The Acolyte Episode 7 - Choice Review

We finally learn the truth of what happened on Brendok. Here is our review for episode seven of The Acolyte!

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[RobyKenobi]

I think the "noble intentions" line is true in another way as well, it's that same intention to get a child out of a bad situation that plays a part in getting Anakin off Tatooine

[joshfactor]

in his defense, it really did look like she was preparing to attack

[harrisonjames]

“Your eyes can deceive you” No wonder Sol stressed the importance of that to the younglings in episode 1. From what he was seeing on Brendok he thought he was doing the right thing right up until he kills Anisaya and learns she was going to let her go

[ruairiedwards]

Really loved that there was a hod to the The Great Hyperspace Disaster, the event that kicked off The High Republic era

[jasonisonbass]

I think Torbin running off to break in the coven was due to Mother Aniseya’s manipulation from earlier. Remember the quote from earlier in the season - she can get in your mind and stay with you. She amplified his need to get off of the planet and go home and that stayed with him to the point of acting irrationally. Ironically resulting in Aniseya’s own death along with the coven when her intention was to protect the coven and her children.

[trehubb]

Torbin literally let the intrusive thoughts win 😅😢

[petelannen]

A pissed off wookie Jedi is terrifying.

[BrianHartman]

I think you misunderstood one thing:

As far as I understand it, Torbin(sp?) doesn't drink poison "rather than confess his crime". He drinks poison to *atone* for his crime.

[bemasaberwyn]

The ultimate expression of "your focus determines your reality" IMHO

[WillRose]

Love your reviews. I had no idea about the taboo of Wookiees using their claws. Really enjoy learning new things like this.

[myriadmediamusings]

Man if I had a Republic Credit for every time a shattering conflict in Star Wars came about because of a grave misunderstanding...

Sadly is reflective of real life I suppose.

[FilonisHat]

Sol, like Yord, is a young Jedi Knight in this episode. His youth and newness to the role has him trying to act, trying to live up to the role of a Jedi Knight. His insecurities and their manifestations are interesting to watch as they play out.

[skyblueo]

I respect that you are examining the themes of this show. The Acolyte haters aren't seeing this as a the tragedy that it is. The inability of both groups to respect each other and their fear of each other is at the heart of this tragedy. Both groups scream, what about the children, while creating a disastrous situation for those children. This is a tragedy of good intentions complicated by fear and distrust. These groups mirror each other in that way, and this show is all about reflections and pairings.

[PerovNigma]

Now I feel bad for thinking the worst of Aniseya. I took her line with Osha in episode 3, about discussing her wish with the coven, as her saying _"Oh, yes, you can totally do whatever you want with your life, as long as we agree to it first."_ But then she actually stood against the coven in the name of Osha's autonomy.

[theDaoistBean]

Seems that the driving force of the show is how destructive codependency is...having it with the twins and looking for it with Sol and Qimir.

[itsatrap]

“He is using a made-up destiny to justify his choices.”
Sounds like the intense pressure the Jedi needlessly enforced on Anakin Skywalker.

[just-anotherman]

i love that they didn't just portrayed both sides as good or evil. but different interest and perspective.

[danielrubinstein]

I enjoyed this episode and I've mostly enjoyed the show so far, but man, if I pull up Disney+ next Tuesday and the finale only has a 30 minute runtime listed, I'm gonna be mad.

[MSnell]

I always appreciate Alex’s perspective on the episodes of shows I don’t love, but this one really didn’t land for me.

Nothing that Torbin did made his Barish Vow and suicide seem believable. Aside from his sudden decision to rush off and grab the girls as “proof” he was basically acting in self defense during that entire sequence.

Even if all the witches died, they basically killed themselves by choosing to possess Kelnacca. None of that needs to be on their conscience. Mother Coral telling Mae to “get angry” and be ready for a fight obviously leans towards the dark side. Even if we don’t know exactly what the witches were up to I think it’s clear that they weren’t entirely innocent.

Mother Aniseya turning herself and Mae into smoke was weirdly out of place in that particular moment and could have easily been mistaken as a violent action. I understand Sol’s guilt for killing her but his reaction was understandable.

After building this mystery up for 7 episodes and making us wonder what atrocity the Jedi could have possibly committed that tore them apart so much, this just fell completely flat for me.

[RedMangabey]

So the "big reveal" was something we already knew: Mae started a fire that in fact was the thing that made the jedi and the witches react to the situation and what destroyed the coven. She is the one the most at fault there, not the Jedi. At that point everything could have been handled with them just talking to each other. The reasons for things escalating out of control, like Torbin rushing to the fortress, Mae setting everything on fire and Sol attacking Aniseya are not convincing enough and just too exaggerated in my opinion.