The Acolyte Episode 4: The Rise of Anti-Art (Message Over Story)

I love Star Wars but The Acolyte is so bad 😂. And episode 4 was sooo booooring!! It's one of the shortest episodes so far, but feels like one of the longest. Almost nothing happens to advance the plot. I'm surprised that they haven't ruined Master Sol's character yet, but I'm not holding my breath. Sorry guys, I'm generally a positive person, but I'm also not going to lie and pretend like this show is any good. Anyway, let me know what you think, and comment some of your favorite things about Star Wars as well!! 😎
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[@markusaurelius4015]

You hit the nail on the head. The story is FULL of half-baked thoughts. It feels lazy, sloppy, and like they just do not care.

[@bauregard2171]

I went into this show thinking it was going to be a love letter to martial arts movies using the star wars universe because of the previews I saw and the fights in the first two episodes. My god have I ever been disappointed. All they really had to do was create a plot that would serve as an excuse to make awesome choreographed jedi fight scenes and they couldn't even do that.

[@jonathanr7199]

My son is 13 years old we both love Star Wars, he gave up 15 min into episode 1 of Acolyte. I gave up after episode 3.

[@bobby_pilgrim4528]

Garbage characters will do that to a kid.

[@SkybottomStation]

Awesome video! I agree with everything you said

[@atari1994]

Didn't she know that her sister is alive when Osha had the dream about it... and/or when Osha shot at her.. and missed.

[@bobby_pilgrim4528]

i cant even be excited for the light saber battle. We've already gotten screwed out of two battles... likely to be screwed again. This is a dumpster fire and great reaction entertainment. too bad SW is on the recieving end. New to the channel and love your POV

[@joeljwhite]

I agree. They made it seem like there would be a lot of action, but there’s only been 2 short fight scenes. Even if there’s a lot more to come in the next 4 episodes, I’m not that excited about it either 🤷🏼‍♂️. Thanks for the kind words and for watching! I really appreciate it! 🙏🏻

[@majortom2329]

If shit scripts aren't considered weapons the Jedi are doomed.

[@joeljwhite]

😂😂 yep!

[@abhijitkurse53]

Well-said and fair. Prioritization of unsubtle and poorly told real-world messaging over storytelling is a serious issue in Star Wars (and beyond, honestly- it's probably only going to get worse as the world gets more polarized). I have tried to be open-minded as well. I personally liked The Force Awakens and elements of the other sequels, the initial seasons of the Mandalorian, and got excited about Ahsoka, Boba Fett, Kenobi, and this show. I'm personally fine with lore breaking within limits, and I think that change can be good (for example, the EU's Abeloth and Legacy eras were things I thought were a bit weird), but it has to be justified and explainable, not just for a cameo. But destroying years to decades of well-established, preexisting storylines and work by just relegating it to Legends/Expanded Universe is just lazy and disrespectful to me. There have been a lot of accusations that the so-called "Fandom Menace" (now a buzzword) has hated post-2012 Star Wars since it has been more nuanced and diverse, including POCs, women, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented groups, but I have seen so many people like you providing fair and just feedback and showing that a lot of the criticism does not stem from bigotry or grifting. As a POC myself (and member of this "Fandom Menace"), I am not concerned about "review bombing" and toxic right-wing politics as much as lazy storytelling and writing tanking the franchise and its reputation while also giving a bad name and low standards to underrepresented groups in media. My personal interpretation of this show so far is that the Jedi and Republic represent institutional power and its inherent corruption and systemic oppressive nature against marginalized groups such as women, queers, and POCs, despite traditionally being considered "good" and claiming to protect. In reality, this "good" and the "light side" is only upholding an oppressive status quo. Meanwhile, the witches, being women, queer, POC, non-Jedi, and non-light-side, represent a threat to the status quo and something to be crushed by the dominant group, and hence are targeted by the Jedi. One could literally write a thesis on this these days, and I have seen similar ones published. While this is a lot to take away from only 4 episodes and 1 season, I think it is easy to see why people would be concerned about subtle (or not-so-subtle) messaging being prioritized over storytelling, especially considering interviews with Headland, Stenberg, and Turner-Smith about the dark side being cooler, SW needing to tell queer stories, being traditionally patriarchal and need or reform, or good and bad not being distinguishable. Personally, I am fine with representation and social messaging, but it must be done right. Storytelling and good writing must never be secondary to sociopolitical messaging and representation. The latter two categories must at most be on the same level as the former two, and true entertainment is not a medium for writing a thesis. Otherwise, the work is not meant to entertain but to inform or convince, and rhetoric and information are not what most people are looking for in Star Wars or indeed any entertainment. Storytelling used to unite, and it is unfortunate that it is now dividing people so much.

[@atari1994]

Since Jedi Green Lady is LH's wife... she's gonna be the big bad and they're gonna make her the big bad (Plageuis/Tennebrous) so she can be important.

[@jackbauer5003]

Amen brother. I think the final verdict is Disney Star Wars is not Star Wars. It’s just a bad copy.

[@joeljwhite]

Yeah, the more things they make, the worse it gets. 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@SypherSeven]

Lucas said that years ago. Many disn't listen. Supporting and covering the bs they keep putting out helps it continue even with "fans" hating. I personally have watched nothing since manda season 2. I only revisit eps 1-6 and anything Lucas had a hand in. Lucas eloquently told us the truth years ago. Look for it, though recent events reveal it to those who missed it back then.

[@nicolasde9949]

Their gonna make may or osha darth plagueiss the wise

[@markgregorygacosta531]

3:06 you're right she's an annoying character. But did you know that green colored girl character was popular in High Republic because she's actually the most feminine looking and good looking in terms of character design. She actually has long hair and a beautiful girl body figure. But in here, Leslye Headlamp inserted her own wife for the role, making her bald and (for me) fat. The worst of all, I don't think she can act. Just saw Ana the star wars girl talk about it

[@leeboss100]

I checked out after kenobi, they destroyed him completely, I only watch old school starwars youtubers now. Star wars died with Disney

[@joeljwhite]

I totally get that. The Kenobi series was terrible, unfortunately.

[@DildoDaggins69]

I don't know that "message over story" is actually a cogent description here, as there's actually very little in the way of any coherent messaging to be found, let alone coherent characterization and narrative.

[@SypherSeven]

Regardless of their garbage the ONLY reason I have been able to see ANYTHING about it since Manda season 2 are from you all popping in my feed covering their bs. You're still bringing them views with your hate, but not from me. Give them 0 attention and stop given yhem anything UNLESS they confess their mistakes and return to what SW is suppose to be. Cover that. May you discover other more lucrative content to bring you income.

[@truettjbillups]

I didn't even watch it lol

[@jackbauer5003]

Save yourself misery and don’t. If you grew up on Star Wars like me, it’s a train wreck. Terrible writing, set pieces and costumes look worse than the 70s movie, actors are ok but are given a big pile of crap to read. It’s 1 redeeming quality is it does have outstanding fight choreography… the only problem with that is it is way underutilized. I was excited about a Jedi Wookie but, well, that’s a dud too. The writing and directing is what doomed this series. I give a pass to the actors.

[@joeljwhite]

Haha, I don’t blame you.

[@thehacker4012]

You need to take the L on Ki Adi Mundai appearance in The Acolyte, it doesn't break canon, he doesn't say the word Sith nor does he have any reason to believe that the Sith are involved at this point of the story.

[@GilesMcRiker]

I would assume that Headland wrote the script to purposely make the jedis look bad. You have to understand the world she inhabits. For example, she went to the NYU Tisch school of drama whose website explicitly States: "Courses might introduce conceptual frameworks such as postcolonial theory, feminism, ecotheory, Marxism, etc., in order to examine a particular genre, a director or playwright’s oeuvre, or an aesthetic movement." The Marxist)/critical theory worldview is a “conflict theory m odel” that sees society as stratified into privileged classes (eg white, cis, hetero makes, etc ) who oppress the vulnerable classes (eg , black / Brown indigenous, Queer, women, trans etc)

[@bobby_pilgrim4528]

Writing and acting 0/10

[@MarkHarrison-bo3kf]

Fun fact: Star Wars has always used pronouns.

[@parapendejadas4913]

At this point, even the SW Holyday Special feels like "Citizen Kane" compared to this queer/diverse/idiotic garbage called the Acolyte...