The Acolyte Episode 5 Takes Lightsaber Fights To Prequel Trilogy Levels
Since the beginning of The Acolyte, many have praised the show's dedication to crafting compelling action sequences. While The Acolyte episodes 3 and 4 foregoes action for the former's Force-heavy backstory and the latter's somewhat tedious jungle trek, the hand-to-hand combat scenes in The Acolyte's two-episode premiere are some of the best in recent Star Wars memory. Despite stunt and action coordinator Chris Clark Cowan's evident accomplishments in crafting amazing martial choreography, many were admittedly skeptical of how The Acolyte would handle lightsaber duels.
Turns out, that skepticism was misplaced. The Acolyte episode 5's Lightsaber Duels were everything many wanted. As someone who enjoyed the sequel trilogy's combat sequences but longed for more prequel-era combat styles, The Acolyte episode 5 delivered the latter in spades, truly showcasing the Jedi and Sith at the height of their power. The long camera takes allowed sweeping shots of expert choreography to be conveyed, as The Acolyte massacred several unnamed Jedi with some excellent Sith power moves.
The Acolyte Episode 5 Has Surprisingly Brutal, Albeit Emotionally Flat, Character Deaths
With The Acolyte Episode 5 essentially serving as a 30-minute-long action sequence, character deaths were to be expected. While the unnamed Jedi on the journey to find Kelnacca were doomed as soon as they were introduced, the deaths of major players from The Acolyte's cast of characters surprised many the most. Charlie Barnett's Yord Fandar and Dafne Keen's Jecki Lon met their demise in shockingly gruesome fashion. Jecki's death thanks to Qimir's slick lightsaber trick was unexpected, with three stab wounds marking the audacious decision to kill off a main character.
Yord's death was even more daring, as Qimir used hand-to-hand combat to maneuver the Jedi into position before snapping his neck with minimal effort. In a franchise filled with lightsaber wounds, dogfights, space station explosions, and blaster fire, this vicious method of intimate murder was beyond shocking. The appalling nature of Jecki and Yord's deaths somewhat makes up for the lack of development the characters have received thus far. The shorter episodes did not allow for this, meaning only the dedication to the Sith's barbaric ways stopped The Acolyte Episode 5's character deaths from falling completely flat.
The Acolyte’s Story Reveals Were Predictable
The Acolyte episode 5 finally revealed the Sith Lord is Qimir — a theory many have held since the premiere. The show left several clues that Qimir was the Sith warrior, so many that some began to believe the bumbling former smuggler was a red herring. Much like the shocking brutality of Jedi deaths overcame emotionally cold moments, The Acolyte's predictable Sith reveal was bolstered by Manny Jacinto's excellent performance.
Qimir was enjoyable in the first few episodes, but episode 5 is where he sinks his teeth into the conniving, evil, manipulative Sith warrior. Jacinto is exceptionally menacing here, imbuing Qimir with a sense of threat, intelligence, and darkness that was missing from his prior appearances. Were it not for Jacinto's fantastic performance, the Sith reveal would have failed spectacularly. That said, Jacinto rises above predictability to make Qimir a character that many hope gets a huge dose of screentime in the final three episodes.
The Acolyte’s Lingering Mysteries Remain Compelling
Another strength many have found The Acolyte to have is its central mystery. When answers are provided, more questions are put in place to keep them compelled for future episodes. The Acolyte episode 5 continues this trend, despite giving the show's biggest answer yet. The mystery of Brendok still looms large over characters like Mae, Osha, and Sol, and many can't wait to see further flashbacks to the fateful night that changed everything. Similarly, Qimir's dialogue hints he may have had something to do with the tragedy on Brendok, raising more questions about how involved he truly is.
Ultimately, the most compelling questions The Acolyte episode 5 raised were centered around Qimir and his Sith nature. Is Qimir the Sith Master or Sith Apprentice based on Star Wars' Sith Rule of Two? Is he a Sith at all, or merely someone who follows the beliefs of the dark-siders? Qimir's insistence that the Jedi would label him a Sith without directly calling himself one caused these questions to run through many's head as The Acolyte episode 5 came to a close, meaning the franchise-best lightsaber fights were accompanied by more captivating mysteries about the show's central characters.
