Why ‘The Acolyte’ Has Fans in a Chokehold
There’s only one way to judge a new Star Wars property in this day and age: Watch it yourself.
Leslye Headland’s “The Acolyte” premiered on June 4 and earned positive response from critics (including this reviewer, who gave it a B) for the first four episodes. The audience ratings are far lower, a combination of disappointed Star Wars purists, bigots, and probably a few trolls. Mileage varies in a major franchise, but rarely this much — and for potential viewers who are curious about the series, it creates a confusing cacophony of shouted disagreement.
More from IndieWire
'Three Women' Trailer: DeWanda Wise Explores an Open Marriage in Lisa Taddeo's Novel Adaptation
Andy Samberg Says 'SNL' Took a 'Heavy Toll' Prior to Exit: 'I Was Falling Apart'
If you’re curious about “The Acolyte,” already firmly in its grasp, or willing to have your mind changed, I come to you humbly from a corner of the internet that this show has in an absolute chokehold. My timeline has turned into a Manny Jacinto shrine, my text chains are two dumb bitches telling each other “Exactly” (sending each other the same memes we’ve already seen and putting hearts on all of them), my Tuesdays full of jittery anticipation I haven’t known in years.
To understand what “The Acolyte” means to its fanbase, we must journey to a long time ago in this very galaxy, to the reception for Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi” in 2017… or perhaps to responses to Jar Jar Binks in 1999’s “The Phantom Menace”… or perhaps to the polarizing reactions people have about Ewoks to this very day. Controversy — specifically controversy stirred up by self-proclaimed fans who wring their hands when Star Wars deviates even slightly from nostalgia or expectation — has been built into this franchise since the 1980s. Over the years, Lucasfilm has demonstrated no aversion to backpedaling major creative decisions and by extension rewarding the negativity. Jar Jar got sidelined, as did Finn (John Boyega), Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), and Poe (Oscar Isaac). From “The Mandalorian” to “Ahsoka” to “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” new shows in the universe carry cautious connections to the original films and the Skywalker family, and the lukewarm (pun intended) conclusion of “The Rise of Skywalker” remains one of the more haunting creative decisions at Disney in the past decade.
What “The Acolyte” shows — what “Andor” showed, what “The Bad Batch” showed — is that for the decades that Lucasfilm and subsequently Disney have spent placating a vocal segment of Star Wars fans, other segments have grown as well and crave stories which take risks. That Headland was able to get “The Acolyte” made with all those obstacles before her is a minor miracle. The series centers Jedi master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and his former padawan Osha (Amandla Stenberg), who are brought together after years of estrangement because Jedi masters are being murdered. It’s curious and compelling and ruthless, with multiple character deaths and sinister backstory. All of the main characters are played by women, people of color, or members of the LBGTQ+ community like Headland herself. I praised Lee’s performance in the review of Episodes 1-4; since then, I must also spare a moment for Jacinto’s magnificent range and truly lethal charisma, and how he and Stenberg play off each other in various contrasting dynamics.
As of Episode 7 — mild spoilers ahead — “The Acolyte” has non-Jedi Force sensitivity, secret siblings, a wookie, and a potential enemies-to-lovers subplot — all of which were part of the original trilogy, by the way, and which get deliciously remixed instead of just rehashed (looking at you, “The Force Awakens”). For many fans, Osha and Qimir’s (Jacinto) potential romantic undertones are everything that was promised with Rose and Finn in “The Last Jedi” but utterly ignored in “The Rise of Skywalker”: a nonwhite interracial ship, or at the very least a possible alliance — though the ship potential also speaks to “Reylo” shippers who saw Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) chemistry in “The Last Jedi” as a similarly unfulfilled promise. (The dying kiss doesn’t count!) Jacinto has provided one of the most transfixing character turns in franchise history in just two episodes. Tentpole properties like Star Wars and Marvel are notoriously tame when it comes to romance, but “The Acolyte” charges every scene with tension, has a TV-14 rating, and extremely strategic nudity. It feels organic and earned, in line with the concept of Dark Side seduction, which has ample Star Wars precedent.
So what of the hate? Apart from trolling (Episode 7 had 3/10 on IMDb before it even premiered), some of it is the usual — sexism, racism homophobia — while some hides behind the mask of nostalgia. Still others are so incensed by “The Acolyte”s mere existence that they insist no reviewer would give it a positive score without receiving financial bribes. (To the man who directed this specific accusation at me, I assure you that if I had Disney money I would not be here, Online, with you.) There’s a sentiment among detractors that Headland doesn’t deserve the series or sufficiently revere the franchise, when the potential she has found and realized in it is beyond almost all of her predecessors by far.
I shouldn’t waste words here trying to convince detractors how marvelous “The Acolyte” is (this piece is strictly for the “Acolyte”-curious) — since many have convinced themselves it’s objectively, unwatchably bad — but all I can say is that I hope they find something that sparks the same joy and excitement that this series does in its fans. The tension of a slow burn, the menace of secrecy, the thrill of lightsaber battles and space magic, and an arc as epic as anyone named Skywalker — all of it burns bright in “The Acolyte,” for those who dare to believe the dream isn’t dead.
“The Acolyte” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+.
Best of IndieWire
The 30 Best Nude Scenes in Film, from 'Shortbus' to 'Blue Velvet' to 'No Hard Feelings'
The 15 Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in July, from 'Fair Play' to 'Emily the Criminal'
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
