Venturing into the era of the High Republic for the first time on screen, The Acolyte centres around an investigation into a series of crimes that may be more sinister than initially anticipated. That may sound riveting, but don't get your hopes up.
For the most part, Star Wars' dive into live action TV has been a successful affair, with even the few seasons that didn't live up to expectations still being quite enjoyable. Now, despite showing signs of promise and much intrigue, The Acolyte has dropped onto the scene and become the weakest of the bunch. It isn't so lacklustre that I'd call it bad, but it's misguided in its narrative approach and navigation of what is one of the most exciting eras in Star Wars. To start, I'm going to highlight an issue that has plagued every single season of Star Wars TV to date, impacting some seasons more than others - episode runtimes. Having episodes of a story-driven series like The Acolyte clock in at under 30 minutes (when you subtract intros and credits) is a horrible creative choice. Not only does it severely detract from the cinematic vibe they're trying to establish, but it hinders character development, creates jarring pauses in the narrative, and results in weeks where an episode goes by and you feel like no significant story progress was made.
There's two obvious solutions - keep your series at eight episodes and write more content to beef up the story, characters and action, or merge the episodes to create four longer, more substantial and rewarding episodes. This issue is most obvious in how episodes four and five were edited and diabolically broken up. These two episodes fit together like butter and bread, the events of four roll immediately into five with unbroken momentum. However the decision to isolate them makes episode four feel empty and episode five feel rushed. Together, you've got a great, well-balanced hour of TV, but as individual episodes it's a mess.
The Acolyte presents a narrative that's intriguing from the get-go, introducing a number of mysteries that show some signs of promise. However as time goes on and we learn more about our main characters, it becomes abundantly clear that the focus of the story is in all the wrong places. The narrative follows the dual arcs of Mae and Osha two characters both portrayed by Amandla Stenberg, jumping between their respective experiences on opposite sides of the Force. Unfortunately, they're the two most uninteresting characters in the series. I struggled to connect to either one's personal journey as neither one harbours any likeable qualities. They're dull characters with a backstory shrouded (loosely) in a predictable mystery that (spoiler alert) doesn't deliver any rewarding reveals. The overarching story concerning the flawed morals of the Jedi and the way they deal with a potential dark side threat is great to see unfold, but having Mae and Osha suck so much time away from that arc works against the show's enjoyment factor.
The series would be considerably better had it put the majority of its focus on the Jedi order, specifically the Master-Padawan relationship of Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and Jecki (Dafne Keen). While Sol is along for much of the ride, he's always playing second fiddle, and his connection with Jecki is rarely touched on. With a couple of small tweaks, you could maintain the same overall arc and swap out the protagonists to create a more engaging, emotional journey. Despite the strength of Jecki and Sol, the series' villain is the best character by a country mile. It's a crime that they weren't more of a focus, but when they are on screen, we get to see the best content the series has to offer. The backstory, life experiences and overall goals of the villain are the most intriguing elements of the series, and should have been the biggest focus. That being said, it doesn't take away from what the villain does bring to the show, backed by a stellar performance.
That's enough of the negatives, because while the show has a tonne of missteps, it does enough to remain watchable and somewhat enjoyable. There are a couple of exceptional lightsaber duels in the history of Star Wars that are tough to beat, but boy does The Acolyte come close. Every moment of lightsaber or Force-based combat is thrilling and exciting, utilising martial arts to bring a unique spin to the combat. There's a few brilliant 1v1 duels and even some 2v1 duels that have big, memorable moments that stand out even beyond the finale. In terms of the visuals, there's some great on-location filming used to make the series feel more real and not just all CGI. Star Wars' use of The Volume has been great, but it has been a little overused to where it's quite obvious. In The Acolyte, I can't tell if or where it was used, which is a testament to the set designers and cinematographers.
Performance-wise, there's some clear standouts that elevate the series, an some who reallyy don't hit the mark. Amandla Stenberg had the tough task of having to portray two characters who couldn't be more different. While it's certainly a lot of work, I have to say her performance of both characters still felt quite flat. There was barely any charisma, likability or believable emotional weaved into either character, which could add to why the protagonists didn't hit. It's not bad, it's just lacking. Lee Jung-jae is exceptional, bringing some weight and tension to the majority of his scenes and carrying much of the season on his back. The wise, sage demeanour he brings to the role is fun to watch and he does well to express the inner conflict the character is experiencing. Then there's the limited presences of Carrie Ann Moss (Indara), Rebecca Henderson (Vernestra Rwoh) and Dafne Keen that each elevate their respective scenes.
In the end, The Acolyte is chock-full of missteps and poor writing that strip away much of the enjoyment, but its ability to facilitate intriguing mysteries makes it an occasionally fun watch. It's not a heinous crime against the franchise, as some may have you believe, but it suffers from poorly written main characters and a narrative that would have been better focused elsewhere. With its highlights being exceptional lightsaber combat and engaging supporting performances, it still isn't an essential watch, but its a very easy, very short binge.
5.9/10
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