What to expect from The Acolyte's 'jaw-dropping' finale
The Acolyte is hurtling towards its finale faster than Han Solo can do a Kessel Run, and after becoming one of Disney+'s most talked about Star Wars shows it will soon be time for fans to say goodbye.
It has riveted fans for weeks while annoying some others, with the intricately crafted tale from Leslye Headland exploring grief, amorality, the failings of the Jedi Order, and what it means to be seduced by the Dark Side. There's a lot to unpack in the finale, which is believed to be titled Doom, but Headland and the cast have teased what viewers can expect from it.
Read more: Star Wars fans compare latest Acolyte episode to The Last Jedi
Here is everything that we know about The Acolyte's season one finale, and what is likely to be explored, revealed, and teased for a potential second season.
What to expect from The Acolyte finale
Amandla Stenberg and Manny Jacinto were the first to tease what is to come in the finale, with both telling The Gate that fans will be blown away by what happens.
Stenberg, who plays the dual role of Mae and Osha in the show, revealed that the finale was the episode that she was looking forward to viewers seeing the most: "So much happens, which is very Leslye Headland-esque. Things that you don't anticipate, very traumatic things.
"It all goes down, and I think she's so great at her format and structure, and in that sense."
Her co-star added: "I'm assuming it was in maybe the first four that they gave out [to press], that's literally just the beginning. It's like the first act... Yeah, [there's] a lot more jaws to drop."
The show certainly hasn't been devoid of jaw-dropping moments already, for one thing episode 5 revealed that Jacinto was secretly the show's big bad all along after hiding in plain sight as comic-relief character Qimir. He is actually a Dark side user known as The Stranger, who ruthlessly killed several Jedi and has started to draw Stenberg's Osha to his side by opening her eyes to their failings.
Headland has spoken of what questions might be answered in the finale, teasing that viewers will learn more about Mae and Osha's origins and how the were created.
Read more: The Acolyte cast hail Amandla Stenberg as an ‘amazing leading woman’
In an interview with Nerdist after the release of Episode 7 she said: "Tune in next week. We definitely aren’t going to leave you hanging. You do a show like this, you take a lot of risks, you don’t really save a lot of those types of questions for season two.
"There are a lot of things you do save for a season two, but that kind of question is not one of them."
Headland also addressed whether viewers will learn of The Stranger's origins and if he should be called a Sith, and whether the theory that he is linked to the Knights of Ren is correct. Of the first she said: "What I will say is you don’t hear it from his mouth, but there are a couple small things that happen that intimate the answer to that question."
When asked about the prevailing theory around The Stranger, she added: "It’s a really good theory. What an interesting theory. What an amazing…that’s…wow. Wow wow."
So viewers will learn more about the show's central characters, and there is also likely to be some fallout from Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) revealing the truth of what happened when Mae and Osha's family and coven were killed. There's also the possibility of learning of Vernestra's (Rebecca Henderson) connection to The Stranger.
With an episode titled Doom there's likely to be a lot of drama and action in store, and viewers will have to tune in to find out.
The Acolyte finale premieres on Wednesday, 17 July on Disney+.
