Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS are ahead for Episode 5 of The Acolyte, called "Night."
The Acolyte set up its fifth episode to be a game-changer, even without showing an epic Wookiee lightsaber fight to raise some deadly stakes at the end of Episode 4. "Night" picked up almost exactly where the story had left off, and while I was wrong in my prediction that Sol might have been doomed sooner rather than later, the reveal of the Master's identity and his goal for a student – a.k.a. an acolyte – might mean a violent end for any who survived their encounter with him.
But as I watched, I found that Star Wars Rebels of all shows was giving me hope that we're not in for a Rogue One-esque bloodbath of main characters before the end of the 2024 TV schedule. First, let's set the stage with what went down in "Night."
The Master Reveal And Jedi Bloodbath Of "Night"
I have to give kudos to The Acolyte, because the aftermath of last week's cliffhanger was fairly predictable when it comes to the plot but thrilling to watch unfold. After slaughtering his way through almost all of the Jedi on Khofar, the Master was unmasked by Jecki and revealed to be none other than Qimir, played by Manny Jacinto. It was a treat for Disney+ subscribers, as far as I'm concerned. (Note: I'll just keep calling the character Qimir until we get a real name for him.)
While the latest of the Disney+ Star Wars shows didn't drop big hints that the nervous smuggler was also the dreaded Master, Jacinto's build combined with Qimir's presence on the planet made him the most likely man beneath the mask. But Jacinto absolutely nailed it. The bloodbath was so complete that nobody stood enough of a chance against Qimir for The Acolyte to deliver a fight worthy of a spot on our list of best Star Wars duels.
And unfortunately, Qimir absolutely nailed it when it came to murdering Jecki too shortly after she unmasked him, which was then followed by him snapping Yord's neck right in front of Sol and Osha. It seemed like a safe bet that The Acolyte wasn't going to kill off Osha or Mae in the fifth of eight episodes, but Sol seemed like he was moments away from death.
In fact, Qimir actually confirmed that everybody had to die because his face had been seen, but he was having fun toying with Sol and taunting him about the Jedi Order's many rules before getting around to murdering him. He also dropped two very important lines, which I hope will calm down fans who were freaking out about a Sith reveal so many years ahead of The Phantom Menace and actually had me flashing back to Star Wars Rebels.
Sol noted that Qimir had the training of a Jedi, but then said "You are no Jedi." Importantly, Qimir then never actually claimed to be a Sith, but said that he was what Jedi like Sol would "call Sith." As much as it still seems like Sol and Co. need to die to make the prequel trilogy work just like Jin and Co. needed to die in Rogue One, the animated series that heavily set up Ahsoka gives me hope for some survivors to make it to the end.
Why Star Wars Rebels Set A Precedent For Survivors
Now, I'm not about to predict some kind of direct tie between The Acolyte and Rebels with all the years in the timeline between them, no matter that I still think Rebels is the better animated Star Wars show over The Clone Wars. I'm also not about to argue that The Acolyte is going to lean on the World Between Worlds that was a crutch for both Rebels' final season and Ahsoka. Instead, I think Rebels may have set a precedent from a story perspective.
And yes, the moment that set me thinking about Rebels during "Night" was actually tied to Ahsoka Tano and (indirectly) the World Between Worlds. When Sol uttered the "You are no Jedi" line, my mind jumped to voice actress Ashley Eckstein's delivery of a similar line – "I am no Jedi" – in arguably Rebels' best two-parter that makes the show worth watching.
This admittedly tangential reminder of Rebels was enough for me to start considering how the animated show made the most of loopholes in Star Wars canon to deliver some tragic twists without having to kill off everybody or mess with the larger story of the Star Wars movies in order.
Spoilers ahead for Star Wars Rebels. For all that Rebels was a kids' show airing on Disney XD, I initially watched with the assumption that Kanan and Ezra were doomed and Ahsoka was definitely dead after the Season 2 finale, because Luke Skywalker was the Rebellion's only Jedi and Yoda never alluded to any others beyond Leia in the original trilogy.
And yes, Kanan did perish in what I still consider one of Star Wars' very best deaths, but Ezra was taken away to what were then parts unknown courtesy of some hyperspace-traveling space whales, which also conveniently took out the big bad who wasn't part of the original trilogy either. The World Between Worlds was added to Star Wars canon and saved Ahsoka. The series Ahsoka never would have happened if Ezra, Thrawn, and Ahsoka hadn't survived Rebels.
So why can't The Acolyte use some loopholes to allow the survivors from the end of "Night" to keep on surviving, even though Qimir himself pointed out that they had to die since they'd seen his face and could report him as a kinda sorta Sith to the Jedi Council? I see this as more of a Rebels parallel when it comes to the potential for survivors than a Rogue One... although I wouldn't put any money on Sol making it to the end. End Star Wars Rebels spoilers.
Of course, since The Acolyte has a longer run than Obi-Wan Kenobi did back in 2022, there are still another three episodes to go before the fates of the key characters are revealed. We can at least safely say that Ki-Adi-Mundi is going to live through the end of the prequel trilogy, after his cameo in the previous episode!
New episodes of The Acolyte will continue releasing on Thursdays for more Star Wars on the small screen. You can also find every other Disney+ Star Wars entry, as well as Star Wars Rebels and all of the movies set in the galaxy far, far away on the streamer.
