📸: Lucasfilm
🔴 Spoiler Spew 🔴
Hey Acolyte Fans!
What a great season! I understand this show was not liked by everyone, but I sure enjoyed it. It was different than what we have gotten before. The showrunner, Leslye Headland, said this show will be in the perspective of the Dark Side/Sith. Honestly, that did not come off that great to me because every episode was all about the Jedi. Was there always the presence of the Sith, yes, 100%. But you would never know it was supposed to be focused on the Sith. Other than that, there were still some storytelling issues. But I truly did enjoy the show I am willing to overlook that.
I quite enjoyed being in the High Republic Era of Star Wars. That was the first time we have been there on screen. Yes, there are books and comic books, but it was great to see it in live action. This era of the Jedi was great to see because this is a time where they are flawed. To me they have big egos and think they are above everything. So it was cool to see a difference between where they started to where they end up. This season brings to light and and understanding of why the Jedi met their demise. The Jedi as we have always known, have always been the good guys and had no flaws. So to see that was not always the case was interesting to see. I know not many people were a fan of this, but our heroes are not always perfect.
During this series we even see the different ways the Force is used and how the Jedi feel they are the only ones who truly know how to wield it. These Witches we meet on Brendok and a Sith like person named Qimir also use the Force in their own way. The Witches even call the Force a Thread. Since the Jedi during this time feel they are the only ones who use the Force correctly, this causes the Witches and Qimir to question their judgment.
One of the greatest things about this show is the choreography. THE CHOREOGRAPHY. This has got to be some of THE BEST Lightsaber fighting I have seen. The creativity is a beautiful thing to see. The prequel series did have some great fighting too, but this series is the next best. For sure the best out of all the Disney+ Star Wars stuff. It is fun to watch all of the behind the scenes on the fighting because you can see that Manny Jacinto truly gave it everything he had. And you could see that he was enjoying himself. The fifth episode is with the amazing fighting, and I must say, it was shocking to see. But in a good way. They really expanded what lightsaber dueling is and I am here for it.
The best thing about this series is Lee Jung-jae (Squid Games) and Manny Jacinto (The Good Place). What great actors! They both gave a terrific performance. I read that Lee Jung-jae learned English just to play this role. Manny knocked his role out of the park too. I loved him on The Good Place, so it was fun seeing him play a completely different character. Don’t get me wrong, everyone was well casted, but my favorite out of the show is Lee. Manny is a close second though! Sol’s character was very similar to that of Qui-Gon Jin and Master Sol always seemed to have the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. Even though Sol was a favorite of mine, he too had his flaws. When it came to the twins in the show, Mae and Osha, he could never admit that he was wrong for what happened to their family(the witches) on Brendok.
When it comes to this show having 8 episodes, I truly felt like that was not enough. Well, it could have been, but the episodes needed to be longer. Above all that, they did need an outsiders perspective because some things just did not make sense. The reason why certain Jedi were hunted were not all that clear and it felt too fast. And there were a few unanswered questions. One thing that made zero sense to me was about the whole destruction of the Witches on Brendok. It all stemmed from one of the Jedi, Torbin, being homesick. Like really? Homesick? Come on, there HAD to have been a better idea than that. Also, for Sol to confess what happened on Brendok took all 8 episodes. Every episode he kept saying I will tell you later. I was irritated at this because it’s like, no, just tell me now! Or they could have made the flashbacks one long episode to tell us what fully happened. That way we could have watched the rest of the season with a clear understanding.
Another set of eyes looking at the script would have been beneficial because there were things that were not totally flushed out. There was one character in the show, Vernestra, that was super bland. She had zero personality and we didn’t get to spend enough time with her for her presence to make any sort of impact. We do understand that she has good intentions and wants to protect the Jedi, but her character could have been flushed out a bit more. And that is a little sad to say because she was in the High Republic books. At the end of the season we understand that the Jedi involved with Brendok covered it up, so it was surprising that Vernestra was willing to do the same thing. She was there for the last battle and after everything was over she told the Jedi Council that everything was Master Sol’s fault. Then we see her heading in a room to speak with Yoda. Like, what the heck. I would have much rather had her talking to Yoda and that be that. Not her throwing Sol under the bus then going to Yoda. Sol was flawed, but he didn’t need that.
Even the two main characters, Mae and Osha, were not given the time they deserved. And they were the main characters! Amandla Stenberg I think did a great job with what she was given. You could see these characters had such great potential, but they just fell a little flat. Out of the two Mae made sense. She blamed the Jedi for her family dying so she went on a killing spree. Osha was understandable too, especially towards the end when Sol confessed everything. But her actions still did not make total sense. When she was taken by Qimir, she was giving in to the dark side so easily. Seeing Manny in this show, I can see why she wanted to go to the dark side. But maybe Qimir was that charming she couldn’t resist? But I just wish that were a little more clear. When she actually makes the turn to the dark side that made complete sense to me.
Overall, this show had great bones to work with, but they could not quiet stick the landing. However, I still quiet enjoyed it because I could see what they were trying to do. But above everything the fighting, Lee Jung-jae, and Manny Jacinto made this show worth it. So I say still give it a chance even though there might not be a season 2. I hope they do make a second season because there is still a lot of potential for this story.
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