The Acolyte Explained | Highlights from “Teach / Corrupt”

Episode 6: “Teach / Corrupt”

The emotions crash over Master Sol in the wake of the slaughter on Khofar. Sadness, anger, grief, anguish, maybe even a little fear knowing that one assailant was able to take on several Jedi and win. Then, relief. Pulling Mae into a tight hug, you can feel the almost paternal attachment he feels for Osha, his former Padawan and the person who just saved his life. But Mae is not her sister, even if she’s wearing her clothes and attempting her brightest Oshie smile.

News of the carnage has reached Coruscant, just before the power on the Polan goes down. This betrayal of the Jedi Order is shocking to even the calm and collected Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson), who must now carry the burden of having been the person to send Sol to Khofar and his team to their deaths.

Meanwhile, Osha’s been unconscious, but it would seem someone has been tending to her wounds and caring for her, a kindness in stark contrast to the violence of last week. The Stranger (Manny Jacinto) is well aware that the twin in his company isn’t Mae. Their interactions play out like a dance of sorts, with the seductive themes of composer Michael Abels’ score accentuating the allure of the dark side. Or maybe more specifically the allure of the Stranger and what he seems to offer: a lesson on the power of Osha’s connection to the Force, something that, until recently, had been just out of reach.

Is Sol so clouded by attachment or grief — or both — that he doesn’t recognize the impersonator before him? Bazil can certainly sniff out the difference and Pip greets Mae with a slimy jet of grease. There’s been a lot of heartbreaking moments in the last few episodes, but Mae’s response to Pip’s insubordination goes down as one of her cruelest acts in the series so far (and that is saying something.) We watched Mae end Master Indara’s (Carrie Anne-Moss) life and we’ve seen her deliver the poison that ended Jedi Master Torbin’s (Dean-Charles Chapman) existence. But there’s something harsh in the simple act of hitting the button to return Pip to his factory settings. Suddenly devoid of personality, it’s like watching Mae exert her power over the beautiful Brendok butterfly all over again.

If Osha were so quick to that kind of anger, the Stranger might be dead by now. Saber to his chest, the power button literally at her fingertips, he challenges Mae’s sister to strike him down and puts his life in her hands. Is it all just a dangerous game to him, betting that Osha will stick to the Jedi principles she learned long ago?

The Acolyte is full of surprises. Before the credits roll, it becomes clear that Sol has indeed recognized Mae for who she really is, playing the long game before stunning her and completing the mission to secure her in binders. Osha accepts the surprising offer to try on the Stranger’s cortosis helmet, a sneering piece of sensory deprivation that thrusts her into a future always in motion for one glimmering moment to witness Mae’s next attack. And Vernestra Rwoh? She makes being a Jedi Master look effortless, unleashing her purple saber whip in full live-action glory to defend against an umbramoth, while weighing the evidence left behind on the battlefield. Patiently, she resists the temptation of jumping to conclusions. “What do you see?” she asks Mog Adana.

But as Obi-Wan Kenobi once wisely counseled Luke Skywalker in his first lesson in the Force, your eyes can deceive you.