The Acolyte's Black Smoke Force Power Explained
In The Acolyte episode 7, we saw the Witches Of Brendok do something pretty wild - they transformed into ethereal black smoke! It's long been clear that these witches have powers that even the Jedi and Sith haven't seen before, and this just proves it. This black smoke transformation looks a lot like the Disapparation used by the Death Eaters in Harry Potter, which is pretty cool.
So what's actually happening here? The showrunner, Leslye Headland, told Nerdist that this power is something the Force witches are able to do. They're basically transforming themselves into the Force, but in a way that doesn't kill them. It's similar to how Force ghosts work, but this black smoke seems to be more connected to the Dark Side.
The Acolyte's Force Witches May Be Responsible For Brendok's Restoration
This Force power might be a big clue to what's going on on Brendok. The Jedi went to Brendok because it was recovering from a hyperspace disaster super fast. They thought it was because of a vergence in the Force, but it looks like that vergence is tied to the Dark Side. So, the witches might be the real reason Brendok is healing so quickly.
Timothy Zahn's novel, Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good, suggests that Force ghosts can actually influence the real world from the "Beyond." The book has a mysterious cult whose planet is destroyed, and they try to die so they can help their planet heal. If the witches are becoming one with the Force, even if just for a short time, in a way that's similar to Force ghosts, they could be doing the same thing.
It's A Good Job Palpatine Didn't Possess This Force Power
Even though the Sith are super powerful, they never learned every dark side trick. It's a good thing Palpatine never learned to become one with the Force like this. Imagine him teleporting out of the reactor shaft in Return of the Jedi! That would be scary. Luckily, there's no reason to think any Sith ever learned this or even knew it was possible. It's something that only Force witches like the ones on Brendok and the Nightsisters can do.
