Genre: Sci-Fi Adventure (TV show) – Episodes 1 & 2
Premise: Someone is killing the Jedi. A young Jedi dropout who may have a connection to this murderer is asked to help figure out who it is and take them down.
About: The Acolyte was conceived at a time when the Lucasfilm coffers were bursting. Star Wars was on a roll and their endless slate of shows (12 in some form of development or production) was proof of that. But since then, the Star Wars brand has experienced a string of L’s, from low critic scores to weak ratings to a new Star Wars movie canceled almost every week. Kathleen Kennedy, desperate to get more female directors into the Star Wars mix, greenlit Leslye Headlands Star Wars idea despite its innately odd pitch (“Frozen meets Kill Bill”). There were many rumors throughout the three years since the show was announced that it was canceled. However, against all odds, The Acolyte survived. And it just debuted its first two episodes tonight.
Writer: Leslye Headland
Details: about 35 minutes each episode
I’ve recently had a rejuvenation with the Star Wars franchise in the most unexpected way. I learned about younger people who’d never seen the original Star Wars movies before watching them for the first time on Youtube.
What’s so fun about watching their reactions is that a lot of them are dismissive going in, thinking Star Wars is dumb and overrated and looking down on it because it’s such an old movie. Then you watch them TOTALLY CHANGE THEIR MIND within, literally, three minutes. You can see it in their eyes that they’re hooked.
It’s not just validation of the greatness of Star Wars. But it’s further proof that good storytelling is timeless. And the story of Star Wars was TOLD SO WELL.
There has been so much criticism of the franchise in the years since and so many different areas have been pointed to as the reason. But it all comes down if it’s a good story or not. People are pulled in by great stories. They’re bored by bad ones. And I don’t think the storytelling in Star Wars has been good in a long time.
Ahsoka was the first live-action Star Wars product that I didn’t even watch. In history! That’s such a weird feeling for me. That I was so unimpressed by what was being presented that I didn’t even bother to try it.
Which leads us to today.
I’m giving Acolyte a chance because I believe creator Leslye Headland is the best writer any of the Star Wars shows have had. I took notice of her writing all the way back when I reviewed her Bachelorette script. She’s got a strong voice. She’s got a dark voice. She’s a clever storyteller (Russian Doll). So I’m curious if she’s come up with the goods here.
I’m putting all of my Star Wars baggage aside. I have not read any reviews. I haven’t even watched the show yet. I typed all this before I watched it so you couldn’t detect how I felt going in. With that in mind, I’m going to go watch it now. Then I’ll come back with the review!
***Carson watches Acolyte***
It’s 100 years before the prequels in a time known as the High Republic. This was when Jedi Rule was at its peak, diversity a priority, and there was no war. But, apparently, not all is cool with the Jedi themselves, as a Temple dropout named Osha heads to a bar and kills Jedi Master Trinity.
Young Jedis Yord and Jecki arrive on a cargo ship that we see Osha is working on as a mechanic. They immediately arrest her for the murder of Trinity. Strangely, Osha denies any knowledge of the murder, insisting she was on her ship the entire time.
She’s placed on a prison transport back to Coruscant where she’ll be put on a trial but there’s a prison takeover on the ship, leading to a crash on a nearby snowy planet. It’s there where Osha’s past comes back to her. Her twin sister, Mae, supposedly died in a fire many years ago. Could it be Mae who killed Trinity?
Jedi Master Sol, one of the wiser Jedis and Osha’s old master, senses that Mae’s just getting started. So he heads to the crashed ship, grabs Osha, and heads to a planet that has a small Jedi Temple setup. It is there where Mae’s likely next target is. So Sol, Yord, Jecki, and Osha set up a trap to catch her. But they’re too late. Mae kills her Jedi target. Who’s next???
Leslye Headhand may have done something revolutionary here.
What’s been the big problem with Star Wars television?
I know. That list is long.
But what’s been, arguably, the main issue?
I know what I believe to be the answer.
That Star Wars is not a small-screen product. Star Wars needs stakes. It needs urgency. It needs scale. It needs spectacle.
TV is only able to provide these things in small doses. Nowhere was that more obvious than in the “big battle” between Obi-Wan and Vader in the Obi-Wan show. The stakes of that fight were about as high as whether I’d overcook my bacon this morning.
So Headland said: Instead of trying to force Star Wars onto TV, what if we instead create a Star Wars show that leans into what TV does well?
And what does TV do well? TV does investigation well.
The most successful shows ever are about people investigating. How long has SVU been on the air? 78 years?
What this strategic pivot does is it takes our focus away from the fact that all the Star Wars stuff on screen feels smaller and cheaper and lures us in with the question – “Who’s killing Jedi and why?”
Of course, with any investigation plotline, the mysteries have to be well-written enough that they pull us in and make us want to keep watching. And Headland shows us how well she understands the format.
This is apparent almost immediately when Headland fesses up and tells us by the halfway point that the twin sister is doing the killing. A lesser writer would’ve tried to draw that out for 2-3 episodes, maybe even more. But good writers can tell how much leeway the viewer is going to give them on a particular plotline and Headland knew we’d figure that out immediately and want to move on.
So we move on but Headland still poses mysteries that need answers. We still don’t know WHY Mae is killing Jedi. And we definitely want to know who her master is and why HE is ordering this.
For the first time in a while with Star Wars, I was losing myself in the story. Usually, I’m just criticizing how bad it is. Like Obi-Wan hiding Baby Leia in his cloak while escaping the bad guys’ base and nobody notices.
When the Jedis finally corner Mae, my suspension of disbelief was in full suspension! It was that feeling I got with the original Star Wars where everything around you disappears and you’re just absorbed in what’s going on.
A big part of that was the characters. Star Wars became the phenomenon that it is because of its characters. It’s been a long time since they’ve been able to create good ones. I don’t know if I’d say these characters are great. But none of them are bad. I know that sounds like a backhanded compliment but usually, the Star Wars characters I see these days are terrible. So I was shocked that yet another show wasn’t introducing more of them.
I thought for sure I was going to hate the tall young guy with the swayed hair but he ended up being kind of a badass. And I love that little alien girl. There’s something captivating about the actress’s voice. It’s deceptively powerful and you believe her.
Sol is pretty cool too. He’s no Obi-Wan. But he’s got the same energy. He has the gravitas. And Osha is likable. I’m not sure if I love her yet. But I definitely like her. And I like her little pocket-droid, Pip. It’s small details like that that tell me Headland is trying to be different. She’s trying to find things that haven’t been done before in Star Wars.
Like Mae’s fighting. Mae doesn’t use a lightsaber. Her master doesn’t want her using one. He believes in killing Jedi with just your hands. That’s the ultimate kill. And I liked how that confused the other Jedi. They don’t know what to do with her.
Another unique way around common character tropes is Osha’s makeup. Osha gave up her Jedi training. She’s actually a sucky Jedi and hasn’t used the Force in years. That’s a new starting point for a ‘main character Jedi’ that we haven’t seen yet.
We usually see these underdog desert types with big dreams pulled into the Jedi universe. I’ve always wondered if there was a way to move away from that trope and wasn’t sure if there was. That aspect was so ingrained in The Hero’s Journey template and The Hero’s Journey template and Star Wars are one and the same. But lo and behold, Headland has figured out a hack to still create the underdog Jedi character.
I can’t believe I liked this so much that I wasn’t even upset about the lack of white man diversity in the show, lol. You know what alcoholics should do instead of going to AA? They should play the new Acolyte drinking game I just invented called: “Spot the white guy.” I promise you there isn’t a quicker way to get sober. What can you say, the diversity is strong here. We even have our first overweight Jedi!
But kudos to Headland that it never felt overbearing, like diversity was more important than the story. And that’s all I’ve wanted from Star Wars since the originals. Just tell good stories. So far, Headland is doing a bang-up job at that. Now, can she keep that up? That’s another question.
When it comes to writing good TV, the third episode is where the rubber meets the Mos Eisley dirt path. The first two episodes are the easiest because they’re clearest in your mind when you start and they’re the ones you know you have to make great because you have to hook the audience. Episode 3 is usually where things get sloppy cause you only write it AFTER you get your green light.
But so far, I’m happy in this long long LONG time ago galaxy far far away. I will keep reviewing these episodes as long as they’re good. If there’s even one bad one – one Lizzo and Jack Black episode? I’m out like a trout.
[ ] What the hell did I just watch?
[ ] wasn’t for me
[xx] worth the stream
[ ] impressive
[ ] genius
What I learned: A lot of feature writers come into television and try to force the film format onto the medium. That’s how we get shows like Raised by Wolves. Instead, do what Headland’s done. Figure out what TV does well and then adapt your ideas to that.
