Movies News Talk
Warning! This post includes SPOILERS for The Acolyte episode four.
According to a new Acolyte theory, an essential Star Wars sequence from The Phantom Menace was a blatant falsehood. Ki-adi-mundi, the Jedi Master, made a brief appearance in The Acolyte episode 4, which surprised everyone. As a result, his new appearance has sparked some legitimate doubts regarding why he appears to still believe the Sith had long been extinct, having previously questioned Qui-Gon Jinn's Tatooine meeting with Darth Maul.
Ki-Adi-Mundi's presence in The Acolyte episode 4 indicates in the official Star Wars canon that he and his species had a longer lifespan than previously thought based on non-canon materials now known as Legends. Regardless, what counts far more is his participation in a conference where Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) reports on assassin Mae Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg) and her dark master in this show set 100 years before the Skywalker series. As a result, a new idea proposes that Ki-adi-mundi may have been lying about "the Sith having been extinct for a millennium" in The Phantom Menace.
After meeting Mae and witnessing her apparent training in The Acolyte episode 2, Master Sol and his fellow Jedi return to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant at the start of The Acolyte Episode 4. A youthful Ki-adi-mundi appears during Sol's briefing, fearful of a renegade Jedi or breakaway order. He appears to be a member of a group of top Jedi Masters led by Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson), but he is not yet a member of the Jedi High Council, as shown in the prequels.
To that end, Rwoh, Mundi, and other Jedi decide to keep Mae's recent Jedi killings and her evil master a secret from the High Council, knowing that informing the Republic Senate would likely cause "a scandal leading to fear and mistrust". Currently, these Jedi Masters acknowledge the threat posed by Mae and her master. Ki-Adi-Mundi himself cautions that Mae could pose a significant threat. However, they appear to be comfortable with the belief that Mae was trained by one of their own, most likely a Jedi who left the Order. These Jedi Masters appear to have forgotten that their old Sith opponents still exist, lurking in the galaxy's shadows and darkest corners. However, there are four more episodes of The Acolyte left. There's plenty of time for the Jedi to mature, especially given The Acolyte episode 4's dramatic cliffhanger, which foreshadows a horrible Jedi massacre at the hands of Mae's teacher (who represents the classic Sith style while holding a red-bladed lightsaber).
Finally, it is entirely feasible that the Jedi will remain ignorant of the truth due to their ingrained pride and hubris. The Acolyte could conclude by assuming that the Jedi faced a rogue Jedi rather than a true Sith Lord, thoroughly schooled in the dark side of the Force and according to Darth Bane's Rule of Two (regardless of whether he is or not). In this sense, Ki-Adi-Mundi's statements about the Sith's millennia-long extinction in The Phantom Menace could be supported, especially if the Jedi discover that the person they face in The Acolyte is not a true Dark Lord of the Sith.
The alternative possibility is that Ki-Adi-Mundi is lying in The Phantom Menace, and the Jedi actually encounter a genuine Sith Lord 100 years ago. If this is the case, it raises some interesting concerns about why Ki-Adi-Mundi would lie in the first place. Perhaps it's an extension of the Jedi's cover-up, which was already carried out by lord Vernestra in The Acolyte episode 4, with the High Council currently unaware of what happened to Mae and her dark lord.
Vernestra and her fellow Temple masters may eventually learn the complete truth about the catastrophe on Brendock, as depicted in the Acolyte flashback (episode 3). After all, Mae's fire could not have been the sole cause of the coven's destruction, as Sol said to Osha before taking her to be taught as a Jedi. There is more to the story that has yet to be told, and there are numerous hints that it will not be a positive portrayal of the Jedi stationed on the planet.
Something terribly dark occurred that night, which the Jedi most certainly caused. This drove Mae down a dark road, where she was trained by her master to kill the same Jedi. As a result, whatever truly happened to Brendock, combined with what is about to happen in future episodes, may be enough for the Jedi to cover up the entire series of events even further, with records being deleted and those who knew what happened sworn to secrecy. As a result, it would likely provide some grim logic for why Ki-Adi-Mundi may be lying years after Qu-Gon Jinn's experience with Darth Maul. After all, the High Republic Era was thought to be a time of immense peace and prosperity. Perhaps those impressions came at a grave cost, with the Jedi's dark sins brushed under the rug, even by future Jedi. Whether Ki-Adi-Mundi is lying or not in The Acolyte, there are plausible ways in which his Phantom Menace comments do not violate established Star Wars Canon.
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe near the end of the High Republic Era, when the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at their peak of power. In this sci-fi thriller, a former Padawan reunites with her old Jedi Master as they investigate a series of crimes, all of which lead to evil bursting from beneath the surface and threatening to pull the High Republic down.
The Acolyte is an interesting addition to the Star Wars universe, providing a fresh look at the Jedi and their role in building the galaxy. The series delves into the complicated dynamics of power, corruption, and morality, as well as the dark truths that lie beneath the surface of the High Republic. The Acolyte will capture fans with its gripping plot, compelling characters, and a look into the Dark Side of the Jedi Order.