The acolyte is the latest in a long line of Star Wars series created for Disney+. The hype train for these shows has slowed down significantly in recent months, and whether it’s due to a decline in quality, franchise fatigue, or both, they're having a much harder time winning over fans.
As if that’s not enough, toxic parts of the Star Wars fandom have been voicing their dissatisfaction with the diversity of the cast through trolling & review-bombing.
Toxic fans and franchise fatigue aside, I’ve enjoyed a lot of the Disney + star wars shows. So, despite not being a hardcore Star-Wars fan, I was pretty optimistic going into the acolyte. was i right to be? read on for my review of 'the acolyte'.
The basic setup is that multiple Jedi are murdered, and a Jedi master is forced to reunite with an ex-pupil to investigate. As they try to figure out the 'who' and 'why' of these murders, they discover a connection to their shared past and are forced to confront the secrets of the event that brought them together, as they hunt for the killer.
Even though the killer's identity is revealed almost instantly, there's a darker, more powerful force pulling the strings whose identity is kept secret for the first few episodes. This little mystery adds a darker, true-crime kind of atmosphere to the show which I appreciated and haven't seen in any other star wars media to date.
Like a lot of stories in the Star Wars franchise, the primary themes appear to be the internal conflict of the light and dark sides of the force.
1) There are a lot of really cool larger story elements at play here, but unfortunately, the smaller story details aren’t convincing or compelling enough to effectively pull off these big ideas, which makes the end feel a little disappointing/anticlimactic.
2) To fully appreciate/get excited about this show, you need a decent amount of knowledge about Star Wars lore/mythology, so it’s less accessible to those who aren’t core fans (which seems like a mistake, since the core star wars fanbase didn’t seem to appreciate it either).
3) I’m always a fan of diverse casting, and to be fair to The Acolyte, I think it has done a fantastic job handling its representation organically, which is refreshing. But, most of these characters have their potential squandered by the end of the season, despite genuinely strong performances, thanks to the story’s writing. It's a shame because if they were supported by the writing, I think this cast could've helped this show reach its true potential.
Despite the poor response from some of the star wars fanbase, I genuinely think that if you’re a big fan who knows a lot about star wars lore, you should check this out! It was clearly made by someone who shares a passion for the mythology, and after doing a little research myself, I feel like there’s a lot here to be appreciated by someone who can recognise it. Also, at its peak, this show features some satisfying reveals, a gripping mystery, and some incredibly high quality lightsabre fight scenes.
The streets are shitting all over it, and while it’s not great, it’s definitely not that bad. There’s a lot of valid criticism out there, but the show has also clearly upset a very toxic, very vocal corner of the Star Wars fanbase, so that’s important to keep in mind when reading any coverage of the show. An 80% critic rating and 17% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes should illustrate the disparity between the show’s actual quality and how its being received by fans.
While the acolyte shows promise, it’s weighed down by its writing choices and seems to be a strategic misfire. I think the most likely to enjoy it are the hardcore fans that aren’t opposed to diversity, because poor writing aside, again, there’s a lot there for someone who knows where to look.
I hope that going forward, the star wars franchise focuses more on putting quality behind the camera as well as diverse talent in front of it (especially given the online abuse any diverse actor in the star wars franchise is sure to be subjected to), to both advance representation but also just tell a good story.
It’s definitely watchable. You CAN watch this and at least moderately enjoy it like I did. but, it's more of an 'add to your watchlist & save it for a boring weekend' than a 'watch this immediately' kind of show (Especially now that you don’t have to wait for the next episode: Watching it as a binge might remove some of the anticipation and therefore improve your viewing experience).
What did you think of 'the acolyte'? do you feel it's being treated harshly by social media? Are the toxic opinions drowning out general critique? Did you enjoy it more than most? Share your thoughts & perspectives in the comments!
-binge god
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