The Acolyte Explained | Highlights from “Choice”

Episode 7: “Choice”

The past shapes the future in surprising ways as the mystery at the heart of the series unravels further to expose the fears and failures of the visiting members of the Jedi Order.

Although Brendok is as beautiful as it was before, some of the serenity has leached out of this world as seen through the lens of the visiting Jedi. The lush, mossy forest is an anomaly to them, while it’s been a haven for the coven who have made an old mining station their fortified home. And the discovery of the children inspires an undercurrent of fear, sparked by the unknown, rather than the witches’ joy and hope for the future of their way of life.

The Padawan Torbin’s angst is palpable and, to be honest, relatable. After seven weeks in the woods, he’s ready to return to the comforts of Coruscant. But his Master Indara is a stern teacher, one who abides by the wishes of the Jedi Council first and foremost. And the rest of his comrades on this mission are content to obey these rules…at least at first.

Sol’s discovery of the twins is the first domino in this tragedy. From his perspective, the fearsome Mother Koril (Margarita Levieva) and the beautiful Mother Aniseya are harming the children, not nurturing them. Their training exercises and their admonishments are perceived as attacks, and his judgment sets everything into motion.

The witches are not completely without blame. A glimpse inside the mind of young Torbin casts his enchantment in a new light. Bewitched by Mother Aniseya, who seems to reach into his mind to reveal his deepest secrets while controlling his physical form and holding a separate conversation without missing a beat, her hold is more than just a defense mechanism. It’s an intrusion of its own, or as Sol puts it: “Your mind is their battlefield.” And it demonstrates the terror to come when the Wookiee Kelnacca is targeted and turned into a weapon.

The situation on Brendok escalates quickly. After testing the twins, the discovery that they’re not sisters in the usual sense — but the same person on a biological level, a consciousness shared in two separate corporeal beings, — sends Torbin racing back to the fortress for further proof. Meanwhile, the coven is wrestling with Osha’s desire to leave them, and the implications on their own future.

The fire is already threatening to consume them all, but it’s Mae rushing in pleading for help that tips the scales. Mistaking her for Osha and grossly misunderstanding Aniseya’s stunning maternal act of protection — morphing into a cloud of smoke to envelope her daughter in a mystical embrace, — Sol makes a fatal error that will haunt him for the next 16 years.

A Jedi only use their weapon for defense. But what happens when that Jedi misreads the situation at hand? All hell breaks loose, that’s what.

Aniseya’s survivors are powerful together, strong enough to enchant a Wookiee Jedi. In a moment we’ve all been waiting for, Kelnacca leaps into action with his lightsaber ignited. Only, it’s his fellow Jedi he’s attacking mercilessly, leaving poor Torbin scarred and forcing Indara to showcase her own formidable power in the Force with heartbreaking consequences.

And Sol? The title of this episode seems to have its own duality. On the surface, it’s about Osha making her choice to leave the coven and join the Jedi Order, and everything that transpires as a result of that decision. But it’s also about her future Master, literally trying to hold things together when the damage is too great to reverse. For a brief moment, he uses the Force to keep both sisters safe from plummeting into the unknown depths. But he is not powerful enough alone to save both sisters. And his choice will set everything we’ve already seen into motion.