OK. I’ll admit my nostalgia is getting the best of me. Even if I wanted to go along with Disney Star Wars, the show has even more problems. On the plus side, the production values in The Acolyte are pretty impressive…compared to Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Mando Season 3, and The Book of Boba Fett. Good job. The one ship looks good, and the television production is the best Disney Plus has produced thus far.
No one can argue (but people will) that Star Wars, from the very beginning, was a boys’ brand. Sure, girls certainly were fans from the start, but not in the same numbers as boys. Film, TV, and merchandise were directed toward boys.
Today, it’s really easy to see that Star Wars today is predominantly a girls’ brand, which is fine. I’m sure the fine folks in Disney accounting have taken into account the true size of the female and non-binary fan base to make this shift in focus profitable. There are plenty of interviews with Leslye Headline stating that The Acolyte is female-centric and queer. Nothing wrong with that. Again, this is Disney’s decision, and more power to them.
“…supposed to be a crime thriller. The problem is there’s no mystery.”
Ultimately, the series suffers in its story. Good stories have the potential to appeal beyond their target audience. The Acolyte is supposed to be a crime thriller. The problem is there’s no mystery. The fact that the assassin is Osha’s twin was pretty easy to figure out (even with early spoilers). We learn in Episode 3 that Osha wants to leave her mothers’ coven to become a Jedi. How do we know? Because Osha says it over and over again. Like most Disney Star Wars characters, they are void of subtext. They all have to tell us their motivations when we should see it in their actions.
The series also hangs its hat on the combat scenes. To tell a story within a fight about how a young assassin can kill a Jedi with a set of daggers. One must consider the pros and cons of using daggers while powered by force. What should be a game of hand-to-hand chess? We instead get a fight dance that would make West Side Story proud.
The last problem with the series is its themes. They should be a mystery, too, played out over the series eight episodes. Here’s it’s easy to pick off. The Jedi have been keeping the peace in the galaxy for centuries, but like modern-day law enforcement, the heroes are actually the villains set on holding all the power. The result is they exile the witches. Unable to bring any thoughtful insight to these themes means we have a boring series on our hands. Not establishing subtext to our heroes means we have boring characters. Wanting a visually exciting fight scene over a fight with intention makes for boring action.
Are the witches the true heroes of the galaxy? Are the Jedi villains in heroes’ clothing? Looks like Disney Star Wars is set on deconstructing everything pre-Disney Star Wars fans loved about the series. After watching episode 3, The Origin of the Witch Coven, you’ll probably feel that Star Wars is finally dead… it’s not for us OG fans anymore.
"…Star Wars is finally dead... it's not for us OG fans anymore."
The power of maaaaannnnnyyyyyy, thats all i have to say about that
Agreed ✅