At last, fans were given a satisfying conclusion to the whole Brendok fiasco on last night’s episode of The Acolyte, which puts the Jedi in the hot seat as we get to hear their side of the story. There’s a lot of moral ambiguity going on here, but in short, were their actions justified? And what’s left in store?
As The Acolyte nears the finish line on Disney+, our burning (ha) questions are finally being answered in the penultimate episode, “Choice.” It’s a deep dive into Star Wars lore, and presents the Jedi POV of what happened on Brendok 16 years ago on that fateful night when Mae and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) were separated. We also get a closer look at Mother Aniseya’s (Jodie Turner-Smith) abilities, and see her Force cult in their full, witchy glory. The power of one, the power of two, the power of many…
Spoilers ahead for The Acolyte episode 7.
As a whole, The Acolyte explores the idea of what makes a person truly “good” or “evil,” with most of its characters floating somewhere in between. None are put to the test in episode 7 quite as much as Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), a headstrong Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) type who ultimately means well, but is forced to make some tough decisions when he grows concerned for the safety of the young twins (Lauren and Leah Brady). Slaughtering Mother Aniseya in cold blood probably wasn’t the most Jedi-like approach, but in his mind, he did what he had to do to protect Osha. But how did we get here?
A definitive breakdown of what the Jedi really got up to on Brendok
Similarly to episode 3, episode 7 of The Acolyte is a flashback, and sees the same group of Jedi (who Mae eventually kills) being sent to Brendock to take samples, classic Star Wars gadgets and gizmos to boot. However, this isn’t your average planetary survey. No, what the Jedi are looking for is actually proof of a vergence, otherwise known as a Force nexus. Loosely put, the term vergence applies to a particular place where the Force is unusually strong. And on Brendock, a planet thought to be inhabitable after the Great Hyperspace Disaster, life is miraculously thriving.
For those unfamiliar, the Great Hyperspace Disaster acts as the inciting incident for the High Republic novels—and it’s absolutely terrifying. To summarize, the Jedi led an extensive rescue effort when a freight transport called the Legacy Run collided with an obstacle while traveling on a hyperspace path. The impact of the debris would be deadly to millions of worlds (and innocent lives), and even though the Jedi were able to save some of the survivors, it was too little, too late. You see, the Hyperspace Disaster kickstarted a series of Emergences, capable of wiping out entire star systems almost instantaneously. Once-thriving planets were turned into barren wastelands, and boom, everyone was dead.
So for readers, it came as a pleasant surprise when Master Indara (Carrie-Ann Moss) name-dropped this bit of High Republic lore in The Acolyte episode 7, confirming that Brendok was indeed a victim of the Hyperspace Disaster. Clearly, there was some sort of civilization here long before the witches ever showed up, but Mother Aniseya and her coven seem to have breathed new life into the planet by using … dark side magick? The “Thread?” Your guess is as good as any.
Either way, Brendok has successfully captured the attention of the Jedi, and after going off on his own, Sol comes across Mae and Osha playing by a Bunta Tree. He alerts the rest of his team, and Indara agrees to track down the girls, leading to the tense interaction we saw in episode 3. Mother Aniseya allows the twins to be tested for Force-sensitivity the following day, but Mae wants absolutely nothing to do with it. Meanwhile, much to her sister’s chagrin, Osha wants to become a Jedi, and passes the test with flying colors. However, after meeting with the Jedi Council, Indara gives Sol some bad news: Osha isn’t wanted by the Temple, as she’s far too old to begin training.
What we didn’t see earlier, however, is that Sol and Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman) disobey Indara’s orders, and—for albeit, wildly different reasons–face off against Mother Aniseya and Mother Koril (Margarita Levieva) to take Mae and Osha back with them to Coruscant. After transforming into black smoke, Sol sticks his lightsaber right through Aniseya’s chest, and the rest of the coven joins forces to mind-trick Master Kelnecca (Joonas Suotamo) into fighting his own colleagues, making him a kind of horrifying Wookie-puppet-warrior. Thankfully, Indara comes in clutch, casting the witches’ presence from Kelnecca’s mind—and killing them in the process? It’s kind of unclear how. Either way, the damage is done, and Mae has already put the place up in flames, meaning it’s up to Sol to recuse the twins.
Again, we see how Osha and Mae’s separation played out in episode 3, this time, from a different POV. Sol only has time to save one of the sisters, so given his innate connection to Osha, she’s the one who ends up accompanying the Jedi back to Coruscant. During transit, she’s straight-up lied to about what really happened on Brendok, and believes her sister is dead. Torbin, Kelnecca, Indara, and Sol even deceive the council into thinking the coven just erupted in flames, but now we understand why they feel, perhaps, a little guilty about the whole thing.
We may never know if it was the will of the Force itself or Sol’s own selfishness that brought him and Osha together, but it seems their destiny has already been decided. So while The Acolyte has yet to determine if Sol’s arc will end in tragedy, it’s not looking good for him, especially with dark sider Qimir (Manny Jacinto) slowly sinking his teeth into his former Padawan. Sol has a lot to answer for, but was it self-defense? Even so, what will the Jedi think? For now, only time will tell.
