TL;DR – Overall, this episode did what it needed to do: it made me interested in what was to come.

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

The Acolyte Review –

Well, it is back into the world of Star Wars on the small screen and a world that has been quite a bit hit-and-miss from time to time. For every Andor, we have gotten missteps like the Book of Boba Fett, and it is hard to see where things will land with the constantly shifting tentpoles of the Star Wars Universe. With that in mind, we dive into a new show that has the benefit of being slightly detached from what has come before but maybe not as detached as it needed to be.  

So to set the scene, there was peace across the galaxy one hundred years before the rise of The Empire. But that peace was being held up in part by the Jedi Order, the training ground for all users of the Force. But some people trained themselves away from the Jedi Order in secret, one of which was an assassin on a mission of revenge. We find ourselves starting this journey on the planet of Ueda, which may shape the future of the galaxy or at least the Jedi Order. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

What I very much respect was the episode and series starting off with a bang. In this case, it was the battle on Ueda. This opening was one of the most interesting fights I have seen in Star Wars in a while because it was between two different force users, but for the vast majority of it, there are no lightsabres involved. This gives the fight a different flow and a distinct feel than what we have seen so far. You have Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) fighting off against a masked assassin (Amandla Stenberg), where the flow of the fight shifts and changes as both sides understand just how powerful the other is. Now, I am not in any way convinced that Indara was actually killed at the end. I mean, Ahsoka had a character get impaled on a lightsabre and kept on trucking. But it did make an impact.

Now, the rest of the episode is nowhere near that same pace, understandably, as we watch most of the significant players fall into place. We need to understand the vibe of what the Jedi Order feels like at this time. By the time of the Prequels, the order had been blinded from the dark side for some time, but here they are still technically on top. This creates a different dynamic because, as we know, there is a long way to fall. It also means that besides maybe Yoda popping up, we are dealing with a whole new cast, and where you can’t rely on a cameo to save the day. The pacing was a little all over the place, but I liked what we saw of Amandla Stenberg and her dual characters, or at least her presumed dual characters.

From the production side of things, I quite liked everything we got to see here. The special effects help up by TV standards, and I like that they have found a good balance between what creatures and effects make-up can be practical and what needs to be created digitally. I do give a big shout to the musical composer Michael Ables for their score. It was a work that was unique to this show, yet it still felt like it belonged in Star Wars. Also, I like the little musical nods that were scattered throughout, such as the slight Matrix musical queue when we see Indara use the Force for the first time or the little X-Men Mystique nods.  

In the end, do we recommend The Acolyte – Lost/Found? Yes, we would. It is still early, to be sure, but it did what the first episode of a show needed to do, and it intrigued me. Now, can they keep me going to the end? That is the question. But they are at least starting in the right place. But, like, can we get a new stock image of Coruscant, asking for a friend … that friend is me.

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 – Lesley Headland
Written by – Lesley Headland
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, Rebecca Henderson, Jodie Turner-Smith & Carrie-Anne Moss with Anthony J Abraham, Thara Schöön, Leah Brady & Lauren Brady