Peppered throughout the galaxy far, far away which we’ve come to know and love, are adventures and stylistic presentations of the Star Wars universe which often offer interesting and diversified insight into the ever-building worlds. The Acolyte, however, is not one of them.
Very quickly, The Acolyte feels like a high-budget fan film–a very high-budget fan film which could somehow afford Carrie Ann Moss. While the action is visually impressive, and even riveting, the script and its delivery don’t quite land–a problem which persists even four episodes in.
A large problem with Star Wars in general is its referential style of, well, everything. The Original Trilogy referenced classic Japanese samurai films, the Prequel Trilogy reference the originals, and the Sequel Trilogy did both. And that’s before we even look at the recent wave of shows which’ve traversed the spectrum of continuation, to homages, to sheer fan service.
But what this system of referencing and homaging has allowed for is a distinctive tone and presentation of each and every one of these entries. The Acolyte, to its credit, has probably done the most to breakaway from that cliché. Unfortunately, it may have not found the distinctive tone it was hoping for. Shuttling between classic Star Wars to murder-mystery to something similar to a light-hearted procedural, the tone of the series becomes increasingly jarring.
Which is a real pity ‘cause, at the heart of it, there is certainly an incredibly interesting world to be further explored. The Acolyte is not only set during The High Republic, an under-explored era in the Star Wars timeline, but is also the first live action series in that period.
In some ways, The High Republic is Disney’s answer to the fan-favourite The Old Republic from the older Expanded Universe continuity (now referred to as Legends). An era of greater philosophical exploration and mythbuilding for Jedi, Sith, Mandalorian and more, The Old Republic has, inadvertently, come to set the tone for Star Wars in the last two decades. And, for the most part, The High Republic has achieved the same for the newer continuity, although largely in the form of books and an animated series (also on Disney+).
But much of what makes this period so enamouring is lost across the narrative of The Acolyte, almost leaving you wondering if this was set a century before The Phantom Menace only so it could escape the inane intricacies and expectations that would come with setting the series in a more familiar period. Which, in itself, is a wise decision, but is criminally under-utilised given the first half of the season thus far.
That said, The Acolyte does offer some of the most interesting action in Star Wars since The Last Jedi, taking its time before portraying any actual lightsaber combat, instead leaning into the height of the era’s Jedi martial arts.
The strength of the show lies almost entirely in its cast, with Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae anchoring every scene he’s in with a gravitas Qui-Gon Jinn would be proud of. Both Dafne Keen and Charlies Barnett help boost the overall performances, but lead actor Amandla Stenberg is somewhat left out in the cold with dialogue and personality-building moments comparable to the Prequel Trilogy’s. It also doesn’t help that certain characters many would’ve been most interested in seeing are quickly revealed to be red herrings for the benefit of marketing.
More surprising is Leslye Headland’s less-than-proficient writing and directing, despite her impressive track record on other shows, including the critically acclaimed Russian Doll. Perhaps there is more to be seen with The Acolyte, but with the its issues having persisted for almost half the season’s run, optimism is hard to maintain.
Nevertheless, The Acolyte offers a fresh and unburdened entry point for many, and that alone makes it worth catching now on Disney+!