Sluggish Reaction: The Acolyte (episode 5)

The Acolyte has been a slow-build but it finally came to an explosive climax with an episode that was essentially one long lightsaber duel with some shocking moments and reveals inbetween.

Starting midway into the action with a disoriented Osha was a cool moment. Seeing her first reaction being to get Pip was cute and emotional considering what happened later.

Seeing the Sith battle the Jedi through the trees was a great way to build the tension as we slowly got close to see what was happening. I have to say I found myself rooting for the villain as he pulled off some seriuously epic moves. Sorry Kel Dor guy!

It took me a second to realise what was happening but seeing cortosis short out lightsabers in live-action was a fist-pumping moment for Expanded Universe fans!!!

Seeing Sol step in to block the thrown lightsaber was awesome! I’d predicted that it might be Qimir as the Sith but some of the dialogue threw me off and started making me think it might be another of Sol’s Padawans. Also interesting hwo his helmet seems to be able to block the force somehow, like Magneto’s helmet in X-Men.

Jecki! I know I said I wasn’t connecting with her but I didn’t want her to die!! Seeing a Padawan stand up to a Sith with such ferocity was epic and her claims of having some of the best lightsaber duels were not overstated. Seeing her pull out a second blade and go to Jar’Kai stance was so cool as she and Sol took the fight to him and it was only a dirty trick that killed her in the end.

This moment when Mae could have chosen to attack the Sith but ran away instead just showed how terrified she is of him.

Osha and Yord travelling through the Umramoths and then luring them back was a really clever scene. Poor Yord though!

Seeing yet another lightsaber variant like this lightdagger is so cool!

So the Sith turned out to be our main suspect, but it was still a satisfying reveal. I liked his dialogue about wanting to be free and fed up of hiding who he is because of the Jedi.

Seeing Sol go beserk after the death of Jecki was really moving and shocking when he came so close to ending the Sith.

The trick to take the Sith out was cool, thought I thought the sacrifice of Pip was unnecessary as she had already got him to ignite his lightsaber which would have attracted them anyway.

The interaction between Mae and Osha was…ok but it felt a bit drawn out and a weird change of pace after all the action.

The switcheroo was obvious but a fun twist. It’s a shame as the one person who understands Bazil is dead.

The ending was a bit flat for me, but I love Jacinto as the Sith and I’m really intrigued to see what happens when he reveals the truth to Osha and how the story progresses from there.

Now I need a sleep after all that!!

Species of the week: Tynnan

Designation: Sentient

Homeworld: Tynna

Notable members: Bazil

Fandom: Star Wars

Appearances: The Acolyte

Tynnans are furred humanoids of short stature with a rodent ancestry. They have an excellent sense of smell, able to follow a scent across great distances. This trait makes them desirable as trackers, with some finding work among even the Jedi. Like the Wookiees, their speech appears to outsiders to be a series of animalistic noises but it is on fact a nuanced and complex language.

I love Bazil!!! Also it’s so great when an EU species gets a new lease of life, especially in live-action!!

Sluggish Reaction: The Acolyte (episode 4)

After a slow change of pace last week The Acolyte is back on track with a fun adventure building and revealing more mystery. I am back on board with this series!

Kelnacca seems obsessed with the symbols form the witches Coven – there’s definitely more to tell from the backstory

I liked Jecki’s interactions with Osha, I’m still not super-loving her character. Nothing against her at all, she just isn’t egelinbg for me the way I thought she would.

Nice to see some detail on Mae’s ship, the Exile II

I love Manny Jacinto!!! I agree with most theories that he is probably the guy behind the mask, he is definitely steering Mae towards the Sith’s agenda every time and he’s certainly more than the buffoon act he puts on.

The Jedi operations room was a fun set. I love that they’re tackling the Ki-Adi Mundi plot point head-on by including him in the series. Based on Vernestra’s dialogue I think we’ll see how he was deliberately kept in the dark. Also I want to know more about ‘splinter orders’!

Bazil!! Seeing a live-action Tynan was awesome and I really loved the character, especially his relationship with Yord. Yord is the standoffish, by-the-book type but he’s the one who bothered to learn Bazil’s langiuage and build a relationship with him.

Osha awakening the beasts was cool but a little spoiled by trailers

Mae flipping on Qimir and planning on surrendering to the Jedi was a twist I did not see coming!

I was also not expecting to see Kelnacca murdered off-screen. We know there’s more to his story from the trailers but still I was hoping to see him in action this episode

But his murder sets up to prove that Darth Smiley is a villain to be feared. I wasn’t convinced by the mask when I first saw it but it definitely had the right effect in this scene. We don’t know anything about this character but he presents as gleefully anticipating the destruction he is about to cause. I like the Kylo-Ren stylings on the helmet design.

And then the shot we’ve seen a bazillion times but it was still cool. It took me back to seeing this for the first time in Celebration and eveyrone going nuts!!

I cannot wait for episode 5!!!

Species of the week: Wookiee

Designation: Sentient

Homeworld: Kashyyyk

Notable members: Chewbacca, Krrsantan, Kelnacca

Fandom: Star Wars

Tall bipeds covered in thick fur, Wookiees hail from the deeply forested world of Kashyyyk. Their beastlike appearance and the barking sounds of their language Shyriwook, mean that thye are often underestimated as primitives by ignorant beings. The Wookiees are a technologically advanced race, known for their hyperspace navigation guild, though they prefer to craft with natural materials, and have let the forests of their home, which they regard as sacred, largely untouched.

Wookiees are strong and durable able to sustain wounds that would incapacitate or kill other beings. They are known for their powerful rage, and for ripping enemies arms out of their sockets, but they are an honourable race and any Wookiee seen using their claws for combat is exiled from society. The Wookiees are prized for their strength and their galactic neighboursd the Trandoshans often hunted their larger neighbours for glory and sold them as slaves to the Empire.

Wookiees are long-lived, with their life span reaching several centuries. This gives them a different perspective on time to other beings, meaning that Chewbacca was comfortable spending decades away from his family to fulfil his life-debt to Han Solo.

Was looking for species from The Acolyte to cover and just realised I’d never done Wookiee before!!

Sluggish Reaction: The Acolyte (episode 3)

Episode 3 of The Acolyte was…ok. I guess it gave some useful backstory but the story just never got going for me – I was waiting for a link to the ‘present’ storyline or a hint at the actions that caused May to hunt the Jedi but instead we got a relatively linear story with details we more or less knew already. Not bad, was just hoping for more and it seems an odd pause as the mystery thriller ramped up in episodes 1 and 2.

The opening scene with Osha and then Mae manipulating these cute creatures with the force was interesting and showed their dynamic. Both are powerful in the force but have different attitudes towards it.

I expected Koril to be a background character but it was cool to see another alien in a significant role. I thought her dynamic with the girls was interesting, but it seems to be mainly focused on the appearance of the Jedi.

The Coven seem interesting. I like the idea of the ‘thread’ which seemed to be represented by an almost literal thread of energy and how all their movements seem to be representing pulling thread. I do wish we’d seen a bit more of their weird and wacky abilities, like possessing Torbin, but most of their powers seemed to be Jedi abilities done with weird hand gestures.

The fortress was a cool location, looking like a dam built into a mountain. I like that they didn’t go with the trope of an ancient fortress but that it had technology in the walls.

We get a bit of info about the Coven but not much. We know they were hunted, I almost wonder if it was the Jedi but then they would likely have shown more animosity if that was the case. Also we learn a bit about the twins. I don’t believe they were a vergence in the force like Anakin – my current theory is that the girls are clones of Aniseya, which would explain why a Zabrak could give birth to human twins.

The arrival of the Jedi was tense and it was interesting to hear that training Force-sensitive children is illegal under Republic law. It seems like the Jedi are antagonistic towards the coven, but the children gives them leeway to intrude.

Again, Sol’s interactions with Osha are just wonderful and Sol continues to be the most likeable and captivating character

Torbin’s eyes turning black was a cool moment and I wanted to see more of this from the coven – more out there and forbidden practiced of the force.

I like the Jedi outpose with their Polan and the cool speeder bike. Osha getting to know Kelnacca was cute too.

It’s clear that the Jedi are already beginning to rely on midichlorian counts as Torbin gives her a ‘blood test’.

The scene with Sol testing Osha as he realises that she is deliberately failing the test and how he convinces her to tell the truth and decide what she wants for herself was great.

It was interesting to see Aniseya be open to Osha choosing her own path and not wanting to hold her back even if it meant peril for the coven.

But it is Mae’s attachment – the ultimate exampe of it leading to the dark side as she’d rather keep her sister in death than let her go – that causes the tragedy, or at least appears to.

Yeah, these witches did not die in a fire – we have more to learn here. I was just hoping we’d get some of it in this episode.

This was the part where I expected it to jump to the present storyline so seeing kid Osha threw me a bit. Maybe it’s all my expectations holding me back. I’m sure in the context of the full series I’ll have a more favourable look on this episode but for now I’d still categorise it as… fine.

Looking forward to digging into the mystery again next week!

Species of the week: Theelin

Designation: Sentient

Homeworld: Unknown

Notable members: Rystall Sant, Jecki Lon

Fandom: Star Wars

Appearances: Return of the Jedi, The Acolyte

Theelin are a species of humanoids identified by their brightly cokoured hair, facial spikes and spotted markings on their skin. The origins of the Theelin are lost to history and the species are scattered and have intermixed with compatible races, such as Humans, so that few, if any, pureblood Theelin still exist.

I really like Jecki and it’s really cool that we’re starting to get more non-Human lead characters in Star Wars.

Sluggish Reaction: The Acolyte (episode 2)

I’m all caught up now! I’ve really enjoyed this so far. I’d say overall I enjoyed the first episode more but this one moved things forward and set up the main premise – that Mae is hunting the Jedi who are all linked to her past.

Seeing a local Jedi temple was cool as it’s something we’ve only really seen in additional media. I do wish the temple had a bit more of a standout visually as it just seemed to be another building on the street but it had some cool interiors

Mae trying to penetrate Torbiun’s force-shield was a cool sequence and the reference to the Barash Vow from the comics was a nice nod

I like that Vernestra agreed with Sol and that Mae’s presence on Olega confirmed Osha’s innocence. I’m glad this series is avoiding the TV trope of the plot being driven by people making stupid decisions and we aren’t wasting 5 episodes on everyone accusing Osha

Qimir is a fun character. I love Manny Jacinto and hearing him say ‘We’re in Star Wars, baby!’ was a highlight of Celebration. Like many others I definitely think there’s more to this character, he definitely has a dislike for the Jedi at the very least.

Osha and Sol’s interactions continue to be heartwarming. I liked the moment when she thought he was judging her for her tattoo and he replies saying it doesn’t matter what he thinks. She doesn’t owe him anything – and he doesn’t judge her for leaving the Jedi

Torbin taking the poison willingly was unexpected, we know we’ll see him again in flashbacks thanks to the trailers so it’s just a matter of time before finding out why he felt the need to take his life

The situation with it looking like Osha had murdered Torbin had me rolling my eyes and thinking ‘oh, here we go!’ but again it was resolved quickly with Yord having done the smart thing and kept an eye on Osha.

The confrontation with Qimir felt a little rushed. It seemed like the Jedi should have pushed harder to find out who ‘He’ is rather than seeming to buy Qimir’s idiot act

The confrontation between Mae and Sol was pretty fun. Again, it had mostly been spoiled by trailers and clips but I liked that Sol was treating it as an interrogation not a duel and how Mae was trying to kill him without a weapon to follow the directives of Darth Smiley

Seeing Osha’s conflict with seeing Mae was unexpected. I expected the plot to go with her siding with Mae over the Jedi but instead she has hatred for her sister and shoots at her. I get the sense that even if her blaster wasn’t configured for stun she still would have taken the shot.

And then Kelnacca. The reveal fel a little flat for me as it was obviously going to be him but for casual viewers seeing a Wookiee Jedi must have been a cool sight!

I really like the setting and I’m intrigued to see where the story goes. See you next week!!

Sluggish Reaction: The Acolyte (episode 1)

The new Star Wars series is finally here! I just caught the first episode and I’m loving it so far. Hopefully I’ll catch epsiode 2 soon so I’m just gonna jump in.

I do like the new SOLO-style non-crawl that the series are using now, similar to the red text in Ahsoka, though I do prefer classic blue.

We’d seen some of this in trailers but I was thrilled by how Star Wars the opening scenes were – way more aliens and cool background details than I’d dared hope for.

I felt like we’d seen everything of the fight between Mae and Indara but it still managed to catch me off guard a few times. Seeing Carrie-Ann Moss as a Jedi Master was awesome and I’m glad we’ll see her again in flashbacks.

The jump to Osha was a little jarring initially but I’m glad they got the whole twin thing out in the open right away rather than try and make it part of the mystery as it would have felt very predictable. PIP is adorable and I love his multiple functions.

We got plenty of new ships in this episode too – and most of them have even been named on the starwars.com databank!!

Seeing the Neimoidians again was cool – I love their silly hats!! It first seemed like they were setting something up with talking about their cargo but I guess it was just to show they think of people as expendable.

The overconfident Yord was a likeable but flawed character. You can see in him the arrogance that lead to the downfall of the Jedi. I did really like his Zygerrian Padawan and I hope we see her again.

Again, most of Sol’s scenes had been seen in the trailers and this actually made it a bit annoying, especially when his dialogue was different as it kept throwing me out of the scene. I really liked his character and I found him instantly likeable.

Chair droids!!

The prison escape was chaotic and goofy! The action felt like it was straight out of the first act of The Force Awakens, reminding me of the energy of the Rathtar scene. Overall this episode felt more like watching a movie than any other series so far.

Jecki was cool. I didn’t find her quite as likeable as I thought she’d be but it’s good to have an alien lead character and I’m looking forward to seeing her in action

The force-vision on Carnac reminded me of the dyad scenes in The Rise of Skywalker. I wonder if the connection between the twins will play into the series

The hunt for Osha was tense as we see Yord pull out his saber straight away, eager to bring her in and artone for his failure to capture her earlier while Sol wants to find the truth.

Seeing Sol’s smile at seeing his old Padawan was really heartwarming. I expected this series to be about him bringing his Padawan to justice but it looks to be a different tone as he is now looking to clear her name. I do think it should have been relatively easy to clear her as there would be records of her being on the Trade Federation ship but anyway…

The ending scene was intriguing with Darth Smiley igniting his red blade

I know you’ve all seen episode 2 so I won’t comment on what I think will happen next as no doubt I’m wrong!!