The Acolyte Episode 4’s Ending Is A Massive Problem For Star Wars Canon

Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode 4.

The Acolyte episode 4 ends with a huge cliffhanger that potentially raises a problem for Star Wars canon. Whether The Acolyte breaks Star Wars canon has been a subject of intense debate since the release of episode 3. The episode focused entirely on Osha and Mae’s Star Wars origins, drawing some comparisons to Anakin Skywalker thanks to the exploration of children being conceived immaculately. While Osha and Mae were created using a Force power and not by the mystical energy field itself, a section of Star Wars fans have criticized The Acolyte for breaking canon by apparently devaluing Anakin’s story.

With The Acolyte‘s mysterious story still having several secrets left to reveal, this argument is futile. The Acolyte episode 3’s unanswered questions will almost undoubtedly be addressed going forward, as will any other enigmatic parts of the story left in limbo. With The Acolyte episode 4, more questions are raised as the show’s secretive Sith villain reveals himself at last to the Jedi. Through this confrontation between the Sith and the Jedi, The Acolyte episode 4’s ending could have another canon-breaking debate on its hands – though one that is easily resolved should the writers be trusted to tell their story.

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The Acolyte Episode 4’s Ending Sees The Sith Lord Confront The Jedi

The Acolyte Episode 4’s Cliffhanger Promises A Confrontation Between The Forces Of Light & Dark

Much of The Acolyte episode 4’s story centered around two different parties. The first consisted of Mae and her ally Qimir as they searched the forests of Khofar for The Acolyte‘s Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca. Kelnacca is next on Mae’s Jedi hit list after the events of Brendok shown in The Acolyte episode 3 saw her seek revenge on Master Indara and Torbin. On the other side of the hunt are Sol, Osha, Jecki, Yord, and their allies, who wish to reach Kelnacca and warn him about the threat to his life before it is too late.

For the most part, The Acolyte episode 4 is a slower episode that strengthens the bonds of its characters, before exploding into a foreboding, exciting cliffhanger. As Mae reaches Kelnacca’s hut, she realizes her Sith Master is already there after finding the Wookiee with lightsaber wounds. As the Jedi arrive and corner Mae, the masked Sith Lord reveals himself, draws his lightsaber, and blasts the Jedi back using the Force before The Acolyte episode 4 cuts to black. This sets up a massive confrontation for The Acolyte episode 5.

Arguably, the focus of most trailers for The Acolyte has been the confrontation between the Jedi and the Sith in the forests of Khofar. As it turns out, The Acolyte episode 5 will begin by exploring this conflict entirely. The shots of Sol and Jecki confronting the Sith Master and his Acolyte prove this, promising a potentially deadly albeit incredibly exciting installment of the Star Wars TV show after The Acolyte episode 4’s tantalizing ending.

The Acolyte Is Giving Jedi Versus Sith Action – But How Can This Fit With Canon?

The Acolyte Episode 4’s Promises Are Exciting, But Seemingly Conflict With Star Wars Canon

Although the potential for a Sith vs. Jedi battle royale is thrilling, this outcome would raise more questions about The Acolyte breaking canon. As has long been debated since the first trailer for The Acolyte, the Sith revealing themselves to the Jedi in Star Wars‘ High Republic Era contradicts what is known from the prequel trilogy. In Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the Jedi are in disbelief upon the reveal that Darth Maul is a Sith Lord, with Ki-Adi-Mundi proclaiming to his fellow Jedi Council members that the Sith have been extinct for millennia.

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While Star Wars canon has made it abundantly, repeatedly clear that the Sith were not extinct and simply biding their time from the shadows, the wrinkle in Star Wars canon raised by The Acolyte is that the Jedi have to continue believing the Sith are destroyed. The Acolyte is set 100 years before The Phantom Menace, meaning the Jedi cannot become aware of the Sith’s involvement without contradicting the latter. With the Jedi being directly confronted by the Sith Lord in The Acolyte episode 4’s ending, questions are raised over how this fits into established lore and future stories.

There Are Only A Few Ways For Star Wars To Fix This Canon Problem

The Acolyte Can Still Fit Into Star Wars Canon Seamlessly

Despite these questions over The Acolyte episode 4 breaking canon being valid, there are several ways the show can avoid this outcome. Much like the discourse surrounding The Acolyte episode 3’s lore elements, the reality is that the show’s creators have not yet finished telling their story. The Acolyte could, and likely will, directly address the complaints about how the show fits into Star Wars canon by the end of its run and seamlessly blend into the wider Skywalker Saga without a hiccup. Regarding how this could happen, there are a few clear possibilities.

For one, it could be as simple as revealing that The Acolyte‘s villain is not a Sith Lord. It could be the case that, by the end of the show, the masked villain is revealed as someone who worships and reveres the Sith and has dedicated himself to continuing their ways without being associated with them in any capacity. Similarly to how Kylo Ren idolized Vader without being a Sith, The Acolyte‘s antagonist could just be one of Star Wars’ Sith Acolytes himself, without being officially indoctrinated into the dark order. While this is admittedly unlikely, it remains a possibility.

Another potential fix for The Acolyte‘s canon problem is much darker. If the Jedi need to continue believing that the Sith are extinct up until the events of The Phantom Menace, the Sith Lord in The Acolyte could cover his tracks in an incredibly gruesome fashion. By the end of the show, it might be the grim reality that every single Jedi and other witness to the Sith Lord’s reveal is killed, keeping the secrets of the Sith hidden until Palpatine’s plan is put into action a century later.

These two outcomes are viable but are more black and white than The Acolyte has proven to be. The Acolyte is a show that is not afraid to explore the gray areas of the franchise, including how Star Wars’ Jedi Order is flawed. George Lucas attempted to explore this in the Star Wars prequels, detailing how the hubris and dogmatic nature of the Jedi Order saw them turn a blind eye to even the possibility of the Sith having returned until it was too late. The Acolyte could continue this storytelling trick.

The Acolyte could have the Jedi survive their confrontation with the Sith Lord, but simply cover up his emergence. The small faction of Jedi that face him could think the Sith Lord is dead by the show’s ending to make their decision more believable but hide their findings from the Council nonetheless. This would explain why the Jedi of the prequels are content to believe the Sith are extinct, with the Jedi of The Acolyte succumbing to their hubris by convincing themselves they have defeated the enemy, and that any future resurgence is impossible.

Ultimately, there are many ways The Acolyte could sidestep the breaking of canon that is presented by a Sith vs. Jedi battle in the High Republic Era. Furthermore, it is incredibly likely that the show does so thanks to The Acolyte‘s creator, Leslye Headland. Headland has made it obvious that she is a big fan of Star Wars, both canon and Legends. With someone at the helm of the show who is as much a fan as anyone else, Lucasfilm will surely avoid the potential lore break raised in The Acolyte episode 4’s ending.

The Acolyte

The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes – all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.

Cast

Dafne Keen , Lee Jung-jae , Amandla Stenberg , Jodie Turner-Smith , Joonas Suotamo , Carrie-Anne Moss , Margarita Levieva , Charlie Barnett , Dean-Charles Chapman

Seasons

1

Writers

Leslye Headland , Charmaine De Grate , Kor Adana

Directors

Leslye Headland , Alex Garcia Lopez

Showrunner

Leslye Headland