Bloody hell, this episode was not what I expected (in a good way). Episode 5 of The Acolyte, “Night,” is a nonstop action-packed episode that had my stress levels through the roof the entire time. There were reveals, new mysteries, and some sick-as-hell lightsaber fights. It was definitely an intense episode, so much so that I had to go for a walk after just to try and bring my stress levels under control. But enough about my stress relief strategies, let’s get into why this was the best episode of the series so far.

SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 5 OF THE ACOLYTE

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!

If Episode 4 was a relatively calm time walking through forests, Episode 5 is the unexpected hurricane that kills most of your friends and leaves you questioning if life is fair. From the get-go, Episode 5 is an action extravaganza, and it’s incredible. The story picks up with Osha (Amandla Stenberg) coming to after being tossed aside by The Stranger. And after a minute, we see The Stranger taking on a group of Jedi by himself. People are being thrown around, sliced in two, and even some become Jedi skewers. It’s carnage, and that’s how I would describe this episode in one word. There’s also the reveal of who The Stranger is, and it’s Qimir (Manny Jacinto) (totes called it). The episode also hinted at some dubious actions in Sol’s (Lee Jung-jae) past. There were a few other plot hints here and there, but the fight scenes took all my attention (until I rewatched the episode to figure out what I missed).

Even though the fights were the stars of the episode, this is where the story is finally starting to get good. Everyone had already assumed that Qimir was Mae’s (Amandla Stenberg) master or at least connected somehow, so I appreciated the show not dragging it out until the final episode. But it still leaves questions like what Qimir wants. How did he find Mae? Is he connected to all this, or does he just want to live in peace, free from the Jedi? Then there’s the question revolving around Sol and his past. I believe that Sol had a part to play in the burning of Osha and Mae’s home, and that will push Osha to become the true acolyte. But that’s just my crackpot theory right now. But that’s what a good story should do: have me curious about what will happen next, and this episode succeeded in that.

Catching These Hands

This episode was full of fights, and they were all amazing in their own ways. The first fight between Qimir and a group of Jedi was both cool and oddly terrifying. Seeing Jedi get manhandled by one dude had me watching in awe (even if almost every Jedi was killed). My favourite moment, though, was when Qimir stabbed one Jedi and then force-pulled another onto the blade as well (bloody brutal). Another neat aspect of all the fights was Qimir’s helmet and bracer, which were made of cortosis (originally from the Legends novel I, Jedi), a metal that causes lightsabers to short out for a moment. This not only helped to explain how Qimir could fight all the Jedi at once, but it also looked awesome when he headbutted a lightsaber.

My favourite fight, though, was probably Qimir vs Jecki (Dafne Keen), and Jecki did well for a padawan. She held her own in this impressive fight, even duel-wielding sabers at one point (just like Ahsoka). But alas, her fate was the same as the others as she was taken out in a rather brutal fashion. No one could have guessed that inside Qimir’s normal lightsaber was a mini-saber and that he would turn Jecki into swiss cheese. It did look cool, though, with the three quick stabs, but still sad. Not as sad as ma boi Yord (Charlie Barnett) getting his neck snapped; that was just excessive.

Aside from cool fights and depressing character deaths, this episode did give us some more insight into both Sol and Mae. For most of the episode, Sol follows the Jedi way and only fights an armed opponent, fights fairly, keeps his emotions in check, etc. But once Jecki and Yord bite it, he snaps and starts looking less like a Jedi. It’s always interesting when a typically good character turns out to have darkness inside them, and I have a feeling Sol has a lot. Especially regarding what he isn’t telling Osha and Mae. Speaking of Mae, I’m starting not to like her. I get that her character is supposed to be selfish and only look out for herself and Osha, but it’s just getting annoying. Hopefully, the last three episodes can make me not dislike her, like being the catalyst for Osha becoming Qimir’s acolyte; that’d be great!

Not Surprising, But He Made it Work

I was already a fan of Qimir since he showed up in Episode 2 as the guy helping Mae kill Jedi. He just seemed like a chill dude, and while not entirely trustworthy, he was cool to be around. Did I think he had something to do with Mae’s master? Yes. Did I think he was Mae’s master after Episode 4? Also yes. Despite that, I still loved every second he was on screen during this episode. Manny Jacinto killed it (literally) as the slightly unhinged dark-side user. The way he can change his speech patterns on the fly, his cold and sarcastic tone to Sol after killing Jecki, and how he obviously has a plan for the twins are all just awesome. Also, his lightsaber is sick as balls, with the hidden second lightsaber that is perfect for a sneaky fighter. I just enjoy everything about this guy, even if he did kill Jecki and Yord (RIP). I hope that he doesn’t die at the end of the show and instead pops up in other High Republic projects just to make everything a little more interesting.

Episode 5 of The Acolyte was the best episode of the series so far. The fight scenes are some of the best we’ve gotten in a hot minute. Qimir was excellent, and discovered some new mysteries around Sol and the twins. Everything feels like it’s going in the right direction and will hopefully end up being fantastic. I wonder how they’ll follow up in the next episode, but I think everything will be alright as long as they can keep the momentum from Episode 5. Keep it locked to Couch Soup for more Star Wars Content to feed your hungry nerd soul.

Have you seen Episode 5 of The Acolyte? What did you think? Did you guess Qimir was Mae’s master? Let us know in the comments where we can all agree that Jecki and Yord deserved better.