The latest Disney+ Star Wars series, The Acolyte, has received rave reviews from critics (including me!) and fans alike, and there’s one thing that binds us who enjoy it: This happened 100 years before the movie came out. The Star Wars franchise has often made the galaxy feel very small, and this seems like a nice turning point in that regard. But I’m very concerned that’s about to change based on key information we learned from this week’s third episode. This information tells most of the story of how Mae and Osha were separated when they were children.
WARNING: This article contains some major spoilers for Episode 3 of The Acolyte.
In this week’s episode, it was revealed that the twins were exiled from an unknown location and raised by a coven of Force witches living on an uninhabited planet outside of Republic space. Their mother is a Zabrak called Mother Coral, and the clan is led by a human named Mother Aniseya. Considering these titles and the presence of the Zabrak, it is likely that they are the Witches of Dathomir sect, which played a significant role in the past. A year was spent with Ahsoka, but this is not explicitly stated.
May and Osha were just approaching their Bar Mitzvah when a quartet of Jedi showed up and asked them a few questions. The Jedi definitely get weird when an unrelated group trains their children to use the Force regardless of the situation.
In fact, Mae and Osha’s mother, Coral, is worried that the Jedi might kidnap Mae and Osha. She is worried that Mae and Osha will discover that they were conceived and created fatherless through the Force by Aniseya. Just like Anakin Skywalker a century later.
We don’t yet know the specific implications of that reveal, but it’s the kind of thing that could very easily turn The Acolyte’s plot into a direct prequel to the film. And I’m not sure it will work out in the end. But let’s consider the possibilities.
In current canon, Anakin Skywalker’s birth is still a mystery. As far as we know now, he was actually conceived without any request by the Force itself. However, in Legends continuity, the story was a little different. According to the story, Emperor Palpatine’s former mentor, Darth Plagueis, had the ability to manipulate midichlorians to keep people alive for unnaturally long periods of time, and created an essence transfer technology that allowed Palpatine’s soul to survive even after his body died. He also invented it. Death Star. Plagueis also attempted to create man, but was unable to do so. He suggested that Anakin’s birth was either a Force response to his machinations or an accidental side effect.
We can try to hope that Mae and Osha’s perfect concept won’t have any long-term, big-picture repercussions for the entire franchise, but Mae later falls under the influence of an actual Sith: Mae and her friend Qimir. Referring to the Sith code in Episode 2, the Sith is Related – This scenario is too pointy to continue to believe that The Acolyte exists separate from other Star Wars stories. If anything, it appears to be opening a new chapter in the franchise’s main plot.
It’s hard not to see Mae and Osha as a sort of prototype for many of the familiar Force concepts that appear in the movies, such as the prophecy about Anakin’s birth. One person, half light and half dark. And then there’s the ridiculous “dyad in the Force” with Rey and Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker. Here’s another thing that Plagueis apparently tried to do with Palpatine and failed. Mae and Osha could be one of them.
I’ve so far enjoyed The Acolyte, the rare Star Wars adventure that doesn’t quite carry the full weight of the franchise, but this reveal makes me worry that it might be a fantasy. We may actually be seeing it. Star Wars: Episode 0 – The story of where the Sith obtained their resurrection magic and how Anakin was created. Or it could be worse. It’s a new expansion of the Mandalorian/Boba Fett/Ahsoka part of the franchise. This part covers a bit of Palpatine’s quest for immortality in Return of the Jedi and includes several Dathomiri witch characters on Ahsoka. last year. It would be disappointing if either of these were our conclusions.
But it’s a classic Star Wars move, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if that’s the route they took. It’s just Star Wars doing what it often loves to do. In other words, instead of doing something new, you’re turning your attention to parts of the franchise that you think you’re already interested in. I hope that’s not how it goes.
New episodes of The Acolyte stream on Disney+ on Tuesdays.
