Torbin literally let the intrusive thoughts win 😅

A possessed Jedi wookie going ham was not something I realised I needed to see.

Also the matrix vibes in this show are kind of funny, like every carrie anne moss does something dramatic we get that matrix stinger... and then when she enters the matrix and disconnects the entire coven. She was great in this episode though top notch acting, wish we''d seen more of her

I think one problem is that the show is about a mystery that none of the characters is interested in solving. Mae, Sol, and the Jedi already know what happened, and Osha doesn't even know there is a mystery. That means that when the solution to that mystery is revealed to the audience, there is no corresponding story beat. The big reveal isn't part of the story.

This episode is attempting to set up Sol as the mirror to Qimir, with both seeking an apprentice despite outside resistance. They even both lose their acolyte/padawan on the same night.

What surprised me about this episode was how much it humanized the establishment, specifically through Indara. She starts off as this seemingly aloof, detached figure - a stereotypical Jedi - but she shows that the establishment gets established for reasons that aren't necessarily evil. Indara had to be the mother to this dysfunctional family here, reining in their impulses and doing damage control when she could not. She seems harsh. She certainly could have been less high and mighty in her actions. Dreaming a bit bigger, there was probably a more enlightened path that could have led to a greater understanding of the Force by communication. But in hindsight, the Brendock 4 would have been better off following her lead, imperfect though their apparent options were. Maybe these actions seem contrived and inappropriate to some viewers of the show, but I appreciate the portrayal. These characters weren't Chosen Ones, legendary masters, or diabolical masterminds; they were the day shift and their manager panicking when they found a bomb in the mail.

My take on ep 7 was similar to but more positive than yours, but I’m not commenting to disagree. I continue to be grateful for the empathetic but incisive critical eye with which you view SW content. It’s what we need in these times. The discourse is dominated by the uncritical, the uninsightful, the unimaginative, and the unserious. Keep bringing the antithesis of these!

During the whole episode it seemed like the Jedi did a poor job of de-escalating the situation. They broke into the building not once, but twice. Korril is a bit of a hardliner but at the same time I couldn't really blame her for her attitude when the Jedi came the second time unannounced. I think a simple door knock would have sufficed. Indara also should have taken her team off Brendock after hearing the high council. Her team was compromised and they weren't going to do anything constructive there anymore, at least not immediately. One Jedi Knight is having attachment issues and her own Padawan is having emotional issues and had his mind invaded. I think it would be the time to take a step away and regroup and as a result avoid members of the team doing rash stuff.

To me it seemed like Aniseya's hex was still lingering in Torbin's mind. She found his weak point and the traces of magic festered in him after Aniseya relinquished her control over him in the first encounter. Torbin seemed different after the incident, so him running off after the M-count reveal didn't feel too far fetched

The roads to hell are paved with good intentions. Compassion can warp to obsession. Obsession leads to fear. And you know the rest.

My dad’s dealing with cancer and my mom had a stroke and is bed ridden.. Been helping as much as possible, but this video has some key philosophical points that hit home in a really strong way. Incredibly well spoken.

There's a Padawan in the Old Republic books that feels the same way as Torbin. Except he doesn't like leaving Coruscant for missions. When his Master took an assignment to the Starlight Beacon, he was highly upset and sought to stay on Coruscant. So much so he tried going to the High Council and get reassigned a new Master that doesn't leave the planet. Torbin reminded me of him. Except he also wanted adventure, through that he sought a higher purpose in his assignment. I rather liked the episode. The entire series reminds me more of The Old Republic era. *Quick edit* : check Heavy Spoilers. Just got through checking theirs out, and it actually explores a few deeper themes and story beats.

How are we not talking about Indara and Sol lying to the Council and a child and place the blame of the whole mess at the feet of Mae and her dead family?

All I can think of with that mining facility made out of steel an stone catching fire was "the cost-cutting corrupt Contractor industry of star wars claims more lives. I think more people have died in star wars from faulty construction materials than died from lightsabers at this point"

Everyone was telling me this show was going to make the Jedi look evil, but any wrongdoing here just reflects on the Brendock 4 in my opinion. More than anything this show paints a positive light on the "no attachments" rule the Jedi have, which by the way tends to get crapped on in most other Star Wars content. Here the Jedi council itself tries to avoid this tragedy, but the tragedy occurs due to the emotional imbalance of Sol. And even Sol didn't have evil intentions... it was an unfortunate tragedy that he could have avoided if he followed the Jedi code. I'm sad for Sol because I like his character and he doesn't look the greatest here, but if you're pro-Jedi I think this show is actually a great advertisement for the Jedi code.

This was another episode that made me think The Acolyte might have worked stronger as a movie. It wouldn't be a quick fix, but it might have eased the clunkier aspects of episodes like this.

I think the witches purposefully amplified Torbin's wish to go home by sending him there ever so briefly, so much so he couldn't control it, thinking this would make the Jedi just leave, not realizing the dynamic that was already in play and how that would impact Torbin's actions.

as a test i roughly cut ep 3 and 7 together as an hour long episode and then watched it as a pilot before rewatching the stuff that takes place in the 'present', and it works much better in this order

The problem with the writing is that they write things because the story needs it to happen, not because it makes sense for a character to do it. That's why we constantly get acts that seem very out of character.

There is a definite sense that there was someone who wrote the overarching story for the series and then a set of script writers who filled in the minute by minute details, and there is a definite skill gap between the two. For example where the story requires that something happens at the camp that causes Sol and Torbin to go to the witches base, the script has Torbin throwing a tantrum and Sol chasing after him. Or where the main story requires that the base ends up in flames and May gets blamed, the script has her literally set the entire base on fire with a single oil lamp. It's like the script was written in a caffeine-fueled haze the night before filming.

So the "power of two" referred to by Qimir in the previous episode, I assumed was the Sith rule of two and/or to become the master of the Sith, but instead im thinking he covets the vergance of the twins. This is the power of two. I realised this listening to the lyrics of the song in the credits

16:13 he’s homesick yes, but he is really afraid of this entire situation and she got in his head in a way he didn’t even know could happen.

This episode shows how effective Jedi, and by extension Sith, training is. Random force cults can't fight Jedi, one Jedi can block attacks from 20 and another Jedi overpowered the entire cult and shut down their minds.

Torbin was cursed by Mother Aniseya, that's why he acted erratically.

I'm more sympathetic towards Torbin than most I think. Because I would hate to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with the same three people for two months doing mind numbing tasks I don't understand without time off.

I really liked that episode actually. True that there was not a big reveal but sometime that OK, it shows that things can fall apart despite good intention due to fear.

Thank you Alan for working so hard and churning out daily contents for us. You're the best!

For me the episode delivered. It continues to show how not really infallible the jedi actually are and how it lead to their destruction. They got involved in something they didn't understand, something they couldn't control, and instead of learning to live with it, they ended up killing everyone. Torbin is such an example, despite all his power, training he was still a stubborn, lacking impulse, childish kid with a powergrip who thought he could take on all the witches.

Was surprised they didn't turn the Jedi evil in this. Was fully expecting that. But at their worst they we're reckless

I would really like to see a discussion between Allen and Star Wars Theory about this show.

If they made what the Jedi did more controversial, they would be getting 10x more backlash. Alot of the backlash Disney and the team have been getting is that they are making Jedi to be “the bad guys” and/or not showing them in the best light. With how the fan base is, I do not think there was ever going to be anything but a no-win situation for the creators. I also think this series would have been better if all of the episodes were released at once

The one big thing they never explained was why the rock fortress burst into flames.

So they expected us to accept that Indara couldn't be bothered to explain the mission after 7 weeks to her Padawan Torbin and allows him to whine like a little child?

I have to say that when Sol and Indara stand in the forest and talk about not confusing Torbins feelings for his own. The way Sol touches his face, his posture and his breathing made me feel like it was super real. I am almost 100% this is something that was either improvised by the actor or he actually had an itch and they decided to keep it. As it felt really great, it almost didn't feel like acting.

Every Jedi made their mistake on this planet by causing harm. When I first watched, I actually believed Master Indara had killed all the witches. By forcing them out of Kelnacca’s mind, I think she sent back a powerful force blow to all of them, killing them. She seemed the most powerful Jedi there, the most in control of her emotions, who could easily cause death to save her colleagues. She also regards Torbin coldly afterwards, which is understandable, and suggests that they lie to the council. Torbin never gets to fully heal, and who knows what happened to his relationship with his master afterwards.

Tho it fell flat in a few things, i did enjoy the episode. And i appreciated the fleshing out of Indara and her motivations, and the idea that for once, the institution of the Jedi was essentially giving the correct instructions for once. I do agree that the show suffers from issues, from a lore perspective it was and is still quite interesting and gives some more meat to the period. From a quality perspective, its certainly not the best, but its also not the worst. It had to grow on me a little, but i can appreciate it for its ideas, even if the execution was not as good as in other shows. And in the end, i do feel entertained, and that is everything i am asking for, those 40ish minutes tend to fly for me.

That planet is dark side force heavy (which is why the witches picked this planet). Using these gadgets shows they are trying to find out what is going on not realizing the danger they are exposed to, i.e. they are not well equipped. This is how all their underlying traits get exposed - aggressiveness (Wookie), emotion (Sol), Torbin is a child. And so, they all get confused/disturbed which is why this episode is confusing - as confused as the Jedi. Indara keeps her cool. The planet is one single Dagobar cave. I am thinking.

We finally got our Jedi Wookie fight and I'm satisfied

Also just noting that the way Mother Koril apparated away at the end, looked almost identical to how Mother Talsin escaped several times during the clone wars.

I figured Torbin was kinda like Anakin in that he has someone special (an attachment) back on Coruscant that he's desperate to visit.

Last night made me think more about Abeloth. The witches can just turn into black smoke and fuse together or disappear, it gives more questions than answers. Is the power of many just one being that is dividing itself into many? Next week will probably be epic and leave us with a cliffhanger so I already know we need that season 2

I’m a little disappointed that this whole thing happened because of a homesick padawan and an overzealous, over protective mother. Mother Aniseya shouldn’t have messed Torbins mind, that probably led with Sol acting the way he did.

The way I saw it, the whole thing was basically set up by Aniseya. She told Torbin she would give him a way to go home, then the following morning hand delivered him the proof of the vergence they were looking for via the twins blood, which he acted on immediately and that night was on his way home to Coruscant. I think thats why he takes the barash vow cause he knows its all his fault taking the deal with Aniseya when she offers him a way to go home.

The wookie combat was great

This show was a queen high pair of twos bluffing to be a Royal Flush.

In regards to you talking about the lack of cohesivness in the show, Tim Cain (creator of the original Fallout game) put out a video today talking about the importance of sticking to the vision and how you can have many talented people working on a project but if there is no central vision then things can fall apart.

I have been thinking recently, about how art interacts with people (and vice versa). If one loves something - if it moves, or speaks to them in a significant way - nothing can challenge their relationship to that thing. I know "State and Main" is David Mamet's best film, and the fact it is the least critically acclaimed of his works does nothing to diminish my perspective of it as one of the great movies of all time. I am well aware 95% of cinema-goers have never even heard of "Cradle Will Rock", despite its cast having more major movie and theater awards than any other cast in history, and it does not challenge my knowledge it is a masterpiece of cinema. We need no validation in our love of things. What fascinates me, is how differently these cultures of hate, that have bloomed around so many artistic endeavors in the last two decades, behave, and the need for validation they seem to manifest. Why, I wonder, is the opinion something "is utter trash" so very fragile. Why is anyone who has a divergent opinion of Star Wars, or thinks "Game of Thrones" was still better than most shows, even after it stopped being great, met always with unabashed vitriol and cliche labels like "shill"? Everyone enjoys having other people share views. We find solace and connection in shared perspectives and experiences, so it is natural for people who love a thing to want to share that thing with others. We also see it, on some level, as giving a gift by sharing something beautiful. Hate, conversely, shares no such motivations. Wanting others to hate what you hate is, at best, like forcing someone to smell your farts. So, why do such people need everyone to agree with them so completely and aggressively? I can see no reason - unless it is not actually about the experience of the art at all, but rather something purely ideological, which merely attempts to utilize some art to burrow its way into the lives of others.

The problem is this episode took 7 episode to unravel (we already guess it since episode 4), when they can gave small flashback on previous episode. This episode should be just the confirmation of what happened in Brendok.

Torbin pulling his stupid move was 100% because of what Mother Aniseya did to his mind. How is this even in question?

Mother Aneseya was a great Mother. 😢

Torbins reaction would fit with a teenager. He probably thinks by heading to the convert he can get evidence so he can go home

I loved watching this episode. We knew what was comming for 3 episodes, but we didn't know, how it'll play out in the end. From what has happened, we knew that the jedi were involved in a way, that the jedi felt guilty for how it played out and the mistakes that they made. We knew (from Qimirs perspective), that everything that happened in episode 3 was the jedis fault and they are the ones to blame for what happened. The show directed us in the direction to think, that the jedis could/will be the villians in the plot of this season. But in the end, in episode 7 we learned, that it was more like a tragedy, where many parts come together to form the disaster. You can definitly blame the Jedi/Torbin/Sol for what has happened, but also mother koril and in a way, also even mae for their actions. Overall there was not a specific good and bad side, it was more like people just reacted with their best intentions, on what they thought would be the best for the kids, while everyone mixed his actions, with their personal preferences. Mae wants Osha to staiy, so she is trying to stop her from going in a not really well thought way, like kids would do (please kids, dont burn houses down, because you want something). Mother Koril wants the girls to stay with the witches, because she fears the jedi and also worries about the tribe of the witches and probably doesnt wanna loose her girls as a mother. Sol fears the witches would do something bad to the girls and wants to safe them (espacially Osha) from the witches, while he also wants to take Osha as a Padawan, because he feels a connection through the force to her (maybe in a similar way, like Qui Gon did with Anakin, while he is way less experienced and way more attached to his feelings and emotions). Overall, even though I knew what has had to happen in this episode, it suprised me how it played out and it also explained some concerning questions, like why all the witches were gatherd in a room & dead in Episode 3, while there were no major wounds, or burned body parts to see, which could have ended in some major plotholes pretty easily (like it happened in Shows like Obi Wan). But after this episode there are still some questions up to answer, like how did Mae survive this episode, how did she met Qimir and in which direction is the show about to go, after this plot is finished and we end up in the situation, we are currently in after episode 6. And btw. please ignore mistakes in grammar or spelling, as im from germany and this is not my native language :D Hope I still could get my points & view on this episode across ^^

Nice, been eagerly waiting for this video!!

You nailed my exact thoughts on the episode and I've likewise been one who has enjoyed the show for the most part. The story just didn't merit the unreliable narrator and the payoff was not enough to justify so much leadup to this. Torbin running off too just felt strange even when knowing he's been stuck in the middle of nowhere for a couple of months doing work he sees no purpose in. (But admittedly that does show how the Jedi started to get too wrapped up in their need for nobility.) Sidebar: As a historian myself, I'm happy after so much time to finally have someone agree with my review of Dunkirk. I always thought the disjointed narrative in that movie completely ruined it and made it so even my partner leaned over and asked me during the movie: "Wait...who are they fighting again?" It's a device I don't think lends itself to most projects, particularly historical ones. It could have worked in The Acolyte but the murder mystery just wasn't strong enough to justify it.

I enjoy your take on this series far more than any other Star Wars channel I watch. You will critique, but not nit-pick every single detail that sucks. I appreciate that you're not giving a full review until it's over, and that you're taking the good with the bad. It's very refreshing since most of the other channels are just crapping all over this series without the full picture. Yes there are many things that are bad in this series such as dialog, pacing, and some acting, but it's new Star Wars that is giving us new insight to the galaxy far far away. Thank you for you videos and commentary.

Torbin is basically Starlord all-over again 😅

This episode feels like waste of screentime. We don't get much and now there is only 1 episode left. It explains how witches died (although I bet ppl will still question it, how Trinity disconnected them 😆). But in the end, how Sol's story could affect Mae? She burned the town, but didn't kill anyone and she knows this unlike to Osha. Her revenge is still justified? That flashback should have been told to Osha, not Mae.

If they would have combined both episode 3 and 7 then it would have been better imo

Disney must have fired every competent person they had.....

This episode actually paints the Jedi Order in a positive light - the four members here were actually going rogue and defying the Council's wishes, and when it ended in a needless massacre Sol and the others were forced to lodge false reports to protect themselves from criminal charges. The Jedi really did police their own to prevent abuse of power.

I love the way you try to rationalize poor writing.

I have too many questions to have ANY hope of seeing them all answered in episode 8. 😫

Master Torbin became not only a Jedi Knight but a Master in less than 6 yrs before he started the Jedi Meditative Vow. and then he takes his own life to something that wasn't really his fault. Graduating to Master Jedi use to mean something

The main, amongst many, problems with this story… 1. Torbin suddenly having a “somehow Palpatine came back” moment of inexplicable defiance against his master. This shows budget Anakin… with absolutely no previous foreshadowing that this behaviour is in his character. 2. The reveal is that the twins are actually the two sides of the force, the light and the dark. This of course is at great odds with the poorly depicted true narrative that Mae is immediately upset and regretful for her sudden aberrant dangerous behaviour getting out of hand. This is not a satisfactory explanation for the previously false narrative assumption that she is just a bad little crazy b***h who goes full darkside in a second… but now you are telling us she is full darkside from inception so this is yet more false narration. If she is the darkside of the one then she is lying that she is regretful of her actions. But I have issues with a Jedi master being as easily controlled by witches, despite it seems to be all of them, as opposed to one queen with subverting a padawan. Maybe I shouldn’t be so annoyed about that but I feel like an experienced master would be able to sense and block the power of many witches as easily as one… all he has to do is to put up a block on his mind to keep them out… and besides space trinity comes in and breaks all the witches connections in one swift move, which I would have to assume is a tougher feat than putting up a strong blocking defence. Overall I really wanted the last two episodes to resolve in some acceptable way. Part 7 has created more problems than there were before and now we have only one mini Rise of Skywalker to go. This is not going to be revealed as a deep layered conspiracy. I could accept this as a kids legacy tale… but you can’t be breaking people’s necks on camera and committing lightsaber Mozambique triple taps in a kids show… yeah it’s ultimately a weak mystery, thriller plated with some nice cgi (that’s what the MCU does, weak-ass stories but make the cgi wow to sucker the plebs) and decent lightsaber duelling.

Thanks Alan 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I don't think this is the absolute truth either. What we saw today is Sol's or even the Jedi's perspective of what went down on Brendok. We still don't have Mae's version of events, we don't know what Qimir knows or if he was there, what he saw. It will be his version of events or his Master's version of events that is closest to the truth because they're not directly involved in the conflict between the Coven and the Jedi. They're outside observers. This channel has done a great job of analysis, and again this week. Don't jump the gun because as you've been saying, we need the entire season to have a complete picture of what's going on. I think four hour long episodes would have made it better but, I'm still enjoying the show. If Qimir and or Sol survive the season, I'd really love to see a season 2.

While often overused, the line from Jurrassic Park works near-perfect when it comes to writrers/creaters. "They focused so much on whether they could do something, they didn't ask whether they should." Many writers will choose to follow a plot thread or write a story in a specific way without considering if it adds/takes away from the story itself. Even big name authors/producers do this (pov choices, plot choices, etc). An unreliable narrator and the disjointed timeline telling (where the story constantly jumps around in the timeline) are the two of the biggest choices writers make that don't always fit the story itself.

It was really a big misunderstanding on both sides. It felt like Mother Aniseya and Master Indara were the only ones not being driven by their emotions. Mother Koral and Sol believed that the twins needed to be saved from the other group but ultimately escalated the situation into becoming something extremely tragic. I'm glad that the jedi weren't being straight up evil more misguided like Koral and the other witches.

I like your channel. Nice job.

So they know about the night sisters

I honestly kinda liked it. It was like watching a trainwreck you can't look away from. You know what will happen, you're watching it for the impact, the emotional impact on the characters. And that was very strong.

Great vid. Very nuanced. Glad your here making these vids.

I love your channel because you’re actually analyzing the show instead of throwing a hissy fit

I have to disagree with you on your take about murder mysteries requiring an unpredictable twist at the ending. A good murder mystery will give the audience all the clues they require to come to the correct the solution by themselves before the big reveal. The ending is supposed to confirm that you came to the correct conclusions on your own. Doing some weird unpredictable twist ending comes from directors who feel the need to trick their audience or who want to show off how much smarter they are. Either way, The Acolyte doesn't deliver on either ends of the spectrum. The "mystery" is so obvious that the reveal falls flat. There is no thinking involved. And if they wanted the twist to be "the Jedi are evil" they failed with that, too, since the Council clearly told Sol to drop the issue and leave. And Sol's view of the coven as some spooky cult was justified from an outside perspective, so he didn't act entirely irrationally either.

Have the Padawan ask questions about the different devices and how they work towards the goal they are trying to achieve. Have the council want them to investigate against the master’s wishes and that’ll make the padawan want to go find the girls faster (hence driving off in the speeder). Have the fight happen but let the mother turn into her second form and attack the insurgents and have them all battle and ultimately some of the other witches. Have the wookie get taken over and fight the Jedi. Have the padawan after almost dying and going through trauma lose his mind essentially and go berserk ultimately killing and blowing up the entire mountain before being brought back by the masters and it still looking like Mae did it. Do this and it’s somewhat saved lol.

Another great video, thank you for explaining it.

I had the opposite reactions to episodes 3&7. I found 7 to be excellent while 3 was a miserable mess.

Master Sol is a classic example of the hubris of the Jedi in their belief that taking a child from a family for a greater cause is a justifiable excuse for depriving a person of love. Sol's own need for love overwhelmed his sense of moral obligation to the Jedi code. He saw Osha as an avatar for his displacement and struggle as a child Jedi initiate and works to fix his own trauma by preventing her future struggle as the loving parent he never had. He's desperate to save himself through her. Mirrors Anakin's journey.

Are we just gonna ignore how this was supposed to be a limited series about the sith. And was originally presented to us as a sith show, but now is just a story of evil witches and incompetent jedi.

The emotional detachment of the Jedi was always a problem but we see here how that embrace can create a problem for others as Sol and Torbin are driven by fear, leading to so much death.

I can’t believe people are bitching about the damn metal detector

I think the whole 'unreliable narrator' wasn't needed at all, the entire flashback could have happened one time there wasn't that much different between the two, it wasn't like either of them remembered or saw things completely differently. I mean we get to see Sol actually choose to let one of the twins fall rather than both of them fall, but there wasn't anything that was like a GOTCHA moment where one nugget or scene drastically changes the whole narrative. The script needed more work, the dialog needed more work, but the overall story arc also needs work. Nothing that we saw was Sol 'hiding his face' from Osha. There was no DARKNESS or DARK INTENT behind any of Sol's actions, so there is no basis for the regret he seems to express so deeply. Overall I've enjoyed the show but I can see the missed opportunities and missed potential to tell a really compelling and epic story.

Alan, love you and your videos. Framing the real world through your lore knowledge and interpretation of the shows is really enlightening, cheers!

I enjoyed the episode. I was confused a bit by that scene with Koril and Mae. It felt like it was outta left field for half the covan to be aggressive. But I still liked the episode, and with the small details of Sol lurking around the place was really cool. The fire was indeed caused by Mae, and no one progressed it further it was just a fire spiraling out of control. The fighting outside had enough time to pass for the fire to get worse. It's clear both sides were flawed that led to the collapse of the Covan. Sol ultimately letting Mae die was also crazy.

Before I get into my rant on how much I think The Acolyte sucks, I want to say Star Wars Meg and Generation Tech are great Star Wars channels. While I do enjoy Star Wars Explained, I do find Alex & Mollie a bit too shill-y. We need more fair and balanced opinions. Admit you don't like it. Now onto The Acolyte Ep. 7 "Choice" .... It sucks. One commenter said, it's a recap of Episode 3 but with very little new info. That's basically what it was. The two WTF moments was finding out Osha and Mae have the same symbiont and as Indara suggested, the vergence's power was so dense, it created one consciousness but split into two bodies. And the other WTF moment was Aniseya and Koril turning into dark spirits. WTF are they? I did not understand why Aniseya turned that way? Was she trying to defend Mae who Sol mistakenly took for as Osha? What was the need of conflict if Aniseya was willing to let Osha go to the Jedis? The younger twins are portrayed by fraternal twins. Young Mae has a prettier nose but has a more sinister face and devilish smile. Young Osha has a more worried and unsure face. Sol seems like a weak Jedi who can't lift two bridges from falling apart and can't seem to recognize Mae who has witch markings and treats Pip like shit or an iPhone she wants to reboot. One of the worst parts of this episode was watching Mae and Osha looking at each other for at least 5-10 seconds while standing at the end of a falling bridge. Um, why not run backwards so Sol doesn't have to do that Force lifting? Or why not one of them jump towards the other? Don't they know how to use the Force/Thread? Why not pull the other one in. It already looked ridiculous in Episode 3 and it looks even worse in Episode 7 because it was a longer shot and we see the twins just standing there and then it makes Sol look so weak. The dumbest scene was watching the witches die because Kelnacca was no longer under their spell! 🤣 Who writes this shit? Torbin committed suicide not because of any guilt. What guilt? He was homesick. He wasn't the one who killed Aniseya. I think drinking the poison was the smartest thing to do because he didn't want to be part of this awful show. He did himself a favor. BTW, Tommen Baratheon knows how to swing a lightsaber. Still had no chance fighting a Bigfoot Jedi. Torbin's suicide makes absolutely no sense. He was homesick. He rushed back to the witch coven after discovering the twins were created by this vergence. What exactly did he do wrong to commit suicide? And I felt Koril was the instigator. She was the one pushing Mae to do those things and prevent Osha from leaving. BTW, the actress who portrays Koril is a hottie. I said this after Ep. 3. Don't be fooled by her angry looks. The only thing I liked from this episode is Carrie-Anne Moss. It makes her death scene and Kelnacca's feel like a jip. Bait and switch. Had Carrie-Anne been given more work, maybe The Acolyte is halfway decent. Maybe. That was such a Trinity move when she jumped at Kelnacca. At least we found out Indara was the leader of the group. And the most cool-headed. Mae should've targeted only Sol. Indara, Torbin, and Kelnacca had nothing to do with Aniseya's death. I still don't understand why Aniseya did what she did? She already greenlitted Osha to go with Sol. This episode was missing Manny big time. He portrays the only interesting character in this series. The Acolyte makes the Sequel Trilogy look like The Godfather Trilogy. It makes The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi look like peak Game of Thrones. This Episode 7 was so disappointing, I will probably delete every episode of it on my phone and will not upload it onto my Google Photos. Even bad shows like She-Hulk are uploaded on there. The Acolyte's greatest highlights all came from Episode 5: Sith kebab and Jecki's death. That's it. I have no plans ever rewatching this. The writing is awful. The logic and some of the behaviors makes zero sense. Mae is either bipolar or schizo. Listen, I don't want to sound like one of those grifters with their rage bait channels. I actually enjoyed reading the comments from people who are enjoying The Acolyte. People saying they are 47-years-old or whatever. Saying they've been a fan of Star Wars for 30-40+ years. You can see it on Reddit. People who hates the Prequels and Sequels but are loving The Acolyte. Good for them. I even read comments from people who think The Empire Strikes Back is overrated. That's cool too. Enjoy what you want to enjoy. Nobody should tell you what you should enjoy. But man, I can't defend this show. It's so bad. Is it 13-14% bad? No. But it's bad. Character Rankings 1. Qimir / The Stranger 2. Indara 👀 (moved right on up after Ep. 7) 3. Sol 4. Jecki 5. Kelnacca (fights better than Yord) 6. Yord 7. Torbin 8. Aniseya 9. Bazil 10. Pip 11. Osha 12. Vernestra 13. Koril 14. Mae I didn't have Indara ranked in my prior list but she instantly moved up to 2nd after Ep. 7. Carrie-Anne is basically acting like Trinity. Cool and confident. Doesn't get overly emotional like a typical female character would be. Killing off Trinity so early was such a waste. And we can see it more after Ep. 7. If they ever make a Season 2, focus everything on Smilo Ren.

I know why you like Kreia but space Ayn Rand is probably not the best person to look to for instruction. Overall this episode is the first one I genuinely disliked. From where I sit they didn’t stick the landing on this one. I don’t understand why Sol stabbed Aniseya (I don’t need other commenters to explain it, I needed the show to do a better job). I’ve defended the show pretty stridently but wow this one did not land with me.

None of what was shown explains how a stone fortress was burned down by a wall lamp. Do they want to say that the fire below the wall circuitry shorted out the big electric ball in the center of the fortress and made it explode?

As always, great breakdown. I completely agree with a lot of your assessment.

I mean it was fun, but doesn't change how the Brendock mystery is kind of incidental to the main mystery of the acolyte. Sure it fleshes out Sol as the real main character of the series, but it was kind of two episodes expended on a mystery that only seems to by happenstance be retaliated to the mystery of the acolyte. edit: dame all the salty crybabies pissy because they never heard the word happenstance before. you need to get a refund on your word a day calendar if happenstance is a big word to you.

Man I am trying to get on board with this show but they keep making it hard for me. The Jedi acted like emotional idiots and everything seems not well thought out. The power of the dark side is indeed powerful I am starting to turn

This whole series can be summed up as a nothing burger / bread sandwich

Great analysis! Thank you for your deep and thoughtful response and review.

Looking forward to the finale. I admit the writing on this was bad, but I enjoyed most characters, the dialogue and visuals.

One thing I definitely had an issue with was the reveal of torbins face scar. Usually with a big pronounced scar like that they have a big moment where they highlight how exactly they got it. However in this case there was no highlighted moment. I watched his face very closely throughout that fight and it just popped up out of nowhere after he got slammed into the wall then tossed across the room.

The Acolyte fails as a mystery. I think the show would have been successful had it been written and delivered as just a basic adventure. It was floated at one time in the media, during The Last Jedi debacle, that maybe Quinten Tarantino should be given the keys to Star Wars. I think that time has come.

Sol acting like Qui Gon was a nice parallel storytelling beat, along with the Vergeance link of the Osha & Mae/Anakin. Even the ages are similar of the kiddos & the whole "the council declines" (essentially too old to train)

P.S. Much like Kenobi, it had cool parts but ultimately falls flat at the end.

Torbin: "I don't like soil. It's moist and smells weird." Yet another Jedi lost to the dark side due to dirt.

I must say that I actually enjoy your content because of the fact that you discuss what works and what doesn't work in the show instead just trashing the show like some content creators do. Thanks. I also find the videos provide me with clarity of what's going on that I might have overlooked due to not being well versed in all of Star Wars lore. Thanks.

Love the acolyte but I feel like the brendok incident wasn’t sold properly. The whole plot relies on what happened at brendok from the guilt of the Jedi to one of the ways quimir plans to break the Jedi image. But realistically the brendok incident wasn’t bad enough to destroy the Jedi image. All they did was try to get force sensitive children which is what they always do. The witches started aggressions and may started the fire. The Jedi are largely blameless in this which kinda makes it all seem a bit pointless. If the public heard about this they wouldn’t care. A bigger scandal would be trying to cover up quimir and what the Jedi did to him but that isn’t the focus point