Star Wars: The Acolyte - Eps 5 & 6 Spoiler Review 

Ah yes, another week of watching reviews of The Acolyte instead of actually watching The Acolyte.

It's frustrating how the Acolyte has the classic Disney plus problems. You would think 3 years would be enough to fix these basic issues.

3:08 It's so obvious because she's the only one with a whipsaber and Qimir's scars look like he was whipped and not stabbed.

I'm glad you're bringing up the editing. There have been all kinds of weird cuts throughout the show. Particularly, one that I had to watch again was at the beginning of episode 5. Mae is checking out the dead wookie and the camera cuts from a wide to another wide at a different angle for no reason at all. It was jarring, and I'm shocked nobody else is talking about it.

I am frustrated. It’s another Disney + show that could have been something better.

I wish Dan was reviewing House of the Dragon instead so much better.

Its called meatsaber Dan.

That lightsaber hair cut has to be one of the funniest things to happen in all of Star Wars… and I don’t mean that positively lol

I think that star Star Wars wipe to an establishing shot of the planet is for coming back after the commercial break. 🤨 'Knuckles' on Paramount+ also has breaks for commercials. My kids find it to be super weird. Maybe Disney+ is future-proofing this show for when they offer an ad-supported tier?

There are too many batshit stupid things in these two episodes. But I just found it infinitely funny that a sith that can float and without too much difficulty kill off a whole squad of Jedi, cannot do shit about a flash light on his back. Yep, cannot get it by hand, not hit with a lightsaber, remove it with the force or anything. That is like a child had written the moment.

9:47 “organic lightsaber” 😂😂😂😂

The Acolyte has a lot of interesting ideas but the execution hasn’t really done it justice.

The dark side has always clouded the Jedi's intuition even Yoda couldn't sense Palpatine. That said it still needs better writing to make that clear to the viewers.

This kind of reminds me of similar issues the Rings of Power had-- pacing issues, villains were more compelling than the main characters, plot not moving forward effectively, plot holes.

Thanks Dan! My interpretation of episode 6 was not that Sol cannot use his powers, but that he knows it’s Mae all along. He needs her to feel that he trusts him before showing his real intentions, and had to stun her when she was about to call for help. There’s something about him that’s not right, and it hasn’t been since the beginning. Personally I’m curious about what’s to come. But don’t get me wrong, I agree that there’s a lot of stuff that’s not up to par with this series.

Thank you Dan for continuing to be a non-toxic but constructive criticism giving critic. It’s nice to have someone not raging baiting to talk about this show.

When this thing finally ends I’m rewatching Andor to restore my faith. I find my lack of faith (eroded by Acolyte) disturbing.

"How do we get the twins to switch places?" - Writer 1 "I don't know." - Writer 2 "Yo. Check this sick transition." - Editor 1 "How do we trick a Jedi?" - Writer 3 "I don't know." - Writer 2 "Just write that he gets tricked." - Writer 4 "I like that." - Writer 1 "What are we doing with the fight aftermath?" - Writer 5 "I don't know." - Writer 2 "What are you even doing here?" - Writer 1 "I'm on break. Watching Fight Club." - Writer 2 "Hey, put The Parent Trap back on. And get back to work." - Head Writer

The unknown planet checks out as Bal'demnic from the Plageuis book. There's a shot of a cortosis vein in Qimirs hovel.

Disney has kernels of good ideas, but their continued lack of planning is puzzling. I wish someone would advise them, "please write a detailed outline before writing a series/movie" . That and "have a story worth telling". Seemingly simple concepts.

His organic lightsaber? Wooooooow Dan! ...I'm speechless. 😂

This whole show feels like it was written by people who don’t know how to write, which is baffling because you’d think Disney with all their power and resources could find competent screenwriters somewhere but apparently not

I also noticed the out of place ADR . 😂

I gotta say - I've generally been in the 60-70% range with this show - but this last episode, completely agree with you on everything you said. I'm seeing a lot of people actually turn around and love this episode as compared to others, but to me it was one of the worst.

There's no way that someone, regardless of sexuality or gender, is not going to glance at a naked person's genital region at least once. Even if it for that someone to affirm whether or not the nake person is actually naked, that someone is going to take a glance. That's just a natural human instinct. A guy that has managed a nudist resort for 30 years would still take a look.

I'm also thinking Vernestra Rwoh was Qimir's master, those scars on his back looked like whip marks, and we know that's her weapon, demonstrated in this episode.

Anyone else automatically think of the Occupational Safety and Health Admin when anyone mentions Osha?

Thank the Lord for Dan and him calling shit like it is. I wish more people would realize that Star Wars deserves better

Jacinto is doing what he can with the role, but I think Lee Jung-jae is easily the best actor on the show even though he had to learn English for it

I did not even catch the ADR on the "lets bury these Jedi" .... that's crazy.

This show absolutely feels like a movie that was broken up into episodic television purely to keep people subscribed for 2 months. I loath that Disney and Lucas film has been doing this. It's killing stories. This should have been a film and I almost wonder if it would have been better received as a film.

I’m crazy. Im a 37year old, old school Star Wars nerd that has hated everything disney has done except Rogue one, and I’m really liking this show. It actually feels like OT mixed with PT Star Wars to me. Idk why, but I like it a lot.

That line actually made me think a lyric from "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin. "Freedom's just another word for 'nothing left to lose.'"

I’m tired of the week to week. I just want movie length. No more cliffhangers, just give me a good story that has a beginning and end.

swerving...the writers of this show couldn't effectively swerve if given a 50 page head start...the story and dialogue are SOOOOO bad.

Stopped watching after ep 4. Now I’m more entertained by the reviews and breakdowns - first show I’ve ever done that

Dan one of my favorite things about you evaluating movies/shows is stuff like the editing shot. Things like that, those details. Bravo man! Keep kicking ass❤

Its made no sense, that Sol was trying to contact the jedi by hologram at the begining of the episode 6 for backup, but by the time the power came back on and the jedi confirmed they were coming to help out, he switched off the comlink and took off into lightspace (not suere where?!)

3:20 This is my problem with the series: lazy writing. I don't agree with the woke and breaking canon arguments; it's the characters' contrived behavior that irks me. Clearly it was just to move the story forwards.

My wife and I have decided that this show is a complete waste of time. It is poorly plotted badly written and they seem to delight in spending time on characters no one cares about and killing off the ones we potentially could care about. We will not be watching the show any further cuz it's that bad.

Manny Jacinto was more fun on The Good Place.

"organic lightsaber" holy sh*t I'm cackling!

Am I the only one who thinks that Osha being finally swayed to hear Quimir out after seeing his abs and dong is, ironically, one of the most sexist depictions of women ever put in the saga??

I did immediately recognize Qimir Durden's quote XD

“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to loose.” - Kris Kristofferson. Although, honestly, I’m sure the sentiment goes back much further than that. Rephrasing that again in the his doesn’t strike me as being out of bounds.

A mystery with all the complexity of a Scooby Doo episode.

As an editor, the editing of this show is driving me crazy, especially how every episode ends, it's like they don't know how to do it, every episode just ends, it's so weird. The only explanation I had for the "not change of scenery shot" is that the editor didn't have any shot of Mae and Osha with the sunrise happening and they believe inserting that shot it could help... but it didn't. As a fan of the mystery of the show, I have enjoyed this show so much better than Ahsoka, that show was just self referencing all the time, at least this show is trying something out of the loop, it's not ANDOR, but at least it has the best concept to follow, no more clone wars things.

Hi Dan. I’m finally watching Season 3 of Picard. Even though season 1 and 2 were not good, season 3 is great. I needed to watch something with more structured writing that reveals the villain properly imo and really shows the stakes.

One of the few objective and unbiased reviews online. Always been a big fan your honest reviews.

So, I cancelled Disney Long, Long Ago, but did ANYONE ask for this show???

Gives new meaning to the old line. "You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear".

Could the line about burying the dead have been added after like episode 4 because we all went nuts when we thought Sol was leaving them there?

bumped into Dan recently in New York; big fan from Germany! it was such a pleasure to meet ya! cheers

Great video as usual As well as good points💯👍

Dan is 100% no I take that back, 1000% correct about this show

They took this beloved IP & perverted the hell out of it.

I think that specific editing choice you mentioned is the result of the "we now have ads in the middle of the episodes, so this is where it would play" problem with Disney+

Excellent review Dan! Non-toxic and truly your opinion, which we have learned to trust. I agree with your assessment but I agree that maybe just maybe the last two episodes can get this to it’s fine. But it’s also not helpful to the show that it’s up against HOTD, which feels so much bigger.

I almost checked out after episode 4. Qimir in episode 5 was great. Episode 6 shows where the story should have began in the first place. A story about a Sith Apprentice and his Acolyte. I'm not optimistic about episodes 7 and 8. I'm at least hoping we get some epic battles and Sith lore with Qimir.

I give this Dan rant a "It's Fine" on the Dan rating scale

I knew nothing about this show beforehand. And for all the reasons you mentioned, I couldn’t even finish episode 2, let alone keep watching! And I ❤ Star Wars, having been a fan since I saw the 1977 original in the theater with my Dad and little brother.

Hey Dan, where did you get your three barrel shirt from? I’ve been looking everywhere!! Thanks and another banger!

first rule of the acolyte: we do talk about the acolyte, with balanced criticism and great explanations thank you Dan

I love your hat. Do you know where I could find it or what model it is specifically?

I’m still really having a great time with the show so far. It feels very refreshing to see a narrative that puts its characters first (something I felt Mando Season 3 lacked and something I think has been at its best in the animated shows) and I like how it isn’t willing to hold anything back with how everyone feels. Master Sol is definitely shaping to be among my favorite characters in the franchise. However it is very sad to see that the behavior of this fandom has been at some of its worst in recent times. I agree that just like the show should be looked at more with a critical eye just as much as it should be looked at with a more forgiving point of view to give what works its dues and point out what doesn’t. But it is true that a lot of the more just criticisms have been devoured by people who want to use the word “criticism” to spout hate speech or parrot bad faith comments people with bigger followings have made and it has fed into people who want to shut down any less than positive feedback. It’s borderline shameful. It makes me question if people making bad faith comments know what the word “criticism” even means. The show is absolutely not perfect, but we can do better than handle differing thoughts like this.

Until ep 6 I was enjoying the show. After this, I'll wait for the rest to be released because I will punch my TV if I get blueballed by another "I have something important to tell you.." and credits. Screw this show and all the writers for teasing the same thing repeatedly without payoff. We get it. The Jedi are evil. They did something evil to the witches. Now show it to us. I bet my last dollar that next episode will have Baldgreenlady about to tell padawan NapoleonDynomite about Q only to be interrupted before credits roll. The show will end with everyone except Sol dead and his lightsaber changes to red. Bazil deserves to be in a better show.

I think the edit criticism of not changing the location or time was because of a commercial break if you have the cheapest subscription.

They’re handling the exploration of Qimir’s (and by extension the Sith’s) philosophy so badly. Just all surface, and things we’ve heard before. “I want freedom to use my power however I want (and he explicitly means to harm and control others)”, “anger fear and loss can be used for power actually” etc Just wildly uninteresting imo

"Disney+ Star Wars Butt" 😂

Sol has reached an emotional low. His connection to the Force is clouded by guilt over his past actions and the deaths of countless Jedi, which he blames himself for. Unless the series finale provides an inconsistent explanation for these events, it remains a minor criticism at best. The naked pool scene serves to facilitate Qimir's manipulation of Osha. Aware that she was following him, he deliberately created a vulnerable situation to exploit her former Jedi training and preach his beliefs about freedom from the Jedi Order's perceived control of the Force. The dialogue in this scene is admittedly clunky. This episode felt like filler, similar to some episodes in the Kenobi series. Both shows could have benefited from either a movie format or shorter episodes. Despite its flaws, the series comes close to delivering what fans want, and Qimir's intriguing character shines as a compelling villain. With optimism for a strong finale, the series has the potential to overcome its weaknesses, particularly if the ending does justice to Qimir's character arc. The show's issues seem to be remnants of the subpar writing often associated with Disney+ productions. However, Star Wars has immense potential when executed well, highlighting the need for skilled editors and screenwriters with creative freedom. While nothing in the series is irredeemably bad, assuming the ending is decent, it's understandable why some fans might be put off. It's worth remembering that even "Attack of the Clones," a lackluster installment in the prequel trilogy, was ultimately overshadowed by the greatness of "Revenge of the Sith," making the issues of the first two films less noticeable.

This is like insurmountable amount of bad toppings on a turd sandwich.... the overwhelming amount of mental off-kilter moments is kind of stunning. And then I watch another review and then a light bulb goes off: Oh yeah, that's what I smelled at that point that I couldn't put my finger on -cuz it was a half a second after yet another something else that was really nauseous... 😢😮🎉😂

eps 1+2: intriguing eps 3+4: boring eps 5+6: some great scenes that fall apart due to the poor connective tissue of inconsistent characterization to progress the plot, especially Mae and Osha - I don't know, maybe they're bipolar?

Your thumbnail reaction pic should be its own movie review scale 😂. I know what to expect in your movie review

I liked it how Vernestra removed the tattoos from her face, put them on her head, removed her hair, changed the colour of her skin and stopped ageing - all the while becoming the worst example of a Jedi since Mace. Thanks

I’ve felt so bad for Amandla. If you hadn’t seen her acting before this show you would think she’s the worst ever. Also the character of Mae is like a caricature of a “bad” person.

Star Wars should be the Coca-Cola, Taylor Swift, Playstation... of CINEMA. People who say "well, if you don't like it, don't watch it" are worse than the so called "toxic fans".

When you mentioned the Fight Club quote I had to pause the video because I started thinking: “Wait, does that mean that Tyler Durden was a Sith? Was Edward Norton his Acolyte? Oh wait, that doesn’t work. So was Edward a Sith?” So basically, mind blown Dan. Well done sir! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the last two episodes.

I can ignore all the “Rey is a Mary Sue” and woke whining that Disney Star Wars attracts. It’s fantasy, not a big deal to just watch it for what it is. I can’t ignore a meandering plot, bad acting, inconsistent story telling. Acolyte is bad Star Wars. Can’t deny it.

Disney should have either droped all the episodes available to binge at once, or make them much longer if they drop week to week. Having such short episodes is not working. The Acolyte feels like a long movie being cut up in to 8 parts, rather than a show where each episode contains their own arcs that also advance the plot

the master that gave Qimir his scar has to be Vernestra. The scar is shaped like a whip mark, and whose lightsaber is fluid like a whip? They even showed her wielding it against the moth to remind us that her lightsaber can do that. I think the weird transition wipe to the same location is where the episode was originally supposed to end and they changed it to end Ep 4 at the beginning of the battle instead and didn't go back to fix that transition.

I thought Sol DID know it was Mae, right from the start, but was playing along to see what she would do

The weird cut between Osha and May when they first met, I think the director intended for the episode to end there and we begin with the scene of the island. For whatever the reason it didn't happen that way and nobody thought of removing it out of the show. Either that or place holder for commercial break.

Outside of the structural issues with this episode, the bigger issue I have with the story is that Mae and Osha have become less interesting as the story progresses. I thought there was solid potential in two sisters going on divergent paths due to a shared tragic event in their past; but neither one seems to have any real character motivation or direction at this point. And you can only do so many story contrivances to prevent Sol from telling the story of what really happened 16 years ago before it becomes annoying.

Ep 6 was really dull, just an echo of what we’ve seen before with less compelling characters/actors And the delay of Sol’s confession is really cheap mystery boxing

I have not watched a single episode but just the snippets from the reviews. The main girl has zero emotions when she speaks. That's just plain BAD acting.

Dan, can you review the Shogun series? Would be a more interesting subject for a video

Just curious, what has Amandla S. been in that you thought she was a good actress in? I have no basis of comparison other than Hunger Games which was a long time ago and she was a kid. As far as The Acolyte goes, I find myself cringing at her parts far too often.

The issue as to why everything is so blatant especially when it comes to Osha and Mae is that she has literally 0 acting ability at least in this series

I'm surprised nobody brought up the ending. When she puts on the mask and the screen fades to black and the credits just play but the transition felt very awkward.

Your take is spot on. This entire season has felt very disjointed and more to the point, this last episode with the bukkake scene was the cake topper 👀🤦🏻

I actually liked both of them. I think episode 6 was far better directed than all the previous one.. The only spisode so far with any type of cinematic feel. The lighting alone looked far better.

Dan, I like your approach; I think you always treat everything fairly and give the benefit of the doubt more often than not; I like that you stay away from the fan-war controversies where they exist in a franchise (even though I have my own views on those!) All of these things are what make me go to your reviews more than any other on YT. As we say here in Norn Iron, keep 'er lit!

The knowledge and experience - of the human - Dan - is part of us now. It has prepared us for all possible courses of action. Your resistance is hopeless - Number One.

I think Disney's absolute fumbling of the Star Wars brand will be studied for the next century.

I been enjoying your review and genuine criticism of the show without being toxic like some channels. Tldr I feel like it’s been way too long since we got an update on your anime journey Dan, I first subbed and been watching since when you just began watching demon slayer so I really wish you would make a video discussing at least your thoughts on S2-4 when the dub comes out? or any anime you have watched…?

Absolutely subverting expectations with Yord and Jecki. It felt like we were mid-way through introducing them, and suddenly... wow! I cannot predict what is going to happen; I'm really enjoying this series.

Hi, Dan! I really enjoy your reviews, and I have been following you since early Screen Junkies. Because of you I have watched so many movies I've never heard of before! I was curious to know if you have watched Shogun on Hulu. I would love to know your opinion about it! I really enjoyed it. Thank you for everything, I love your channel.

I haven't been watching the show. But, I could see here, in the 5 seconds of clips, that the Sith guy and the green lady appear to have the same dark lightsaber hilt.

Good video Austin. I have that Sideshow Obi Wan from 2005-6. Right now it’s a bottom shelfer with my Sideshow Anakin from same era. They were great figures then but don’t hold up.

The “thread” and the “force” are not the same. When you said “let’s see where these story threads could go” Imagine saying it “let’s see where these story force could go” does that sound the same or make any sense?