Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Acolyte episode 5.
Summary
George Lucas drew inspiration from a wide range of sources forStar Wars, andThe Acolytejust flipped one of those inspirations on its head in the best way possible. When he made the originalStar Wars, later retitledA New Hope, Lucas borrowed story and stylistic elements from all corners of fiction.Star Warshas a lot of similarities toDune, for example, and Lucas also borrowed more broadly from genres like Westerns and samurai films. Many recentStar Warsshows, likeThe MandalorianandAhsoka, have honored those roots, butThe Acolytehas subverted one of Lucas' inspirations.
In many ways,The Acolyteis a groundbreakingStar Warsshow. It takes place duringthe High Republic era, which has never been depicted in live-action before, and it also features a much darker tone than many otherStar Warsstories. That tone only got darker inThe Acolyteepisode 5, when the Sith Lord massacred a group of Jedi on Khofar. For all the new ground it broke, however,The Acolytealso paid homage to one of Lucas' original inspirations, and it did so with the new Sith Lord.
Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode Guide - Cast Members, Biggest Takeaways & Easter Eggs
Here’s everything you need to follow along with Star Wars: The Acolyte, from references and trivia to main takeaways from each new episode.
“The Stranger” Is A Classic Western Trope
The Acolyteepisode 5revealed the identity of the Sith Lordand unveiled that Qimir was just a pseudonym he was using to hide his true identity.Once he was unmasked, the Sith Lord revealed that he had no name, and he’s instead referred to as the Stranger. The Sith Lord’s title tiesThe Acolytedirectly to one of Lucas' inspirations: the Spaghetti Western. There’s a trope in Westerns so common that it can be seen in all corners of the genre. Several classic Westerns feature a mysterious main character likeThe Good, The Bad, and the Ugly’s Man With No Name to the masked gunslinger inThe Lone Ranger.
The Acolyte Inverts The Spaghetti Western
The Stranger serves as a clear reference to Westerns, but he also flips the common trope on its head. Generally, Westerns that follow the trope of having a mysterious stranger as their main character also paint that stranger as a hero.A core component of the trope is that the stranger wanders into a new town or situation, and changes them for the better.A Fistful of Dollars, for example, followed the Man With No Name as he stumbled upon a feud between two rival families, and by playing them both at the same time, he saved the town from their criminal exploits.
Star Wars Just Made A Forbidden Lightsaber Technique Canon 30 Years After Its Legends Debut
The Acolyte’s Sith Lord used a forbidden lightsaber technique lifted straight from Star Wars Legends - one that meant the Jedi fell before his might.
The Acolyte, however, firmly established that the Stranger was anything but heroic. He massacred seven Jedi, used dirty fighting tactics like a cortosis helmet and gauntlet and his new trick lightsaber, and aligned himself firmly with the dark side of the Force.None of the Westerns George Lucas used as inspiration ever had such an evil stranger, andThe Acolytehas effectively inverted one of the most common Western plots in the entire genre. Instead of coming to solve problems and shake things up in a good way,Star Wars' new stranger caused problems, and he seems intent on shaking the Jedi to their core.
The Acolyte’s Opening Scene Even Sets This Up
The Stranger wasn’tThe Acolyte’s first time being inspired by Westerns, though. The show’s very first scene, when Mae Aniseya attacked Master Indara on Ueda, was extremely reminiscent of a classic cowboy action sequence. Mae, a stranger at that point inThe Acolyte, walks into a (noodle) bar and a massive showdown ensues. At one point in their fight, when Mae and Indara were pointing their respective weapons at each other, a rogue tumbleweed and revolvers wouldn’t have felt out of place.Mae and Indara’s fight set upThe Acolyteas a Western-inspired show, and the Stranger inverted it perfectly.
Mae
The former Padawan of Jedi Master Sol, Mae gets swept up into a sinister mystery—one that puts her into the center of a conflict in unexpected ways.
Indara
Master Indara is a Jedi Master of great physical and mental skill. Little has been revealed of her role to date.
The Acolyte’s subversion of the stranger trope from Westerns is also just the most recent example of the show subverting expectations. Right from the start,The Acolyteshocked audiences by killing off Indara, a character many expected to be a central figure in the show due to Carrie-Anne Moss' casting.The Stranger’s relation to Westerns wasn’t even the only shock ofThe Acolyteepisode 5, as he also killed off two other main characters in Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar. In that sense, the Stranger is carrying onThe Acolyte’s penchant for astonishing twists and turns.
Jecki Lon
Jecki is the Padawan apprentice to Master Sol. Although she is young, she projects calm and conducts herself with maturity.
Yord Fandar
Yord, a Jedi Knight and guardian from the Jedi Temple, is an overachiever and a rule follower. His need to be a by-the-book Jedi can cloud his mind.
The fact that the Stranger so effectively subverted the Western archetype of a heroic stranger has a few implications for the future ofThe Acolyteas well. He may not be a hero, but the Sith Lord could still carry out a major part of the stranger trope by using his mysterious status to shake things up. Like the Man With No Name did with the town inA Fistful of Dollars, the Stranger may fundamentally change the Jedi Order and the entireStar Warsgalaxy. Based on how he’s subverted the Western trope, though, the Stranger likely won’t changeThe Acolytefor the better.
The Acolyte
Cast
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
