The time has come for the 8th and final (for now) episode of The Acolyte! It’s been seven weeks of ups, downs, controversies, and kick-ass fights, but it has all come to an end. This final episode, titled “The Acolyte”, had a big task to accomplish to wrap up all the plot threads from throughout the season. Will the origin of Osha and Mae be revealed? Will Sol confront his past mistakes? Will Qimir find his acolyte? And what is the Jedi Council doing about all of this? Let’s tear into the finale and try to find these answers.
SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 8 OF THE ACOLYTE
With only eight episodes and numerous unfinished plot threads, the finale of The Acolyte would always be fighting an uphill battle, but I think it did a pretty good job. The story picks up where episode 6 left off, with Mae (Amandla Stenberg) and Sol (Lee Jung-jae) having a little (one-sided) chat and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) putting on Qimir’s (Manny Jacinto) sensory deprivation helmet (could be a market for those). Mae uses evil Pip to get free from her restraints while Sol justifies killing their mother and tasers him. She is then able to skedaddle to an escape ship and flee. Meanwhile, Qimir returns to his cave and finds Osha wearing the helmet. But, as he approaches, he’s overcome with a menacing presence similar to what Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman) experienced in episode 7. After a brief struggle, Qimir removes the helmet, and Osha tells him that she saw Mae killing Sol without a weapon. With his interest piqued and Osha wanting to save her former master, the race is on to find Mae and Sol before the worst comes to pass (it kinda does).
I was satisfied with this conclusion to this first season of The Acolyte. They did a good job of tying up the main plot points of the season in a satisfying way while also furthering the mysteries that haven’t been answered yet. The story between Osha, Mae, and Sol reached its only possible conclusions, with Osha finding out what Sol did and subsequently killing him with the Force (I called it that he’d die by the end). Another major plot point resolved was the Jedi Council and Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson) following Sol and trying to figure out how so many Jedi could be killed. Now, this ending, while satisfying, also made me strongly dislike Vernestra because she pins everything bad that happened this season on Sol. I mean, it made sense to pin it on the dead guy who was the main suspect, but it was still a slap in the face.
Regarding plot threads left open, I’m keen to see Qimir and Osha training and doing cool Dark Side things in the future. I’m also intrigued by the Senate conducting a review of the Jedi, which will ultimately change the Jedi into what they are in the prequels. All things considered, this was probably the best they could’ve done, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Like most of my favourite episodes of The Acolyte, episode 8 also heavily focuses on the characters and their development. Most importantly, Osha and Sol both end their respective arcs (some more final than others). Throughout the season, Osha harbours hatred for Mae because she believes Mae killed their family. She trusted and looked up to Sol, but despite that, she could never let go of those negative emotions. So when she finally learns the truth that Sol killed their mother and lied to her, she fully embraces those feelings and, in an awesome sequence, force chokes Sol to death and bleeds Sol’s kyber crystal, turning it red. But it’s not like Sol did himself any favours.
At the start of the season, Sol was presented as an ideal Jedi Master who could do no wrong. But episode after episode, we saw just how flawed he truly was. His biggest flaw was lying to Osha about what happened 16 years ago and convincing himself that he knew what was best for the twins. When he couldn’t recognise what he did was wrong and couldn’t apologise, it was inevitable Osha would kill him. I loved seeing these two characters reach their inevitable destinations, and even though it was sad to see Sol die, now that Osha has embraced the Dark Side, I’m so keen to see what the future holds.
Aside from Osha and Sol, I also enjoyed seeing Mae take the justice approach to Sol, refusing to kill him. I would’ve expected this from Osha, so seeing how the twins have switched positions on this was a neat thing to watch (but we can just leave Mae in the corner until she merges with Osha to become one person again). Qimir, as always, was sick as all hell in every scene he was in. His subtle prodding of Osha to embrace her powers was already seen in episode 6, but seeing him finally convince her was satisfying.
Not as satisfying, though, as the fight between Sol and Qimir, which was probably my favourite of the season. It had everything from flashy saber combat, close calls, and extremely well-done hand-to-hand moments. It was a masterclass. Lastly, I have to mention the two cameo appearances from the little green guy himself, Yoda, and mother-flipping Darth Plagueis, baby! We don’t see much of either of them, but it was enough to get my theory-crafting brain excited.
As of now, a season 2 hasn’t been confirmed (it’s most likely only a matter of time), but they do have enough story threads to fill another 8+ episodes. The first is the continuation of Qimir and Osha’s story now that they are Master and Apprentice. It’ll be interesting to see if Osha betrays or sticks with him, or maybe it could even turn romantic. I also hope they explore Qimir’s connection to Vernestra, as something obviously went down between them and was most likely messy. Of course, I hope we see more of Yoda and Plagueis, but I don’t know in what capacity. My guess for Plagueis right now is that he’s been the mastermind behind everything so far, and Yoda will follow his trail. But above all of these, I just want more of Senator Rayencourt, played by David Harewood. This man absolutely nailed the two scenes he was in, and I need more of him investigating the Jedi. He’s too great to only be in two scenes. GIVE ME MORE!
Episode 8 of The Acolyte was one of my favourite final episodes across all of the Disney+ shows. It wrapped up the important season-long plot threads in satisfying ways and left enough open for the future. I loved seeing Osha and Sol complete their arcs, and the teases for Plagueis and Yoda were the cherry on top. After a rocky start, The Acolyte stuck the landing, and I’m eagerly awaiting the (hopefully) inevitable season 2. Keep it locked to Couch Soup for more Star Wars and The Acolyte content to feed your hungry nerd soul.
Have you seen episode 8 of The Acolyte? What did you think? What was your favourite moment? Let us know in the comments where we can all agree that Qimir and Osha make a great couple.
