A Recap of ‘The Acolyte’ Episodes 3 & 4

TV Shows

Jun 30

Written by Michael Lee

*All Media used in this article is courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd. & Disney

Video Featurette: Sol Of The Jedi / Bug / Dated - Video Courtesy: Walt Disney Pictures

‘The Acolyte’ Episode 3 Recap: “Destiny”

The episode begins with a flashback to Mae and Osha’s childhood on their home planet of Brendok. Mae plays dutifully with a butterfly creature and uses the Force to sit and study the insect, carefully and empathetically. Mae approaches Osha and proceeds to Force hold the insect too, but in a way that is seemingly full of malice. The two bicker with each other over the treatment of the insect and the oncoming The Ascension, a ceremony that the two of them are set to undertake.

The two begin their walk back home in tandem, citing their twin mantras with each other in harmony, cementing the two’s very sacred bond. A Zabrakian witch mother, called Mother Koril, reprimands the two for wandering outside of their fortress walls and brings them back to their grounds. The two ask Mother Koril for spice creams, which she refuses, only for Mother Aniseya to interject, allowing the twins to have their dessert. The two run to Aniseya and call her ‘mama’ in an embrace. She demands the twins to meet her in the common room for their training session.

When Aniseya and Koril are alone, Aniesaya asks Koril if there have been any sightings of the Jedi, who have seemingly occupied their planet for reasons they do not understand. Aniesya promises this is a safe place for their coven while Koril reprimands Aniseya for her lax treatment of the twins.

At their joint training session, Aniseya teaches Osha and Mae about ‘The Thread’ that binds all living things. Some call it The Force and claim to use it, but Aniseya advises ‘The Thread’ is not something to be wielded, that it ties you to your destiny and binds you to others. The power of “One” she demonstrates, is weaker to the power of “Two”, which is weaker to the power of “Many”, which they will learn at tonight’s ceremony. Mae and Osha begin to argue and Aniseya uses this as a teaching moment in which they attempt to block her power. Mae succeeds, but Osha does not.

In their room, Osha is troubled by the ceremony happening later tonight. She refuses to do the Ascension, to which Mae replies “that’s how we become witches” to which Osha refutes. She does not want to be a witch. Aniseya claims ‘The Thread’ tied them together before they were born, encouraging the two to share in the love of their bond. Aniseya says the Ascension is about walking through fear and sacrificing a part of yourself to the will of the “Many”. Aniseya says the galaxy is unkind to female witches like themselves, urging them to stay special. The episode quickly cuts to a cult of cloaked witches, seemingly praying or practicing over a large sacred portal of some kind.

Osha and Mae are preparing for the ceremony and begin in another argument, which Osha argues they are not the same and that they need ‘their own things’, rather than their apparently sacred duality. Osha wonders what could lay outside of the coven, to which Mae does not understand.

We see the coven of witches gathered for the Ascension ceremony, chanting and singing while the group wave their hands in careful paces as if to summon or perform some kind of Force magic. Aniseya informs the group that this is the first Ascension since their exile. They have been hunted, persecuted and forced into hiding because most consider their power to be dark and unnatural. They have been blessed with a miracle, a gift of life in the form of Mae and Osha, who form some kind of symbiotic dyad with one another. The twins take the center while the witches begin chanting again, summoning something. Aniseya asks Mae if she takes the vow to become a witch and protect the coven of their legacy. Mae agrees and Aniseya summons some kind of magic into Mae, asking her to ascend. She asks the same of Osha, to which Osha agrees. However, Mae spots the Jedi approaching and Aniseya asks Koril to hide the twins.

The Jedi introduce themselves; Idara, Sol, Kelnacca, and her padawan Torbin. The Jedi thought the planet to be uninhibited and Aniseya claims this as a lie. The Jedi say they mean peace, yet Aniseya disagrees. Master Indara is concerned that the coven is training children and this is against Republic law, but Aniseya makes it very clear that her coven does not operate within the Republic.

Osha is impressed with the Jedi and how they carry themselves, but Mae is not impressed. The Jedi call for Mae and Osha to make themselves known and Osha steps forward, but Mae is reluctant. Indara asks who their father is and Aniseya says they do not have a father. This is reminiscent of Anakin Skywalker, who also was conceived by Shmi Skywalker without a father.

The Jedi assert their right to test them for potential Padawans. Aniseya reluctantly agrees to this. The coven deliberates while we learn that Koril physically carried the twins, but Aniseya created them for reasons unknown. Aniseya asks the children to fail the test while Mae and Osha debate if the Jedi are good or bad. Aniseya says there is no good or bad but power and who is allowed to use it.

Mae does fail the test upon her mother’s orders, but Osha denies her mother and passes the test, telling the coven that she wishes to become a Jedi instead. Mae becomes angry and locks Osha inside of her room and burns her diary as the fire begins to spread rapidly. The whole conclave becomes engulfed in flames and Sol helps Osha get away to safety. Sol seemingly sees Mae die and the camera pans to a pile of dead witches, not burned nor around any discernible fire. The Jedi take Osha to Coruscant and Sol tells Osha she will be his Padawan. On Brandok, it is revealed that Mae survived and begins her search for her sister.

‘The Acolyte’ Episode 4 Recap: “Day”

The episode begins on the plane Khofar where the Jedi Master Kelnacca has made his home, seemingly in exile. Kelnacca is the second last of the Jedi that Mae wishes to eliminate, with the final one being Sol, Osha’s former master. Her masked, Sith-like advisor has instructed Mae to kill Kelnacca without a weapon and Mae agrees, though does not know how this is to be done.

We then see Kelnacca cooking and engaging in simple and mundane household chores, but the camera pans to a symbol of sorts decorated within Kelnacca’s establishment, with mysterious, eerie music playing. The scene quickly cuts to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where we see Jecki Lon being trained in lightsaber combat from an unknown Jedi Master. Osha appears and wishes Jecki a goodbye, thanking her for her help in finding her sister Mae. It is obvious the two have grown very close, and Jecki is able to read Osha, telling her she can sense how much she still cares for her sister.

Mae and Qimir have landed on Khofar in order to seek Kelnacca in the lush, densely populated forest. The two talk about their shared Master, both who are attempting to decipher their Master and his intentions and the mission that he’s given Mae.

The Jedi convene and discuss the attempt to apprehend Mae as well as her supposed Jedi abilities. They recognize that Mae has been trained by a Jedi but that she does not know her Master, which the Jedi are confused by. They do not know how Mae was trained in their ways without their knowledge and attempt to configure Mae’s true power, as she has killed two Jedi and bested the rest.

The Jedi believe that someone has splintered from the Jedi Order. Ki-Adi-Mundi, a Jedi Master that will eventually sit upon the Jedi Council alongside Anakin Skywalker, remarks that they must bring it to the High Council, to which Vernestra Rwoh shuts down, claiming the council will only inform the Senate, which she does not want, as it could inspire a conspiracy of fear and mistrust of the Jedi. She orders for a group to be sent to apprehend Mae before she attempts to murder Kelnacca.

Sol and Vernesta discuss Mae and Sol’s past, with Vernestra asking Sol how he didn’t realize that Mae survived that night. Sol claims he watched Mae fall and that no one could have survived it. Sol and Vernestra devise a plan to apprehend Mae using Osha as bait, to which the two agree this is the most appropriate form of action. Sol then manages to catch Osha before Osha departs. Sol informs Osha of the plan, and Osha assumes they need her to get to Mae. Osha agrees, but reluctantly.

Mae and Qimir are making their trek deeper within the forest of Khofar, with Qimir inquisitive with how Mae will kill a Jedi without a weapon and the two discuss her other failed attempts. Mae asks Qimir what he knows of their shared Master and if Qimir has ever seen their Master’s face, to which Qimir responds with a resounding “no’. Mae then reminisces about her recent reunion with Osha, unable to believe that Osha is collaborating with Jedi scum.

With the Jedi team assembled, they discuss their plans to capture Mae. The group includes Sol, Jecki, and Yord. Eventually, the group lands in Khofar and asks a local alien where Kelnacca might be. They then use a Tynnan tracker named Bazil to begin searching for Kelnacca by following his scent. Yord and Osha discuss their shared history and Mae’s apparent power, with Yord speaking condescendingly to Osha as he is apparently concerned with her safety. Osha informs Yord that if things go awry, she needs Yord to apprehend Mae, as she cannot do it. Yord informs Osha that maybe Sol brought her to Khofar to face Mae, or even, herself.

The Jedi convoy makes their way further into the forest with Osha and Bazil and find themselves within a nest of eggs of some kind of creature. Bazil informs the group that something here is wrong and the Jedi debate their fate, uncertain of what the forest contains. Osha touches one of the eggs and as she walks away, the egg begins to move, revealing them instead to be winged insects hibernating. One of the insects rises up and attacks the group, but Sol withdraws his lightsaber, killing it. The group figures out the creatures are attracted to light. This is where Osha believes she is reconnecting with The Force, as she was able to sense the creature. Jecki and Osha talk about Osha’s past and her history and trauma with The Force.\

Mae and Qimir stop to rest and Mae begins to feel that her mission to kill a Jedi without a weapon is impossible and no longer relevant to her now that she finally knows Osha is alive. The two talk about Mae’s mission to kill the Jedi and the mystery of their shared Master, with Mae entirely uncertain what to do or who to trust. Mae eventually captures Qimir in a trap by screaming falsely, luring Qimir into an elaborate rope trap. Mae informs him of her plan; to turn herself into Kelnacca, planning to reconnect with Osha and tell the Jedi what she knows about her supposed Master. Qimir says that their Master will kill her, which Mae scoffs at.

Mae makes her way to Kelnacca, only for her to find that he has already been murdered by lightsaber. The Jedi arrive and surround Mae, ordering her to surrender to the Republic for her crimes against the Jedi Council. Before Mae can do so, her Master appears behind the Jedi, activating their red lightsaber in front of Osha, as if to kill her. The Jedi withdraw their lightsabers to fight, but the Master swiftly Force pushes Osha away and then the entire group of Jedi, with one swift movement as the screen fades to black.