From the time The Acolyte’s place in the Star Wars timeline was confirmed, audiences were concerned that the new Star Wars show would break canon and massively retcon the prequel trilogy; however, The Acolyte has concluded, and the canon remains safely intact. The Acolyte is set in the High Republic Era, the period approximately 100 years before the prequel trilogy, largely considered the golden age of the Jedi and the Republic. Because it predated Star Wars’ movies and TV shows, many were worried that massive retcons were coming.
However, with The Acolyte finale officially over, it’s safe to say that didn’t happen. Although there were various controversies throughout The Acolyte’s 8-episode run and plenty of backlash to go along with them, in the end, The Acolyte did not disrupt Star Wars canon, nor did it ‘ruin’ or significantly retcon the prequels. In fact, The Acolyte’s ending perfectly set the stage for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace by addressing a few key issues that remained in question.
Many Fans Feared The Acolyte Would “Break Canon”
Although The Acolyte faced backlash, criticism, and even review bombing before the show premiered, once episodes began releasing, accusations that the show was breaking Star Wars canon increased considerably. Audiences had two main grievances with aspects of The Acolyte that seemed to be canon-breaking retcons. The first was that the introduction of Force-sensitive twins Osha and Mae ‘ruined’ Anakin Skywalker’s significance in Star Wars because they, like Anakin, were born without a father.
The twins being created with the Force by Mother Aniseya doesn’t change Anakin’s status as the Chosen One.
However, Osha and Mae aren’t the Chosen One, Anakin is, and the twins being created with the Force by Mother Aniseya doesn’t change Anakin’s status as the Chosen One. The other main complaint was that Qimir/the Stranger being a Sith meant that The Phantom Menace had been retconned, as the Jedi in that movie said the Sith had been extinct for a millennium. However, this is inaccurate for a number of reasons.
For one, there were plenty of clues Qimir isn’t really a Sith Lord, and, interestingly, The Acolyte finale didn’t confirm that he is a true Sith. If anything, the brief appearance of the figure who seems to be the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis suggests that Qimir is only a pretender after all. More importantly, though, The Phantom Menace had already revealed that the Jedi were wrong about this; clearly, Palpatine was working in the shadows long before he was caught, so the Jedi had been incorrect about the Sith already.
The Acolyte Has Deliberately Avoided Breaking Canon
One of the most shocking reveals in The Acolyte finale was the first on-screen appearance of one of Star Wars’ most powerful Sith, Darth Plagueis, solidifying that The Acolyte is embracing—not changing—the canon. Many had suspected that Qimir wasn’t the Sith master, if he was a Sith at all, and hopes were high that the Sith master would be revealed to be Darth Plagueis, Palpatine’s own Sith master. While The Acolyte did not name him, the disturbing figure who appears briefly on the Unknown Planet seems to be Darth Plagueis himself.
The disturbing figure who appears briefly on the Unknown Planet seems to be Darth Plagueis himself.
Darth Plagueis has already been canonized, as Palpatine explained Plagueis’ story to Anakin in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, but he had yet to appear on-screen. If this was indeed Darth Plagueis, as many suspect, this proves The Acolyte is looking to pull from Star Wars canon and set the stage for the story that’s already been canonized. After all, with just 100 years to go before The Phantom Menace, it can only be so long before Darth Plagueis begins working behind the scenes and takes on his apprentice, Palpatine.
By revealing Plagueis at the end, The Acolyte has shown (even if it isn’t renewed for season 2) that Qimir and Osha don’t represent a change to the Sith lineage that leads to Palpatine and Darth Vader. Moreover, if there is a season 2, it could explore how the events of The Acolyte support the canon even further. With all that has transpired, so much more has been revealed about the history that shaped Darth Plagueis’ desire to create life and stop death—in fact, Osha and Mae being created by Mother Aniseya could feed into that directly.
Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Age Was The Closest The Acolyte Came To Breaking Canon
Oddly enough, one of the biggest controversies to come out of The Acolyte was the appearance of one of the prequel trilogy’s Jedi, Ki-Adi-Mundi. Some viewers were outraged by his cameo in the show, because it evidently broke canon based on his age. While this may have been the closest The Acolyte came to truly breaking canon, even Ki-Adi-Mundi’s cameo didn’t really break canon or retcon the prequels.
Ki-Adi-Mundi’s cameo didn’t really break canon or retcon the prequels.
In fact, Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age was never confirmed in Star Wars canon. While it has appeared elsewhere, including a 1999 CD-ROM and a 2013 trading card, neither reference was canonized, meaning that Ki-Adi-Mundi didn’t have a canonical age prior to The Acolyte. While that may not change the minds of those who were angry to see him appear in the show, it does mean that, officially, The Acolyte didn’t retcon Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age, and therefore never truly broke canon.
The Acolyte Finale Perfectly Cleared Up Any Inconsistencies With The Jedi
The Acolyte also masterfully avoided a true retcon regarding the Jedi’s awareness of the Sithby making Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh a bit of a scapegoat. Shockingly, in the show’s finale, Vernestra changes from a Jedi who seems completely committed to justice and upholding the Jedi way to someone willing to lie and deceive to protect the future of the Jedi and the Order. Specifically, Vernestra uncovers the truth of what has really happened throughout The Acolyte, including Sol’s culpability in what happened on Brendok and the threat her former Padawan, Qimir, poses.
To ensure that the Senate doesn’t come snooping around and the Jedi don’t discover the darkness that has infiltrated their ranks, Vernestra hatches a plan to blame Sol for the deaths of the Jedi and seemingly confides in none other than Master Yoda that there actually is a darkness growing. This suggests that Vernestra and Master Yoda conspire together in a cover-up, which explains why the Jedi in The Phantom Menace were certain the Sith couldn’t be back—they’d been specifically told, as a part of this cover-up, that the Sith were long gone.
While this may make some viewers angry, specifically because it reflects poorly on Vernestra and Yoda, it was a brilliant way to avoid a retcon. Moreover, it proves The Acolyte never broke canon. In fact, despite the controversy and the backlash, The Acolyte stayed true to the Star Wars canon even as it introduced brand-new characters, Jedi crimes, and, possibly, Darth Plagueis himself.
All episodes of The Acolyte are now streaming on Disney+.