formulation of self. Interestingly enough there is a waver point. The meat of the episode is a pretty neat battle that actually is quite riveting. The reveal however is less than one would think (though it does play in the bigger patterns and mythology of "Star Wars").

The idea that there is always two is a resounding connotation because it is a intention that one sees reflected throughout the series. With three episodes left in the season, its pertinance overall is yet to be fully seen. Showrunner Lesle Headland isn't afraid to raise the stakes and kill off certain characters per se as she has done from the very first episode. That is the one element that makes the series riveting because in a bigger context, it would be hard for a feature to do that since you don't want to cut off a possible narrative (or revenue)stream. Dave Filoni does it to a point in his respective series but he (for the most part) was also working with established confines of a certain universe mythology. That is what makes "The Acolyte" both engaging and disconnecting in the bigger world of "Star Wars". "Star Trek" has the same issue as well. You can't get too far from where you have been to establish where you might be going. B

By Tim Wassberg