Julius Posted June 3 Author Share Posted June 3 Reminder that The Acolyte drops tomorrow in the US and in the early hours (02:00 BST I think?) over here in the UK: Yeah, I'm going to be silly and probably stay up to watch it Anyways, wanted to highlight some of the meat stuff that's been going on with The Acolyte marketing ahead of its release. Mainly, this: So: Amandla Stenberg can play violin, loves John Williams enough to end up being given a music sheet made just for her by him, and she came out on stage at Celebration last year in London in Episode II Padmé cosplay? Always love when someone wears for their love for the franchise on their sleeve Leslye Headland also had a brief chat with Dave Filoni, which I'm sure will be expanded on with a Disney+ Gallery special for The Acolyte at some point: She's talked a lot about pulling from Legends (the old EU), her love for the prequels, Clone Wars, etc. Seems like we've very quickly moved onto prequel fans getting their shot at Star Wars and I'm super here for it. We also got a Lee Jung-Jae feature in his character, Sol: Yeah, it's pretty safe to say I'm hyped for this to drop. We are finally - FINALLY - going to be free of people working in and around the Skywalker Saga eras and be starting up with something new! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happenstance Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 Watched the first two episodes of The Acolyte. Seems good so far, interesting mystery and characters. Only real complaints have been I wish the High Republic era felt a bit different to the Star Wars we've already seen, other than the cloaks it all looks the same and then I also think the main actress runs weird 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julius Posted June 5 Author Share Posted June 5 I watched the first two episodes of The Acolyte last night and yeah, I thought it was a really solid start to the show. Bit weird in terms of framing and pacing at times (see: the way the first episode decided to wrap itself up) but the narrative intrigue is definitely there. Thought the music was fairly serviceable too, definitely leaning more into the Williams influence, but there hasn't really been a moment for it to stand out and grab me just yet. Spoiler Alright, so Mae having a twin/sister I totally called glad they didn't stretch that out much. Qimir is an interesting one, just because of the way that Manny Jacinto is playing him. I still think that there's a good chance he's Darth Shark Tank, seeing as "peace is a lie" is the literal first part of the Sith Code, there's also the way he dodged an acolyte's attacks (?!) without too much thought and with crazy fluidity, and the way he speaks to Osha after figuring out she's not Mae, it felt like a bit of a taunt. There's also the way he deflects from talking about "The Master" to the Jedi and instead focuses on the trials Mae is facing in killing the four Jedi. So that thread I'll be keeping an eye out for, but Qimir also just turning up as the new apothecary who just so also happens to aid Mae feels like something to flag. I still think this show ends ultimately - this season or whenever it does - with the Jedi included in this investigation either all dying (so they can't know about the Sith) or, much more likely in my eyes, the Sith being the apprentice and his acolyte are both taken out and the Jedi wrongly assume that they've killed the master and apprentice. Vernestra already seems like the type to play politics with how much they're trying to keep talk of the investigation to a minimum. Something I find interesting is what they're doing with Mae and Osha. Mae, the acolyte, seems genuinely surprised and a bit emotional at the idea of Osha being around still, whereas Osha seems vengeful towards Mae. I wonder if we're being duped here and they're going to swap places by the end of the show? Not something I really want to commit to predicting but them being sisters was very low hanging fruit, Qimir out of the first two episodes seems the most likely choice to be Darth Shark Tooth, and so if there's going to be a twist, could it be that? Osha also seems to be the one followed by traumatic memories of what happened and the Force is guiding her to all the wrong places, almost as if it wants to get her in trouble. Loved Sol, can already feel he's a bit of a Qui-Gon type and a bit tired of the obstacles in the way of getting the work of a Jedi done. Really leaning into the attachment stuff here, too, which is interesting. 4 hours ago, Happenstance said: Only real complaints have been I wish the High Republic era felt a bit different to the Star Wars we've already seen, other than the cloaks it all looks the same and then I also think the main actress runs weird 😆 Yeah, I think I feel the same so far? I guess it makes sense, seeing as these are the waning days of the High Republic and the transition from the ornate and lavish to however we'd describe the prequels is well under way. For me I think the big sticking point so far is the lightsaber hilts look just kind of meh, at least we'll be getting a Lightwhip but the new outfits for Jedi are neat but it almost feels like formal wear vs informal wear? This has all made me want to pick up the Art of the High Republic just to have a flick through... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happenstance Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 Yeah I think the white robes are supposed to be more formal while the brown are for missions. Shame it wasn't really a thing when Lucas wrote episode one. Seeing them all in the white robes at the beginning of that movie would have been another good way to demonstrate the headspace he wanted the jedi in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksnowman Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 (edited) 20 hours ago, Happenstance said: Yeah I think the white robes are supposed to be more formal while the brown are for missions. Shame it wasn't really a thing when Lucas wrote episode one. Seeing them all in the white robes at the beginning of that movie would have been another good way to demonstrate the headspace he wanted the jedi in. It's 100 years before text crawl. We are being treated to a look back at this part of the Jedi's past*. Spoiler * Their Spice Boys days. Edited June 6 by darksnowman spoiler for clarification Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happenstance Posted June 12 Share Posted June 12 Another interesting episode of Acolyte this week. Loving seeing the Jedi expanded upon again, showing more of what we got in the prequels. Spoiler The ascension ceremony just gave off very theatre kid vibes 😆 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Odwin Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 I really enjoyed the latest episode of Acolyte. Seems the whole season getting hate from certain quarters of the internet (IMDB review scores are well bombed) but that last episode was some of the best star wars TV we've seen in years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalcoLombardi Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Overall I thought The Acolyte was an okay series. I'd like to see more of the Sith actions/background info. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julius Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 Woke up very early yesterday to watch the finale of The Acolyte. Overall, totally agree with you @FalcoLombardi , I think it was just okay – it has some REALLY, REALLY high highs (Episode 5 I've watched the middle part like 10 times!) but they are few and far between, leaving a lot of confusing and meandering lows. The first half of the show lacked so much of the direction and ideas introduced in the second half, and the show ended up feeling like it should've simultaneously been 2 episodes longer and 2 episodes shorter. Big fan of what Manny Jacinto managed with Qimir this season (probably my favourite alongside Sol), really happy to have some representation for more Asians in live-action Star Wars, first time we've really had them at the core of what's going on. Even more so because Manny is mixed/half Filipino (like me!) and so even though I think Luke/Leia/Han/Anakin/Obi-Wan et al are incredibly relatable because of how strongly they're characterised and how well their core values are portrayed resulted in me not really understanding the importance of representation, it did feel pretty damn great and almost fulfilling of an unknown childhood wish for me to see this representation. Obviously, the reactions to the show have been appalling. Star Wars. Lesbian showrunner. People of colour in lead roles. I hate the internet. Crazy just how bombed the reviews were for this, there are definitely points worthy of criticism but there's a way to go about it. Think it also calls into question, once again, the media intelligence of some Star Wars fans. Anyways, I also thought the show was pretty predictable. I won't get into it too much without spoiler tags, but I talked to a friend at various points as the show went on, and I think I was probably right on 80%+ of the things I thought would happen. That's not really a problem when it comes to a mystery or Star Wars - I think a good mystery does need some people to connect the dots ahead of some reveals to be surprised by others - but it definitely made me question the approach to certain aspects, as it wasn't paced as well as I would have hoped. Some characters also just have really weirdly portrayed convictions. Some pretty great lightsaber duels, some solid moments, some moments where I was left stunned by a particular theme returning, and some familiar-yet-not faces. The show is certainly complete in one sense, but has put all the pieces in place for a S2, and I hope it gets one – the pieces they've put in play by the end of this season gets the mind racing with possibilities. With all that in mind, I'd probably score The Acolyte a 6 or a 6.5/10. In terms of ranking the live-action Disney+ shows so far, it's probably something like: 1. Andor 2. Mando 3. Ahsoka 4. The Acolyte 5. Obi-Wan 6. The Book of Boba Fett Worth a watch whenever you're in the mood for more Star Wars, and while I haven't had the chance to do it myself (because of watching weekly), I have seen a few people suggest it flows much better with a binge! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalcoLombardi Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Yeah, Manny / Qimir was my favorite part of the series. It's a shame he wasn't in it too much the first few episodes. Both his goofy and serious sides are entertaining. And the flashbacks to Brendok (spelling?) were pretty iffy to me. I don't think we needed to spend two episodes there. Especially since the "reveal" of what happened was lackluster. Review bombing is just... grow the fuck up people. 😅 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happenstance Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 I thought the series started well but by the end I just didn't really care about anything happening. Probably not one I'd go back to again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddage Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 I don't know how to feel about The Acolyte. I thought both flash back episodes and the episode where they're just walking through a forest looking for Kalnacca were awful, just so boring! However, I thought Qimir was a great character and some of the fights were incredible. One thing that annoyed me a bit was in the final fight when Sol cut the end of Qimir's light saber... Your sabre splits in 2 dude, just use the other half 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero-of-Time Posted 2 hours ago Share Posted 2 hours ago Starting watching The Acolyte. Three episodes in and it's pretty garbage. I'll still continue on and finish it but I'm not impressed so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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