The third episode is the most controversial one yet. We saw a flashback, but how much did we really see?
SPOILER WARNING! The following contains spoilers for The Acolyte Episode 3 “Destiny!” Do not proceed if you wish to avoid spoilers!
MAJOR POINTS
- Mae and Osha were conceived by witches
- The Jedi wanted to train the twins, but Mae did not want Osha to go
- All of the witches allegedly perished in a fire accidentally started by Mae
Sixteen years before the previous episodes, Sol sees Osha and Mae as children. They will take part in The Ascension, a ritual that officially makes them part of their coven of witches. Mae is eager to participate while Osha is unsure. The coven mother, Aniseya, speaks about a “Thread” that can be used for power, stating that “some call it a Force”.
That night, the witches successfully perform The Ascension on Mae and a marking appears on her head. However, the Jedi arrive before Osha’s turn is finished. The children hide and the witches deny having any children. However, Kelnacca notices them and the children come forward. Sol notices the new marking on Mae, which angers the witches because he had to have been spying on them to know that. Sol shows his lightsaber to Osha, who shows interest in becoming a Jedi. Aniseya reluctantly agrees to let The Jedi test the children the following day.
Koril, the twins’ other mother, proposes they kill the Jedi overnight. The two mothers argue over whether the children can decide for themselves. Aniseya believes they are while Koril thinks otherwise. An elder steps in and suggests the kids lie on their tests. Mae makes Osha swear to lie, even though Osha wants to be a Jedi.
The test is right out of The Phantom Menace, or if you’re old enough to get this reference, Ghostbusters. Mae fails by lying, but Osha gets caught up in her lie and confesses that she wants to be a Jedi. Aniseya tells her she will discuss her decision with the coven.
Mae confronts Osha and says she will kill her if she tries to leave. She steals a triangular book of Osha’s and locks her in her room. Mae then burns the book with a nearby lantern. The fire apparently spreads, and soon the whole door is on fire. Osha escapes through a shaft and finds Mae in some sort of generator room. Sol finds them but an explosion sends Mae into a pit. Sol manages to catch Osha and save her from falling. They escape as the entire mountain burns.
Osha wakes up in the Jedi ship where Sol tells her everyone is dead. He asks to train her as a Padawan. She agrees and Sol hugs her, telling her she will never be hurt again.
The final shot shows Mae with the imprint still on her head calling for Osha, showing she survived the mountain’s destruction.
MAJOR QUESTIONS
- Why was Aniseya so two-faced about letting Osha become a Jedi?
- Did the fire REALLY spread so fast and get so large on its own?
FINAL GRADE: D+
It’s easy to see why fans rejected this episode. Not only did it retcon some of the most basic things about Star Wars, but it also seemed to depict The Jedi as the antagonists. That’s without getting into how Aniseya said Osha was old enough to decide for herself only to say that what she wants now could be different later. It seemed odd that she showed one minute and disproval the next.
The retcon is Osha and Mae being conceived by the Thread/Force. This is something previously exclusive to Anakin Skywalker. The addition of not one, but two previous children conceived by the Force is a pretty big change to the Star Wars lore.
It’s also pretty clear there is more to what happened than we were shown. On the surface, it seemed like Mae set fire to the book out of anger and accidentally caused a tragic fire. But that fire spread awfully fast and seemingly killed everybody even faster. It’s far more likely we’ll see other takes on what happened which paint The Jedi as the culprits, which explains Mae’s lust for revenge. I’ll have a lot more on this in the upcoming podcast review.