TL;DR – A slow build of tension, the creaking forest, the looming darkness, and lightsabres drawn.  

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, last week, we took a turn that I had not expected as we dived back into the past with Destiny. It was an episode full of mysticism and likely an unreliable narrator or two. It was an unexpected detour, but now we are back on the hunt because Jedi are falling like flies, and there is a new evil on the rise. Which, of course, is your average Saturday night in the Old Republic.  

So, to set the scene, we arrive on the forested planet of Khofar, where the Wookie Jedi Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) is located. Unfortunately for him, he is next on Mae’s (Amandla Stenberg) hit list as she targets all the Jedi involved with whatever happens on her home planet. Back on Coursaunt, Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) and the other Jedi have also noticed the pattern. But Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) convinces them to send him and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) out to get Mae because she knows things the Jedi Order desperately needs to know. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Today is a bit of an odd episode because it feels very old-fashioned, but it has all the newest paint splashed on it. It has honestly been a while since I have seen a full-blown cliffhanger like that where I haven’t been able to just slap on the next episode. Indeed, I was thinking where the last time I saw so many lightsabres in one place, and I think it would have to be The Attack of the Clones. But we also get the modern mystery box as to who The Stranger is? Is it one of the witches that survived? Is it Qimir (Manny Jacinto)? I hope it is Qimir. Or is it some other less exciting choice because we have been left speculating and will always go to a wilder place than the showrunners think? Whatever the case, I do believe it was a touch disappointing that we did not get to see a Wookie Jedi cut loose, but time will tell.

 On the something old and something new front. I audibly sighed as Sol said that he would tell Osha this critical piece of information later because he might as well have painted the target on his back beforehand. But I loved the set design work this week that seamlessness blended the on-location work on Madeira Island with the forest sets and then the Jedi hut. It was a world that was always off-putting because you could not quite place if it was temperate or tropical. All of this was set to Michael Ables’ outstanding musical score, which has honestly been one of the highlights of the series so far. While I was okay with the cliffhanger this week, that doesn’t change the fact that the pacing has been a bit of a mess at times. But at least that ramp-up to the ending landed.   

In the end, do we recommend The Acolyte – Day? While I don’t think this will be anyone’s favourite episode, it was still an interesting romp through the forest. It will probably be more well-known for setting up next week’s resolution, but hey, that is sometimes what Part One of a Two-Parter has to do.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen The Acolyte yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Acolyte
Directed by – Alex Garcia Lopez
Written by – Claire Kiechel & Kor Adana
Created by – Lesley Headland
Based On – Star Wars by George Lucas
Production/Distribution Companies – Lucasfilm, Shoot to Midnight, Disney Pictures & Disney+
Starring – Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-Jae, Charlie Barnett, Dafne Keen, Manny Jacinto, Rebecca Henderson & Joonas Suotamo with Paul Bullion, Indra Ové, Derek Arnold & Hassan Taj