Star Wars: The Acolyte S1E1: Lost/Found & S1E2: Revenge/Justice

"The Acolyte" stumbles in its two episode premiere.

I will cut to the chase—"The Acolyte" feels like a big swing and a miss. I was excited about exploring an era ripe for new Star Wars storytelling, but unfortunately, what we get is a dull, weirdly paced story that so far doesn't live up to the hype.

The weird thing is, and I know it will sound contradictory, but I enjoyed it. It plays much like "The Rise of Skywalker "for me, where there are so many individual elements that I enjoyed and thought were very cool, but it just doesn't work overall. While I loved “Andor's” plodding story pace, “The Acolyte” is too slow for its own good.

We will have spoilers from here on out, so if you've not watched the first two episodes of "The Acolyte,” ye be warned.

The Acolyte S1E1: Lost/Found

The first episode begins with Mae (Amandla Stenberg) facing off against Carrie-Ann Moss's Jedi Master, Indara, in a fantastic fight that should please most fans. The fight goes as expected until Mae preys on Indara's compassion and turns that against the Jedi. Mae leverages Indara's "weakness" against her and strikes down the Jedi Master.

If you're a fan of Carrie-Ann Moss, you're going to be so pissed off, and rightfully so. Moss is excellent as Indara, and it's just another prime example of Disney squandering a prime opportunity to give fans what they want and push it to the side.

We then meet Mae's look-a-like Osha (Stenberg), a former Jedi Padawan making her way as a mechanic aboard a Neimoidian ship. She's visited by old Jedi buddy Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett) and his Padawan as they question her about Master Indara's death. When she’s ID'd by the barkeep, Osha is ushered on a prison ship bound for Coruscant to stand trial.

Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Osha's old master, Sol (Lee Jung-jae), is approached by Master Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson), who informs him of Osha's alleged crimes, much to the disbelief of her former master. Sol reluctantly agrees to help Vernestra, emphasizing that justice must be swift and an example made, or their political enemies could use it against them.

After being left behind by the other prisoners as they hijack the ship and escape, Mae's prison transport crash-lands on Carlac, where she must confront a vision from her past that was a driving force for her leaving the Jedi Order. When Sol learns Osha tried to save a fellow passenger and betrayed her, he convinces Master Rwoh to take a small team to find her and bring her in.

Teamed with Yord and Sol's current Padawan Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen), they set out for Carlac, where Yord and Jecki learn that Osha is, in fact, a twin and her sister started a fire that killed her entire family. When Jecki suggests Osha's sister might be the real murderer, he quickly dismisses the thought, saying she died 16 years ago, but the question ignited a spark of doubt within the Jedi Master.

On the planet, they track Osha down to a cave where she confesses her innocence. Sol is delighted to see his former Padawan and commands the others to stand down as they prepare to return her to the capital city.

The episode ends with Mae's mysterious master delivering a speech that underscores Mae's sole mission—to not destroy the Jedi themselves—destroy their dream.

The Acolyte S1E2: Revenge/Justice

Episode two begins on Olega at a local Jedi Temple, where Mae is still hellbent on her mission to take out four specific Jedi, one of whom resides in the temple—Master Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman). Torbin has existed in a meditative state for the past 10 years, and as Mae tries to kill him, a force field protects him. Exhausting all her skills, she realizes another approach is needed. Unable to defeat him through combat, perhaps she could convince the Jedi Master to do it himself.

Before leaving Carlac, Sol and his team are redirected to Olega by Master Rwoh, to investigate the mysterious intruder who infiltrated the Jedi Temple. She now believes Osha is innocent of her alleged crimes and thinks she can help solve the mystery.

Enlisting the help of Qimir (Manny Jacinto), a carefree former smuggler, Mae has him craft her a poison using a flower native to her home world to enact her revenge on Torbin. The two share some nice, zippy dialogue that's refreshing and light. Qimir is undoubtedly one of the most likable characters in "The Acolyte."

With poison in hand, Mae once again confronts Master Torbin and manipulates him into consuming it. As he downs the poison, Torbin tells her, "We thought we were doing the right thing," hinting at his past transgressions that drove him to despair. This is in sharp contrast to how Sol has portrayed the past events that led to the separation of Osha and Mae.

Meanwhile, Sol's team continues their investigation, leading to an epic confrontation between Saul and Mae. This fight sequence stands out, with intricate choreography that's visually stunning. It's one of my favorite fight scenes in the new Star Wars era. It far surpasses anything in the sequel trilogy by a country mile. It's literally beautiful to watch.

Mae escapes in a very cool way but resurfaces the next day when she confronts Qimir about his betrayal. He quickly smooths things over by telling her he knows the location of the Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca. Two people have already been marked off her Jedi Master hit list, leaving Kelnacca and Sol as her remaining targets.

The episode closes with Sol being called back to Coruscant by Master Rwoh instead of following Mae. Sol is convinced he knows where she's going but reluctantly agrees to return to convene with the Jedi Council. We also get our first look at Kelnacca as the scene ends.

Despite some strong elements, “The Acolyte” struggles to maintain an even tone. The characters, with the exception of Sol and Jecki, feel two-dimensional and lifeless. Even promising figures like Yord and Master Rwoh fall flat. The standout performance of the series so far is Lee Jung-jae. He's fantastic and embodies the noble, stoic, and compassionate qualities of a Jedi. It's might end up being one of my favorite performances of the entire saga.

Keen's Jecki Lon is just flat-out cool. I loved the character's look, and Keen's performance seems perfect. I'm interested to see how her character changes throughout the series because she's set up perfectly to do some amazing things.

My other favorite is Qimir. He’s such a low-key, fun character that has so much charisma. Jacinto is spot on perfect and I wouldn’t be suprised if in the end he turns out to be Mae’s Sith Master. Speaking of Sith, you get a nice mention of the Sith Code if you listen carefully in the second episode.

Stenberg's performance is frustrating. I want to like it so much, but it's inconsistent, with moments of brilliance overshadowed by weaker scenes. This inconsistency mirrors the series itself, which feels oddly paced and unsure of what it wants to be.

What shocked me the most was how clunky and overly wordy the dialogue was. Even the iconic phrases "May the Force be with you" and "I have a bad feeling about this" felt like a forced (no pun intended) afterthought. I hope Leslye Headland captures the magic of Star Wars in the upcoming episodes.

"The Acolyte" stumbles out of the gate with clunky execution and dialogue but features a stellar performance from Lee Jung-Jae that begs to be seen. If it can find its footing, it could become a significant addition to the Star Wars universe, but for now, it doesn't capture the magic of Star Wars.