Of course it has to be the one SW show I’m caught up on in real time that’s just so… meh.
Nah, “meh” is too generous. It’s more like “you had so much potential and decided to misunderstand what was so compelling about you and nuke it in the finale.”
So I guess more like “uggggh.”
Anyway.
This installment of HIWWI (known as Hi-Why or How I Would’ve Written It) isn’t going to be a long, detailed, episode-by-episode rewrite of The Acolyte. It had characters with decent motivations, genuinely emotional relationships, and great action scenes. I’m not looking to redo the entire show. But its core dynamic – Osha and Mae’s fraught bond – was so badly bungled. (Also, there’s the blatant misinterpretation of that bond as the strongest one when Sol and Osha are obviously the more compelling duo, but I digress.)
My issues with their back-and-forth are many. There’s the failure to establish their relationship in episode 3, the dropped nuance of Mae’s dark side in episode 7, and their rushed reunion in episode 8. But I want to focus on the very nucleus of their characters, going right back to the beginning.
There’s still some ambiguity surrounding the circumstances of Osha and Mae’s creation, but The Acolyte clearly isn’t interested in delving into it. Until (if ever) we get a second season, we’re free to speculate. We might never receive a proper answer, after all!
I just have one massive critique. One that would affect the whole show but ultimately make both Mae and Osha more developed: the twins should’ve been a Force dyad.
(If you’ve read my episode-by-episode reviews, you knew this was coming. I haven’t shut up about this theory since episode 3.)
Make the backstory make sense!
Obviously, we know Aniseya created the twins using the Force. I expected the show to lean more into this aspect – as SW viewers, we’re all very familiar with women being impregnated via the Force. But in Shmi’s case, Anakin was the “Chosen One” meant to change the galaxy. What did it mean that a random group of witches was able to create life through the Force? As an audience, we’re interested in more than the mere concept.
I snatched up any hints of Mae and Osha’s creation during The Acolyte. It made sense to me that they would be a dyad – they were twins, but they had diametrically opposed desires. Osha wanted to be a Jedi, but Mae wanted to become a witch. As children, Osha used her Force-sensitivity gently whereas Mae lashed out. Having a fundamental difference in their beings would give clarity to this divide.
This theory would’ve also made sense in the greater context of the show. Since the Jedi were hunting down their first discovered Sith, it would be understandable that they failed to initially comprehend the true nature of Osha and Mae all those years ago. Sol learning about Qimir’s Sith-ness would finally illuminate his past confusion over the twins, leading to heavy revelations from all parties.
Potential, plot twists, and emotional investment
There are two ways I can interpret this plot thread playing out. The first consists of Osha falling to the dark side and joining Qimir, ignorant of her origins. Mae would discover this on her own (maybe while allied with Sol. A girl can dream.). This would lead Mae to despair, sure she could never save her sister if Mae herself were born for the dark side. But she would acknowledge that if Osha, born for the light, can fall, then Mae can rise. And so the stage is set for season 2.
Then there’s the other possibility. One that would require a lot more reveals before the turning point, resulting in a final plot twist that would be very delicious:
Osha is the dark side one, and Mae is meant for the light.
Everything the viewer was meant to believe would be thrown into jeopardy. Imagine recontextualizing every past action of both girls. Osha yearned for the Jedi, not because she craved the light side but because she feared the call of the dark. Mae grasped for the dark side, not because it was natural but because she loved her family and wanted her familiar witch-like magic. Also, we saw in episode 7 that Koril is a little unstable, so maybe she pushed Mae to be “better” than Osha, resulting in Mae letting her darkness win out.
This could result in a finale where Osha ends up with Qimir and Mae with Sol. (Sol has to live or the whole show is worthless.) Both twins think they’re where they’re supposed to be, but still feel uncertain.
Up to this point, I would have had the show strengthen the disconnect between Osha and Mae. Giving them a weak backstory and followed by a tearful reunion isn’t emotionally strong, and ending the first season with all their issues resolved is unsatisfying in its own satisfaction. You keep watching a show to see relationships develop, not to observe the stasis of a relationship already healed. Especially after the first season!
Osha and Mae at odds could stem from their inherent differences in wielding the “Thread.” They also both have masters who stoke their individual abilities, so a reveal that would throw them with their “correctly aligned” teachers would give such a twist extra weight.
But in this alternative, I’d also want the show to emphasize that the Force is not inherently good or bad. Qimir could claim the Force is power, Sol could claim it is acceptance, and the twins try to understand this in terms of where they are drawn. With these conversations and arguments set in place, the end reveal of the twins’ swapped positions would gain an added emphasis. Yes, it might look as if they’re with the “right” masters now, but light and dark are not simple concepts. Once, Mae was a Sith and Osha was a Jedi. And now, with them on opposite sides once more, their conflict is given the nuance it deserves in the lead-in to the second season.
But hey, what do I know? I just watch a lot of Star Wars.
My hope is as solid as this show’s characterizations
Despite the uncertain future of The Acolyte, there are still undiscussed plot points worth exploring in a second season. Osha and Mae’s creation is one of those, and there’s every possibility that my Force dyad theory will solidify. But such a reveal would come disappointingly late. Without Sol to guide Mae and without the fraught tension of Mae and Osha’s dynamic, it’s hard to gauge where season two will take this show.
At least we can theorize. We might’ve gotten a less-than-stellar plotline for season 1, but the tenuous potential for a decent follow-up is there. All that’s there to do is cross our fingers.
(And hope they bring back Sol as a Force ghost. Otherwise I’m setting the whole show on fire. Again.)
