We closely examine Darth Plagueis and Yoda’s cameos in the finale of ‘The Acolyte’ and try to figure out how they might be used in the future.
The Acolyte has now concluded its first season and we want more. If the packed final episode is a solid indication, series’ creator Leslye Headland and her team of writers have plenty of aces up their sleeves ready for an Acolyte season 2 renewal that may or may not come. Chief among them are two fan-favorite cameos: those of Jedi legend Yoda and Darth Plagueis, the Sith Lord who went on to train Sheev Palpatine decades later.
If and when The Acolyte is renewed, we’ll learn more about the Star Wars timeline — in particular the last stage of the High Republic era (and what could be considered the beginning of the end of the Republic, as seen in the Star Wars prequels).
While the overarching story should still focus on the all-new characters introduced in season 1 who are still alive and in the process of growing, it’s hard to deny there’s a real possibility of legacy characters getting far bigger roles as the series evolves and the shadows of the Sith start weakening the Jedi Order without the guardians of peace and justice noticing.
What shape could all those developments actually take? We’re here to dissect what we know so far – working with bits from the show itself and some recent interviews with Headland – and explore the new possibilities laid in front of us.
Qimir and Osha’s future looks pretty bleak
By the end of The Acolyte’s first season, Qimir (aka the Stranger) and Osha are firmly established as master and apprentice (and maybe even lovers). They’re also seemingly free from the shackles of Master Sol’s big mistake on Brendok and the investigation that’s taken place 16 years later. It all looks like they’ll happily walk into the sunset and be free together. Afterall. Qimir isn’t a proper Sith, and only claimed he’d be called that by the Jedi because he’s chosen to reject their teachings and the Order.
Well, not so fast, as Master Vernestra is still hunting her old Padawan (Qimir) to save face, using Mae as a tracker of sorts, given her unnatural bond with Osha in spite of the ‘Force-mind-wipe’ Qimir used on her. This instantly makes Vernestra a huge hypocrite, as she’s thrown Sol’s entire legacy (and the good he did) under the bus to keep a lid on her own mistakes. The Jedi of the late High Republic aren’t very luminous, aren’t they?
That’s conflict number one. But, of course, we also have Darth Plagueis on the planet we believe to be Bal’demnic, and we know he’s gone through their stuff at the base for sure. Is he trying to seduce and take on an apprentice? Or is he looking to cut down any users of the dark side outside the Sith’s Rule of Two to protect the Order’s long game (finalized by Sidious more than a century later)? It makes sense that a hidden Sith Lord would be annoyed by Sith-like Force users running around and risking the discovery of the Order.
If Headland and her team go with the latter option, then season 2 would have three distinct factions clashing into each other, with two of them trying to stay under the radar. In this scenario, Qimir and Osha’s chances of long-term survival are looking bad, since we all know how things look decades later. The larger story feels like another tragedy in development, and we’re here for it.
Darth Plagueis should slowly take over the narrative
The Darth Plagueis tease isn’t empty universe-building nor a simple wink to fans. As we’ve just explained, he’s got a big role to play in the series’ immediate future. In fact, we know for a fact he must gradually become the larger menace of the show. It’s logical to assume Osha and Mae will likely remain at the center of the narrative for however long the series continues, and their Force-assisted birth remains a key plot point the show will likely circle back to now that Plagueis is here, given his eventual creation of Anakin Skywalker using the Force.
While Headland chose to make Plagueis a Muun, much like in the Legends stories, the only current-canon information we have on him is Sheev Palpatine’s comments on his late Master in Revenge of the Sith, which we must assume to be true, given how open he was about everything towards Anakin Skywalker in order to seduce him.
Fans were quick to point out the conception and birth of the twins on Brendok – brought about by a coven of witches (separate from the Witches of Dathomir) – could have a connection to Darth Plagueis himself, as he too was obsessed with creating life and extending life. As it stands, it appears those witches had nothing to do with the Sith despite their dark, magick-like uses of the Force and some unnerving traditions. But Plagueis needed to get his ideas from someone, and Osha and Mae might just be the key piece to his investigations into the Force as creator of life.
It’s too early to tell if this will lead into Anakin Skywalker’s mysterious birth, especially considering there’s so much space between The Acolyte and the years prior to The Phantom Menace. There are no guarantees that we get a proper look into Plagueis and his plans before meeting a young Sheev Palpatine. In fact, The Acolyte could do its own thing while setting up the Sith Lord’s future and leaving the door perfectly open for a Palpatine series in the vein of House of Cards, showing us the Skywalker Saga’s big baddie’s dark coming-of-age and his merciless power plays before the Naboo Crisis he orchestrated.
Yoda and the Jedi Council must remain clueless
The final surprise of The Acolyte’s first season came in its final scene: Master Yoda himself in The Last Jedi-like puppet form — though we didn’t get to see his face. So, you’ll have to keep theorizing whether he looks okay or like the weird little goblin in The Phantom Menace’s original cut.
Vernestra Rwoh, now scrambling to get a story together to justify running off with Mae to hunt down her former apprentice, wants to either tell Yoda something or get spiritual guidance. Whatever she chooses to reveal to the oldest Jedi alive, it can’t be too much, as the Jedi Council, as seen in The Phantom Menace, knows next to nothing about Sith being a thing since the last great war against them. Its members are utterly clueless. Or are they?
You see, The Clone Wars (and even the original movies) showed us Yoda is a pretty good liar, keeping highly sensitive and galaxy-shaking information from the Council, the Senate, and the entire Republic. Above everything, he trusts the Force and its power to make things right in the end. You might disagree with him, but that’s how he rolls. So, what are the chances of shadowy stories reaching his big green ears in season 2 of The Acolyte? Leslye Headland, who would remain on board as showrunner and head writer should a second season move forward, likes the idea of exploring a bit of Master Yoda’s position as the wisest Jedi around who happens to be great at hiding secrets. It’s a risky bet though.
Headland herself is a pretty good liar too, which is exactly why we’re expecting season 2 to go bigger with fan-favorite cameos as long as they make sense for the story being told. Ki-Adi-Mundi was a good inclusion to create some connectivity, as he’s both old by the time of the prequels and isn’t a big character, plus the show didn’t draw artificial attention to his appearance. Yoda is a much bigger deal even if he doesn’t get to use his lightsaber and flip around, and he can make an impact on the narrative without coming across as cheap fan service. Let’s hope this ‘cameo philosophy’ remains untouched.