The Acolyte Episode 5 is Action-Packed, Heartbreaking & Brutal (2024)

It would seem that, for the last four weeks, The Acolyte was pulling its punches. Well, no longer. Episode 5, "Night," finally brings out the lightsabers and a couple of big reveals, resulting in some of the darkest Star Wars storytelling outside Andor or Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The episode is also surprisingly dark. This isn't just because of the episode's given title and literal darkness in nighttime scenes, but because of its unbelievable body count and narrative implications.

Prior episodes gave viewers some action in small bursts. These short but effective Star Wars martial arts brawls showcased the Jedis' prowess during an era where they rarely faced any competition as the galaxy's dominant Force-wielders. Additionally, up until this point, the series was bereft of lightsaber duels. Similar to the High Republic books, lightsaber combat was a rarity for the Jedi. Instead of dueling equally powerful Force users on equal ground, the Jedi battled foes like the Nihil — marauders who weaponized guerrilla tactics and long-term strategy — in the Expanded Universe (EU). This put the Jedi on the backfoot despite their numbers and abilities, and gave their stories some much-needed stakes.

The Acolyte briefly flipped this script in the final moments of its previous episode, "Day," by teasing the masked Master's literal descent on Khofar. Upon landing, the mysterious adversary knocked out multiple Jedi with the Force simultaneously. The Jedi then ignited their lightsabers, and prepared to fight their first worthwhile enemy in ages. "Night" took this cliffhanger and ran with it, delivering tons of action and brutality even in its short runtime. Frustratingly, the episode still left more questions about Mae and Osha's storyline unanswered, but these lingering mysteries paled in comparison to the immediate carnage and dire straits.

The Acolyte Episode 5 Finally Reveals its Masked Sith

A Brutal Battle Unveils the Show's Primary Villain

For better or for worse, "Night" takes the obvious direction regarding the Master's secret identity. Yes, Qimir, the smuggler and Mae's poison-providing ally in her quest to kill four Jedi, is the Sith. Either that or he's at least someone claiming to be a Sith who desires a student/acolyte to train without the Jedi rejecting his teaching methods. Beyond theories of Mother Koril surviving the events on Brendok, Qimir was always the most likely candidate behind that mask, even as the episode suggested that it could be someone else. He greets Sol with an ominous "You don't remember me," while Osha, escaping his rampage alongside Yord, remarks that the Master's ability to get inside people's heads was similar to her mother's power. Perhaps fans just found it hard to believe that Manny Jacinto, best known for playing The Good Place's lovably dimwitted Jason Mendoza, could pull off a Sith Lord's creepy and murderous vibe.

Jacinto truly sells Qmir's deviousness once the mask comes off. There's a sad*stic calmness to the actor's performance. He toyed with Sol and gleefully called out the hypocrisy of the Jedi's actions, even as he showed no remorse for those around him on the battlefield. It remains to be seen what Qimir's real plans for Mae and Osha are, but it's apparent that he knows more than he's letting on — especially after he immediately recognized Osha's deception in the show's second episode. If anything, The Acolyte framed him as a dark mirror of Master Sol, someone who "accepted [his] darkness" despite remaining tight-lipped about Brendok and what really happened that night.

As for the action, The Acolyte's latest episode succeeds in delivering what can only be described as a "Star Wars Red Wedding" moment. In its opening minutes, Osha witnesses the Master make quick work of Sol's fellow Jedi, effortlessly blocking their attacks and delivering killing blows with his lightsaber. In one particularly brutal move, he stabs a Jedi through the stomach then Force pulls another onto the blade while the first Jedi is still impaled. Likewise, the fight successfully inserts more deep cuts to the Star Wars EU's lore by outfitting the Master's helmet and armor with cortosis, a powerful ore capable of withstanding lightsaber blades and even temporarily short-circuiting them. This adds a bit more physicality to the episode's melee combat, mixing punches with lightsaber choreography while allowing the former to feel just as impactful as the latter.

The Acolyte Episode 5 Delivers Both Action & Heartbreak

Two Shocking Deaths Emphasize the Series' High Stakes

Amplifying this impressive fight choreography is just how many fights there are. To wit: Yord gets to battle Qimir, Sol trades lightsaber blades with Qimir, and Jecki and Mae have an extended fight across Kelnacca's home that, while lightsaber-less, demonstrates how much time and effort this cast put into their fight scenes. This was something The Acolyte's Amandla Stenberg teased in interviews. By the look of things, Stenberg kept true to their word. The one downside was how many times The Acolyte cut between fights via transition swipe, which tends to undermine the momentum of certain battles just when they're about to get really good and intense.

At the same time, there's clear inspiration taken from the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy in these lightsaber altercations. Jecki's actor, Dafne Keen, certainly acknowledged this leading up to The Acolyte's release, noting the cast's love for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace's Darth Maul duel and their desire to create something on par with it. And indeed, the Sol-Jecki-Master duel feels indebted to that iconic three-way fight. The Acolyte's version was a team-up of blue and green lightsabers — complete with a brief dual-wield moment — against a red saber that let the epic saber craft speak for itself. However, "Night's" homages to The Phantom Menace also included some gut-wrenching deaths, not unlike Qui-Gon Jinn's fall.

Fans probably expected most of Sol's Jedi entourage to fall to the Master's hand. But watching Qimir kill Jecki and Yord in the same episode is genuinely shocking. Though The Acolyte didn't lend as much time to their development as it did for Mae, Osha and Sol, both were still main characters. Worse, the methods Qmir used to kill them — stabbing Jecki via a hidden saber and snapping Yord's neck — are so swift and brutal that they sell this character as a monster, mask or no mask. Depending on how the final three episodes play out, Qmir's ruthlessness could mark "Night" as the beginning of a top-tier conclusion, or just a temporary high point after the series' brushes with online controversy.

The Acolyte’s Central Conflict Between Osha & Mae Remains Murky

The Episode's Final Moments Continue to Tease What Happened on Brendok

Despite how many times "Night" went all-out in the action department and ramped up the stakes, The Acolyte's central mystery still hasn't advanced much. Osha's interactions with Sol and her sister continue to hint at a deep, dark Jedi secret. But even after putting her and Mae in a scene together and hinting at Mae's toxic nature via a prequel-inspired "They've turned you against me" line, The Acolyte still refuses to just let Mae tell her side of the story. This moment alludes to the Jedi being less pure than they used to be during the High Republic era, laying the seeds of their dogmatic nature by the time the prequels roll around. Presumably, the last few episodes will clear this mystery up via a homage to Rashom*on, depicting the Brendok flashback from opposing perspectives to reveal a more nuanced take on the massacre. Whether that reveal happens soon or further down the line remains to be seen.

The Acolyte's latest episode also leaves Mae and Osha's story in an ambiguous position. Specifically, the moment where Mae impersonates her sister to trick Sol into taking her off-world (albeit with the Tynnan tracker, Bazil, offering a means to expose her deception), thus leaving Osha to the mercy of Qimir. Does this mean she's still dead-set on completing her Master's mission? Does Qimir realize Mae's deception? Or has Osha been his target all along, given the Sith's unwillingness to kill the ex-Jedi throughout the night? It's also worth noting that Stenberg previously described her character as "always in flux with each other." With this in mind and if the point of Mae's test was to kill a Jedi without a weapon, what better way to do that than to turn her sister, a former Jedi, to the Dark Side?

Compared to other Star Wars shows, The Acolyte's use of shorter runtimes yielded mixed results. But "Night" fares better than previous episodes. This episode covers a lot of ground — the brutal Jedi massacre, the Sith's true identity, the tension between Mae and Osha's past, and how the Jedi's past sins are coming back to haunt them. It also has more momentum than "Day," which felt more like a set-up for bigger things to come than its own chapter. Even Alex Garcia Lopez's direction made clever use of the world's limited location shots, giving the episode a claustrophobic atmosphere as it pits the heroes against an apex killer who hunts them one by one. All in all, "Night" is very effective in the horror and tension departments.

But above all, The Acolyte's fifth episode is the Star Wars show's strongest yet because it took risks and put the series in uncharted territory. Even before its release, the series had been a victim of backlash, ranging from legitimate critiques of the writing and pacing to toxic fans peddling malicious outrage over supposed plot holes in early episodes. The Acolyte needed a shot in the arm or, at the very least, a way to prove its willingness to do things audiences wouldn't expect. In the span of this one episode, the series demonstrated the terrifying power of the Dark Side while reminding audiences that no character, however beloved, is safe. Showrunner Leslye Headland might still be holding some cards close to her chest, but in terms of proving the Sith's might, she certainly delivered with this unforgettable episode.

New The Acolyte episodes stream Tuesdays at 9 pm EST on Disney+.

The Acolyte

TV-14

Action

Adventure

Drama

Sci-Fi

A Star Wars series that takes viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.

Release Date

June 4, 2024

Creator(s)

Leslye Headland

Cast

Amandla Stenberg , Dafne Keen , Jodie Turner-Smith , Lee Jung-jae , Rebecca Henderson , Charlie Barnett

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Seasons

1

Franchise

Star Wars

Creator

Leslye Headland

Number of Episodes

8

Streaming Service(s)

Disney+