Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode "Destiny." Watch the episode with a Disney+ subscription and continue at your own risk!
Another episode of Disney+'s The Acolyte is out, and Star Wars fans are up in arms again about another aspect of the series based in The High Republic era. Following previous discussions about powerful Jedi as well as conversations about fire in space, we're now on to the latest complaint which has some proclaiming the third episode as an all-time worst in franchise history. I think that's a huge overreaction, and I want to explain why.
As the battle continues between those loving The Acolyte and others thinking it's an abomination to all they love comes a big reveal with major implications for the Star Wars lore. At least, that's what we're led to believe with still many episodes to flesh this mystery out, but based on what we know so far, let's jump into the current speculation and why I believe the whole situation is vastly overblown.
Some Star Wars Fans Are Angry About The Acolyte's Big Tease
"Destiny" is a deep dive into the story of Osha and Mae, and it treads some interesting ground for the series. We're introduced to a coven of witches living on the planet Brendok, who looked after the twins when they were children. In the episode, we learned that they were carried to term by the Force-sensitive Zabrak Mother Koril and are raised by the coven's leader, Mother Aniseya.
While we don't get the full story, some interesting reveals about The Acolyte characters are made as the episode goes on. When the Jedi come to visit to test the children, Aniseya declares that neither child has a birth father. Later, a panicked Koril warns Aniseya that the Jedi shouldn't be allowed to interview the girls to test their Force sensitivity, lest they start asking questions about how they were born.
There's growing speculation that Mae and Osha were conceived via the Force, known as "The Thread" to this coven of witches. The possibility has angered a number of Star Wars fans, as the only person in the current canon who reportedly did that was Darth Plagueis, Emperor Palpatine's former Sith master. Palpatine mentions this to Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith.
It seems that some Star Wars fans who watched The Acolyte feel the show trivialized the feat, showing that it could be done by others rather than a powerful Sith lord. I'm pushing back against that, however, and think there's a little more room for interpretation that many are overlooking.
Is Emperor Palpatine A Reliable Narrator?
I know there are discussions about former Expanded Universe canon and Darth Plagueis floating around, but considering we've known for years that this is no longer canon, it feels silly to acknowledge it. As such, I'll go back to what we know is irrefutable canon: Emperor Palpatine's story to Anakin. For those that haven't memorized it, here it is in text form:
Darth Plagueis was a dark lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise he could use the Midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the Dark Side he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying...The Dark Side of The Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
Now, at no point above does Palpatine state that Darth Plagueis is the only person that can manipulate Midi-chlorians to create life, so we could end the discussion right there that The Acolyte broke any lore. However, I'll entertain the idea that Palpatine implied the power and wise nature of Plagueis is what allowed him to do this, and counter with the context of the conversation and Sheev Palpatine's track record.
In this scene in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Emperor Palpatine is still trying to seduce Anakin into seeing the value of leaning into and exploring the Dark Side. He's also pressing the idea it takes a fierce commitment to the Dark Side, as obviously, that fits his agenda to have Anakin fully on board with his evil machinations.
What I'm getting at here is that Palpatine wants something from Anakin, so he has every reason to say whatever, regardless of whether it's true or not. Of all the things we know about Emperor Palpatine, we know at the heart of it, he is manipulative and dishonest. He used those traits to throw an entire galaxy into war, so how do we know he was entirely truthful when it came to his former master, who he killed I might add?
The simple answer is we don't, and while it behooves Palpatine in the moment to say Plagueis' wise nature led to a knowledge of creating life with The Force, doesn't it make more sense that a Sith would steal that knowledge from a seemingly peaceful coven for his benefit? Obviously, we'll see what the full story is in time, but for now, I'm not convinced any lore is broken in Star Wars.
The Acolyte debuts new episodes on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. So far, I'm loving the series and how it is handling The High Republic era, and encourage anyone still on the fence to check it out for themselves before being swayed by anything written about it.
