Movies News Talk
The Acolyte has seemingly revealed something fascinating about Palpatine's lightsaber duel with the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith. As seen in The Acolyte episode 5, the show's powerful dark side user has finally made his full debut, emerging to face a team of eight Jedi after murdering the Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca. To that end, the Jedi's struggle to defeat Qimir aka "The Stranger" features a critical reveal regarding the duel where Darth Sidious similarly faced multiple Jedi Masters single-handedly.
In Revenge of the Sith, Jedi Master Mace Windu confronts Chancellor Palpatine after Anakin confirmed he was the Sith Lord the Jedi had long been searching for. Despite being joined by Jedi Masters Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar, Windu and his fellow Jedi were all slain by Sidious despite being highly skilled members of the Jedi High Council. To that end, The Acolyte confirms a key dark side ability which may help explain Palpatine's victory just before the dawn of his Empire.
It's highly unlikely that The Acolyte's Qimir/Stranger is a true Sith Lord like Darth Sidious. Nevertheless, it stands to reason that affecting the minds of his foes was a dark side power Palpatine also likely employed while dueling four Jedi Masters simultaneously in Revenge of the Sith. Having never faced a Sith Lord before in their lifetime, it's logical that these Jedi were caught extremely off-guard, much like The Acolyte's Jedi team, the assault on their minds resulting in their ultimate defeat as Palpatine and The Stranger physically murdered their respective Jedi foes one by one.
Despite being significantly outnumbered in The Acolyte episode 5, Mae Aniseya's master (whom she'd known as Qimir) murders each member of this Jedi team in quick succession (save for Master Sol). Highly skilled and trained in the dark side of the Force, "The Stranger" also utilized his dark helmet and gauntlet to temporarily deactivate lightsabers, confirming that they were forged using a cortosis weave. That said, one might argue that the Jedi should have been able to rally and overpower the dark side warrior through sheer numbers.
However, Jedi Knight Yord Fandar confirms something critical about "The Stranger" just before his own tragic death by Qimir's hands in The Acolyte episode 5. According to Yord while talking about The Stranger's methods and abilities, "he (Qimir) gets into your head and he stays there." This is something Osha confirms Mother Aniseya could also do, cementing that idea that dark side users can manipulate and twist the minds of their opponents mid-battle, granting them a dark edge over their opponents beyond their physical skills with a lightsaber alone.
Despite the Jedi Masters in Revenge of the Sith being among the most skilled and powerful members of the Jedi Order, it's highly unlikely they had any prior experience facing an opponent who could directly affect their minds. This was something that the Jedi had no answer to and ultimately lead to their defeat and the end of the Republic.