Movies News Talk
Set in the High Republic Era, the new Star Wars series The Acolyte examines the Force and the difficulties of choosing the Dark Side from fresh angles. Actress Amandla Stenberg playing the mysterious Sith acolyte Osha Aniseya shows how her path differs from past Star Wars stories.
Osha makes a big choice in the season 1 finale of The Acolyte: she kills her former Jedi Master, Sol ( Lee Jung-jae) by embracing the Dark Side This decision stands out greatly from those of other characters who descended into the Dark Side in earlier Star Wars films.
Stenberg stresses that Osha's decision is an autonomous reaction to the trauma she has gone through, not a result of coercion or manipulation. Showrunner Leslye Headland painstakingly created Osha's path such that her plunge into darkness resulted from her own experiences rather than outside influences.
"For Leslye in building Osha as well as for me, I believe that the decisions she makes are autonomous ones, which is really crucial. She has not been guided into the decisions she makes. Stenberg clarified for Entertainment Weekly: they are reactive.
Osha's Force experience is also singular. She never had a place where she felt really able to control her strength or understood. Her sensitivity to the appeal of the Dark Side resulted from a lack of emotional outlet and comprehension.
The Acolyte presents a more complex picture of the Force and the Jedi Order, so subverting accepted Star Wars narratives. Previous tales sometimes showed the Sith as expert manipulators, luring Jedi into darkness with dishonesty and coercion. Two best examples of this narrative device are the way Darth Sidious (Palpatine) treats Anakin Skywalker and Count Dooku.
Osha's path deviates from this, though. Her embrace of the Dark Side results from her own experiences and decisions rather than from manipulation. This questions the oversimplified binary of Light against Dark that has sometimes defined the Jedi's grasp of the Force.
Although Osha's choice seems self-directed, The Acolyte's season 1 finale suggests a more complex network of manipulation under the mysterious Sith Plagueis. This begs the issue: could Osha be unintentionally part of a grand scheme, her actions finally supporting Plagueis's greater goals?
Osha might find that her own path has been contrived, much as viewers are urged to reconsider their conception of the Force. Audiences yearn for solutions in next seasons since the actual nature of her decisions and the degree of influence she has received from invisible powers remain unknown.
The Acolyte provides a window into the past of the Star Wars universe, so enabling the emergence of the Sith and the fall of the High Republic Era. The show invites viewers to investigate the complex relationships among the Jedi, the Sith, and the Force itself, so exploring the secrets around these great entities.
The Acolyte challenges conventional narratives and presents fresh ideas on the ongoing power of the Force, so promising to be an exciting addition to the Star Wars canon with its own characters and stories.