Yahoo Lifestyle The Controversial Cancellation Of "The Acolyte": Here Are The 11 Things That Made It Great, And 11 Reasons It Got Axed
The Acolyte has officially been canceled, and the Disney+ Star Wars series won't see a Season 2. This means a new era in Star Wars may never be seen again, which is a shame. Viewership matters, and the show failed to draw enough attention to a mixed-bag story.
Here are 11 things I loved about The Acolyte and 11 things that probably contributed to its cancellation:
1.LOVED: Peak lightsaber action
In past Star Wars posts, I've been pretty vocal about not being "in love" with the prequel lightsaber fights as much as most fans, but I would say The Phantom Menace choreography is the standard for great lightsaber duels.
The Acolyte delivered the best lightsaber action I've seen since then.
It was well-balanced with choreography, story-telling, and artistic choices. Everything felt fluid but not overly staged like a dance. The show is worth watching for the fights, but it is a shame the story couldn't match the action.
2.HATED: It is the worst mystery you'll ever watch
The social side of the Internet is a cesspool, so it's easy to lose sight of what didn't work through all the blind hate. This show failed to reach its potential because of the writing.
The promotional campaign surrounding this series highlighted that it was the first Star Wars mystery show. Not only was everything brutally predictable, but any mystery dangled for the audience was answered almost immediately OR dragged out too long, which became an afterthought to the audience because of bad pacing.
A majority of the criticism in this post will focus on the writing, but the targeted genre had the aim of a stormtrooper. Nothing about the mystery was compelling, which is a shame.
3.LOVED: "Good" Amandla Stenberg
Amandla Stenberg's performance as Osha added personality that could have been another boring character. Many Star Wars productions in this Disney era don't allow main characters to have lively personalities, and a good handful of the leads have come off as dull.
Osha contrasts the seriousness of the Jedi and shows life after training and walking away from the "Jedi way," which worked great as a catalyst for what her fate would be.
I thought, especially in the first half of the series, the show really let Osha feel like a character with a fun personality we'd see in the original trilogy. They had me in the first half, I'm not gonna lie...
4.HATED: "Bad" Amandla Stenberg
Sometimes, things don't work out. Every time Mae was on screen, it didn't work for me. In pro wrestling, you have baby faces (heroes) and heels (villains). Stenberg is way too much of a babyface.
Whenever both characters were in a "darker place," nothing was compelling about Mae or Osha. It honestly makes me wonder if it would have been better to cast a second actor (plus, that's a big opportunity for some young actor taken away because of the identical twin trope).
The blame falls on the direction because Stenberg showed range in different scenes, but the final product in major moments, especially that finale moment, fell flatter than a trampled Nexu.
5.LOVED: Sol carried the series on his back
Man, Lee Jung-jae knocked it out of the park with this role. I think his ability to learn English for the show paid off because when he spoke, every word felt vulnerable and filled with emotion. He was a character that you knew did the wrong thing, but he was still loveable.
His moments alone in private were some of the best acting we've seen in a Star Wars series. His demise was necessary to the plot, and I wasn't even mad. It felt like a full arc and was executed better than most things in the show.
Still, I'd take more Sol in a spin-off show...he was that good.
6.HATED: The Jedi felt small
Outside of the main characters, they fumbled the High Republic Jedi. It's only 100 years before The Phantom Menace, but the Jedi extras and side characters felt like bumbling idiots to make those around them look better.
Most scenes looked like cosplayers, and there weren't enough alien Jedi to make it feel like Star Wars (from Andor to The Mandalorian, too many humans have been a problem for the TV series). This is supposed to be when the Jedi are their most uptight and regal, but they lost all their "aura" just being plot movers.
There were still great Jedi characters outside of Sol...
7.LOVED: Yord and Jecki
PERSONALITIES. This show created new characters that felt like they belonged in this universe, even just for the first few episodes. Yord and Jecki were two characters that felt like real Jedi. They were both flawed but still presented as solid threats to the "normies" of the galaxy with their trained ways in the Force.
Yord was pretentious and borderline unlikeable but still possessed the presence to be an interesting character. Jecki seemed too calm, a padawan forcing her behavior to be what is expected of a Jedi, but she opened up when she was around Osha and seemed to have a lot of personality. Both showed they could be layered characters, even if it were just for four episodes.
They were gone too soon. Speaking of which...
8.HATED: Killing off underdeveloped characters
Like the pacing of the story's mystery, this show was anti-Game of Thrones and killed off characters too soon...the wrong way. The initial killing of Indara was good for the shock factor, but the deaths of all the other Jedi, including Yord and Jecki, felt underwhelming and killed the show's momentum.
The supporting cast seemed to have potential, but we'll never know because the show rushed them off-screen to give more time to develop Qimir's relationship with Osha.
9.LOVED: Qimir is the unhinged villain we've been waiting for
Manny Jacinto killed it as The Stanger.
It was reminiscent of Adam Driver's unhinged Kylo Ren, but this seemed more controlled, but at the same time, almost feral. He could be the American Psycho Patrick Bateman of Star Wars. When he put that helmet on, it was like a monster movie. When he removed the helmet, it felt closer to Palpatine trying to seduce Anakin to the dark side. The tease of the back scars was a great "show, don't tell" that he had a reason for turning. Everything about his character worked.
It's a coin flip for me, but Qimir or Sol deserves a spinoff. *whispers to Lucasfilm* Or both.
10.HATED: The Witches (Aftermath)
There was a lot of hate toward the witches, but I enjoyed their presence. What didn't work was the loose ends.
You can't present characters by giving them two full flashback episodes and then leaving so much unclear. Especially in this case, we, the audience, don't fully understand how their magic works. It's trying to have its cake and eat it by trying to generate sympathy for these characters but then keeping that "mystery" curtain blocking our view once the truth unravels.
Building up for a mystery reveal (SIX EPISODES) and then not revealing everything is pretty weak.
11.LOVED: Cortosis is the right type of "rare" I want in Star Wars
The visual of the cortosis material disabling lightsabers was such a breath of fresh air in Star Wars. It made duels far more interesting and terrifying for the Jedi. It is a rare item in the universe, so it's cool to see something that powerful, knowing it is a massive cheat code in the hands of the dark side.
The helmet design was very cool, and a great little detail was used to show the view from the inside. It showed Qimir couldn't see very well, thus proving he was strong with the Force to defeat so many Jedi while using his rage-filled instinct over his eyes.
12.HATED: A galaxy small, small away
Something didn't work about all the sets. Star Wars TV has suffered from filming in settings that don't feel magical like the films. It all felt empty, like every shot was on a sound stage. We want to be transported to a galaxy far, far away, not a studio in San Francisco.
Every moment outside felt like it was inside. And every moment inside felt like we were on a set. That can't happen to buy into a Star Wars show.
13.LOVED: The Jedi robes rocked and the show's wardrobe was actually very impressive
It's such a simple little thing, and I might get Force-choked for saying it: the field robes of the Jedi are the greatest.
I loved the colors, and they screamed "old-age" monks. Again, this small detail separates us from the timelines we already know, but I thought they looked great on-screen. Even the lightsabers seemed older, so I appreciate the new (old) duds for the space wizards.
Every character costume was a slam dunk. The wardrobe felt like the equivalent of a period piece for a non-existent world, which is really hard to do, and I think the showrunners deserve a lot of credit for that.
14.HATED: The "twin trope" was the weak link
This did nothing for the story; they didn't even become twins. Sometimes, going too deeply with metaphor can hurt a project and feel like a weak driving force. This show's new and fresh aspects were dragged down by a catalyst that we technically have already seen before.
Osha was an engaging character out of the gate, but the driving force of finding Mae really watered her down. The duo became the least interesting aspect of the show, and even in the flashbacks, the conflict between the two mothers was more interesting.
Don't even get me started on the old twin switcheroo.
15.LOVED: Imperfections of the Jedi
While many people were upset with how the Jedi were portrayed in this film, it felt gritty and made sense to lead to their demise. It shows that they are not perfect, God-like beings. They are more human than ever presented this way and prone to make the wrong decisions like any person.
The contradictions within their own religion really made it clear that not everyone in the galaxy views them as heroic saviors. As I said earlier, I wish all of the Jedi, even the smaller roles, maintained that mystical aura while having a "human" side.
16.HATED: Mae's inconsistent character (and there was no payoff)
I know this is Osha's story, but every decision Mae made felt like it was made to fit into the plot properly. In the end, does anyone care what happens to her next? She was the first character we see and was an afterthought by the fourth episode.
Confliction is a theme often used in Star Wars for the pull to the light and dark, but Mae just seemed like everything she decided to do was unnatural. Reactions from characters are important, and she doesn't seem to react at all to anything happening to her in the story.
The writers should have focused less on a brewing romance between Qimir and Osha and fleshed out the character they used to promote the entire show.
17.LOVED: Big and small moments breathed fresh air into the Star Wars universe
Star Wars is at its best when you let it breathe. While The Acolyte had pacing problems, little moments like the Mother explaining how they view the Force was great.
This series needed more moments of stepping into the world we know and love while offering a different perspective. There are countless souls in the galaxy far, far, away, and they will all have their own beliefs. Moments like Sol fighting Mae for the first time were great, and big moments like that make Star Wars the epic it is, but smaller interactions like the mother and daughters speaking really wrap it all nicely in a bow.
The thing is, those interactions needed to be done right every time...
18.HATED: Dialogue felt A.I. generated at points
Story and dialogue are two separate things. I'd argue the dialogue was worse than the storytelling and structure of the series.
A lot of lines felt like they were filmed on a first take. Monologue scenes worked well, but interactions between characters felt like the writer's room had never heard a conversation between two people. Moments like Sol confronting Osha for the first time were fine, but then there was Sol playing twenty questions with the Stranger when they first meet, and moments like that just felt exposition-y.
And there were a lot of those moments throughout the show.
19.LOVED: The bleeding crystal was an unforgettable moment
Of all the moments of this series, Osha watching her blood taint the exposed crystal was one of those special Star Wars moments everyone hopes for when they tune in. Her acting was exceptional (why she didn't express the same anger while killing Sol is beyond me), and the direction was a work of art.
New and creative ideas, even if they come from the Legends or Expanded universe, are needed to move us away from the Skywalker Saga. Everything about this short twenty seconds of wordless story-telling was a slam dunk, and I wish the show allowed more moments like this to happen with exposition.
20.HATED: Those flashback episodes
If pacing was a core problem in this series, the dueling flashback episodes, like Anakin eyeing some younglings, killed it.
It was a daring way to show two points of view, but it was a waste of an extra episode. Whenever films or shows try to nail the "he said, she said" style of revisiting moments, it always seems biased one way. In this case, they made us think the Jedi were these monsters for a couple of episodes and then revealed...well, they're still in the wrong.
It was a waste of time and could have been spliced into a single episode. If you're going to do multiple POVs of one incident, it needs to be interesting at least, and it was far from it.
21.LOVED: The High Republic Era
I hope the cancellation of this show will not scare Lucasfilm away from tackling this era. Please give me a Ronin-like Old West Jedi encountering non-Sith threats across the galaxy (you can even give them a space cowboy hat). Give me the politics between the Jedi and the Republic. Showcase all the wonderful things this show presented because it truly was a breath of fresh air.
We need a more captivating story that doesn't need to be tethered to "a bigger picture" that connects to the Skywalker Saga.
22.HATED: The finale doomed the show
A finale of easter eggs wasn't enough to save The Acolyte from its shortcomings. The vision was there and exciting, but it failed to deliver that cliffhanger excitement each week (besides The Stranger showing up for the first time).
I'd argue that the show's conclusion also felt final as if I didn't need to see more to understand that Qimir and Osha would eventually tie in with Palpatine and Plagueis. Why #RenewTheAcolyte when it would become just another branch attached to the Skywalker Saga?
The problem with prequels is that there is nowhere to go but through one door, and the show didn't give itself enough wiggle room to get enough people to care about not only what was happening next but the entire substance of the show itself.
Overall, the show had more bad than good, but I still enjoyed the good stuff. What do you all think? Tell me something you liked and didn't like about The Acolyte in the comments below!
