The Acolyte Episode 7 - My Honest Review & Breakdown (Easter Eggs, Connections and Ending Explained)

[@StarWarsMeg]

What did YOU think of Episode 7? Excited for the finale next week? 👇 Share your thoughts below and may the Force be with you... always! ✨

[@thestanleys3657]

Meh to ok It told us most of what we had already predicted although I think it's a bit ironic that mother Anasaya's mind games with Torbin are a major catalyst for the tragic events Great seeing kelnoca using his lightsaber The possession of kelnoca and Indara breaking it killing the witches in one go was a bit too easy And Indara being the one to cover up the events was a bit of a surprise

[@alexflores-gu8zf]

alex

[@alfeersum]

More poor production, and this was rookie continuity stuff too. In the first few minutes, in the background around the campfire on Brendock, behind Indara we see a carved circular monolith, similar to the monumental stuff around "ye majycke tree". But when Torbin is in frame, that thing is behind him - in wider shots this is still behind Indara. So what gives? I think I'm justified in being overly critical of the production values in this series - apparently, other shows haven't been great (people complained about Kenobi being badly lit etc) - but this is the first one where it's annoyed me in particular. In other shows, it really hasn't bothered me enough to notice. Maybe the pacing has been better in the others so I've been more engaged - I dunno. I agree that Star Wars isn't perfect, but I think, as fans, we should expect better than this, especially with $180m budget.

[@steelresilience]

This episode satisfied my need to know what happened, but the timing was misplaced. I'm cautious of the finale. But I refuse to be part of the larger groupthink that dislike this show.

[@2apocalypse-X]

Meg, you like many others are confusing "Immaculate Conception" with "Virgin" Birth. The term Immaculate Conception has to do with the fact that Mary the mother of Jesus was born without the curse of Original Sin at the moment of her conception due to God's intervention. Virgin Birth means that Jesus was conceived and born, not of man, but by the Holy Spirit, or in the case of Star Wars, Anakin was conceived and born by the Force/God through the Midiclorians/Holy Spirit.

[@pezzetinosharkmeister9505]

Hi Meg, as much as I think the Acolyte is a complete trainwreck, the worst the "House of Mouse" has done so far, I wanted to really congratulate you for always remaining so objective. You always point out the good and the bad, never giving into the despise most of us have for Disney's SW. Your objective stance gives me the energy to go onwards as a SW Hardcore Fan, hoping that one day there might be a silver ligning somewhere. Thank you again! Oh, and I almost forgot your knowledge of SW lore is really, really impressive!

[@pcb462]

As a Star Wars hard-core fan that was there in 1977 to see this wonderful franchise rollout, I couldn’t disagree more with this show being a train wreck. I’m sorry you don’t like it. it’s a shame that the acolyte and Star Wars has become proxy war for the culture wars. Thankfully, majority of Star Wars fans are OK with the show. It’s just a small minority of very vocal individuals that are acting like they need their diaper changed.

[@Bruce20147]

​@pcb462 that's why I don't like to stay in SW community. These toxic people are very annoying

[@gbear0385]

“most of us” nah bro speak for yourself

[@Loki_Yogi]

​@@pcb462 You're forgetting the OTHER vast majority of "original" Star Wars fans that absolutely think this show is mostly trash with some potential. Most fans, irl (as opposed to being habitually online), have a much more nuanced take on this beloved franchise, and truly want it to be the absolute best it can be, 1st and foremost. The rage-baiting hate watchers are just as annoying and "toxic" as the lovers and defenders on the other side of the extreme. Most fans live in the middle.

[@Psuedo-Nim]

@@pcb462 you are delusional. this pathetic failure of a shwo is reviled by the majority of fans. Anyone who is a real fan of Star Wars does not approve of this garbage.

[@AdventureOtaku]

Are these the four worst Jedi In history? The Padawan is homesick. A Wookiee Jedi Knight gets his brain taken over, Indara is a liar, and Sol is selfish and a liar.

[@ICU1337]

LOL have you met Mace Windu 😂 This show is just continuing to show the hubris of the Jedi but the guy who was homesick so he just lost all discipline to postal on the witch coven was definitely next level scripting 😂 And Sol not knowing his place... If I was Indara he wouldve found out real quick not to mess with a real one 😤💪🏽

[@tammykolu1242]

No worse than anakin in attack of the clones

[@Bruce20147]

This is the outcome when an organization going too big. Jedi Order lost its transparency because not all of them are saint. That also became a reason why the high concouil didn't learn the existence of Sith until Episode 1. The lower level covers up mess.

[@dvaltmeme5046]

bro the whole point of the homesickness was to show how sheltered the jedi were in this era and not used to real conflict. kalnaca getting his brain taken over makes sense i mean an entire coven of force sensitives putting their power together for that and also the whole point of the show is to paint the jedi as the bad guys

[@AdventureOtaku]

@@dvaltmeme5046 I was joking dude... chill out.

[@alxbolt6225]

For an era where there is interstellar space travel, ships the size of a small city built in space, have planetary level space battles, space monks with supernatural skills, they still do not know how to scan planet from orbit or by using drones. Instead they walk around with a metal detector which might take about 100 years to scan the entire planet.

[@nah7656]

the power of 1, the power of 2, the failure of leslyeeeeeeee

[@Ryan-jl7jz]

what like you mean how the Empire uses probe droids in ESB on Hoth (or pretty much anytime theyre looking for anything...)? lol nahhhhh that would make too much sense.... gotta spend 7 weeks "combing the desert" XD

[@Ruylopez778]

How dare you try and apply logic to this show!

[@kovie9162]

Or, except for a handful of planets and the very rich, pretty much everyone in the galaxy lives like people did on earth in the 11th century, wearing burlap and sackcloth in mud huts.

[@nikolaimyhre1187]

You can say the same about our world. With so much technology, why are there apparently easy things yet not solved?

[@motorbikeray]

If Episode 7 was the Jedi's perspective of Episode 3 using the "Rashomon" style of storytelling, then it failed. Why? Because in the film "Rashomon" the same event witnessed by all four characters played out completely different for each character. Episode 7 was basically Episode 3 with deleted scenes added.

[@Plexippuspetersi92]

The biggest question is why Sol is revealing this to MAE, the kid who saw him murder her mother, rather than Osha, who was locked in?

[@jonathanhoward8608]

Because he wanted to tell the truth from the beginning

[@mr_eeeez]

Mae and Osha are one soul in two bodies. Telling Mae is the same as telling Osha. Their symbiots are identical, which is impossible unless they are the same soul.

[@fr.andygutierrez5356]

@@mr_eeeez I see what you mean, based solely on what we learned in this episode, but the storytelling is pretty inconsistent. The twins didn’t even know that they were both alive, so they obviously don’t have a single consciousness. I could see the script going in that direction, but there are major plot holes

[@Subremedy]

He still didnt tell Mae the truth. ​@jonathanhoward8608

[@Subremedy]

​@mr_eeeez likely the show won't have a second season and we know the twins don't know they are one conscience. Still makes no sense telling one will help the other understand, and Sol doesn't know that either.

[@Xander315]

This episode has me worried about the ending I feel like next episode is going to be very rushed

[@Juwan1583]

Regular degular atp

[@shaundavidssd]

180m masterpiece

[@tnoinetwork]

yep

[@brendanhalloran7334]

Yeah, I think they were planning on multiple seasons. Like Ashoka. I think part of the issue is how expensive it is to do live action SW like this - which was always why George stayed clear of it back in the day. But I agree, they have tried to tell a massive story in a short season. I like the story at its bones, but some of the choices are odd - that flashback was not how I was expecting it to go down.

[@nah7656]

@@brendanhalloran7334 I was giving this series a sold 50/100 or 5/10 whatever. it wasn't as bad as the ones with hateboners, but this last episode.. it's now a 3/10. I was expecting that Mae didn't cause the fire and she did. the big bad the jedi covered up was... torbin rushed there for what? Sol was concerned for the twins especially osha and rightly so... she didn't want to be a witch. Indara killed all the witches by clearing kelnacca's mind and couldn't stop a blade from killing her? and sol had to choose which one to save... choose the devil child or choose the one that wants to be a jedi... that was the "big bad" of the jedi? that? I thought they killed the witches purposefully, they didn't. when a massive black fart materializes in front of me, I'd probably shoot it.

[@CapricornOnTheCob]

Watching the show, I didnt get that the twins were the vergence, but that the planet was a vergence, and the witches used that power to make the twins.

[@cheeseknees9606]

That's 100% what it is... those trees and plants didn't just pop up since the kids was born!

[@Ruylopez778]

That's a genuinely interesting concept.

[@fmaries7000]

I think you're correct but torbin wanting to leave so badly convinced himself that it was the twins. Torbin made a bad CHOICE and rushed into a decision which caused the dominos to fall.

[@bsmithhammer]

Your attempts at sense-making are commendable.

[@nicomal]

​@@fmaries7000Still doesn't explain why Master Trinity kept him in the dark about the mission for almost two months. That had to be frustrating and inconvenient, how was he supposed to do his job without knowing the mission. That's admiral Hodo's level of leadership.

[@TonyMidyett]

Why did the witches die? Was it some form of "psychic feedback" when Indara broke their control of Kelnacca? If so, that makes Indara seem amazingly powerful. Is that "turning into smoke" thing just teleportation? How did Mae survive falling off the catwalk into that giant hole? And why were the witches worshipping at that hole? Is it the vergence? The site is a former mining colony---did the miners accidentally dig up Cthulhu, or what? What happened to Koril? Why did Sol feel instantly connected to Osha? What does it mean that the twins have "the exact same midichlorians"? A particular batch of midichlorians can't be in two bodies at the same time, right? Will we ever learn how and why the twins were created? I assume that we'll get all of these answers if the show lasts 3 seasons, as planned, but they cannot possibly fit many answers into episode 8, given that they have to squeeze a chase and a lightsaber showdown in there. 😫

[@madelinegarber7860]

Agreed on all counts. My friend thinks they died because they hadn’t encountered another non dark side force user in a while and whatever Andara did to break the spell mighr have backfired on them in some way. But I don’r think either party knew the witches would die. But it can’t be denied that Andara is crazy powerful.

[@cheeseknees9606]

Is it confirmed that the witches died? To me it looked like they all collectively fainted, so just looked dead to osha as her and sol passed.

[@obiologo]

i dont think they died... they just passed out after the spell was broken... then, they died after the explosion...

[@erickillian313]

Seems like a huge downside to the witches power that you can touch it and they all drop dead or pass out. SMH....

[@danibananeee]

I was wondering if the twins are one mind, maybe they are actually a part of Mother Aniseya? So she broke her soul into three, like good ol Voldy. I don't know enough about the Star Wars universe, but is that possible? Is it frowned upon? Maybe that's why they keep dodging the question about how the twins were created. She turned herself and Mae into smoke right after Mae said Osha was trapped, maybe that's her teleportation and since they are a part of her they teleport with her, so she was trying to bring Osha to safety? I don't know, I'm really spit balling here.

[@jameshill4900]

Hard to believe this was the big revel episode. One episode left to try to wrap up what is overall a very badly written story. The Acolyte had potential when looking at episode 6 and story based of the sith. Unfortunately that isn't the show we got.

[@pcb462]

The show is fine. Just a bunch of overly sensitive fanboys still trying to bring down the acolyte.

[@bjrnthebootybandit]

​@@pcb462It ain't the worst thing I ever watched but it's lowkey trash

[@captainDJ87]

​@@pcb462go buy the nonexistent merch and tell us how this is show is a drop in the bucket for SW pop culture

[@MNToThat]

"This is a Mystery Show" - Leslie Hedland Ep3: Mae started a fire and everyone died. Ep7: Mae started a fire and everyone died.. *scooby doo music* The finale will be setup for a season 2 that has already been cancelled. When Star Wars Meg is finding it hard to find the positives, you have to face the fact the show has been a misstep.

[@johnwong4952]

@@pcb462 Based on the rotten tomatoes score, the acolyte is bringing itself down with its poor story.

[@barbraarchives5604]

I’ve supported this show. But the big reveal this episode was not sufficient and lacking in drama. I think about Sophie’s reveal in SOPHIES CHOICE … I think about Hawkeye’s reveal in the climax of the MASH TV show … this ACOLYTE reveal was really stupid. And I agree, Meg, what a weird choice to have Jedis collecting moss samples for months in order to confirm a vergence of the Force. So weird.

[@EricTheMusicNerd]

I think the best description for the series so far is, Underwhelming. Considering the budget given to this series, overall, and episode to episode, it's the best description I can come up with. I know as Star Wars fans we always seem to expect more. But I feel with this series, that's valid. The hype around the series and the money thrown at it, I feel they've really over promised and under delivered.

[@wendyweaver8749]

@EricTheMusicNerd - Underwhelming. I agree because I thought the superb writing, outstanding acting and compelling storyline of Andor would be the standard for all future live-action shows. Added to that disappointment is how short each episode is.

[@fmaries7000]

Everyone please keep in mind this episode is called "CHOICE". This episode clearly shows how people's choices will dictate their futures. Yes, there were a lot bad choices made but there were a lot of bad choices made by pretty much all the main characters.

[@wegojinx7053]

Master Torbin became not only a Jedi Knight but a Master in less than 6 yrs before he started the Jedi Meditative Vow. and then he takes his own life to something that wasn't really his fault. Graduating to Master Jedi use to mean something

[@erickillian313]

They were too focused on making a 20 year old look massively balding and symbolic of misplaced white male guilt to bother with a sensible character arc.

[@wegojinx7053]

@erickillian313 they were on the planet of Brendok for 7 weeks why they didn't tell Torbin what they were looking for. A Vergeance in the force

[@stevenclubb7718]

How the four reacted is based on their actions. Indira didn't seem all that bothered because if people had listened to her, none of this would have happened, so she comes off a bit arrogant 18 years later. Sol is deeply guilty as he killed Osha's mother, but is the only one who can make her life better, so he's deeply conflicted. The Wookie was possessed and attacked others, so he no longer trusts himself and hides himself away from people. Torbin, being the one whose rash actions set this tragedy in motion, chooses a life of inaction. Had he listened to his Master, none of them would have been there, so he feels the weight of all those deaths even if he didn't kill anyone.

[@wegojinx7053]

@stevenclubb7718 I think u don't realize what it takes to be a Jedi Master with all those descriptions u detailed about Torbin. he couldn't have graduated to become a Jedi Knight let alone a Jedi Master. Read the Jedi Council Chronicles and see the rigorous test Mind Body Spiritual Emotional etc is crucial with Torbin's Guilt, he wouldn't be able to ascend to knighthood The writers of this show didn't consider that

[@wegojinx7053]

furthermore Other experience Jedi would have sensed Torbin he wouldn't be able to succeed in the Jedi trials like I said they throw around the term " Jedi Master " too loosely

[@Liryc83]

I wanted to know more about Qimir and Brendok this episode and how he knows what he does.

[@Subremedy]

I think they wanted to save stuff for season 2, but that will never happen

[@hezzybaby]

This episode was deifnitely better than episode 3, but I agree; episode 3 and 7 SHOULD have been one long episode. The episode lengths of this show are truly frustrating, we have two episodes that could have been one big long episode (an arguement could be made that episodes 4 and 5 could also have been a longer episode), and multiple shorter episodes that could've been fleshed out to make the series more impactful. The way Leslye Headland has been talking (and one of the reasons I was wary of this show as someone who is pro-Jedi) is that episode 3 and 7 were going to be Rashamon-esque and show wildly different perspectives of the same event. While we got a different perspective it wasn't wildly different, just added context. Based on the showrunners attitude towards the Jedi as a whole I was fully expecting this episode to show us that the four Jedi on Brendock were truly evil and commited atrocities but what we got actually got was certain members of the Jedi AND the Coven making extremely stupid decisions (Torbin's need to get off planet while, Sol's assumption Mae and Osha were being abused (fair considering what he witnessed of Koril's treatment of the twins) and becoming attached to Osha, Koril siccing Mae on Osha to stop her leaving and completely disregarding Aniseya's choice to let Osha go) and it all spiralled out of control. As for Torbin, I don't think his guilt is over wanting to leave the planet, but that he made reckless choices for a stupid and inconsequencial need to leave Brendock like a petulant teenager, and that those choices led to the death of so many people. The line about Night Sisters not training younglings is just bizarre. If they don't train younglings then how were Merrin and Morgan Elspeth trained? Tales of The Empire literally shows us youngling!Morgan in the first episode. On a side note I think this episode shows us clear examples of love vs attachment, with Aniseya respecting Osha's decision and to let her go (love) vs Koril resorting to violence to keep Osha with her despite the fact Osha doesn't want to stay with the Coven (attachment). Again, this show is raising more questions than it's answering, and not in a good way. We can only hope we're going to get some satisfying answers next week.

[@krishnar1182]

I had so much hope after episodes 5 and 6 that things were improving with this series. But episode 7 seems to be a simple rehash of what we saw before and frankly most of it was predictable. On many levels I'm so glad that this is almost over.

[@madelinegarber7860]

I actually liked this a lot more than ep3. It filled in enough gaps to give much more context to a lot of the other things that have happened this season. Though my friend and I both agree that there are still quite a few questions that need answering. She and I both wanted more explanation for why Torbin took the barash vow rather than just leaving the order. Also like you saud it doesn’t explain what he said to May. I also wanted more answers on exactly hiw the twins were created and how the witches learned that power, but I’m not convinced we’ll get them. The vergence thing didn’t bother me. Who says there can be only one? And Sol definitely holds a lot of the blame for what happened and he was definitely being selfish. But let’s not forget that it was Torbin who started the violence. They should’ve waited for the witches to make their decision. They acted on fear and emotion when they rushed in and I think that’s a pint of guilt too. I also definitely don’t think he meant to kill Anisayah. As my friend putting it, this felt less like the jedi did something truly dark then a whole buunch of hastily made decisions and misunderstandings spiralling out of control and getting crazy. But Osha’s gonna be so mad when she finds out.

[@lunarpollen]

For me, the two big unanswered questions are: 1. What exactly happened to all the coven members when/after Indara broke their link with / hold over Kelnacca? We see them all go instantly unconscious(?), and we later see Sol find them all still in that state during his attempt to extract the two children as the facility was burning/collapsing. But what exactly happened to them when the link was broken, and what was their actual ultimate fate? 2. Why/how did such an absolutely massive facility made mostly of stone and metal go up in flames and quickly/completely become destroyed from the relatively tiny fire set by a small book and whatever small amount of fuel was in the lantern(?) that Mae was carrying? Stone and metal are relatively fireproof materials, and surely what what was once a mining facility had at least some automatic fire suppression measures in place, and had been constructed with inherent structural features to help limit the quick spread of fire, as almost all modern commercial/industrial buildings/facilities are. My biggest issue with this episode was the unremarkable pop tune over the closing credits. Up until this point, I felt that one of the most brilliant aspects of the series has been its music, especially the outstanding closing credits music of the first six episodes. To suddenly replace it with this aesthetically inappropriate tune for the closing credits of episode 7 was very jarring and baffling...

[@vybhaveswaraiah7114]

Complete nonsense that music was. These guys are literally simply fooling around with their work and choices. Absolutely terrible

[@SadCowDisease1]

1. I think they all died when the link was broken. That was the loud gasp we heard from the other episode. It's pretty dumb imo.

[@SofiaFreja]

my first thought halfway through the episode was "why wasn't episode 3&7 one episode? Also, do these flashback episodes service the story? Why not make 3 & 7 a single hour long 1st episode for the series. Then jump ahead in time. Make the remaining episodes all around an hour by combining 1&2, 4&5.. 30 min episodes kind of suck for a drama, and i think it's hurting this show. Almost all TV dramas on American television are an hour long (40+ min plus commercials). It's because it can take a few minutes to get into the story, and abruptly exiting the story after only 25 min of screen time kind of feels like we're being short changed. Overall I think there is a good story in the Acolyte, and I question the editing and some of the episode structure. As has been said before, the money spent on this series should have given us 8-10 hour long episodes. Not long ago most Scifi series, like Stargate, Trek, etc. spent around $2M per episode. This series is burning $20M for every 20-30 min of story.

[@thewulfffff8853]

So the scenes that both the flashback episodes shared lined up perfectly. I'm taking that to mean we didn't get 2 different characters perspectives as we expected, we just got more of the full picture. And it was incredibly unsatisfying. It looks like yes, the reactor really did blow up cause somehow the fire traveled through the electrical system of the building

[@BrianBorges-ez3ls]

Hey Meg! All that opening scene needed to make it perfect was for "The Detectorists" theme to be playing and then Lance & Andy to toddle up and say, "Welcome to our field! If you're parched, Sheila's mixing up a pitcher of lemonade!"🍋 I do not like this story, but tv gave SW a chance to do new things you couldn't do in the cinemas. So, I'm okay not loving every series, but this story would have been slightly better if the flashbacks were ep 1 & 2, and then they moved to the present day revenge tale. But that doesn't excuse myriad other story flaws and weak production values. This is the 3rd ep that I fell asleep partway through. Great review, Meg!💕

[@stefanienapolitan8850]

I agree with your assessment that we are left with more questions instead of answers. It doesn’t go far enough.

[@kevinrightmeyer7892]

Maybe Kai Patterson will give us a cleaned up movie length version of the Acolyte after he finishes with Ahsoka cut this summer.

[@erickillian313]

Ah yes, molding shit has never been more fun. He'll be lucky if he can get a 5 minute short out of this pile o' crap. I do love the patterson cuts though, but no story here to work with.

[@baneleaf7025]

I just feel disappointed in the fact that a show that was advertised as a Sith story, has had one questionable Sith of some sort, one dark side coven that is not really that much of a dark side coven, and flash backs that took up 25% of the show time overall that really could have been half an episode. I am really starting to think that people who said Hedlyn was all wrong for this were not just hating on her, they were completely right. I am watching the show, will probably watch it another time or two because I am a Junkie, but this is not helping the Star Wars franchise at all. Pick any two chapters out of the legends Legacy of the Jedi series and you will see more Sith activity than the first 7 episodes of a Sith centric story.

[@jillian4068]

Indara and Sol's intentions weren't to kill the members of the coven, but both their actions end up resulting in this. Sol thought Mae was Osha at first it seemed, in the scene where he ends up killing the mother. He seemed to act on thinking he was trying to protect Osha from whatever magic the mother was doing, as it was affecting Mae as well, and only after she dies, he realizes it's Mae. Indara was trying to stop Kelnaca from further hurting their team, then free his mind from the witch control, not realizing succeeding to do so would end up taking out the rest of the witch coven out. They seemed to collectively be combining all their powers in efforts to fight back. The one thing Sol was shown to be intentional about, was deciding to let go of Mae when he couldn't keep his force hold to save both, so he lets go of Mae to fall to her demise, and rescues Osha. He could have tried instead force pulling both girls off the falling bridge structure rather than preventing it from falling. That could have used less force effort to save both, but the way it was presented felt like it was more to service the intended plot. He was clear he was drawn to Osha, even though he kept mentioning caring for both. I'm not sure that this episode from the Jedi's POV covers the conversation Sol is supposed to be having with Mae, or if we see that next episode - unless she manages to break free from his restraints first somehow. The episode did feel redundant to me with the 3rd too. And the music at the end credits really took me out of it, it felt like a really odd choice.

[@justinroe9271]

Torbin was a punk. Ahsoka got thrown in the deep end of the Clone Wars with Anakin as her master. Talk about a trial by fire.

[@erinm9445]

Yep. I would have had n easoer time buying Torbin if i weren't constantly comparing him to ll the crazy stuff Ahsoka gets thrown into. Other Padawans like Barris too. Toebin' lofe is cushy! Hes basically just at kind of a boring summer camp for a few months and he can't take it!

[@arthurpaz5226]

This background was needed, but, because of the existence of episode 3, spending a whole episode in the past (again) sounded a waste of time. The extra new scenes could be presented in like 15 minutes... and in the rest of the episode they could explore the present day, with Qimir/Osha and Sol/Mae (supposing an episode of 50/60 minutes, which is also far from the reality of Disney Plus shows)

[@Ruylopez778]

This really has Obi-Wan show marketing vibes: "Wait till you see the big reveals!" only for the reveals to not be very interesting, but rather obvious and expected. Like pretty much all the Disney live action shows, there's a two hour story stretched out unnecessarily, and a fairly mediocre story at that.

[@briscocreighton3376]

It's the J.J. Abrams "mystery box." Character motivations and plot are treated as a a commodity to be reluctantly trickled out week to week in order to stretch runtime.

[@bsmithhammer]

And yet Obi Wan was a veritable magnum opus compared to this drivel.

[@jeffanderson9675]

You nailed it. The episode fell short. If the last one was 1:15 minutes I’d feel better but it’s not. The fatal mistake these shows make is trying so hard to get season 2 (To keep their jobs?) and thinking people will just watch because it’s Star Wars….but the content they are giving us isn’t juicy enough for die hard and not interesting enough for casual fans.

[@paulab5264]

Agree that this episode left more questions than answers. Mother Aniseya's possession and manipulation of Torbin was creepy on many different levels and pointless. Torbin hopping on the speeder and rushing off to kidnap the twins so he can go home made him look unstable. Sol following then joining him was bad on Sol's part. I think Mother Korril is still around and maybe saved Mae from the fall, but then possessed her. It may explain why Mae acts bipolar. This show is poorly written, which is too bad because there were some interesting ideas, and the actors are working their butts off.

[@iangrimm]

The episode left me even more confused than going in. All “new” information could have been placed in Ep 3. I hope the finale is 70 minutes. Odd choice for a Jedi cover-up - and I feel like Mae’s vengeance was misdirected and should be focused on Sol. Not great.

[@nah7656]

the entire time im thinking it wasn't mae that started the fire... but it was! so poorly done and episode 7 was basically a retelling of episode 3. it was insulting to those that pay for this. im truly convinced that most of that 180 mill was pocketed.

[@Subremedy]

Granted these are like 35mins episodes... I just want to get this show over with. No season 2 pls.

[@erickillian313]

You know the finale is going to be, at best, 5 minutes longer than the other episodes.

[@antonio36996]

It is enough for osha to turn to the dark side as her mother was killed by sol. I am more diasppointed now after this episode that Endara had to be the first to go. It does not make sense someone that powerful can be taken down by May. They clearly show how powerful and how jedi she was. it makes sense her padawan can commit suicide but endara being arrogant towards May's skills ...

[@jillg9108]

I agree that this episode was really disappointing. Why did Indara's break of the connection kill the coven? I do not think we saw Corill; so she may very well have survived and was with Mae.

[@obiologo]

i dont think they died... they just passed out after the spell was broken... then, they died after the explosion...

[@Subremedy]

​@obiologo well I don't think we will ever know. I think the producers want us to know they died because of Indaras face

[@jeremyjimenez8153]

I liked it more than episode three. There is some clarity to it, and I like the ambiguity of the Jedi.

[@baneleaf7025]

Also, please no second season, burry this in a vault somewhere and give me back the Willow series for a bit.

[@legotalkreviewplay3415]

I don’t know how 40mins will wrap up this show There are just too many unanswered questions And also, it better be action packed…

[@RomanPhilosopher]

not really. What questions do you feel need to be answered by the end of the finale?

[@Subremedy]

​@@RomanPhilosopherthere are just way too many..

[@JasonTubbs-w8b]

There was never a mention of an immaculate conception leading to the birth of Mae and Osha. All we know right now is that the Jedi believe that Mae and Osha were one being split apart by the force. While this isn’t explained well either, there doesn’t need to be a conflict with Anakin’s birth.

[@kovie9162]

Torbin being a whiny child who misses his home yet the padawan of a highly respected Jedi who was chosen for this mission makes no sense, nor does the selection of Sol, who for all of his good intentions is incapable of controlling his emotions as well. It's like asking a drunk to babysit your kids. The only way that any of this makes sense is if there's something about this planet, be it the dark side of the force, or the presence of Sith or other dark side users, that turns otherwise disciplined, trained and capable Jedi into blubbering messes who can't control their emotions or actions. Which, perhaps, was exactly what was going on. If so, then what WAS going on, specifically? Was it Sith or powerful dark side users, or was it the dark side of the force, which neither Sith nor witches nor Jedi really understood or controlled, and if so does it have anything to do with the reason that Baylan and Elsbeth traveled to that distant planet in Ahsoka? Is there some primal aspect of the force, or hyper-powerful force user(s), that has yet to be understood or harnessed that has secretly been controlling events throughout the galaxy and beyond? Which if so, seems like a storytelling cop-out and yet another convenient re-framing of the overall story to solve various dramatic challenges and problems. Or, were the Jedi and witches being manipulated by the Sith, and just didn't know it? That would make a lot more sense and make for a much better story. I'm going with the Sith were secretly manipulating both Jedi and witches to serve their agenda, which was to create children powerful in the force that they could then take and train as their acolytes. And it wasn't necessarily only on Brendok and on this mission, but perhaps elsewhere, such as Coruscant, in the senate, trade federation, and even the Jedi order. Perhaps, by the time of TPM, most of the machinations to destroy the Jedi and republic were already in place and well along, with only the final pieces needed to be put in place to make it happen (kind of paralleling the extended construction of the death star until the final pieces could be obtained and installed). I also suspect that we're going to find out something about the Sith that will upturn everything we thought about them. Like, there's really been only one Sith all along, swapping his consciousness with his apprentice's just as the latter was in the process of murdering him, so he always survives, in a younger and usually fitter body. If he can create life, then surely he can transfer consciousness. Well, we'll find out soon--hopefully.

[@edbjrqz]

I just saw that the power of many doesn’t really work

[@jabberdouche]

I saw the whope Torbin thing as, the witch found a weakness, but the got in his head and compounded it. He wouldnt have jumped on that speeder bike, if not for witch lady getting in his head. I think the witches never left Torbins or Kelnaca's head.

[@bjrnthebootybandit]

That's not what was shown and headcannon. They got out and it was stated he had reinforced his mind.

[@nah7656]

that would make sense (also kelnacca's drawings in his domicile) but making sense out of something I dont even think the show runner knows how to make sense of, gave me migraine last night.

[@jabberdouche]

@@nah7656 Oh yeah, I forgot about those drawings. You're right.

[@nah7656]

@@jabberdouche look, I like that people are enjoying this but there are valid reasons why others aren't. I hope they make sense of this, I do. but last nights episode left me enraged and ive never felt that way before after watching Disney SW. I was enraged because this episode was basically a retelling of episode 7, and it didn't need to take up a whole episode. if they had followed it all up with more runtime, I maybe wouldn't have been so angry, and again, I dont get mad like that. episode 7 was honestly one of the worst shows ive ever seen.

[@erickillian313]

Thanks for keeping it real with your honest opinion Meg. I know you like to keep it positive here and I love you for that. But Star Wars fans aren't blind.

[@ScottyHawkish]

Koril saved Mae, the same way Aniseya tried too but Koril succeeded. Just my prediction.

[@mehranzarrinehteram7228]

I don't comment too often on your channel but I watch it every time. I was ready to come today and type in a novel, but "everything you said". I agree. Is this bad writing, bad acting, bad editing. I am a Star Wars fan and have not read any books or novels. Do I care about a home-sick Padawan? I don't understand the story they are trying to tell. It does not shed light on any dark corner of the Star Wars saga. 😞

[@jamesjuba3203]

1st thing my buddy commented on the episode was about the music during end credits

[@leaprincexleia4172]

Horrible choice of music!

[@pangaeawriter8766]

I don't think the twins step on Anakin's conception. Mae and Osha were created through manipulation of the Force (Dark Side or not), while Anakin appears to have occurred by the will of the Force (in Legends, as a response to Darth Plagueis's attempts to control it.). And that there makes the crucial difference. As for the flashback episodes, while I agree they are not the best, I'm expecting some fans to make an edit of them to give a more chronological depiction of events.

[@balkibartokomous]

So frustrating to like a lot of parts of the show and be confused by a lot of parts of the show. Totally reminds me of LOST where nothing gets explained but is a mystery for mystery's sake

[@oilerfreak]

Fair review and likely still leaving strings for a second season regardless if it is renewed or not, why? Books and comics. You never know what might expand on this series. Could be the next animated show who knows. Thanks as always Meg.

[@rodlightsey5504]

In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Zaalbar refers to "Mad Claw" as an especially heinous way for a Wookie to behave. This explains a lot of Kelnacca's behavior.

[@markdavies6524]

Episodes 1-4 were awful ,enjoyed 5 &6 but 7 was crap,whoever told the 2 kids they could act needs locking up and I never want to hear 'mama' ever again Keep the good work Meg

[@Zakk_Zero]

I agree with most of this. 👍 I am not an Acolyte hater, but many parts of this series just feels like an unnecessary train wreck with an unsatisfying answers/reasons and payoff. I feel no further in the story than what episode 3 did, so they should have been rolled into 1 episode. Reason for the group of Jedi's guilt is absolutely horrible. How about a unknown powerful Sith in the shadows temporarily mind controls the group (like Corril did Torbin) so they fight and kill the witches and take Mae and/or Osha. Much better reason for eternal guilt even though it wasn't really their fault. I loved the scene with Mother Aniseya in Torbin's mind. That said, simply "I want to go home to Coruscant " is an awful and unimaginative motivation. I don't mind the actor and character, but the Jedi should have been smart enough to not bring such a whiny, questioning padawan on a mission, let alone on an important one. Like Midi-chlorians, I am not liking "a vergence" being pulled out of thin air/a bantha's @$$.

[@harrybachmann9815]

I think your review Meg is spot on.

[@johnwoltmann1897]

I just can't imagine, the higher ups at Disney/Star Wars watching the Final Cut and going, "oh man we got a gem!" This will be the beginning of greatness, it's crazy to me. Go watch house of the dragons and bring those people to Star Wars or just let the ANDOR people show run

[@fabiendalmasso]

I think they said "Well... That's not good but you know what ? It's Star Wars. They will watch as long as they keep thinking it can improve."

[@RomanPhilosopher]

thats an adult show aimed at an adult audience, with a R if not NC-17 rating... compared to a children's show aimed at all audiences, with a PG if not PG-13 at most rating. Weird comparison. One is a pulpy reimagining of 1930s serials in a space fantasy universe governed by a galactic republic with a corrupt senate and space monks acting as UN Peacekeepers and detectives... and the other is an adaptation from a very adult medieval fantasy book universe about politics and war and succession crisis'. Tone, Content, Writing Style, Genre, etc are very very different.

[@Ruylopez778]

Well, they did briefly have Benioff & Weiss signed up...

[@ryzert]

On the immaculate conception front, based on the blood test from the twins, Sol suggests they were artificially created, that indicates to me that they think force user(s) created them. Whereas with Anakin the dialogue from Qui Gon makes it sound as though they think it was an 'act of god' for lack of a better term relating to a specific prophecy. The point is that both times the Jedi never know for sure exactly what caused the creation and neither do we. I don't think it makes Anakin any less special, I think it's plausible that the twins and Anakin could both have been conceived either directly from Sith involvement or as a backlash from force manipulation from the Sith. Either way one thing is clear and consistent, if a vergence in the force creates life, leave it the hell alone!!!

[@cptaylorguitars3722]

I don't understand why Torbin still went on to be a Knight (as he was still a Padawan when this episode took place), however I do understand why he took the vow. It's not just because the wtiches got inside his head. It's that, plus Sol killing Mother Aniseya, Kelnacca attacking him, and his master (Indara) killing the rest of them.

[@erickillian313]

Torbin had no control over any of these actions so far as I could see. Why would he have such guilt? Why does a 20 year old look like he's a balding 40 year old man from the 1980s?

[@smallies7154]

The best part was Sol collecting some moss at the start in honor of Trinity 😉

[@TonyMidyett]

I see what you did there!

[@kp4588]

Nice take. I thought it was some space pot.

[@SuperPlacido1]

What do you mean by that?

[@winosm]

Damn funny

[@M2Mil7er]

@@SuperPlacido1 Carrie-Anne Moss, the actress who plays Indara, and Trinity from The Matrix.

[@librapan8]

The main focus should have been on a former Jedi Padawan who got seduced (why?), her darkside training (by whom?), her former Jedi master trying to get her back and the coven (grey users) somewhat assisting the Jedi and secretly guiding the Acolyte. A Sith is revealed in the last episode, Ki Adi wasn’t born yet and Yoda+ kept the secret which influenced the downfall of the Jedi.

[@RomanPhilosopher]

Ki adi's age wasn't part of the canon, He is born whenever they write that he was born. Yoda knows nothing about any of this... The focus was on the central conspiracy, which Sol was telling Mae about at the end of last episode. Osha being seduced to the dark side next episode. Mae was trained by the Stranger so she could get revenge on the Jedi for killing her family. Sol feels guilty because his fear and selfishness brought death and destruction, then he lied about it for Osha's benefit but feels horrible about it. The coven arent assisting the jedi or guiding the acolyte to my knowledge, whats that referencing?

[@nah7656]

that friend, would have made for a better episode than a retelling of a former episode because that is basically what this was. and im sorry.... what did the jedi do that was so bad? really? torbin was going to the witches to do what? "mama" going all ghost like was scary, sol reacted in a way a lot of us would.... they're not doing a good job of making the jedi look like the bad guys when the witches were basically going to combine the twins together.

[@Roman-i7d4l]

I just don't get why the council didn't find a vergance centered on children who were with witches on a supposed dead planet weren't more involved. Even if the girls were to old, its why the council even sent them, to find out what's what..

[@JeffsJeep]

One thing I enjoyed about this episode was that they explored the moral injury of conscientious people - CPTSD. The questioning of whether the mother was going to sacrifice the children, which sounds pretty likely within the dialogue.

[@cwelch37]

It’s sad to reduce the Jedi to people needing therapy fumbling around with metal detectors. The force does not seem to be with this show.

[@nah7656]

Im convinced it's a money laundering scheme.

[@codygusto9654]

Oh boy let me tell you about this Jedi named Anakin...

[@notmephisto1375]

​@@codygusto9654Exactly. People get so outraged that we are seeing flawed Jedi but then believe Anakin is like Christ. Oh brother.

[@KRobinson-ko1ne]

Anakin is what happens when you give in to the dark side How is this even an excuse for the show: a mistake on George’s part doesn’t give Disney an excuse to make the same mistake and then some Of course this case can’t be classified as “the same”: this is clearly the result of having really no consistent story prior to filming and just making it up as they go. This idea is lackluster because of such buildup: it turns out he grew weary of this planet when off on a mission. Why would the Jedi grant this padawan any position as an active member? People either mistake the Jedi as being dogmatic or deliberately try to misinterpret them to the public as some draconian order that they are not. They are working with the will of the force and the common good. It is indeed a sacrifice to become the order but it’s supposed allegorical of altruism.

[@mattrismatt]

​@@KRobinson-ko1ne Perhaps the people you think are mistaken about the Jedi are actually right. While I do think the Jedi do 'work with the will of the force and the common good', we have to keep in mind that their noble intentions and seemingly great power didn't allow them to foresee their Order's imminent destruction, the fall of the Republic, or explain their diminishing ability to use the Force. Based on what has occurred throughout the grander Star Wars story, it should be clear by now that the Jedi were not the ideal doers of good and justice throughout their galaxy. Instructed by failed Jedi, what happened to Luke should have been expected. Anyone accepting that Rey won simply aren't paying attention. ( _Doing the same things and expecting different results_ comes to mind.) The will of the Force _to what end?_ What does it mean to serve 'the common good'? Better yet, what is 'good'? Can it vary, depending on one's point of view, as Palpatine claimed?

[@Juwan1583]

I disagree, Torbin situation wasn’t confusing at all. They said multiple times there mission was was something else than the witches. You can’t plan for random witches on a planet that has been deserted not to mention the was already on a mission that lead into this situation

[@ericfeldman1530]

Maybe a third flashback coming from the perspective of Qimir or Mother Koril? As he or she may have rescued Mae.

[@kevthepoet]

I think Corall is the sith lord master. I think Venestra was Qimir's former master but not his current master. The white mother had knowledge of the darkside and instructed MAe to use the darkside in this episode.

[@nicomal]

The best part of the show is Qimir. He's the only consistent character.

[@seansheppard7924]

There are bad Jedi. You look in the clone wars there was a Jedi that literally disrespected the clones and sent them to their deaths. Also, The divergence that created, the twins does not take away from Anakin being the chosen one. This diversions created two people that possess a singular being one dark and one light. Anakin represented one person that possessed both light and dark. So which made him special because he was able to carry both the light and dark versus two people carrying one or the other. Which makes him the chosen one.

[@deehaytch8442]

not a star wars fan, but them Jedi look like some guys goigng to a party dressed up as jedi...you know that vibe?

[@jasonkessinger8062]

I think you made a mistake when you said Sol was upset because it was his selfish mission to take Osha as a padwan, but I think it was because he chose one over the other when the bridge fell and he chose to let Mai fall and held Osha with the force. That is why he was upset with himself.

[@empireofengland6039]

I need to say,you got a lot wrong here. Sacrifice was said by mother Anaseya in episode 3,was metaphorical . Jedi understood wrong ,because Mae didnt get it.

[@mrvoltar]

I learned a lot this episode. What I was expecting to be a literal active witch hunt was only a metaphorical witch hunt based on Sol's bias. This show doesn't have to show us how the witches created life because if anything, it may explain how the sith would have any knowledge or concept of, "creating life," which stood out as a question that needed to be answered since Revenge of the Sith. The jedi got off easy in this episode. Indara and the order were making the more appropriate choice of leaving the coven alone while Sol's seemingly willful misunderstanding is the real villain. Torbin showed us how seemingly innocuous impatience makes him susceptible to Sol's bs. I expected there to be some kind of Revan-like force brainwashing but we see that there was nothing but perspective making Mae's behavior seem weird in episode 3. I'm sure there's more but that's just what immediately came to mind when you said we didn't learn anything in this episode.

[@marktakethat]

This was bad rogue padawan who was whining about going home while on a nice field trip with his master and colleagues. Sitting round the campfire each night and testing plant life - it’s a hard Jedi life. Sol just stabbing at Smokey witch - why what was the threat ?? Best get my metal detector out apparently it detects force vergence !!

[@jeffreyhei7038]

Did you catch that Sol confused Mae for Osha, when Mae came in to get help? I wonder if Sol got his force feeling about Mae not Osha, but do too them both being 1 person 2 bodies, and it might of been the force trying to get Mae and Sol together and not Osha and Mae?

[@chairman67]

I don't think this show is worth giving any reviews on at all.. because The Acolyte is just complete and utter garbage... whoever created it should be fired from Disney Lucasfilm and never be allowed to touch another Star Wars project ever again.

[@Dec4AllTimeAlways]

Before I get into my rant on how much I think The Acolyte sucks, I want to say Star Wars Meg and Generation Tech are great Star Wars channels. While I do enjoy Star Wars Explained, I do find Alex & Mollie a bit too shill-y. We need more fair and balanced opinions. Admit you don't like it. Now onto The Acolyte Ep. 7 "Choice" .... It sucks. One commenter said, it's a recap of Episode 3 but with very little new info. That's basically what it was. The two WTF moments was finding out Osha and Mae have the same symbiont and as Indara suggested, the vergence's power was so dense, it created one consciousness but split into two bodies. And the other WTF moment was Aniseya and Koril turning into dark spirits. WTF are they? I did not understand why Aniseya turned that way? Was she trying to defend Mae who Sol mistakenly took for as Osha? What was the need of conflict if Aniseya was willing to let Osha go to the Jedis? The younger twins are portrayed by fraternal twins. Young Mae has a prettier nose but has a more sinister face and devilish smile. Young Osha has a more worried and unsure face. Sol seems like a weak Jedi who can't lift two bridges from falling apart and can't seem to recognize Mae who has witch markings and treats Pip like shit or an iPhone she wants to reboot. One of the worst parts of this episode was watching Mae and Osha looking at each other for at least 5-10 seconds while standing at the end of a falling bridge. Um, why not run backwards so Sol doesn't have to do that Force lifting? Or why not one of them jump towards the other? Don't they know how to use the Force/Thread? Why not pull the other one in. It already looked ridiculous in Episode 3 and it looks even worse in Episode 7 because it was a longer shot and we see the twins just standing there and then it makes Sol look so weak. The dumbest scene was watching the witches die because Kelnacca was no longer under their spell! 🤣 Who writes this shit? Torbin committed suicide not because of any guilt. What guilt? He was homesick. He wasn't the one who killed Aniseya. I think drinking the poison was the smartest thing to do because he didn't want to be part of this awful show. He did himself a favor. BTW, Tommen Baratheon knows how to swing a lightsaber. Still had no chance fighting a Bigfoot Jedi. Torbin's suicide makes absolutely no sense. He was homesick. He rushed back to the witch coven after discovering the twins were created by this vergence. What exactly did he do wrong to commit suicide? And I felt Koril was the instigator. She was the one pushing Mae to do those things and prevent Osha from leaving. BTW, the actress who portrays Koril is a hottie. I said this after Ep. 3. Don't be fooled by her angry looks. The only thing I liked from this episode is Carrie-Anne Moss. It makes her death scene and Kelnacca's feel like a jip. Bait and switch. Had Carrie-Anne been given more work, maybe The Acolyte is halfway decent. Maybe. That was such a Trinity move when she jumped at Kelnacca. At least we found out Indara was the leader of the group. And the most cool-headed. Mae should've targeted only Sol. Indara, Torbin, and Kelnacca had nothing to do with Aniseya's death. I still don't understand why Aniseya did what she did? She already greenlitted Osha to go with Sol. This episode was missing Manny big time. He portrays the only interesting character in this series. The Acolyte makes the Sequel Trilogy look like The Godfather Trilogy. It makes The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi look like peak Game of Thrones. This Episode 7 was so disappointing, I will probably delete every episode of it on my phone and will not upload it onto my Google Photos. Even bad shows like She-Hulk are uploaded on there. The Acolyte's greatest highlights all came from Episode 5: Sith kebab and Jecki's death. That's it. I have no plans ever rewatching this. The writing is awful. The logic and some of the behaviors makes zero sense. Mae is either bipolar or schizo. Listen, I don't want to sound like one of those grifters with their rage bait channels. I actually enjoyed reading the comments from people who are enjoying The Acolyte. People saying they are 47-years-old or whatever. Saying they've been a fan of Star Wars for 30-40+ years. You can see it on Reddit. People who hates the Prequels and Sequels but are loving The Acolyte. Good for them. I even read comments from people who think The Empire Strikes Back is overrated. That's cool too. Enjoy what you want to enjoy. Nobody should tell you what you should enjoy. But man, I can't defend this show. It's so bad. Is it 13-14% bad? No. But it's bad. Character Rankings 1. Qimir / The Stranger 2. Indara 👀 (moved right on up after Ep. 7) 3. Sol 4. Jecki 5. Kelnacca (fights better than Yord) 6. Yord 7. Torbin 8. Aniseya 9. Bazil 10. Pip 11. Osha 12. Vernestra 13. Koril 14. Mae I didn't have Indara ranked in my prior list but she instantly moved up to 2nd after Ep. 7. Carrie-Anne is basically acting like Trinity. Cool and confident. Doesn't get overly emotional like a typical female character would be. Killing off Trinity so early was such a waste. And we can see it more after Ep. 7. If they ever make a Season 2, focus everything on Smilo Ren.

[@ZayaMillis]

The way they use their magic to teleport reminds me of the Night Sisters and their green magick.

[@dwightmcdonald3093]

Sol doesn’t act like a Jedi. Why is he forming attachments so quick and easy. No prequel Jedi acts like that

[@M2Mil7er]

Nearly had me lol...

[@terrycotton4933]

Star Wars Meg I love your content. I have been a Star Wars fan since December 1977 and I enjoy all things Star Wars. The Acolyte is not Disney best work but I still love the show. In my opinion the biggest let down of this show is not the show it is the Star Wars fandom. In a different dispensation of time the only critics we had was Siskel & Ebert. Today everyone has found their voice. At this point I don’t believe Disney has the ability to ever please the fandom as a whole. There is always someone out there that will rip Disney apart in whatever they create related to Star Wars. Anyway, thank you Star Wars Meg and Disney for continuing to create entertainment in spite of.

[@webbdanster5286]

I agree we needed to see and understand more about how Mother Anisea could get into a Jedi’s head.

[@seanwine1085]

I'm going to sit back and enjoy the show. No mean mouthing the show's writing or directing or being so entitled that I think the show has been created just for me, just watching and enjoying.☮️

[@PsychoStreak]

We got a LOT of answers or at least hints of answers in this episode. The analysis of the twins blood sample showed the were impossibly identical - no divergence you'd see from cloning or natural twins - "their symbionts are the same". That confirms the twins were created by unnatural means - they were/are one being split in two. We don't know how, but I don't think it matters at this point. Everyone screwed up here - everyone except Kelnacca was acting from fear. Aniseya's power flex on Torbin was not necessary - the Jedi went from wary to fully alarmed and distrustful. Mae did indeed start the fire - fear of losing Osha, but she was basically goaded into it by being told to use her anger by Koril, who was deathly afraid to let the girls go. Sol's obsessive need to protect the twins meant he could not be objective. What we didn't see is why that is. Force vision? Subconscious call for help from Osha? Why was he so afraid for them? When Mae came to report the fire, he should have offered to help, but reacted like their mother was going to attack. He should never have drawn his blade, and he also either mistook Mae for Osha or read Mae's expression and knew Osha was in danger. Indara allowing Sol and Torbin to go was a massive mistake. Torbin should have been restricted to the ship after his "possession" until they left the planet. Indara's tough love approach was not working. She should have gone herself and told the coven of the Council's decision and left. Then report the scan results to the council. At worst, she and Kelnacca could have quietly asked about their origins, but again, they leave without conflict. The coven's attack on the Jedi was all out of fear. Maybe justified, but if not for Sol and Torbin's lack of control, the situation could have been resolved peacefully. That it took 45+ witches to take over Kelnacca and still have him fight like that suggests he was ridiculously powerful. Also, Whatever Indara did to stop them should not have killed them unless she was even more powerful, which is is both scary and annoying as Mae should have been no match, even with her distraction techniques. But it's still following the Star Wars formula in that we don't ever get all the answers we want. We get enough for the purpose of the story being told. Can any of us honestly say we've gotten all the answers we wanted from ANY Star Wars story? I don't think so and I think we'd be upset if we did. Nothing to speculate and argue about.

[@ianfurqueron5850]

It definitely felt like a LOT was edited out of this episode for whatever reasons. It's like the writers and the editors aren't on the same page with this series. It's Star Wars, so I'll see it through until the end, but after 7 of 8 episodes, I feel like the potential of this story missed the mark by a few degrees and I can't tell if that was due to the writers or the way the show has been edited.

[@kovie9162]

I think that one of the big themes running through Star Wars is that to be an effective Jedi, or any kind of "good" force user, you simply cannot ignore and block out the dark side as being too evil and dangerous, or else you'll be unable to defend yourself and others against it. You HAVE to train yourself for it somehow, carefully of course because it can be so tempting and dangerous, or else the Sith and other dark side users have an advantage on you. It's sort of like smallpox. When it was eradicated, scientists didn't destroy all remnants of it. They kept samples of it under tightly guarded conditions, in case it returned, perhaps in mutated form, so they could develop a vaccine for it. Same with covid and all other communicable diseases. Same reason you don't destroy all of your enemy's weapons even if you've defeated them, in case someone else acquired them and develops more advanced versions based on them, so you can defend yourself against them if it ever becomes necessary. Same with the dark side. The Jedi erred in simply putting it aside and refusing to train with or against it somehow, leaving them defenseless against various dark side powers that they didn't even know about let alone were able to defend against, like remote mind reading and control using the force, or consciousness transfer. They relied too much on their training and skills and inherent goodness. Big mistake. To defend against your enemies you have to know them and their thinking and ways. Sun Tsu and all that. What doomed the Jedi was their naivite, overconfidence, and rigidity, and we're seeing it here.

[@tammykolu1242]

Best episode so far but feel this series should have had an hour long runtime per episode

[@RomanPhilosopher]

People complained that Obiwan had a movie length plot stretched across 6 long episodes... then this show has 8 episodes 30-38 minutes long and people want the episodes to be twice as long because how could they finish?! (before we've seen if they do finish). Let stories take as long to tell as they take, and not a minute more or less. Lets see how it ends then judge it on that. Why episode 7 is getting bombed because of what episode 8 may or may not wrap up is kinda silly, IMO.

[@tobys4197]

I appreciate your synopses - I gave up on the show in the second episode.

[@mcleigh66]

I don't mind the vagueness currently surrounding the origins of Mae & Osha. I like a good mystery. But yeah, the beachcombing in the forest cracked me up, and agreed about Torbin's journey to Master. The only thing I can think of was that he was somehow coerced by Indara as his mentor into believing that he was somehow protecting the Order by maintaining the status quo, but was unable to hang on to the lie and silenced himself. There's a LOT to pick apart with this show, but there's a lot that is interesting, too. I just kinda wish LH would talk less. It's like having director's notes for every episode, and if you have to explain everything, then you're not letting the art speak, and if the art can't speak for itself, that's usually a sign that it's not very well done.

[@samuelolson9230]

I watch three Star Wars channels regularly (you were the first!) and the two of you with breakdowns so far have both been disappointed with episode 7. However, I found episode 7 to be my favorite so far and the only one leaving me with questions I want answered. I agree that episode 3&7 could and should have been combined. Episode 3 is what I'd consider the worst of the series so far. How they approach episode 8 could be the make or break episode. Do we get answers as to the origins of the witch coven? Do we get the origins of May and Osha? What becomes of them? Where'd Qimir come from and go to?

[@andrewlim9345]

Thanks for your balanced review. I liked how this episode confirms my suspicion that the Jedi story that Mae killed the other witches was a lie. This flashback gives context to why the four Jedi chatacters felt bad about the events on Brendok. I agree with the issues about how some of the reasoning and responses did not make sense. I struggled to believe that Mae's oil lamp could cause so much damage inside a stone fortress.

[@mikesadler1836]

A whole series mocking Star Wars fans worth 180 mil. Smh what a world

[@DaNewWaveLee]

I felt like Torbin def did a lot to go home. But also found value in also bringing something back to the council for what they were out there looking for.

[@AryaForce]

Yeah, I didn't really dig the end credit song. It really took away from what makes SW SW. I would disagree that it didn't answer questions and show us what happened in the flashback episodes. I feel it answered quite a lot in that regards, but I agree that we do have more questions. Yeah, I was surprised that they were using metal detectors and stuff. I thought they were doing field research.

[@Ruylopez778]

Someone within Lucasfilm has a real obsession with Rashomon, while unable to effectively understand how Rashomon is written, and that it is a standalone story that doesn't have pre-existing expectations about characters.

[@TonyMidyett]

Star Wars has always, and probably will always, try to do passable homages to the great Akira Kurosawa.😊

[@Ruylopez778]

@@TonyMidyett TLJ didn't work because it wasn't prepared to invest the time in setting up the narrative the way Rashomon does, and because *we already know Luke* before the story begins. Lucas' movies already established that there are multiple points of view in the saga, without having flashbacks or repeating flashbacks, or multiple retellings of the same event. The ideas in TLJ *don't work* and insisting on inserting Jake Skywalker types into Obi-Wan didn't change that. No matter how many ways Lucasfilm try to reanimate the corpse of TLJ, fans have repeatedly rejected it. It is at most a highly divisive movie and set of concepts that are difficult to integrate into the saga. It could be done if they had the patience to set it up properly. But they don't. They rushed Reva, they rushed Rey, they rushed Jyn, they rushed Mae/Osha. Lucasfilm don't have enough confidence in the audience to take their time, or they're just incompetent. The Acolyte debut was 40% down on the Ahsoka show viewership. This whole direction needs to die.

[@SuperPlacido1]

@@Ruylopez778 In The Last Jedi it was very well done! It's just that some people wanted to choose one version as the truth and blame the film because they didn't analyze it properly!

[@Ruylopez778]

@@SuperPlacido1 Dude, Rashomon has long and detailed scenes with the main characters. We get a brief flashback from both Luke and Kylo's perspectives and then some retelling of events by both characters. More screen time is wasted on Canto Bight and DJ than on the important characters in the trilogy. The audience don't need to "analyze" the film, that's not how entertainment works. If you've alienated half your audience, that's on your writing, editing, direction and marketing, not the viewer. Rian wanted a 'kill baby Hitler' dilemma in his movie but it makes no sense. If Luke kills his padawan (and nephew) he destroys himself, his Order, his value and his promise to his sister and best friend. It's dumb and it's nothing like the circumstances where Luke (as a younger man) reacts against Vader. I'm amazed people still don't grasp this years later. It's contrived nonsense because Johnson wanted a sympathetic Kylo and reason for Luke to hide away. It doesn't fit Luke's character to be as impulsive with his own padawan over something that hasn't yet happened in a completely safe environment. It's based on the notion that Luke learned nothing from ROTJ and didn't grow any wiser. That's why half the audience cried, 'Luke wouldn't do that!'. I'm not against having Luke fail by a misunderstanding, but they didn't develop or explain it properly and didn't care to, which is why it failed and remains divisive. Aside from that the rest of the movie is an equally boring chase that goes nowhere.

[@nah7656]

@@Ruylopez778 really the rest of the movie was boring? I really loved Finn yelling "REYYYYYYYYYYY", it woke me up in the theaters!

[@cristianogris4957]

I don't think that the source of guilt is from that Jedi group actions but from the cover up and the secret.

[@fmaries7000]

I believe mother Anisaya was trying to converge her consciousness with mae at that time cus she was planning on letting osha go. Sol not understanding what was happening took it as an attack on mae and made another bad CHOICE by unaliving mother Ansaya. We see mother Coral fuse her consciousness with kalnaca in order to control him but because of a wookies strength, it took all the witches combined strength to control him. Indara broke that single "thread" of control causing all the witches to lose their own consciousnesses.

[@SecondHSProductions]

IMO sol is a terrible Jedi, this whole episode he acted on fear and desire. I think the problem people are having with the acolyte is that they’re expecting it to be a Jedi story, and the Jedi painted in a good light. But simply put the Jedi have NEVER been all that good. This show elaborates on how long the Jedi have been dogmatic and entrenched with fear.

[@JJ8243-t6e]

Thanks for the content Meg! I'm disappointed with the series. It's had some good action scenes but has a poor story, pacing, acting and overall casting. I don't think Lesley has a good feel for the Star Wars universe. Characters behave implausibly. with the emotional complexity and EQ of teenagers. It would have been good to see flaws of the jedi order in a more mature way, or the alure of being a Sith that's not black and white evil. The title got my hopes up that we were going to delve into the Sith story. The show is not so bad I won't watch the final episode, but I think it damages the franchise/genre. I hope this is a one and done! If you think I'm overreacting compare it to Andor. Chalk and cheese in my opinion.

[@cynthiagair]

I agree Torbin's homesickness (or whatever it was) was too intense for what we knew about it...made me ask "what's REALLY going on? I also agree the pop music seems 100% wrong. My biggest gripe is that everyone I like gets killed off...I'm left with not much reason to want a Season 2.

[@markmonk9284]

I found the episode 7 answered a lot of questions we were left with from episode 3. Indara used her countermeasures that it created a feedback and killed the coven. It was sad as the by-the-book master was now concealing the truth; Witches turning into mist. That is not anything new or did we forget all about Bendu (from Rebels season 3) who lived on an isolated planet. He/they had the ability to many things with the Force; I found the young padawan's "fall" was adequate and did not need any more explanation as we know attachment creates problems. It drove the point home that Master Yoda reveals in AOTC about Jedi being too sure of themselves. Overconfidence being a weakness, mmmmm, we have heard that before (Luke to the Emperor, ROTJ). The team, their leader, their mission (what they found and what transpired) was a hot mess; Mae and Oesha not natural vergeance. The coven I think used science not magic to create the twins and its important that its revealed that their symbiants are the same not unique so not to undo what we learn about Anakin, Luke and Leia in the Skywalker Saga and that the coven did cheat! What was missing was Mae's survival and that could come in next weeks episode when Oesha experiences a Force-back vision in the helmet that explains the arrival of the darksider. Episode 7 was not a disappointing denouement as people may think. Palpatine teaches in ROTS that we should have a broader sense of the Force rather than just the dogmatic view of the Jedi. As i pointed on another channel, this 'new' project is the only one of a huge pile of announcements that actually got made into reality (with all the abandoned films, etc. that were announced since 2020). Patience!

[@mykotron]

There is a reason it couldn’t be combined into one though. It’s two perspectives.

[@ElChris816]

Agreed. I was really let down by this episode as a whole. The Padawan was wanting to go home so bad he disobeyed his Master and started this slaughter? I was expecting a grand reveal, but it really just fell short.

[@glrider100]

I think Sol's anguish is not that he reacted and killed Mother Aniseya, but more that he made a selfish choice to save Osha, knowing that Mae would likely die. As for the cult, As soon as Mother Aniseya turned into smoke, I thought more of the Night Sisters of Dathomier (sp?). Regarding Mother Korel. She may still be alive, but I doubt she saved Mae. Had she saved Mae, she would have simply continued training Mae in the ways of the sisterhood. Then who saved Mae? My money's on "The Stranger". Manny Jacinto's character. He could have been looking for a nexus, just like the Jedi, as a former

[@rawar2132]

Another point that this episode made clear to me is why torbin put himself into that state. Seeing what he had went through probably he was afraid to have it happen again...