The Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – The Acolyte & Season 1– TV Review

TL;DR – While the finale felt incredibly rushed, I did find the series to be a grand entry in the franchise.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Qimir tries to take the helmet of Osha.

The Acolyte Review

Well, we have reached the end of what has surprisingly become one of the most controversial Star Wars entries since at least The Rise of Skywalker. I am not sure why a series that revelled in the mystical side of The Force that George Lucas loved garnered such a negative response, but here we are. Today, we will first pull apart the season finale before taking some time to explore the season as a whole.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Teach/Corrupt, Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) promised Mae (Amandla Stenberg) that he would tell her what really happened that one fateful night all those years ago. It was a sad series of consequences that led to Sol killing the twin’s mother in Choice. But while Mae has a revelation, Osha (Amandla Stenberg) wakes up in a cave on an unknown planet, where she is captured by Qimir (Manny Jacinto), who wants her to unlock her powers. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Choice – TV Review

TL;DR – Another flashback episode that I didn’t think we needed to have, yet it grew on me as time went on.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Twin moons loom overhead.

The Acolyte Review

In the last episode with Teach/Corrupt, I championed how this series was able to keep up the momentum of its narrative after the shocking events of Night. Then I opened up this episode, and the dreaded sixteen years earlier appeared on screen. I had wondered if we would ever come back to Destiny and see what happened from the Jedi’s perspective, but I didn’t think that it would take up a whole episode.  

So, to set the scene, 16 years before the events of our time, the Jedi Sol (Lee Jung-Jae), Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss), Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman), and Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) were on a mission to the planet Brendok. It should be lifeless after a hyperspace explosion, but it is full of life, and the Jedi want to know why. Could this be a great convergence point for The Force, or is something else at play? However, as Sol explores the northlands, he finds a young Mae (Leah Brady) and Osha (Lauren Brady) playing under a tree that looks like nothing else on the planet, and history is made from there. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Destiny – TV Review

TL;DR – I thoroughly enjoyed this flash to the past to set the scene for the future.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The yellow tree of Brendok.

The Acolyte Review

We’ve met the players, worked out that it is twins, and even got a few hints as to what the Jedi were up to. However, since Revenge/Justice, there have been some questions about what the inciting incident was that threw this mess into motion. I thought we would have to wait for the rest of the season to see that answer delivered, and the show was like, nope, ep three, here you go.  

So to set the scene, around sixteen years before the events of Lost/Found, we find ourselves on the planet of Brendok, where a young Osha (Lauren Brady) and Mae (Leah Brady) are living with their mothers, Anieseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Koril (Margarita Levieva). Brendok is an abandoned planet seemingly outside of Republican control, but you soon understand why everyone is upset that some Jedi was found snooping around. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Violent Night – Movie Review

TL;DR – The sleigh bells ring as Santa takes out one henchman after another.    

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film

Santa and his reindeer.

Violent Night Review

Some concepts for a film intrigue you by their very existence. For example: what if Santa must carve his way through a pile of mercenaries to save a young girl who truly believes in him? A concept that answers once and all the question ‘is Die Hard a Christmas film?’ by straight up making it one. Well, that is a film that gets my immediate attention.

So to set the scene, Santa (David Harbour) is getting wasted in a bar in Bristol, England. The constant consumerism of Christmas is wearing him down, and this might be his final year. Meanwhile, in Greenwich, Connecticut, Linda (Alexis Louder) is picking up Jason (Alex Hassell) so that their daughter Trudy (Leah Brady), can have a normal Christmas. Well, as normal as you can when you are separated, and you are part of one of the wealthiest families in America under the all-seeing eyes of matriarch Gertrude (Beverly D’Angelo). But as Santa arrives at the house to drop off Trudy’s presents, Mr Scrooge (John Leguizamo) and his gang storm the house, kill the staff and take the whole family hostage. There is $300 million on the line, and now Santa is stuck in the middle of it.

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