The problem with all-or-nothing thinking is that you will be willing to overlook the mistakes of those whom you admire and give absolutely no grace to those whom you despise.
Yes, the debate-style zero-sum framework we're all addicted to makes everything flat and reductive. It's seductive though: 3 dimensional thinking isn't instinctual, takes effort, and isn't as fun as just picking a side and letting confirmation bias take it from there.
Honestly Sol is such an interesting character, he is the embodiment of "one could do wrong things even with good intentions." Him not trusting the witches, not stoping Tolbin from barging into the fortress, killing the head witch, choosing Osha over Mae out of personal reasons and letting Mae fall, and lying about it throughout her whole life, all of it was done under the belief that he was protecting Osha, who he thought was going to be scrificed for her sister's accension, but ended up breaking her whole life. And the fact that all this actions driven by the "noble intentions" of the Jedi, ties in to the point of the whole "the acolyte kills without a weapon, and the acolyte kills the dream." and it is quite interesting. Osha, in the most personal level, has now become the antithesis of what the Jedi stands for. She is now the living proof that the Jedi's belief could completely destroy a life of a thoroughly innocent person. And that action has now caused the Jedi order (or Vernestra) to cover up the truth, lying to the face of the government officials, creating a moral weakness in the order that in one day would be exploited by Palpatine. I'm very intersted to see where the story would go the next season!
While I could agree with a lot you say I think it falls apart if you take into account that Sol, as much as I connected with him, is a lousy Jedi. You wrote that the Jedi's beliefs completely destroyed the life of an innocent person. However had Sol maintained control over his emotions, as a Jedi should, the disaster that occurred on Bendock would not have happened. Further, even taking into his lapses, he and the Jedi really did nothing wrong. At every confrontation the Jedi did not attack but rather reacted and tried to deescalate the tensions.
@@markuhler2664 You lost me on the 'Jedi did nothing wrong' when it's clear in EP7 that Sol and Torbin did go against the Council order. Sol bears responsibility here as he went against Master Indara orders.
I mean without trying to get too "real world" with it, the obvious metaphor here is Sol is the overeager Christian missionary, goes to some underdeveloped part of the world, and believes in his heart of hearts with the "noblest" intentions that he's saving these children by taking them. Again, not trying to be too real world and piss people off, and I'm not saying this analogy is 100% one to one or accurate or fair, it's not, but as a rough analogy, that's what they were clearly going for. And so everything you can say about Sol, both positive and negative is the same you could say for that individual. Do I believe that Sol genuinely and with complete good intentions believe he's doing the right thing? Yes. And so do a lot of those people that I mentioned in my analogy. But where does that come from? Maybe it comes from the doctrine from the institutions these people follow and maybe that's the issue? I'm not here trying to answer that question, but I'm saying this show is clearly probing that question. In a sense, if Qui Gon is the John the Baptist to Anakin's Space Jesus, then Sol is, "What if that hero complex gets out of control?"
By your logic, Sol choosing Mae over Osha and letting Osha fall would be just as inexcusable. There was no winning for him in that specific dilemma because he was physically unable to save both. When he _had_ to make a choice or let both of them die, it is natural that he would choose the one who was supportive of the Jedi over the one who started the fire then locked the Jedi inside the fort to help Koril kill them. Sol really catalyzed the whole disaster with his odd obsession over Osha, but what we were shown in the penultimate episode is that it was not one-sided. Multiple actors all around contributed to the tragedy in their own way. Mae _did_ sadistically threaten to kill her sister then set the fire that would destroy her entire home. Torbin randomly rushed back to the Coven in his impatience to finish the investigation and go home. Koril had Mae lock Sol and Torbin inside so she can kill them. The Jedi didn't set out to massacre the Coven at any time, but Indara breaking their possession of Kelnacca somehow either killed them or knocked them unconscious for Mae's fire to kill them all. Finally Sol accidentally killed Anesaya because she transformed into a smoke demon right next to him while simultaneously dissipating Mae, and it was reasonable for him to mistake this for an attack. The Jedi also did not withhold the full truth Osha for malicious reasons. Indara genuinely believed that Mae starting the fire, destroying her home, and killing all the other witches, Koril included, was the technical truth. Sol also believed that. The truth they withheld from Osha was Sol's hand in killing Anesaya, which Indara had insisted would be to shield Osha from further trauma. We were shown how a series of misunderstandings, miscommunication, and foolish errors by all parties resulted in the terrible tragedy, and yet the final episode homes in on a single Jedi's single mistake and hammers it again and again as the only detail that matters. That's the culmination of the perspectivism the show seemed to champion at first. It is true that Sol is an interesting character, but the final episode ends up using him as a strawman for a polemic against the Jedi by ignoring all the nuances they had established or Mae's own established guilt in destroying her home.
@@EACru2002it also calls back to the conversation between the senator and Vernestra ep.8. The Jedi don’t see themselves as normal citizens and above others, its like the “white savior” complex where they think these kids need to be in “modernized” communities but at the end of the day, where their from is their identity. Taking kids from their homes under the guise of helping them, harms them in a way as well like you said.
I with that was the case. I think their storyline has much more to it then that of the twins. But it's an uneven mess of both that doesn't really know what it wants to be.
Was it even that, headland said this was supposed to be about two sisters and the dive into the sith or the gayest Star Wars or an allegory to her sister hating her or ….
A s2 can now focus on just Osha and Qimir doing darkside stuff would be sublime, Vern trying to find out about how her apprentice is still alive causing trouble is a fine angle as well as Darth P in the mix. Just less Jedi order as a whole as s1 can be the "almost found out early about the sith " season
@@GazingTrandoshan yea can't have too many close calls tbh. Vernestra goes on a wild goose chase but theres never any evidence to back her up. Maybe she's so obsessed w finding him, starts to believe "the Sith" have returned, the other Jedi start to think she's kinda losing it. Shes removed from positions of authority. Probably doesnt end well, or maybe she just decides to drop the whole thing. Qimir and Osha don't even know she's looking for them. Hego Damask finds out theyve beem raising alarms, happens to meet a young student named palpatine, decides qimir and osha have outlived their usefulness and have become liabilities. Sets up a season 3? Idk man
I like that the Senator turned out to be this universes version of Allen. In one scene he went from “the bad politician” to the only guy talking any sense in the room.
I don't know why they made her act through a tunnel most of the time, like purposefully held back, instead of being more fully expressive, more dare I say realistic/human. The restricted way in how she talks, everything. Like they told her to be stoic and unfeeling most of the time. I wonder if that is a direction thing that they told the actress not to act normal lol.
@@lso8000 Amanda can act but I think they wanted her to play a certain way for the mystery aspect. Some of it work, some didn't. It didn't stop me from enjoying the series.
@@babytoshiro7014 That is true, it didn't stop me from enjoying the series as well. Some people including myself are socially awkward and "act" not "normal", and it looks like stoic and unfeeling, nonchalant maybe.
@@DonGivaniit sounded like she was reading out loud from a script everytime she talked, she said everything the same way, it wasn’t until the end when she actually showed some emotion. Very little facial expressions. Best adjectives I can use to describe for her is dry, it just felt very weird everytime she talked and out of place. I couldn’t tell if she was talking to another human or a robot.
My biggest criticism for the show (which I overall enjoyed but was significantly dissapointed by at points) is that it should not have been 8 episodes. It shoulf have either had more run time to cook its themes and events longer, or it could have been cut down to be shorter with better pacing. 8 episodes was the wrong length for this show, and insisting every show be 6-8 episode "extended movies" is really hurting a lot of Disney+ shows.
@@LegendslayX That would have made for a better watch experience I agree. But it hurts the discourse. Netflix dropped the entirety of Pluto in one go and I was so hardpressed to find anyone who wanted to talk about it after a week. All the conversations were done.
I watched this series week by week, and I had to binge-watch this for a friend who hadn't seen it yet. I must admit that watching it in one sitting was much better. I enjoyed the series, I stayed away from the hate, if I saw it, I just ignored and continued on to another channel. Thanks, Allen, for standing up to that, and your comments on it are appreciated.
I really liked that the fight of Qimir and Sol was so markedly different from the last one we had. With the use of slow motion, the angles and the movement it felt more like it leaned into classic chinese martial arts movies with their wires and everything. It wasnt as fast as some prequel fights, but that is not a criticism, because it made it easier to follow the fight itself.
I agree that it was too much to ask of that young girl. I hope she doesn't take it personal and uses this experience to grow as an actress. Not everybody gets these types of opportunities. I hope she continues working at her craft and I hope opportunities connect as a result. There's nothing more rewarding for me as a viewer than it is to see actors and actresses grow before our eyes and surprise even themselves. To go from creating a hit to creating art. I love to see that.
I gave you a thumbs up and share your sentiments. Not every actor can be Leonardo DiCaprio, Christina Ricci, or River Phoenix when they’re young, but most can grow as performers if they apply themselves and work to improve. Likewise, there are only a few directors known for their ability to draw great performances from children - Spielberg comes to mind. p.s. I do think it worth mentioning that use of the term “actress” has become quite controversial. While awards like the Oscars are still bestowed with gendered titles, most female actors have come to take umbrage with “actress” and point out that both within their profession and the broader career landscape, feminizing modifications of job titles originated through derogation or special allowances, not equality or respect. Many of the leading women in film (Sigourney Weaver, Meryl Streep, many others) advocate strongly for “actor”. So though I myself had to make some effort to adopt the change, “actor” applies to everyone regardless of their sex (acting awards presently abstaining). Of course, it’s optional, but if it matters to you, there it is.
@@GenerationTech I wish we had a confrontation between vernestra and qimir. Really wanted to see how he fares again a lightwhip since that's probably why he got the shoto
I really enjoyed your Acolyte videos because of your objectivity and bigger picture approach. They were refreshing in the age of negativity for the sake of negativity. Thank you.
All in all, it just seemed very first drafty to me, like I could see the bare bones of it but rather than working out how the story unfolds things just happened for the sake of getting where the script needed to get to. As you said, seemed like they were just concerned with checking the boxes and moving on. Shame given some of the interesting ideas presented.
Totally. Like we never really understood what oshas intentions were. This show wants us to be emotionally invested but doesn't put in the effort to make us FEEL for the characters. Everyone is just kinda a plot robot without strong personalities, and in a show that's supposed to be about 2 sisters finding their way in a messed up galaxy that's really bad. Instead of having nothing conversations we should have been learning more about them. What do the sisters like to do in their free time? Let them have some small talk for us to get to know them better.
I don't understand it at all, first you've got The two main characters who switched sides more than my ex switched her mind and that's quite the accomplishment. Then you've got this green Jedi who Apparently Is evil? And then I'm trying to figure out the motivation for the little furry dude Which makes no sense. And for Sol to be a master Jedi he's literally the most incompetent and weak Jedi Ever. Again what the hell was this series even about. And yeah, they tried to get a 2-second Yoda Cameo, and I'm guessing that's supposed to be Darth plagueis?😂😂
From the perspective of a person who didn't care for this series, that's what drives me nuts. Disney has all the resources in the world but is leaving a precious franchise half baked. It's maddening.
Thank you, Allen, for just being you. I really enjoyed your content for the acolyte. Out of all the channels reviewing the Acolyte, your channel has gone above and beyond! It’s been spectacular! ❤
As an old Star Wars fan who's only Star Wars content was mostly Ewok related growing up, I'm really enjoying most of the new content. The storytelling in The Acolyte was ok. Not good. Just ok. It did a lot of unnecessary exposition that were just bad attempts at character building. Overall though it was entertaining. The fights were well done and actually added to the story. If there is a second season, I'd like to see a time jump of a few years to see how all the plot threads left open have developed. Exploring the Jedi's role in their own downfall is a great storytelling opportunity that I hope better developed in the future. But that's what all fans want, right?
Ok, I don't see why we want to see MORE exposition on the fall of the Jedi? Didn't we already see that in the prequel trilogy, it seems when covered that ground in the prequel trilogy showing how the Jedi had become bloated, corrupt and fallen from their ideals (and it's expanded upon in the CW). Wasn't the point of the Acolyte to show us 100 years prior with the events of the prequel Jedi, ala before they were corrupt and fallen? And yet what we got was a rehash that they were no more different than their counterparts down the line, so what was the point? The Acolyte was merely an encapsulated rehash of jedi always being corrupt and evil for 25,000 yrs. /slow clap.
Also old SW fan here. Like saw Ep 4 in theaters. Not So much a fan of prequel triology...and the animated series. It's just me with animation anything from live action. I just would like SW content...not ruined by a bunch of naysayers who forget this is a space wizard fantasy. Like GT said...clunky and cheesy but that is how it has always been. It's not Citizen Kane or The Godfather. Thank goodness. 😂
@@Slayer398 the problem is here the Prequel we were already in the middle of their downfall the high Republic/acolyte can actually show us where these cracks began to form.
@@Ghost_-nz5dy the whole problem with that is that it does none of that. Where does the show do that? We see a senator demanding and angry 2 times, but not wny and you can't claim it's because of this event either. There is no context to the "enemies" of the Council, just that they exist (for some reason) and they are terrified of them. Why would they be and we're supposed to believe this because "reasons".
@@Ghost_-nz5dy okay great, that'd be interesting if they actually show'd us "something" in the S1 (which they didn't and S2 isn't highly likely). All they *did* show us was 2 minutes of some Senator being randomly angry over something and with ZERO context or explanation of his importance and Master pickle head talking about "enemies of the council" that they had to worry about, with even less reason or context in a mystery that wasn't.
I feel like this show had a lot of potential actually and some brilliant moments. However, it suffered greatly from bad editing and some really poor writing choices that screamed “last minute re-write” or “we let too large of a committee write this and let the editors cut out scenes that hurt the storytelling.” No matter how many highs a series has, a handful of really major writing failures is going to kill it; it’s like being served a really tasty meal with a couple of flies in it. The inconsistencies with acting feels like a consequence of rushed schedules or last minute changes/re-shoots where there wasn’t time for proper direction. The last few projects all felt this way to me to varying degrees. I’m not sure what’s driving it but it needs to be corrected for sure if this franchise is going to survive.
Man back at my height of interest for all things Star Wars I used to watch your channel along with a few others now you’re my only go to SW channel because you have such a balanced approach seriously keep it up!!
The beginning of the video really encapsulates why I avoid going online for things I like, it feels like no matter what there's always constant negativity to anything new on the internet and unwarranted hate towards random things, while other things are overly loved and praised. I appreciate you being honest and not being overly negative just for views and clicks, it's something that is desperately needed nowadays.
I mean this show was terrible by almost all the things people have been criticizing them, star wars fans always seem to justify a whole show based on one or two scenes, which I think is very dumb
I saw one video maybe 30 mins long complaining that one of the actors was trans. It turned out to be one of the random background witches. How fragile can a person be that they get angry about that?
I liked it. My only complaint is these series should not be 6-8 episodes. They should be like Andor, 12 episodes or maybe 10. It gives more time to breath. Other than that, no problems.
They essentially had 3 filler episodes. They easily could have used that time to work things out better. $180M budget, which was twice the budget of Kenobi. They really could have done more with the 8 episodes they got, but didn’t.
At this point, the haters just hate the show solely on black women as lead and a creator that appear to be a lesbian. I can now say that they are bunch of actual homophobics sexists and racists. No lore has been broken yet , Ki Adi Mundi 1000 years sith threat excuse has been debunked in EP8 I feel like this show is gonna be a 50/50 but it's now worth watching for me. Here is a few things that I dislike. -Younger version of Sol and Indara look like old people who wannabe young. They could have make their hair and costume fit their age. Torbin and Kelnacca design was fine. - Witch force cult was too weak because Indara can literally solo the entire cult in astral battle. They should have gave them a better fight. - How can Torbin got promoted to the rank of Jedi Master so fast.
See, I lean in the opposite direction. I firmly believe this story would have been much better as a single movie with tighter storytelling that got to its main “reveals” much quicker. Drawing it out in my opinion only made the issues with the “mystery box” style writing even more glaring
@@hfar_in_the_skyi really liked the show, but I completely agree with you. A lot of backstory could be trimmed down into quick flashbacks, and ultimately the fact it wasn’t really hurt the show.
For the final episode I binged the whole series BEFORE watching the final episode and it really helped the immersion and made the finale work that much better. The only issue i have is the placement of the flashback episodes, it ruins the pacing of the already difficult to follow story. The finale had everything the show needed and I'm truly looking forward to the next series
Allen your reviews are the most refreshing and insightful. Thanks for covering the show. I rewatched the Phantom Menace right before the finale and this show ties in pretty well.
I feel 6/10 is even generous. Only the fights of this show are good and everything else is bad. This feels more like 4/10. Kenobi is like 2/10. Andor is 10/10 which goes to show how vastly different in quality, these shows are.
@@laughingowl7896no lol S1 & 2 blow this out of the water. And even the jumbled story telling in S3 was better than this. There’s a lot to like in this show, but it’s in no way close to the same level as Mando.
@@jonirojonironin5353 My way of rating shows is mostly personal, but to put things into perspective, I've never watched a show that felt like a 2/10, let a lone a 1/10. But my 6/10's have very little rewatch value in eyes. One of the best shows I ever watched was HBO's The Wire, that was a 10/10. I rate Andor (So far, because the show ain't over yet) a 9/10. If they repeat what they did in season 1, then it, too, will be a 10/10 show for me.
While I personally couldn't stand The Acolyte, I'm not about to begrudge a Star Wars lore channel for portraying Star Wars in as positive a light as one reasonably can.
@reddishcarp1237 You're all over these comments with the most unhinged and brain dead NPC takes to the point where I can't tell if you're a bot or an idiot.
@ericp1139 Eric. At some point u gotta just accept that u don't get it, and that's ok. The lore is steeped in decades of novels, comics and games. The movies alone aren't rly sufficient to get a deep, full understanding of the galaxy at this point, esp for something like this that actually took the time to study those old novels And even then if u haven't watched the movies in 5 years, ur only gonna remember how u felt, not what happened or what things meant
Thank you so much for giving such an honest review! Every other video I have found has been so negative that it’s hard to tell if they’re just hating to hate or if it’s actually that bad… I feel like I can always trust your opinion is honest.
I think what really hurt the show was the entire twin arc - which even the most positive of us mostly checked out from by the third episode. It also feels like they spent way too much time banking on a second season rather than committing the time necessary to creating a tight story this season.
@@KevinTheID I felt that most in the last episode. Certain plots would be unpacked across multiple seasons for a show. Meanwhile. other plots, occurring at the same time, are resolved at the end of the season.
@@Peter_The_Great Yeah, basically. I also really didn't buy the reason for another twin fight in this last episode nor believed the switch for Mae from revenge to justice and Osha from hurt but innocent to bleeding-a-crystal level of rage.
@@KevinTheID yeah. It seems the plot wanted the twins to mirror their masters. As Osha became more angry and emotional. Sol also became unstable. Same for Mae, once she found her center, her master wasn't so wild and out of control.
I watch more of your videos now because of your unbiased opinions of the Acolyte and how you relate some of the story elements to real world concepts. And also, you arent afraid to say that you really liked the show. Admittedly, it wasnt perfect, but it wasnt the dumpster fire other creators made it out to be.
Literally, its mid to ok where a s2 should be more confident and focus on the improving with feedback like this channel gives , but like nothings changed, the series is fine, people screaming that the series is dead will be back when the next thing they like is good and "saved" People cannot just be normal
Is it just me or does it seem like the High Council is really checked out in The Acolyte? They seem to not really be involved in the day-to-day affairs of things and even send emissaries like Vernestra to speak with Senators rather than doing it themselves. This might be why there is increased oversight and control by the High Council come the Prequels and the increased presence of council members speaking directly with the government rather than trusting it to subordinates.
Think of the separation of churches and governments. Most of the time, the Temple doesn’t bother with the day to day affairs of the lay people. Their whole thing was to find students and to ruminate in the Force.
If you think about the Jedi as say a major religion or a large corporation, how often do you see the Pope or the board of directors and CEO getting into the nitty gritty of things? They're mostly figure heads that don't actually do much.
@@F0XD1E Oh true, and @yenlinhtran69 put it pretty well in an earlier comment. I think I was more getting at how we started to really see the tightening grip of the High Council and less individuality in the Jedi Order following the Acolyte's events.
It makes the world not so small tbh to me, theres 10k Jedi doing things all over the galaxy, we see maybe 20 involved but Verns the one leading it. Thats my take, I guess Yoda is gonna talk to Vern about her thinking her old apprentice is still alive causing trouble .
I feel ironically Mae's forced dialogue works well after knowing her true intentions. Her problem wasn't always just wanting to be evil, she wanted justice for what the Jedi did on Brendock which. She isn't an evil character, she never was, she thought of the jedi as the evil plague on the galaxy almost like legends General Grevious before he became the cyborg droid general. After first watchthrough blind, yeah it seems Mae's acting is poor but whenever I rewatch it it's like an ironic addition to the character.
Is it worth a watch? Not really. Watched through it in its entirety with my wife. I love Star Wars and my wife, who just saw the movies. Both of us agree is that the story is poorly written with not very great acting. I don't care if someone likes it, but certainly I would not recommend anyone waste their time. I had held out hope that the story would fit together by the end, but it never really does. While also agree that Mae/Osha was not greatly acted I would also add that the character was quite poorly written with little to no growth, instead just flipping around with no clear motivation or cause where the flip itself becomes the cause for the next one. Maybe the actor was given instructions and failed at them, but it does seem like something was missing in building up the characters. Certainly not something I can see costing 180 million USD, the most of all Star Wars projects.
I think one of the big things turning people against each other is political propaganda. Politicians tell people over and over to hate the other side, that they are better than the others.
Dude. I do appreciate your take on the show. I enjoyed it. I’m a born again, conservative Christian too. Although I don’t agree with certain lifestyles, that doesn’t mean I hate the people and that doesn’t mean I can’t see an enjoyable show for what it is. Not the best, but enjoyable.
Alex, it's easy to say either nothing is absolute or everything is. It's a lot harder take the time to figure out which is which. Some things are absolute and some things are not, and it takes time, experience, and wisdom to know the difference.
This is what I love about this channel. Great and nuanced content, while Allen (and his off camera team) desperately claws at trying to get adult Star Wars fans to act like adults, and Americans to act with nuanced compassion. I don't agree with all of his takes, but he's coming from the right spot and desperately needed, especially in this fandom.
Disagreed this channel seems like he’s not tryna piss anyone off at Disney and he’s to afraid and also the show is garbage all the way maybe the fight scenes were ight but besides that completely trash and this guys needs to stop lol everyone else is calling Disney out on the bs they shouldn’t be giving a free pass on this bs I can speak to the majority Of the fandom when I say no one wants this lazy Disney content obi was garbage ahsoka was mid at best and this was literally the worst of the worst to even attempt to defend parts of the show is hilarious and is why Disney is the way it is rn
This show did a good job of illustrating something that I’ve said for a long time. The world is black and white, but people are not. There is an objective morality, but no person is completely perfect or completely evil.
Thank you for making content for me man. I really enjoyed this show and agree the excessive hate is unwarranted. It's not a perfect show at all but it is 10x better than secret invasion from the mcu and that series didn't get nearly as much hate, and people hated that show..
Finished the last episode of Acolyte and... oh boy, the writing was so bad. So many things made absolutely no sense. 2 episodes ago Sol told Mae they had to talk, then we have the flashback episode, the expectation is that this was Sol telling his story but when the finale starts it's clear they haven't talked at all yet. Then later the fuzzy guy sabotages the ship while chasing Mae... why? He knew it wasn't Osha, he knew before Sol! Then later Mae wants to bring Sol to justice? When did she give up her quest for revenge? Then later Mae stays behind to be captured... why? She's finally with her sister, the one thing she wanted above all else! And Osha doesn't want to let Mae go, when all she ever wanted was to be her own person without a clingy sister around all the time. In the flashback we learned Sol killed their mother because she was turning into a big scary shadow thing, a perfectly rational choice at the time! How was he supposed to know she intended to let Osha go? Why didn't she just say something? Who approved these scripts? At least it wasn't as bad as Rise of Skywalker.
In the end, terrible people became the victors in this show. What kind of inspirational message is that? Lie further to cover up lies? Kill people who raised you because you're too immature to realize what happened? Manipulate people into some type of Stockholm syndrome effect to join you? Yeah good moral lessons there 🙄 I guess Leslye can only write about what she knows. Nah this is worse than RoS and even TLJ
Not gonna lie. It wasn't my cup of tea. I tried. Lee jung-jae and manny jaucinto performances roles was great. Everybody else to me felt flat and was like it was their first job out of acting school. It's no Andor that's for sure. If there's no second season I'm not gonna be sad.
@@StopMotionDryptosaurus I thought it was fine. Not Disney's best star wars show, but definitely not their worst either. I hope we get a second season.
Can't wait to get back to more of your regular content to be honest. It has been like watching a food critic talk about the same badly made pizza over and over. I love your content, but there are more people that didn't like it than did. Many of my friends turned it off after the first episode. Hell my wife is a huge SW fan and I had to tie her to the chair to continue to watch it with me. She is now turned officially turned off by SW.
I really liked the season and I think it hits waaaay better when binged in 1 or 2 sittings instead of over 8 weeks but it still great either way IMO. I think with most series the first season usually has some clunk in the acting and by the time they hit the next season a lot of it will naturally be refined. I really want season 2 and drool at the potential of have even more, they did a great job. I think Stenburg did a great job. They are not twins or even clones of each other and I think the force dyad theory is debunked now, the sexy witches used the vergence to do something new we haven't seen before and i'm cool with that. I hope they did a 'professor Snape thing' where the actress was given all the info at the very beginning so she would know how to carry both May and Osha on screen because it seem from the last episode that they are 1 force entity split into 2 existences/bodies (we are all 1 force entity not split, naturally) meaning they are the same individual existing in 2 places at once. I think there was a donor for the pregnancy, maybe not a 'father' per se but some sort of genetic or tissue donor and once fertilized the goofy witches used the vergence to make a copy OR split light and dark (both of them are never on the same side of the force). If that theory plays out true we could get a major reckoning in season 3 or 4. I'm stoked about new lore being added or even being tweaked, no one really gives a damn about Master Forehead lying to the space DMV about his age or if Plaguise is older or younger. It wasn't that long ago when it was just the VHS tapes, books, a kickass BLUE mop handle that i was lucky enough to find walking home from elementary school, and the imaginary lightsaber battles I would have in my room in my underwear before bedtime. Now we have all this plethora of content for these directors and story writers to grind/level-up on so that when we get to the big screen it will be fucking epic and refined. When i eventually have kids it'll be so cool to have all this stuff to watch with them.
Truth is, the vast majority of critics don't mind at all that some people enjoy the show. They simply point out that it's objectively poorly written. I myself like many movies that are trash, but it doesn't mean that i think they're good.
Exactly it’s wild how so many ignored or dismissed the bad writing cuz they enjoyed it, like they are free to enjoy it yet it does not mean it’s good, and same I know the difference between enjoyment vs quality, just enjoying it does not make it good which people forget tbh.
@@LeaderOfTheLostSouls bad writing is star wars. Every single one of the movies has been a disgrace writing wise. Not sure why people are suddenly demanding game of thrones level writing. The best writing comes from the animated shows and books, but star wards on folmnhas always been goofy.
Simply: I enjoyed The Acolyte for what it was. It was sufficiently Star Wars. A lot of the issues people had with it were too nit-picky, blown out of proportion, or otherwise fabricated outright.
You nailed it once again, Alan. We need to accept everyone as an individual human being and stop stereotyping. Thanks to your review I'm gonna give the show a chance
Sols ending was deep, his death became a twist in the same manner he had used Mae’s perceived death and he died having a broken lie that broke him and in his last words he accepted death by Osha. I feel the mother was to Osha among the cult was Sol was to Osha among the Jedi. That’s why she attacked Sol he placed her in an unnecessary position losing one of her lights. Sol was her light but that sun burned her and snuffed out her mom’s light. The issue is they didn’t really show enough to give the weight of the mother to Osha they only showed that weight with Mae. So people miss why Osha would kill Sol. But it’s not much different why Anakin wanted to kill Obi Wan. The cult wasn’t family to Osha but the mom and Mae were now seeing Sol’s part she feel misplaced hate was with Mae who took her family and she can’t process that when Sol keeps talking, he only fuels the hate.
Honestly this is the most well messured review I have seen these past few days. I didn't completely hate the show but I thought there was some good stuff to take from it.
Thank you keeping up with the series. Yours is the only real and thought out discussion I've seen with great detail and balance. Outside of Blindwave and Reel Rejects you are the only person that I saw that really gave the show a chance and honest viewing.
@@Hawkeye83627 Not from what I saw. There was a lot of hate even before it dropped. I think reaction channels where the most open. Review channels and scifi star wars channels nope.
This was a great show. I love watching shows that focus in on the lore and expands upon it. I especially loved Manny Jacinto's character! I really appreciate all these breakdowns, Allen! As someone who grew up in the early 90's without any real-time Star Wars content, I don't take any Star Wars shows for granted.
Greatest thing about this show was finding this channel. I mean this show is not perfect by any means, but the amount of hate some of the Star Wars tubers were giving towards this show and its creators was just so out of hand and toxic, that I stopped following most of those channels. It is okay if someone doesn't like this show and wants to criticize it, but the hate was just getting so out of hand, all that review bombing before even seeing the episodes, deliberate misunderstanding of things and criticizing plot holes before things are even explained etc was just so tiring to see. And some people even attack those that like this show which is just ridiculous. To me I'd say this was like solid 6.5/10 series, it was not perfect, but I was entertained. Like in most of Star Wars there was plenty of bad dialogue, some things were pretty rushed, some directional decisions weren't really spot on. But there were few really good characters, action scenes were really spot on and this brought some new lore, also even though we only see him for a few seconds, it was awesome to finally see that one legendary big bad Muun creeping around. ;) And we kinda finally got current canon confirmation of his existence, before this we only got that one scene of palps talking about him. But yeah, after finding this channel I have viewed plenty of your videos and I really like your style. Keep up the good work!
I really liked that they did something different with the show. A lot of the other stuff, is just like hanging off the coattails of the stuff before it, while this one seems to be trying to do it's own thing. So even though it has it's problems, I can respect it for trying. Overall I would say it is enjoyable to watch.
i feel like what u said about amandala s. playing mae and osha the same way makes a lot of sense considering the recent revelations, with them being practically the same being, just split in two.
@@GenerationTech Somehow I saw a change in Mae's portrayal in the finale. She seemed a lot nicer, more subordinate I guess? Like when they were in scenes together with Osha, you can certainly see a different kinder facial expression on Mae, as opposed to Osha. Besides their different clothes, you can tell them apart just by facial expression alone.
@@GenerationTech Kids and adult version rarely line up. You can point to many shows with this version. In fact, in most shows the kid versions are usually the more mature ones.
Haaiyaaa. Hilarious how the other SW-centric channels that hate the franchise, suddenly had an orgasm seeing Plagueis, and now are curious about season two. It's literally a television show, not a movie. You have a finite time to get your point across. People shouldn't expect cinema level story-telling in a truncated show. I'm glad you stay true to you. Wherever you're at reminds me of Taiwan.
@@marcomcdowell8861 yes have been confused by the sudden need for game of thrones level writing. Star wars has always had really bad/simple writing (source, every single movie), that's part of the charm. It is still meant to be engaging enough for kids to also follow.
When Master Sol did the triple kick on his chest it brought me back to the TMNT 2003 series where Leonardo does the same slo mo kick on Hun. Idk where that move first originated but it was awesome nonetheless.
The issue is they can’t exist unless they disappear out of the outer rim. They could maybe if they are not Sith and if Quimir is not the acolyte to plagueis
@@extrojan22 there is many ways they could have a fight between venestra and quimir without breaking cannon. I would love to see her kill quimir and osha in a fight only for her to die to Darth Plagueis
Honestly I find a lot of the dislike of this show being warranted. Outside of the jabs at the creator’s past, the interviews, or just plain racism/homophobia, the show isn’t really all that well-written.
@@knightmare5097 hate and criticism are different. Criticism is fine and if the story has enough payoff we will still enjoy it even with critiques of it
I think Amandala Stenberg really shone in the last episode. It was a challenging pair of roles to play, for sure. We see monsters in other people, we fight them by canceling them online, because the world has become so much more complicated than for the vast majority of human existence. We want heroes with super powers, because it’s so difficult to stand out in this world. One thing I’ve loved about Star Wars since the very beginning is the clothing. Capes aren’t particularly practical, but they’re beautiful, and anyone in this galaxy can show up in a cape at any time. The Acolyte does not disappoint in this, and best of all I think is Qimar’s flowing black in the battle against Sol, it moves wonderfully and more so with his graceful, powerful fighting moves. The Jedi costumes express their success and prosperity in this era, and Venestra’s varying levels of formality in various situations. These costumes are all eye candy as costuming has been throughout the franchise.
The last episode of Acolyte harmed the series: in the end, Osha doesn’t make any sense as a character. Why did she go to the dark side when she always knew that Sol was fundamentally good, always on her side to protect her? He didn’t kill Mother Aniseya on purpose; he was justified in his behavior, attempting to protect them. Putting others into danger makes you evil if you did that for malicious or selfish reasons - and Sol doesn’t flunk that test, in my opinion. Yeah, the show-runners wanted to reveal that he overstepped his bounds a little bit - the Jedi are flawed - but ultimately he was trying to protect two children from a coven of 50 dark side using witches. It is “odd”, at the very least, to have two young force using children (created by the Force!) in a coven of 50 witches, going through dark rituals, right? The Jedi are like superhero cosmic police, correct? What am I missing here? And why did they spend so much show time to give us the tragedy in the mine fortress from two different perspectives? What did that ultimately achieve? The two perspectives concept didn’t pay off because Sol was ultimately a good person in both views. Was he supposed to allow the witch smoke maneuver to disintegrate Mae without any defensive reaction? His goal was to protect the children - and yes, there is some gray area due to the Jedi overstepping their authority or interests - I get that point, but the witch coven was going to forcefully abuse the two girls by making them the new leaders of the coven, no matter what they wanted for themselves. What would a good hearted police officer do in a similar situation? The Jedi are motivated to protect and bring about peace in the Galaxy… Also, Venestra ends up being evil (making the Jedi look terrible… again). You’re right about things being complicated as opposed to simply black and white - but there has to be some solid ground in terms of right vs wrong. Sol was done super dirty by the script; the Jedi were shown to be far more bad/incompetent/selfish than good. That’s a mistake - and shows a misunderstanding of Star Wars as a framework for telling stories and teaching morality. The Acolyte had the opportunity to focus on the dark side users. Make them complex, even sympathetic via their tragic back stories - which is what they partially/poorly did with the witch coven and Qimir. But then they make Venestra an evil manipulator, Torbin an immature child, and Sol a secret murderer (when in actuality, he was a good hearted police officer motivated to protect two children). This is a missed opportunity (again!), ending up at a sad 5/10 overall score. This is Last Jedi level of missed opportunities - which is a real shame because Star Wars deserves better. At least we have Andor (thank goodness!)
For me, Osha's turn to the dark side made perfect sense because she had blind faith in Sol and the gravity of the betrayal she felt was too mcuh to handle. Her relative "innocence," compared to Mae, made these feelings even harder to process, resulting in an emotional breakdown of such magnitude that it bled the lightsaber crystal.
@@V0SRUI feel like Vader would’ve felt a lot more rage if he found out Obi-Wan told him his moms been dead and he’s the one who killed her after failing as a Jedi and be ousted from the order. He believes for years he messed up but then find out his master was essentially the reason for his failing and his grief. That is OSHA. I would say her grief and anger are pretty well placed. Anakin betrayed himself and his people, osha was betrayed by those around her and by her only “father” figure. He had her believing her own sister killed her family and he was the good guy, that’s fucked up.
Liked Ahsoka far more, probably due to the cast and characters. Thought Acolyte was okay, the fights scenes were the highlight for me and lore. In the end if it doesn't get a 2nd season, I won't be surprised...
Twins being alike is more true to life. But then this is a show meant for entertainment, so I guess it comes down to : Do you want art to imitate life or do you want art to emulate a theatrical expectation of real life that isn't very realistic? I didn't have a problem with the twins being similar, especially since in the end, they are MORE than twins. That said, why TF could both of them not escape with Qimir? Why leave Mae behind AT ALL?!? They did not explain this well. I mean bunch up or something in that two seater, or steal Soul's ride. That irked me.
I want the latter. I'm just being honest. Prob why I dont get all caught up in writing and directing and special effects flubs. Nine times out of 10 when one of these channels points out one of those or other things I'm like WAHH? It's still something fantasy, not real life even if imperfect. That's what I watch science FICTION for. 😊
@@sleinadb Oh I don't notice/look for those things either. It always irks me when people nit-pick. I mean we've all seen the Starbucks cup on Game of Thrones, but that's not what ruined the show for me. SO yeah, I see your point, but also I won't fault characterization as being truer to life. I like people to act in realistic ways to extraordinary things, you know as best as can be approximated, and sometimes if it is over the top, as in some of the examples Alan showed us, then it kinda breaks the illusion for me. I like Classic Doctor WHO, I can handle a wobbly set and a rubber mask, but my characters have to be believable, and to me, IMO, the twins were. I don't fault anyone for disagreeing though.
I think Amandla was just fine. They are not twins, they are the same person. This is repeated throughout the show. To play it too much like different twins would be contradictory to the plot.
I think the show would have fared better without the "unreliable narrator" approach -- the same sense of mystery could have been achieved by simply alternating from current to past, such as with flashbacks at key moments, without adding the confusion of the conflicting perspectives. That would have freed up screen time that could have been better used for character work or just more plot development. Overall, I enjoyed the show tho -- it had some great choreography, an intriguing story, and some memorable characters and performances (even if they did kill off all of my favorites 😱)! I do agree that the Mae/Osha dynamic would probably have been better served if Amandla Stenberg had played one while a different actress played the other. It wasn't a perfect show, but it was still a good show that fit in well with the other Star Wars movies and series, and certainly doesn't deserve the blind rage or hate so many throw at it. Hopefully they'll explore more of the older Republic eras with future shows! Star Wars has so much more to offer as a franchise than just the original characters and their extended family.
The fact that people were hating on this show before episode 1 even came out is actually mind boggling to me. And other channels like sw theory didn’t help either. That’s why I’m grateful for channels like generation tech to always give an honest and thoughtful critique on sw content
Maybe the best summation of this show and it feels like one of the few voices that isn’t trying to be overly positive or overly negative as the internet is prone to do with extremes being the only takes it’s nice to hear someone just as much here to give the new things. Chance with a open mind ❤
Alan, you were my first Star Wars watch and follow on UA-cam. I love the way you do your content is professional respectful and you give the pros and cons. Keep it up. Also, do you live in Hawaii because you’re background is always pretty relaxing lol
I personally am at a loss for what was the purpose of this show? I felt boba and obiwan were giving closure to character stuff we didnt get to see. Andor the plight of the average star wars citizen. I dunno, im very lost with this show.
@@babytoshiro7014 that is highly uninformed of you to say. The people who understand star wars the best will tell you his goal was to send a message, as likely any author that creates at least a semi-serious story mean to do. you can make a story to entertain, but for a lot of authors that’s likely not the only reason. if you're gonna claim that it was, please back that up
I think the intent and purpose of the show was to basically elaborate on what Senator Rayencourt said in the finale: "I think the Jedi are a massive system of unchecked power, posing as a religion, a delusional cult that claims to control the uncontrollable". And "When you're looking up to heroes, you don't have to face what's right in front of you". And this definitely struck a nerve in some SW fans, as some fans do hold the Jedi in a very positive hero light, the show tries to elaborate on how the Jedi are a lot more multi-dimensional than that. Multi-faceted with multiple layers, like an ogre.
@@vynsyxx It is the truth. SW was never meant for critical thinking because most fans lack the fortitude and patience for it. Don't be hurt about the truth but embrace it and have a good day.
@@babytoshiro7014But in the show many characters if not all show a serious lack of critical thinking skills and I’m pretty sure that’s what most of the disappointed fans are trying to point out. This idea that the Jedi are some out of control group isn’t the reality. It’s a flawed group as all group would be but they fundamentally stand for good in the galaxy so just because of a few individuals in the group fall to the dark or lose control doesn’t mean the whole organisation should be depicted as problematic. They are essentially warrior Monk police and to suggest that someone in that position with that much power shouldn’t be trying to control their emotions or be stoic or objective in high stakes situations is a silly narrative to try to create in the Star Wars universe tbh.
@GenerationTech: Thank you. I think this video was really well balanced on both the good and the bad of the show. I dislike videos of hyperbole or extremes, so this was thoughtful and well executed. Acolyte certainly has flaws, but it has not been objectively a failure on all levels - and equally it has great things, but it has not been objectively a success on all levels.
I can't say how much I appreciate your coverage of The Acolyte. I personally think it's a good show and I enjoyed it. There are other SW stories I like more but I was a bit blindsided by the online hate this show got. I watched the first couple of episodes before I was aware of the hate, and it didn't even occur to me that people would go so far out of their way to 💩 on it. But for me seeing minorities and women in primary roles is no big deal.
I liked a lot of elements of Acolyte. In this last episode the star fighter chase through the ring of particles was amazing. The light sabre duels were amazing and the fall from the bridge thing was like crouching tiger hidden Jedi. The two central characters Mae and Osha were not quite strong enough true, but the surrounding characters were really great. I did get the two mixed up especially when they changed costumes. As you say it must be so difficult to make such a series. And the Jungian duality theme was great and not just the hero’s journey again. I think social media has become like the mind controlled super technology of the Krell in Forbidden Planet. We have unleashed ‘monsters from the id’ the unconscious.
Thank you Alan for all the great content, your thoughts, background information and critisism. Yours is the last Star Wars channel I watched since The Acolyte - I could not understand the bad reviews.
I might suffer harassment and bullying like I did in other posts of other Star Wars UA-camrs. I really like the ending of the series. Sure it started out questionable at best. It picked up pretty fast. And the appearance of Darth Plagueis and Grandmaster Yoda was awesome. I'm hoping that the next season comes out. I think this series pointed out that there is light in darkness and darkness in light. That the Jedi aren't always good, the Sith aren't always evil. But the apparent kindness of Qimir could be his undoing in the next season. Is Darth Plagueis really into them having a relationship? I think he will be discarded by Plagueis for that reason and then wait for Sheev Palpatine. Great review ❤.
Another fair review. I enjoy your videos, especially the reviews as (unlike so many others) you keep things fairly balanced and are probably the best at being impartial that I've seen. Thank you (and all else involved in the videos) for all you've done so far and hopefully keep up the great work!
With the horrific way some star wars fans have treated others, the whole situation with the wiki updating a god damn character bio, and other irl nonsense out of the way, It's honestly driven me up the wall how ever since the show started, people have been doubling down on their idea that any negative portrayal of the jedi order's flaws is a new, anti-jedi direction when in reality... The order's always just been that way. They've always been an "ends justify the means, peace by whatever methods necessary" type of organization. And that just becomes more true the further you dive into legends, as well.
Yup from review bombing before the eps even dropped, to the internet hate of the cast and showrunner, to the cringe Wookiepedia things, this show could had been another Andor and still they hate it. And yes, they were hating on Andor to and now they acting like they did not🤣🤣
As a High Republic fan, the ending angered me because they ruined Vernestra before we get to see the end of her book arc. Now, no matter what her original authors had in mind, she is locked into becoming a villain. WTH?! I thought this show was supposed to garner more interest in the HR series, not drive away existing fans. Whoever makes these decisions is an idiot.
I don't know anything about Vernestra but the fact that she did talk to Yoda redeems her a bit. Like yea, she's hiding information from the Senate, but she keeping the council in the loop. Now what looked really messed up to me was when she was clad in her white robes and starys manipulating Mae. That seemed shady, but hey, I guess they can't just let her go live a normal life after what she's done..
Thanks for your reviews and valid criticism, Alan! I enjoyed this show and what it was trying to do and it's been quite upsetting to see how people will focus on what some of the cast and production do or say in their private lives rather than the quality of the production. And like you've said (I've even said this in response to people losing their minds about issues in media like games where their complaints are at best petty), there are real problems in the world so when we criticise work like this, it should be done appropriately... I myself have had an appalling last three years (middle of 2021 until early 2024) with needing to write off family so toxic, they streesed me out to the point they triggered epilepsy in me (in part) and a parent was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's which might be genetic and might already be starting in me... But forms of escapism like The Acolyte, Ahsoka, Spider-Man 2, GoW:Ragnarok, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, Control, The Mandalorian, and the list goes on, have literally held me together... And those two events are just the two major points... There have been moments where I've been worried I might lose my job and have been so grateful that the few friends that are still able to respond via a text message do respond... Even if it takes months. Thanks again, man.
Your thoughts/critiques in the first half of this video already made me think this is easily the best review of the Acolyte I’d seen. You bring up very valid issues and acknowledge the good sides as well. But you made this an S tier review in the second half how you tied the themes as important for our generation and you make some really thought provoking comments. Well done!
Allen, I enjoy your breakdowns. Very in-depth and thought-provoking. I am surprised that someone who delves so deeply and so expertly into a production is so forgiving of the clumsy/poor writing of Acolyte. I'm also not able to be as forgiving about portraying a 'flawed hero'...because I don't think that is what Headland is trying to do. The hero music playing at the end with a Sith and his new convert staring into the sun as they ponder a future of....murder? Grasping at greater power? Headland mischaracterized the Jedi and it's been repeated in countless articles as the Jedi being autocratic rulers of the force when they very clearly did not act that way (see Dooku being allowed to leave the Jedi Order). I learn a lot from listening to you break down dialogue and scenes but I think you were too generous with Headland's 'intent'.
The problem with all-or-nothing thinking is that you will be willing to overlook the mistakes of those whom you admire and give absolutely no grace to those whom you despise.
Yes, the debate-style zero-sum framework we're all addicted to makes everything flat and reductive. It's seductive though: 3 dimensional thinking isn't instinctual, takes effort, and isn't as fun as just picking a side and letting confirmation bias take it from there.
Ep 1, 2, 5 - mediocre. Ep 3, 4, 6 and 7 were abysmal. It's not all garbage but there was not much to recommend either!
@@dookula Doing exactly the thing OP observed.
Very true, and not just of the criticism of this show.
Only a sith deals in absoluts
Honestly Sol is such an interesting character, he is the embodiment of "one could do wrong things even with good intentions." Him not trusting the witches, not stoping Tolbin from barging into the fortress, killing the head witch, choosing Osha over Mae out of personal reasons and letting Mae fall, and lying about it throughout her whole life, all of it was done under the belief that he was protecting Osha, who he thought was going to be scrificed for her sister's accension, but ended up breaking her whole life.
And the fact that all this actions driven by the "noble intentions" of the Jedi, ties in to the point of the whole "the acolyte kills without a weapon, and the acolyte kills the dream." and it is quite interesting. Osha, in the most personal level, has now become the antithesis of what the Jedi stands for. She is now the living proof that the Jedi's belief could completely destroy a life of a thoroughly innocent person. And that action has now caused the Jedi order (or Vernestra) to cover up the truth, lying to the face of the government officials, creating a moral weakness in the order that in one day would be exploited by Palpatine.
I'm very intersted to see where the story would go the next season!
While I could agree with a lot you say I think it falls apart if you take into account that Sol, as much as I connected with him, is a lousy Jedi. You wrote that the Jedi's beliefs completely destroyed the life of an innocent person. However had Sol maintained control over his emotions, as a Jedi should, the disaster that occurred on Bendock would not have happened. Further, even taking into his lapses, he and the Jedi really did nothing wrong. At every confrontation the Jedi did not attack but rather reacted and tried to deescalate the tensions.
@@markuhler2664 You lost me on the 'Jedi did nothing wrong' when it's clear in EP7 that Sol and Torbin did go against the Council order. Sol bears responsibility here as he went against Master Indara orders.
I mean without trying to get too "real world" with it, the obvious metaphor here is Sol is the overeager Christian missionary, goes to some underdeveloped part of the world, and believes in his heart of hearts with the "noblest" intentions that he's saving these children by taking them. Again, not trying to be too real world and piss people off, and I'm not saying this analogy is 100% one to one or accurate or fair, it's not, but as a rough analogy, that's what they were clearly going for. And so everything you can say about Sol, both positive and negative is the same you could say for that individual. Do I believe that Sol genuinely and with complete good intentions believe he's doing the right thing? Yes. And so do a lot of those people that I mentioned in my analogy. But where does that come from? Maybe it comes from the doctrine from the institutions these people follow and maybe that's the issue? I'm not here trying to answer that question, but I'm saying this show is clearly probing that question. In a sense, if Qui Gon is the John the Baptist to Anakin's Space Jesus, then Sol is, "What if that hero complex gets out of control?"
By your logic, Sol choosing Mae over Osha and letting Osha fall would be just as inexcusable. There was no winning for him in that specific dilemma because he was physically unable to save both. When he _had_ to make a choice or let both of them die, it is natural that he would choose the one who was supportive of the Jedi over the one who started the fire then locked the Jedi inside the fort to help Koril kill them.
Sol really catalyzed the whole disaster with his odd obsession over Osha, but what we were shown in the penultimate episode is that it was not one-sided. Multiple actors all around contributed to the tragedy in their own way. Mae _did_ sadistically threaten to kill her sister then set the fire that would destroy her entire home. Torbin randomly rushed back to the Coven in his impatience to finish the investigation and go home. Koril had Mae lock Sol and Torbin inside so she can kill them. The Jedi didn't set out to massacre the Coven at any time, but Indara breaking their possession of Kelnacca somehow either killed them or knocked them unconscious for Mae's fire to kill them all. Finally Sol accidentally killed Anesaya because she transformed into a smoke demon right next to him while simultaneously dissipating Mae, and it was reasonable for him to mistake this for an attack.
The Jedi also did not withhold the full truth Osha for malicious reasons. Indara genuinely believed that Mae starting the fire, destroying her home, and killing all the other witches, Koril included, was the technical truth. Sol also believed that. The truth they withheld from Osha was Sol's hand in killing Anesaya, which Indara had insisted would be to shield Osha from further trauma.
We were shown how a series of misunderstandings, miscommunication, and foolish errors by all parties resulted in the terrible tragedy, and yet the final episode homes in on a single Jedi's single mistake and hammers it again and again as the only detail that matters. That's the culmination of the perspectivism the show seemed to champion at first. It is true that Sol is an interesting character, but the final episode ends up using him as a strawman for a polemic against the Jedi by ignoring all the nuances they had established or Mae's own established guilt in destroying her home.
@@EACru2002it also calls back to the conversation between the senator and Vernestra ep.8. The Jedi don’t see themselves as normal citizens and above others, its like the “white savior” complex where they think these kids need to be in “modernized” communities but at the end of the day, where their from is their identity. Taking kids from their homes under the guise of helping them, harms them in a way as well like you said.
They promoted the show like it was all about Mae and Osha. But it ended up being more about Sol and Qimir. And I think that was a good thing.
I with that was the case. I think their storyline has much more to it then that of the twins. But it's an uneven mess of both that doesn't really know what it wants to be.
Was it even that, headland said this was supposed to be about two sisters and the dive into the sith or the gayest Star Wars or an allegory to her sister hating her or ….
@@gamedude412 you definitely got that information secondhand and never actually bothered to check what she actually said lmao
A s2 can now focus on just Osha and Qimir doing darkside stuff would be sublime, Vern trying to find out about how her apprentice is still alive causing trouble is a fine angle as well as Darth P in the mix. Just less Jedi order as a whole as s1 can be the "almost found out early about the sith " season
@@GazingTrandoshan yea can't have too many close calls tbh. Vernestra goes on a wild goose chase but theres never any evidence to back her up. Maybe she's so obsessed w finding him, starts to believe "the Sith" have returned, the other Jedi start to think she's kinda losing it. Shes removed from positions of authority. Probably doesnt end well, or maybe she just decides to drop the whole thing. Qimir and Osha don't even know she's looking for them. Hego Damask finds out theyve beem raising alarms, happens to meet a young student named palpatine, decides qimir and osha have outlived their usefulness and have become liabilities. Sets up a season 3? Idk man
I like that the Senator turned out to be this universes version of Allen. In one scene he went from “the bad politician” to the only guy talking any sense in the room.
If you talking about Senator Rayencourt, yeah, he predicted the coming of Anakin Skywalker, and his not even a Force-sensitive.
Darth Plagueis was just standing there.... *MENACINGLY!!!*
I screamed! I was so excited I havent had this feeling watching something since end game
Was a Phantom menace in the episode
He gives off that Gollum vibes
@@simplykenobiYou’re comparing this to End Game?
Wasted cameo.
The acting of Osha made me roll my eyes so many times. I agree with your assessment
I don't know why they made her act through a tunnel most of the time, like purposefully held back, instead of being more fully expressive, more dare I say realistic/human. The restricted way in how she talks, everything. Like they told her to be stoic and unfeeling most of the time. I wonder if that is a direction thing that they told the actress not to act normal lol.
@@lso8000 Amanda can act but I think they wanted her to play a certain way for the mystery aspect. Some of it work, some didn't. It didn't stop me from enjoying the series.
@@babytoshiro7014 That is true, it didn't stop me from enjoying the series as well. Some people including myself are socially awkward and "act" not "normal", and it looks like stoic and unfeeling, nonchalant maybe.
I don't buy such comment, give me 5 clear points why you think her acting of Osha was not good
@@DonGivaniit sounded like she was reading out loud from a script everytime she talked, she said everything the same way, it wasn’t until the end when she actually showed some emotion. Very little facial expressions. Best adjectives I can use to describe for her is dry, it just felt very weird everytime she talked and out of place. I couldn’t tell if she was talking to another human or a robot.
My biggest criticism for the show (which I overall enjoyed but was significantly dissapointed by at points) is that it should not have been 8 episodes. It shoulf have either had more run time to cook its themes and events longer, or it could have been cut down to be shorter with better pacing. 8 episodes was the wrong length for this show, and insisting every show be 6-8 episode "extended movies" is really hurting a lot of Disney+ shows.
yeah, you have a good point
I think it should have been released all at once. It’s better if you watch it all in one go.
I don’t know why they just won’t make actual tv shows. Like Andor.
It should have been repurposed, either in film form or something else. I really don't enjoy these 25-30 minute run times.
@@LegendslayX That would have made for a better watch experience I agree. But it hurts the discourse. Netflix dropped the entirety of Pluto in one go and I was so hardpressed to find anyone who wanted to talk about it after a week. All the conversations were done.
I watched this series week by week, and I had to binge-watch this for a friend who hadn't seen it yet. I must admit that watching it in one sitting was much better. I enjoyed the series, I stayed away from the hate, if I saw it, I just ignored and continued on to another channel. Thanks, Allen, for standing up to that, and your comments on it are appreciated.
I really liked that the fight of Qimir and Sol was so markedly different from the last one we had. With the use of slow motion, the angles and the movement it felt more like it leaned into classic chinese martial arts movies with their wires and everything. It wasnt as fast as some prequel fights, but that is not a criticism, because it made it easier to follow the fight itself.
And Sol didn’t fall for the head but this time. He was ready for it, which surprised Qimir and that got his light saber destroyed
Apparently the people who were behind the Vader hallway scene in rogue one did the choreography for this show. They need to be hired in the future!
Maybe it’s just me but I kinda didn’t like the fight but I think that’s because I expected the ep 5 fig it again
@@dagoodistever7186that's fine. I liked both fights.
@@kdusel1991 I can agree smilo is one of my favorite characters from his fighting
I agree that it was too much to ask of that young girl. I hope she doesn't take it personal and uses this experience to grow as an actress. Not everybody gets these types of opportunities. I hope she continues working at her craft and I hope opportunities connect as a result. There's nothing more rewarding for me as a viewer than it is to see actors and actresses grow before our eyes and surprise even themselves. To go from creating a hit to creating art. I love to see that.
I gave you a thumbs up and share your sentiments. Not every actor can be Leonardo DiCaprio, Christina Ricci, or River Phoenix when they’re young, but most can grow as performers if they apply themselves and work to improve. Likewise, there are only a few directors known for their ability to draw great performances from children - Spielberg comes to mind.
p.s. I do think it worth mentioning that use of the term “actress” has become quite controversial. While awards like the Oscars are still bestowed with gendered titles, most female actors have come to take umbrage with “actress” and point out that both within their profession and the broader career landscape, feminizing modifications of job titles originated through derogation or special allowances, not equality or respect. Many of the leading women in film (Sigourney Weaver, Meryl Streep, many others) advocate strongly for “actor”. So though I myself had to make some effort to adopt the change, “actor” applies to everyone regardless of their sex (acting awards presently abstaining). Of course, it’s optional, but if it matters to you, there it is.
I really thought the fight between Sol and Qimir was exceptional.
The rip off of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon?
yea really enjoyed the usage of the mini shoto saber, i also liked how Sol was very dominate in the fight, we have a theory about this coming up
Whoever the creative team hired to do the lightsaber duels need to be hired in the future, cause the choreography was so good.
I fully agree. The best live action sabre fights yet
@@GenerationTech I wish we had a confrontation between vernestra and qimir. Really wanted to see how he fares again a lightwhip since that's probably why he got the shoto
I really enjoyed your Acolyte videos because of your objectivity and bigger picture approach. They were refreshing in the age of negativity for the sake of negativity. Thank you.
All in all, it just seemed very first drafty to me, like I could see the bare bones of it but rather than working out how the story unfolds things just happened for the sake of getting where the script needed to get to. As you said, seemed like they were just concerned with checking the boxes and moving on. Shame given some of the interesting ideas presented.
Exactly.
Totally. Like we never really understood what oshas intentions were. This show wants us to be emotionally invested but doesn't put in the effort to make us FEEL for the characters. Everyone is just kinda a plot robot without strong personalities, and in a show that's supposed to be about 2 sisters finding their way in a messed up galaxy that's really bad. Instead of having nothing conversations we should have been learning more about them. What do the sisters like to do in their free time? Let them have some small talk for us to get to know them better.
I don't understand it at all, first you've got The two main characters who switched sides more than my ex switched her mind and that's quite the accomplishment.
Then you've got this green Jedi who Apparently Is evil?
And then I'm trying to figure out the motivation for the little furry dude Which makes no sense.
And for Sol to be a master Jedi he's literally the most incompetent and weak Jedi Ever.
Again what the hell was this series even about. And yeah, they tried to get a 2-second Yoda Cameo, and I'm guessing that's supposed to be Darth plagueis?😂😂
From the perspective of a person who didn't care for this series, that's what drives me nuts. Disney has all the resources in the world but is leaving a precious franchise half baked. It's maddening.
Thank you, Allen, for just being you. I really enjoyed your content for the acolyte. Out of all the channels reviewing the Acolyte, your channel has gone above and beyond! It’s been spectacular! ❤
Plagueis just awkwardly watching Qimir and Osha hold hands at the end
He jealous for sure lol
LMAO this is a new way to look at him ahahahah
"IT'S NOT FAIR! IT SHOULD BE ME NOT HER!"
@@wildbard4112 we all wish we could hold his hand
IKR lol
As an old Star Wars fan who's only Star Wars content was mostly Ewok related growing up, I'm really enjoying most of the new content. The storytelling in The Acolyte was ok. Not good. Just ok. It did a lot of unnecessary exposition that were just bad attempts at character building.
Overall though it was entertaining. The fights were well done and actually added to the story.
If there is a second season, I'd like to see a time jump of a few years to see how all the plot threads left open have developed.
Exploring the Jedi's role in their own downfall is a great storytelling opportunity that I hope better developed in the future. But that's what all fans want, right?
Ok, I don't see why we want to see MORE exposition on the fall of the Jedi? Didn't we already see that in the prequel trilogy, it seems when covered that ground in the prequel trilogy showing how the Jedi had become bloated, corrupt and fallen from their ideals (and it's expanded upon in the CW). Wasn't the point of the Acolyte to show us 100 years prior with the events of the prequel Jedi, ala before they were corrupt and fallen? And yet what we got was a rehash that they were no more different than their counterparts down the line, so what was the point? The Acolyte was merely an encapsulated rehash of jedi always being corrupt and evil for 25,000 yrs. /slow clap.
Also old SW fan here. Like saw Ep 4 in theaters. Not So much a fan of prequel triology...and the animated series. It's just me with animation anything from live action. I just would like SW content...not ruined by a bunch of naysayers who forget this is a space wizard fantasy. Like GT said...clunky and cheesy but that is how it has always been. It's not Citizen Kane or The Godfather. Thank goodness. 😂
@@Slayer398 the problem is here the Prequel we were already in the middle of their downfall the high Republic/acolyte can actually show us where these cracks began to form.
@@Ghost_-nz5dy the whole problem with that is that it does none of that. Where does the show do that? We see a senator demanding and angry 2 times, but not wny and you can't claim it's because of this event either. There is no context to the "enemies" of the Council, just that they exist (for some reason) and they are terrified of them. Why would they be and we're supposed to believe this because "reasons".
@@Ghost_-nz5dy okay great, that'd be interesting if they actually show'd us "something" in the S1 (which they didn't and S2 isn't highly likely). All they *did* show us was 2 minutes of some Senator being randomly angry over something and with ZERO context or explanation of his importance and Master pickle head talking about "enemies of the council" that they had to worry about, with even less reason or context in a mystery that wasn't.
I feel like this show had a lot of potential actually and some brilliant moments. However, it suffered greatly from bad editing and some really poor writing choices that screamed “last minute re-write” or “we let too large of a committee write this and let the editors cut out scenes that hurt the storytelling.” No matter how many highs a series has, a handful of really major writing failures is going to kill it; it’s like being served a really tasty meal with a couple of flies in it.
The inconsistencies with acting feels like a consequence of rushed schedules or last minute changes/re-shoots where there wasn’t time for proper direction.
The last few projects all felt this way to me to varying degrees. I’m not sure what’s driving it but it needs to be corrected for sure if this franchise is going to survive.
Agreed.
Man back at my height of interest for all things Star Wars I used to watch your channel along with a few others now you’re my only go to SW channel because you have such a balanced approach seriously keep it up!!
The beginning of the video really encapsulates why I avoid going online for things I like, it feels like no matter what there's always constant negativity to anything new on the internet and unwarranted hate towards random things, while other things are overly loved and praised. I appreciate you being honest and not being overly negative just for views and clicks, it's something that is desperately needed nowadays.
I mean this show was terrible by almost all the things people have been criticizing them, star wars fans always seem to justify a whole show based on one or two scenes, which I think is very dumb
while i was watching this video, i made a big mistake
looking at reddit, man why those this get so much hate
I saw one video maybe 30 mins long complaining that one of the actors was trans. It turned out to be one of the random background witches. How fragile can a person be that they get angry about that?
I enjoy commentary on media more than I like the media itself.
Whether something is good or bad, the extremes produce the most content.
Allan is the best Star Wars channel and one of the best opinions on the internet. As people who consume content we need to cherish creators like him
Appreciate your well-rounded analysis 🙏
I liked it. My only complaint is these series should not be 6-8 episodes. They should be like Andor, 12 episodes or maybe 10. It gives more time to breath. Other than that, no problems.
They essentially had 3 filler episodes. They easily could have used that time to work things out better. $180M budget, which was twice the budget of Kenobi. They really could have done more with the 8 episodes they got, but didn’t.
Even with 8 episodes, they had filler and fat. That means the showrunners had no idea what they were doing. Again running a project with no plan.
At this point, the haters just hate the show solely on black women as lead and a creator that appear to be a lesbian. I can now say that they are bunch of actual homophobics sexists and racists.
No lore has been broken yet , Ki Adi Mundi 1000 years sith threat excuse has been debunked in EP8
I feel like this show is gonna be a 50/50 but it's now worth watching for me. Here is a few things that I dislike.
-Younger version of Sol and Indara look like old people who wannabe young. They could have make their hair and costume fit their age.
Torbin and Kelnacca design was fine.
- Witch force cult was too weak because Indara can literally solo the entire cult in astral battle. They should have gave them a better fight.
- How can Torbin got promoted to the rank of Jedi Master so fast.
See, I lean in the opposite direction. I firmly believe this story would have been much better as a single movie with tighter storytelling that got to its main “reveals” much quicker. Drawing it out in my opinion only made the issues with the “mystery box” style writing even more glaring
@@hfar_in_the_skyi really liked the show, but I completely agree with you. A lot of backstory could be trimmed down into quick flashbacks, and ultimately the fact it wasn’t really hurt the show.
For the final episode I binged the whole series BEFORE watching the final episode and it really helped the immersion and made the finale work that much better. The only issue i have is the placement of the flashback episodes, it ruins the pacing of the already difficult to follow story. The finale had everything the show needed and I'm truly looking forward to the next series
Most sane review of The Acolyte on the Internet.
Allen your reviews are the most refreshing and insightful. Thanks for covering the show. I rewatched the Phantom Menace right before the finale and this show ties in pretty well.
Solid review, Tech. I've placed this show solidly above BoB and Kenobi, but below Ashoka and far below Andor. 6/10 for me.
And pretty close to par with The Mandalorian.
@@laughingowl7896overall I’d say it was weaker than season 1&2 but stronger than or on par with season 3
I feel 6/10 is even generous. Only the fights of this show are good and everything else is bad. This feels more like 4/10. Kenobi is like 2/10. Andor is 10/10 which goes to show how vastly different in quality, these shows are.
@@laughingowl7896no lol S1 & 2 blow this out of the water. And even the jumbled story telling in S3 was better than this.
There’s a lot to like in this show, but it’s in no way close to the same level as Mando.
@@jonirojonironin5353 My way of rating shows is mostly personal, but to put things into perspective, I've never watched a show that felt like a 2/10, let a lone a 1/10. But my 6/10's have very little rewatch value in eyes.
One of the best shows I ever watched was HBO's The Wire, that was a 10/10.
I rate Andor (So far, because the show ain't over yet) a 9/10. If they repeat what they did in season 1, then it, too, will be a 10/10 show for me.
been loving your takes on this show. thank you for being a thoughtful voice among all the noise.
While I personally couldn't stand The Acolyte, I'm not about to begrudge a Star Wars lore channel for portraying Star Wars in as positive a light as one reasonably can.
I wouldn't bebrudge you as well. Afterall not everyone is cut out for media literacy.
@reddishcarp1237 You're all over these comments with the most unhinged and brain dead NPC takes to the point where I can't tell if you're a bot or an idiot.
You mean spin?
@ericp1139 Eric. At some point u gotta just accept that u don't get it, and that's ok. The lore is steeped in decades of novels, comics and games. The movies alone aren't rly sufficient to get a deep, full understanding of the galaxy at this point, esp for something like this that actually took the time to study those old novels
And even then if u haven't watched the movies in 5 years, ur only gonna remember how u felt, not what happened or what things meant
@@reddishcarp1237you mean enjoying a poorly written story with awful dialogue?
Thank you so much for giving such an honest review! Every other video I have found has been so negative that it’s hard to tell if they’re just hating to hate or if it’s actually that bad… I feel like I can always trust your opinion is honest.
I think what really hurt the show was the entire twin arc - which even the most positive of us mostly checked out from by the third episode. It also feels like they spent way too much time banking on a second season rather than committing the time necessary to creating a tight story this season.
@@KevinTheID I felt that most in the last episode.
Certain plots would be unpacked across multiple seasons for a show.
Meanwhile. other plots, occurring at the same time, are resolved at the end of the season.
@@Peter_The_Great Yeah, basically. I also really didn't buy the reason for another twin fight in this last episode nor believed the switch for Mae from revenge to justice and Osha from hurt but innocent to bleeding-a-crystal level of rage.
@@KevinTheID yeah. It seems the plot wanted the twins to mirror their masters.
As Osha became more angry and emotional. Sol also became unstable.
Same for Mae, once she found her center, her master wasn't so wild and out of control.
Hopefully they get some closure to the story in case season 2 doesn't pan out. Like Firefly.
@@lso8000 if not a season. At least start publishing books to conclude those stories.
I watch more of your videos now because of your unbiased opinions of the Acolyte and how you relate some of the story elements to real world concepts. And also, you arent afraid to say that you really liked the show. Admittedly, it wasnt perfect, but it wasnt the dumpster fire other creators made it out to be.
Literally, its mid to ok where a s2 should be more confident and focus on the improving with feedback like this channel gives , but like nothings changed, the series is fine, people screaming that the series is dead will be back when the next thing they like is good and "saved" People cannot just be normal
Is it just me or does it seem like the High Council is really checked out in The Acolyte? They seem to not really be involved in the day-to-day affairs of things and even send emissaries like Vernestra to speak with Senators rather than doing it themselves.
This might be why there is increased oversight and control by the High Council come the Prequels and the increased presence of council members speaking directly with the government rather than trusting it to subordinates.
Think of the separation of churches and governments. Most of the time, the Temple doesn’t bother with the day to day affairs of the lay people. Their whole thing was to find students and to ruminate in the Force.
@@yenlinhtran69 That's a fair point!
If you think about the Jedi as say a major religion or a large corporation, how often do you see the Pope or the board of directors and CEO getting into the nitty gritty of things? They're mostly figure heads that don't actually do much.
@@F0XD1E Oh true, and @yenlinhtran69 put it pretty well in an earlier comment. I think I was more getting at how we started to really see the tightening grip of the High Council and less individuality in the Jedi Order following the Acolyte's events.
It makes the world not so small tbh to me, theres 10k Jedi doing things all over the galaxy, we see maybe 20 involved but Verns the one leading it. Thats my take, I guess Yoda is gonna talk to Vern about her thinking her old apprentice is still alive causing trouble .
Can't wait for season 2. I hope nothing happens to cancel it. 😁
I feel ironically Mae's forced dialogue works well after knowing her true intentions. Her problem wasn't always just wanting to be evil, she wanted justice for what the Jedi did on Brendock which. She isn't an evil character, she never was, she thought of the jedi as the evil plague on the galaxy almost like legends General Grevious before he became the cyborg droid general. After first watchthrough blind, yeah it seems Mae's acting is poor but whenever I rewatch it it's like an ironic addition to the character.
Allen once again you’re the GOAT!
Is it worth a watch? Not really. Watched through it in its entirety with my wife. I love Star Wars and my wife, who just saw the movies. Both of us agree is that the story is poorly written with not very great acting. I don't care if someone likes it, but certainly I would not recommend anyone waste their time. I had held out hope that the story would fit together by the end, but it never really does. While also agree that Mae/Osha was not greatly acted I would also add that the character was quite poorly written with little to no growth, instead just flipping around with no clear motivation or cause where the flip itself becomes the cause for the next one. Maybe the actor was given instructions and failed at them, but it does seem like something was missing in building up the characters. Certainly not something I can see costing 180 million USD, the most of all Star Wars projects.
I think one of the big things turning people against each other is political propaganda. Politicians tell people over and over to hate the other side, that they are better than the others.
Dude. I do appreciate your take on the show. I enjoyed it. I’m a born again, conservative Christian too. Although I don’t agree with certain lifestyles, that doesn’t mean I hate the people and that doesn’t mean I can’t see an enjoyable show for what it is. Not the best, but enjoyable.
you earn my respect i stop watching few other for negative on a show and love your positive and good info on the show
Alex, it's easy to say either nothing is absolute or everything is. It's a lot harder take the time to figure out which is which. Some things are absolute and some things are not, and it takes time, experience, and wisdom to know the difference.
Seems like most people these days hate things that are purely good n gotta turn what is purely good evil, like how they did the jedi in this show.
This is what I love about this channel. Great and nuanced content, while Allen (and his off camera team) desperately claws at trying to get adult Star Wars fans to act like adults, and Americans to act with nuanced compassion. I don't agree with all of his takes, but he's coming from the right spot and desperately needed, especially in this fandom.
Agreed
Also agree
Disagreed this channel seems like he’s not tryna piss anyone off at Disney and he’s to afraid and also the show is garbage all the way maybe the fight scenes were ight but besides that completely trash and this guys needs to stop lol everyone else is calling Disney out on the bs they shouldn’t be giving a free pass on this bs I can speak to the majority
Of the fandom when I say no one wants this lazy Disney content obi was garbage ahsoka was mid at best and this was literally the worst of the worst to even attempt to defend parts of the show is hilarious and is why Disney is the way it is rn
I did not like the show, but I appreciate your perspective and if anyone else finds enjoyment from it, more power to them
This show did a good job of illustrating something that I’ve said for a long time. The world is black and white, but people are not. There is an objective morality, but no person is completely perfect or completely evil.
Thank you for making content for me man. I really enjoyed this show and agree the excessive hate is unwarranted. It's not a perfect show at all but it is 10x better than secret invasion from the mcu and that series didn't get nearly as much hate, and people hated that show..
thanks for watching :)
Finished the last episode of Acolyte and... oh boy, the writing was so bad. So many things made absolutely no sense. 2 episodes ago Sol told Mae they had to talk, then we have the flashback episode, the expectation is that this was Sol telling his story but when the finale starts it's clear they haven't talked at all yet. Then later the fuzzy guy sabotages the ship while chasing Mae... why? He knew it wasn't Osha, he knew before Sol! Then later Mae wants to bring Sol to justice? When did she give up her quest for revenge? Then later Mae stays behind to be captured... why? She's finally with her sister, the one thing she wanted above all else! And Osha doesn't want to let Mae go, when all she ever wanted was to be her own person without a clingy sister around all the time. In the flashback we learned Sol killed their mother because she was turning into a big scary shadow thing, a perfectly rational choice at the time! How was he supposed to know she intended to let Osha go? Why didn't she just say something?
Who approved these scripts?
At least it wasn't as bad as Rise of Skywalker.
In the end, terrible people became the victors in this show.
What kind of inspirational message is that?
Lie further to cover up lies?
Kill people who raised you because you're too immature to realize what happened?
Manipulate people into some type of Stockholm syndrome effect to join you?
Yeah good moral lessons there 🙄
I guess Leslye can only write about what she knows.
Nah this is worse than RoS and even TLJ
glad i gave acolyte a 5 star review , @ episode 2 , lol , those who gave negative review , should reflect on their life .... may the force be with u
Not gonna lie. It wasn't my cup of tea. I tried. Lee jung-jae and manny jaucinto performances roles was great. Everybody else to me felt flat and was like it was their first job out of acting school. It's no Andor that's for sure. If there's no second season I'm not gonna be sad.
I stopped watching after episode 3.
@@StopMotionDryptosaurus The power of manyyyyyyyyyy
@@StopMotionDryptosaurus I thought it was fine. Not Disney's best star wars show, but definitely not their worst either. I hope we get a second season.
@@randomrobin7773 the power of Manny Jacintooooo!!
Can't wait to get back to more of your regular content to be honest. It has been like watching a food critic talk about the same badly made pizza over and over. I love your content, but there are more people that didn't like it than did. Many of my friends turned it off after the first episode. Hell my wife is a huge SW fan and I had to tie her to the chair to continue to watch it with me. She is now turned officially turned off by SW.
I really liked the season and I think it hits waaaay better when binged in 1 or 2 sittings instead of over 8 weeks but it still great either way IMO. I think with most series the first season usually has some clunk in the acting and by the time they hit the next season a lot of it will naturally be refined. I really want season 2 and drool at the potential of have even more, they did a great job.
I think Stenburg did a great job. They are not twins or even clones of each other and I think the force dyad theory is debunked now, the sexy witches used the vergence to do something new we haven't seen before and i'm cool with that. I hope they did a 'professor Snape thing' where the actress was given all the info at the very beginning so she would know how to carry both May and Osha on screen because it seem from the last episode that they are 1 force entity split into 2 existences/bodies (we are all 1 force entity not split, naturally) meaning they are the same individual existing in 2 places at once. I think there was a donor for the pregnancy, maybe not a 'father' per se but some sort of genetic or tissue donor and once fertilized the goofy witches used the vergence to make a copy OR split light and dark (both of them are never on the same side of the force). If that theory plays out true we could get a major reckoning in season 3 or 4.
I'm stoked about new lore being added or even being tweaked, no one really gives a damn about Master Forehead lying to the space DMV about his age or if Plaguise is older or younger.
It wasn't that long ago when it was just the VHS tapes, books, a kickass BLUE mop handle that i was lucky enough to find walking home from elementary school, and the imaginary lightsaber battles I would have in my room in my underwear before bedtime. Now we have all this plethora of content for these directors and story writers to grind/level-up on so that when we get to the big screen it will be fucking epic and refined.
When i eventually have kids it'll be so cool to have all this stuff to watch with them.
Truth is, the vast majority of critics don't mind at all that some people enjoy the show. They simply point out that it's objectively poorly written. I myself like many movies that are trash, but it doesn't mean that i think they're good.
Exactly it’s wild how so many ignored or dismissed the bad writing cuz they enjoyed it, like they are free to enjoy it yet it does not mean it’s good, and same I know the difference between enjoyment vs quality, just enjoying it does not make it good which people forget tbh.
@@LeaderOfTheLostSouls bad writing is star wars. Every single one of the movies has been a disgrace writing wise. Not sure why people are suddenly demanding game of thrones level writing.
The best writing comes from the animated shows and books, but star wards on folmnhas always been goofy.
The exchange between Vernestra was quite interesting
Simply: I enjoyed The Acolyte for what it was. It was sufficiently Star Wars.
A lot of the issues people had with it were too nit-picky, blown out of proportion, or otherwise fabricated outright.
You nailed it once again, Alan. We need to accept everyone as an individual human being and stop stereotyping. Thanks to your review I'm gonna give the show a chance
Sols ending was deep, his death became a twist in the same manner he had used Mae’s perceived death and he died having a broken lie that broke him and in his last words he accepted death by Osha.
I feel the mother was to Osha among the cult was Sol was to Osha among the Jedi. That’s why she attacked Sol he placed her in an unnecessary position losing one of her lights. Sol was her light but that sun burned her and snuffed out her mom’s light. The issue is they didn’t really show enough to give the weight of the mother to Osha they only showed that weight with Mae. So people miss why Osha would kill Sol. But it’s not much different why Anakin wanted to kill Obi Wan. The cult wasn’t family to Osha but the mom and Mae were now seeing Sol’s part she feel misplaced hate was with Mae who took her family and she can’t process that when Sol keeps talking, he only fuels the hate.
Honestly this is the most well messured review I have seen these past few days. I didn't completely hate the show but I thought there was some good stuff to take from it.
Why did Bazzle, the Muskrat character, disable Sol’s ship 🤷🏽♂️
Thank you keeping up with the series. Yours is the only real and thought out discussion I've seen with great detail and balance. Outside of Blindwave and Reel Rejects you are the only person that I saw that really gave the show a chance and honest viewing.
I think most creators gave it a fair chance. A lot of them just didn't like it.
@@Hawkeye83627 Not from what I saw. There was a lot of hate even before it dropped. I think reaction channels where the most open. Review channels and scifi star wars channels nope.
A solid 6.5/10. Probably able to cut some parts to expand on others parts, such as the brendok incident.
Thanks for not selling out to the haters Alan. It's good seeing an actual fair and balanced review
!!! The twins were 1....... Lol, 1… a vergence split into 2... I love they were never truly 2.
This was a great show. I love watching shows that focus in on the lore and expands upon it. I especially loved Manny Jacinto's character! I really appreciate all these breakdowns, Allen! As someone who grew up in the early 90's without any real-time Star Wars content, I don't take any Star Wars shows for granted.
R. I. P my Boi Sol. He deserved better 😢😢😢
Fr, rip my Boi 😢
I really enjoyed your videos covering the acolyte. I didn’t always agree but your breakdowns were thoughtful, fair, and insightful! Cheers, GenTech!
Greatest thing about this show was finding this channel. I mean this show is not perfect by any means, but the amount of hate some of the Star Wars tubers were giving towards this show and its creators was just so out of hand and toxic, that I stopped following most of those channels. It is okay if someone doesn't like this show and wants to criticize it, but the hate was just getting so out of hand, all that review bombing before even seeing the episodes, deliberate misunderstanding of things and criticizing plot holes before things are even explained etc was just so tiring to see. And some people even attack those that like this show which is just ridiculous.
To me I'd say this was like solid 6.5/10 series, it was not perfect, but I was entertained. Like in most of Star Wars there was plenty of bad dialogue, some things were pretty rushed, some directional decisions weren't really spot on. But there were few really good characters, action scenes were really spot on and this brought some new lore, also even though we only see him for a few seconds, it was awesome to finally see that one legendary big bad Muun creeping around. ;) And we kinda finally got current canon confirmation of his existence, before this we only got that one scene of palps talking about him.
But yeah, after finding this channel I have viewed plenty of your videos and I really like your style. Keep up the good work!
I really liked that they did something different with the show. A lot of the other stuff, is just like hanging off the coattails of the stuff before it, while this one seems to be trying to do it's own thing. So even though it has it's problems, I can respect it for trying. Overall I would say it is enjoyable to watch.
i feel like what u said about amandala s. playing mae and osha the same way makes a lot of sense considering the recent revelations, with them being practically the same being, just split in two.
Yea but when you watch the kids version, the two actresses gave off completely different vibes ( not just their appearance)
They did not have the same lived experiences after the fire.
That whole Nature vs Nurture thing.
@@GenerationTech Somehow I saw a change in Mae's portrayal in the finale. She seemed a lot nicer, more subordinate I guess? Like when they were in scenes together with Osha, you can certainly see a different kinder facial expression on Mae, as opposed to Osha. Besides their different clothes, you can tell them apart just by facial expression alone.
@@GenerationTech Kids and adult version rarely line up. You can point to many shows with this version. In fact, in most shows the kid versions are usually the more mature ones.
@@GenerationTech That's probably got a lot to do with the fact that they are, in fact, two different actresses, no?
Haaiyaaa. Hilarious how the other SW-centric channels that hate the franchise, suddenly had an orgasm seeing Plagueis, and now are curious about season two. It's literally a television show, not a movie. You have a finite time to get your point across. People shouldn't expect cinema level story-telling in a truncated show. I'm glad you stay true to you. Wherever you're at reminds me of Taiwan.
@@marcomcdowell8861 yes have been confused by the sudden need for game of thrones level writing. Star wars has always had really bad/simple writing (source, every single movie), that's part of the charm. It is still meant to be engaging enough for kids to also follow.
When Master Sol did the triple kick on his chest it brought me back to the TMNT 2003 series where Leonardo does the same slo mo kick on Hun. Idk where that move first originated but it was awesome nonetheless.
The hatred of this show and people saying its "worse than boba fett" I really do not get it
Could the biggest problem with Star Wars since Episode 7 be that too many writers are involved in writing the Movies/Shows?
Maybe not writers...but no consistent captain of the ship?
Not unless your the type who consumes product, claps and gets excited for next product.
I would love to see a continuation of quimir and Venestras story but I’m worried with all the unwarranted hate we won’t get it
I agree
The issue is they can’t exist unless they disappear out of the outer rim. They could maybe if they are not Sith and if Quimir is not the acolyte to plagueis
@@extrojan22 there is many ways they could have a fight between venestra and quimir without breaking cannon. I would love to see her kill quimir and osha in a fight only for her to die to Darth Plagueis
Honestly I find a lot of the dislike of this show being warranted. Outside of the jabs at the creator’s past, the interviews, or just plain racism/homophobia, the show isn’t really all that well-written.
@@knightmare5097 hate and criticism are different. Criticism is fine and if the story has enough payoff we will still enjoy it even with critiques of it
I think Amandala Stenberg really shone in the last episode. It was a challenging pair of roles to play, for sure.
We see monsters in other people, we fight them by canceling them online, because the world has become so much more complicated than for the vast majority of human existence. We want heroes with super powers, because it’s so difficult to stand out in this world.
One thing I’ve loved about Star Wars since the very beginning is the clothing. Capes aren’t particularly practical, but they’re beautiful, and anyone in this galaxy can show up in a cape at any time. The Acolyte does not disappoint in this, and best of all I think is Qimar’s flowing black in the battle against Sol, it moves wonderfully and more so with his graceful, powerful fighting moves. The Jedi costumes express their success and prosperity in this era, and Venestra’s varying levels of formality in various situations. These costumes are all eye candy as costuming has been throughout the franchise.
The last episode of Acolyte harmed the series: in the end, Osha doesn’t make any sense as a character. Why did she go to the dark side when she always knew that Sol was fundamentally good, always on her side to protect her? He didn’t kill Mother Aniseya on purpose; he was justified in his behavior, attempting to protect them. Putting others into danger makes you evil if you did that for malicious or selfish reasons - and Sol doesn’t flunk that test, in my opinion.
Yeah, the show-runners wanted to reveal that he overstepped his bounds a little bit - the Jedi are flawed - but ultimately he was trying to protect two children from a coven of 50 dark side using witches.
It is “odd”, at the very least, to have two young force using children (created by the Force!) in a coven of 50 witches, going through dark rituals, right? The Jedi are like superhero cosmic police, correct? What am I missing here?
And why did they spend so much show time to give us the tragedy in the mine fortress from two different perspectives? What did that ultimately achieve? The two perspectives concept didn’t pay off because Sol was ultimately a good person in both views. Was he supposed to allow the witch smoke maneuver to disintegrate Mae without any defensive reaction? His goal was to protect the children - and yes, there is some gray area due to the Jedi overstepping their authority or interests - I get that point, but the witch coven was going to forcefully abuse the two girls by making them the new leaders of the coven, no matter what they wanted for themselves. What would a good hearted police officer do in a similar situation? The Jedi are motivated to protect and bring about peace in the Galaxy…
Also, Venestra ends up being evil (making the Jedi look terrible… again). You’re right about things being complicated as opposed to simply black and white - but there has to be some solid ground in terms of right vs wrong.
Sol was done super dirty by the script; the Jedi were shown to be far more bad/incompetent/selfish than good. That’s a mistake - and shows a misunderstanding of Star Wars as a framework for telling stories and teaching morality.
The Acolyte had the opportunity to focus on the dark side users. Make them complex, even sympathetic via their tragic back stories - which is what they partially/poorly did with the witch coven and Qimir. But then they make Venestra an evil manipulator, Torbin an immature child, and Sol a secret murderer (when in actuality, he was a good hearted police officer motivated to protect two children). This is a missed opportunity (again!), ending up at a sad 5/10 overall score. This is Last Jedi level of missed opportunities - which is a real shame because Star Wars deserves better.
At least we have Andor (thank goodness!)
For me, Osha's turn to the dark side made perfect sense because she had blind faith in Sol and the gravity of the betrayal she felt was too mcuh to handle. Her relative "innocence," compared to Mae, made these feelings even harder to process, resulting in an emotional breakdown of such magnitude that it bled the lightsaber crystal.
@@AlexeiVoronin The acting and dialogue was very bad though.
@@AlexeiVoroninVader had so much more anger in him than Osha could even comprehend. And it took him multiple failed attempts to bleed a crystal.
@@V0SRUI feel like Vader would’ve felt a lot more rage if he found out Obi-Wan told him his moms been dead and he’s the one who killed her after failing as a Jedi and be ousted from the order. He believes for years he messed up but then find out his master was essentially the reason for his failing and his grief. That is OSHA. I would say her grief and anger are pretty well placed. Anakin betrayed himself and his people, osha was betrayed by those around her and by her only “father” figure. He had her believing her own sister killed her family and he was the good guy, that’s fucked up.
@@V0SRU So what? The process can be different for everyone. You're nitpicking again.
You’re the best Star War UA-camr out there.
As usual you’re level headed and break things down in great ways… just wish other creators had the mental fortitude to do that.
Liked Ahsoka far more, probably due to the cast and characters. Thought Acolyte was okay, the fights scenes were the highlight for me and lore. In the end if it doesn't get a 2nd season, I won't be surprised...
Twins being alike is more true to life. But then this is a show meant for entertainment, so I guess it comes down to : Do you want art to imitate life or do you want art to emulate a theatrical expectation of real life that isn't very realistic?
I didn't have a problem with the twins being similar, especially since in the end, they are MORE than twins.
That said, why TF could both of them not escape with Qimir? Why leave Mae behind AT ALL?!? They did not explain this well. I mean bunch up or something in that two seater, or steal Soul's ride. That irked me.
I want the latter. I'm just being honest. Prob why I dont get all caught up in writing and directing and special effects flubs. Nine times out of 10 when one of these channels points out one of those or other things I'm like WAHH? It's still something fantasy, not real life even if imperfect. That's what I watch science FICTION for. 😊
@@sleinadb Oh I don't notice/look for those things either. It always irks me when people nit-pick. I mean we've all seen the Starbucks cup on Game of Thrones, but that's not what ruined the show for me. SO yeah, I see your point, but also I won't fault characterization as being truer to life. I like people to act in realistic ways to extraordinary things, you know as best as can be approximated, and sometimes if it is over the top, as in some of the examples Alan showed us, then it kinda breaks the illusion for me. I like Classic Doctor WHO, I can handle a wobbly set and a rubber mask, but my characters have to be believable, and to me, IMO, the twins were. I don't fault anyone for disagreeing though.
I think Amandla was just fine. They are not twins, they are the same person. This is repeated throughout the show. To play it too much like different twins would be contradictory to the plot.
I think the show would have fared better without the "unreliable narrator" approach -- the same sense of mystery could have been achieved by simply alternating from current to past, such as with flashbacks at key moments, without adding the confusion of the conflicting perspectives. That would have freed up screen time that could have been better used for character work or just more plot development.
Overall, I enjoyed the show tho -- it had some great choreography, an intriguing story, and some memorable characters and performances (even if they did kill off all of my favorites 😱)! I do agree that the Mae/Osha dynamic would probably have been better served if Amandla Stenberg had played one while a different actress played the other.
It wasn't a perfect show, but it was still a good show that fit in well with the other Star Wars movies and series, and certainly doesn't deserve the blind rage or hate so many throw at it. Hopefully they'll explore more of the older Republic eras with future shows! Star Wars has so much more to offer as a franchise than just the original characters and their extended family.
I no longer watch starwars theory for exactly this reason. There's to much hate there, thank you for still continuing your passion for starwars.
The fact that people were hating on this show before episode 1 even came out is actually mind boggling to me. And other channels like sw theory didn’t help either. That’s why I’m grateful for channels like generation tech to always give an honest and thoughtful critique on sw content
Maybe the best summation of this show and it feels like one of the few voices that isn’t trying to be overly positive or overly negative as the internet is prone to do with extremes being the only takes it’s nice to hear someone just as much here to give the new things. Chance with a open mind ❤
Thanks for keeping level headed fandom alive during this mad discourse over this average show
I’m so with you my dude. Thanks for all your content on the show.
Alan, you were my first Star Wars watch and follow on UA-cam. I love the way you do your content is professional respectful and you give the pros and cons. Keep it up. Also, do you live in Hawaii because you’re background is always pretty relaxing lol
I personally am at a loss for what was the purpose of this show?
I felt boba and obiwan were giving closure to character stuff we didnt get to see. Andor the plight of the average star wars citizen. I dunno, im very lost with this show.
What is the purpose of SW in general, besides to entertain as George Lucas wanted to do. It's not that deep.
@@babytoshiro7014 that is highly uninformed of you to say. The people who understand star wars the best will tell you his goal was to send a message, as likely any author that creates at least a semi-serious story mean to do. you can make a story to entertain, but for a lot of authors that’s likely not the only reason. if you're gonna claim that it was, please back that up
I think the intent and purpose of the show was to basically elaborate on what Senator Rayencourt said in the finale: "I think the Jedi are a massive system of unchecked power, posing as a religion, a delusional cult that claims to control the uncontrollable". And "When you're looking up to heroes, you don't have to face what's right in front of you".
And this definitely struck a nerve in some SW fans, as some fans do hold the Jedi in a very positive hero light, the show tries to elaborate on how the Jedi are a lot more multi-dimensional than that. Multi-faceted with multiple layers, like an ogre.
@@vynsyxx It is the truth. SW was never meant for critical thinking because most fans lack the fortitude and patience for it. Don't be hurt about the truth but embrace it and have a good day.
@@babytoshiro7014But in the show many characters if not all show a serious lack of critical thinking skills and I’m pretty sure that’s what most of the disappointed fans are trying to point out. This idea that the Jedi are some out of control group isn’t the reality. It’s a flawed group as all group would be but they fundamentally stand for good in the galaxy so just because of a few individuals in the group fall to the dark or lose control doesn’t mean the whole organisation should be depicted as problematic. They are essentially warrior Monk police and to suggest that someone in that position with that much power shouldn’t be trying to control their emotions or be stoic or objective in high stakes situations is a silly narrative to try to create in the Star Wars universe tbh.
@GenerationTech: Thank you. I think this video was really well balanced on both the good and the bad of the show. I dislike videos of hyperbole or extremes, so this was thoughtful and well executed.
Acolyte certainly has flaws, but it has not been objectively a failure on all levels - and equally it has great things, but it has not been objectively a success on all levels.
I can't say how much I appreciate your coverage of The Acolyte. I personally think it's a good show and I enjoyed it. There are other SW stories I like more but I was a bit blindsided by the online hate this show got. I watched the first couple of episodes before I was aware of the hate, and it didn't even occur to me that people would go so far out of their way to 💩 on it. But for me seeing minorities and women in primary roles is no big deal.
If we don’t get a season 2, I hope we at least get something with Qimir.
I liked a lot of elements of Acolyte. In this last episode the star fighter chase through the ring of particles was amazing.
The light sabre duels were amazing and the fall from the bridge thing was like crouching tiger hidden Jedi.
The two central characters Mae and Osha were not quite strong enough true, but the surrounding characters were really great. I did get the two mixed up especially when they changed costumes. As you say it must be so difficult to make such a series. And the Jungian duality theme was great and not just the hero’s journey again.
I think social media has become like the mind controlled super technology of the Krell in Forbidden Planet. We have unleashed ‘monsters from the id’ the unconscious.
Thank you Alan for all the great content, your thoughts, background information and critisism. Yours is the last Star Wars channel I watched since The Acolyte - I could not understand the bad reviews.
I might suffer harassment and bullying like I did in other posts of other Star Wars UA-camrs. I really like the ending of the series. Sure it started out questionable at best. It picked up pretty fast. And the appearance of Darth Plagueis and Grandmaster Yoda was awesome. I'm hoping that the next season comes out. I think this series pointed out that there is light in darkness and darkness in light. That the Jedi aren't always good, the Sith aren't always evil. But the apparent kindness of Qimir could be his undoing in the next season. Is Darth Plagueis really into them having a relationship? I think he will be discarded by Plagueis for that reason and then wait for Sheev Palpatine. Great review ❤.
Should I jiggle the keys in your face more and say remember remember lol bro you can’t be serious
Another fair review. I enjoy your videos, especially the reviews as (unlike so many others) you keep things fairly balanced and are probably the best at being impartial that I've seen. Thank you (and all else involved in the videos) for all you've done so far and hopefully keep up the great work!
With the horrific way some star wars fans have treated others, the whole situation with the wiki updating a god damn character bio, and other irl nonsense out of the way, It's honestly driven me up the wall how ever since the show started, people have been doubling down on their idea that any negative portrayal of the jedi order's flaws is a new, anti-jedi direction when in reality... The order's always just been that way. They've always been an "ends justify the means, peace by whatever methods necessary" type of organization. And that just becomes more true the further you dive into legends, as well.
Yup from review bombing before the eps even dropped, to the internet hate of the cast and showrunner, to the cringe Wookiepedia things, this show could had been another Andor and still they hate it. And yes, they were hating on Andor to and now they acting like they did not🤣🤣
@@babytoshiro7014 facts
Not the best, not the worst... I enjoyed it, as well as your coverage...
As a High Republic fan, the ending angered me because they ruined Vernestra before we get to see the end of her book arc. Now, no matter what her original authors had in mind, she is locked into becoming a villain. WTH?! I thought this show was supposed to garner more interest in the HR series, not drive away existing fans. Whoever makes these decisions is an idiot.
She is not portrayed as a villain in the show though.
@@ChHopsonshe is actively working towards selfish goals
Never meet your hero's? Personally I think it makes her more interesting.
I don't know anything about Vernestra but the fact that she did talk to Yoda redeems her a bit. Like yea, she's hiding information from the Senate, but she keeping the council in the loop. Now what looked really messed up to me was when she was clad in her white robes and starys manipulating Mae. That seemed shady, but hey, I guess they can't just let her go live a normal life after what she's done..
Thanks for your reviews and valid criticism, Alan!
I enjoyed this show and what it was trying to do and it's been quite upsetting to see how people will focus on what some of the cast and production do or say in their private lives rather than the quality of the production.
And like you've said (I've even said this in response to people losing their minds about issues in media like games where their complaints are at best petty), there are real problems in the world so when we criticise work like this, it should be done appropriately...
I myself have had an appalling last three years (middle of 2021 until early 2024) with needing to write off family so toxic, they streesed me out to the point they triggered epilepsy in me (in part) and a parent was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's which might be genetic and might already be starting in me...
But forms of escapism like The Acolyte, Ahsoka, Spider-Man 2, GoW:Ragnarok, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, Control, The Mandalorian, and the list goes on, have literally held me together... And those two events are just the two major points... There have been moments where I've been worried I might lose my job and have been so grateful that the few friends that are still able to respond via a text message do respond... Even if it takes months.
Thanks again, man.
You are always unbiased and level headed in your videos. Keep up the amazing work 👍
I hope more and more of these shows also get a blu-ray release
Your thoughts/critiques in the first half of this video already made me think this is easily the best review of the Acolyte I’d seen. You bring up very valid issues and acknowledge the good sides as well.
But you made this an S tier review in the second half how you tied the themes as important for our generation and you make some really thought provoking comments. Well done!
Allen, I enjoy your breakdowns. Very in-depth and thought-provoking. I am surprised that someone who delves so deeply and so expertly into a production is so forgiving of the clumsy/poor writing of Acolyte. I'm also not able to be as forgiving about portraying a 'flawed hero'...because I don't think that is what Headland is trying to do. The hero music playing at the end with a Sith and his new convert staring into the sun as they ponder a future of....murder? Grasping at greater power? Headland mischaracterized the Jedi and it's been repeated in countless articles as the Jedi being autocratic rulers of the force when they very clearly did not act that way (see Dooku being allowed to leave the Jedi Order). I learn a lot from listening to you break down dialogue and scenes but I think you were too generous with Headland's 'intent'.