Episode 7 of Star Wars: The Acolyte ruins the pacing with another long flashback

The Acolyte is fast approaching its conclusion, with the penultimate episode giving us another flashback to what happened on Brendok as shown in Episode 3, except this time it's shown from the perspective of Sol, Indara and the other Jedi.

Believing that Mae and Osha are in danger from the coven of witches, Sol decides to try and rescue them and take them to Coruscant, leading to events that end in the destruction of the coven.

I'll be honest: this is the worst episode of the show. Most of the things we're shown we've already seen in Episode 3. I know it's trying to show the other side of the story and the Jedi's part in it, but it's not enough to justify an entire episode. The whole thing could have been fleshed out earlier, or just by using a couple of short flashbacks or dream sequences, or even just shown in Episode 3. I get that we're supposed to learn how Sol was partly responsible, but that's not the big reveal that it's meant to be. If they had attacked the witches or tried kidnapped the twins, that would be different. As it is, the whole thing happened because of a lack of communication leading to them jumping to conclusions.

At the end, we're again left with more questions than answers. Why were the witches so hostile to the Jedi if they were willing to let Osha be trained anyway? Did they all die after possessing Kelnacca or are they still on Brendok? Why did Torbin feel so guilty when he wasn't guilty of anything? Mae still started the fire, they couldn't stop that, and Koril was the violent one. Why was he so keen to return to Coruscant? Alright, the work might have been boring, but it's not like the planet was inhospitable or they'd been stuck there for years, yet he thought they needed a ticket home, as if they were exiles. It's all part of a big problem this show has with muddled character motivations and a lack of proper development.

I certainly don't get the sense that the Jedi were in the wrong for what they did. They were rash, maybe, but the witches played their part too. Koril told Mae to "get mad," which implies she wanted her to use the Dark Side, and as Star Wars has always shown, there is no compromise when you use the Force, you either draw from the Light or Dark Side, with the latter often consuming you. If the Jedi are guilty of anything, it's their decision to hide the truth from the Council. Apparently this was done to protect Osha, but there's no reason to think they would reject her for training without consideration. It all feels so forced and unnatural.

Episode 7, "Choice," is the worst episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte so far

There's also the question of how important Mae and Osha are. There's talk of life being brought to Brendok by a "vergence," the same phenomenon that created Anakin. If this also created the twins, then shouldn't they be equally important, and possibly in line for fulfilling the prophesy of The Chosen One? Yet neither has shown any real aptitude for the Force, the opposite, in fact, with both seeming to have limited abilities. Does this also mean that the witches were responsible for creating the vergence, or did it just occur naturally on the planet? It seems like a powerful thing to be able to create, and surely something that the Jedi Council should be told about, in case other Force users encounter it and are able to manipulate it. The ability to create life from nothing has pretty far-reaching consequences, and it's more important for Sol and Indara to reveal the truth rather than letting their own personal feelings get in the way.

There are so many questions waiting to be answered, and with only one more episode to go, I doubt if most of them will be. I'm no fan of these extended flashbacks that fill an entire episode. They really damage the narrative structure and should be woven in throughout the series to make and more interesting and leave breadcrumb trails to keep the audience guessing. Particularly coming in here as the penultimate episode, it's killed all the momentum leading into the finale, which does nothing to help a show already filled with pacing issues.

Going into the final episode, I've really no idea what to expect, and I don't mean that as a positive thing. From everything that's happened so far, I'm not getting the sense of an impending showdown, and there doesn't seem to be much left in the way of surprise revelations except, perhaps, who Qimir's Jedi master was. Maybe they'll pull out some more lightsaber action to help fill it out a bit. There's not much else left for them at this point.

Episode Grade: D

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