The Acolyte Should Have Been All About The Sith 

" Squandered Potential" Two words that can describe almost all the Star Wars content under Disney.

This episode screamed filler. Nothing was answered and the stakes are the same. However, we did get a lot of sexual innuendos about holding lightsabers. If Qimir is so hot he can turn Osha (not to be confused with OSHA) evil, why didn't he pull that on Mae? It seemed *really* effective using the hot bad boy routine.

You can tell this show was probably about Smilo Ren at some point in the production process and then they probably fired that writer and had someone come in specifically to make this show about the twins, probably so Kathleen can pat herself on the back.

*What could’ve been:* ✅ Sith perspective story similar to Darth Plagueis or Darth Bane novels; Sith warrior and inquisitor stories from SWTOR. ✅ Mature and grounded story similar to Andor but with the mysticism of the Dark Side. In-depth look at Sith philosophy as we follow a master/apprentice two vs an entire galaxy story. ✅ Well-written Sith protagonists part of a two-person organization in a thousand-year conspiracy to upset the Galactic status-quo. ✅ New Star Wars timeline. Reality: ❌ The Acolyte…. “The power of one, the power of two. The power of many.”

Once again, someone not making this show has a better idea. There's better police work in Andor as part of Syril's initial involvement in the plot than this entire show. This could have been a nice bit of tv. A stirring mystery introducing the high republic for the first time in live action. But we got something underbaked, and if you try to actually take a bite, it makes you wish it stayed in the oven much longer. I don't hate the show. I'm still tuning in to finish the series and gain the full perspective. But I just keep seeing a much better story. This all could have gone to, and it cripples my enjoyment. Also, Pip getting "factory reset" is quite tone deaf in a comedy scene. I know droids are either tools or allies, but it's clear Osha liked him a lot. They should have given a bit more reverence for the little guy because he basically died.

Episode 5: a squad of 8 Jedi is massacred. 7 of them, plus the Wookiee ornament statue, die stupidly. Episode 6: The wake-up call of Master Jedi Squid Game, puts the forces of Coruscant into action, who decide to send the appropriate reinforcements to such a terrible and dangerous situation: Jedi Master Olive Nepotism, a poorly fed soy boy and two other Jedi random. When there were 8, 7 died. 4 reinforcements were sent. Perfect.

Erik, you’re right about there being seeds of good ideas in this show. The premise that you devised is a show I could really get into; I’m frustrated that the two most interesting characters, Master Sol and the unnamed Sith aren’t the leads. As usual, your analysis keeps me wanting to finish this series

NCIS did the whole "people I had connections with are dying and I have to do something"... and it was GREAT

Uhh...Erik's idea is better than the actual show. Quite a bit.

"Blah" was the best description of it. Both very bad and very good movies/shows can be very entertaining for their own reason, but The Acolyte's biggest sin is that most people don't care about it either way.

I still can't figure out how the mainstream reviewers can give this show praises.... It's factually bad.

More JJ Abrams disciples. Mystery boxes all over the place in lieu of good storytelling.

I feel like the Jedi in the show were intentionally written to seem like idiots. I prefer smartly written characters. I don't like it when characters are made to look smart by making all the other characters around them seem dumb.

Nothing will change until the actual writing of these shows and movies are prioritized, instead of being one item on a checklist. It would seem unbelievable to a creative person that the actual foundation of a project wouldn't be poured over until it's close to perfection, but sadly makes complete sense when viewed as a corporate project. The rise and fall of Game of Thrones is perhaps the best and most exaggerated example of this outside of Star Wars... the original series has already faded out of memory, while the author still refuses to even complete the source material. Surely a better balance can be struck here, for all parties involved. And that's the most frustrating part to me, because good storytelling aside, its not like the studios are maximizing their profits with this rushed garbage.

It's been a long time since I played my Dark Side character who had armor with a cortsis weave. I think its only effect was to shut down a lightsaber temporarily on a critical hit or a hit that would have inflicted wound damage. The psychic block is something new I think. I could be 100% wrong, it has been like 15 years or so.

The viewer should be relating to a character that doesn't know the answer to the mystery--Sol, green jedi woman, and sith guy all know what's going on, so they can't be my proxy. The twins seem somewhat in the dark, but they aren't really digging for the truth of what happened. Everything is so unfocused and meandering and amorphous. Someone in this story should desperately want to know what the hell is going on, but nobody has that urgency as they are written. And the writing overall is just abysmal, really.

I’m happy I found this channel. I completely agree with you.

If it ends with Qimir stabbing Vernestra through the back and saying "One to wield it and one to crave it" I will change my opinion on the show.

Seems like rotten tomatoes is getting hit with positive reviews bombing yesterday/today

You mean Acolyte-True Detective ;)

You had me at whip.

I'm definitely pot committed, felt the red flags early, but would agree that more focus on the Sith would help. Even had it just stuck to a basic procedural and then the "Big Twist" at the end being the Evil twin, while trope-y would have been better. There's the making of a good show in there but it's execution is lacking.

Yeah, I got a feeling that those scar would point to the Green Jedi being the ex master for Darth Naked! But, by George, any other iterations of this plot except for the one we get now would have been more, much more interesting! It would be not much of a Star Wars story but at least an interesting one! I would rather have an interesting story that have little to do with SW than a bland, brain melting Star Wars"ish" show! My brain hurt! 🤕

Oh good Grodd, theyre gonna make sith boy into Plageous! He said hes much older which means he may have beaten death or got into a new body ala Palpatine....ugh, please let me be wrong. Also havent see this yet but looks like Mace Windu isnt the only Jedi with a purple saber anymore, or whip or whatever the fuck that stupid ass thing is.

These last two episodes sound a lot like episodes 6 and 7 of Rings of Power

can some one hire Erik for a starwars show? feel like he came up with a better premise just in this 10 min video XD

I'm pretty certain this show is a grift, I'm sure nothing will truly be answered this season in favor for a second season and if your right about the green lady I wouldn't be surprised as she's the show runners wife .....sigh...

Focusing on the wichbians against the Jedi story would have been fun... But in the end I don't mind what's subject. Just have a good script with good dialogs.

When fans can write a better story on this series than the paid professional writers, that is just plain sad and revealing.

Erik, can you please explain to me what is going on with your colleagues in the reviewer community? The is no universe in which I can believe they are being sincere in their praise for this show ( and many others ). If you say so, I’ll believe it. But otherwise all I can come up with is that they are terrified to say anything negative about something so ‘diverse’. Or they have been ordered to by their publishers, or they are straight up being paid by the studios. Or could it be they are so uneducated and inexperienced they really think this stuff is good. Hard to believe.Can you shed some light on this without ruining your career? I noticed a few of them, very few, will do the damning with faint praise thing, very subtly as if they were trying to sneak the truth in sideways. Maybe I am reading into that. Otherwise you may be the only main stream critic that’s actually telling the truth. We are so tired of the gaslighting. Can you tells us what is going on?

Do you think better editing could have saved the show?

A procedural that focused on character development & relationships could easily be a multi seasonal hit. Instead we got... this.

Plasma whip

Personally, I don’t think that high Republic Jedi are cool. In fact, I think a lot of the themes of the series are how you can understand how bloated of an institution the Jedi became before the fall.

So many women will follow Manny Jacinto's career with great interest after watching The Acolyte.

It doesn't matter what it should or should not be about with this level of CW writing. Honestly, what the hell is the idea with ep6? Someone mentioned it felt like Twilight and that just about sums it up. Do these different writers even communicate with each other? There's no logic or continuity with characters from one episode to the next. Sol needs an overgrown beaver to tell him his former Padown is not his former Padowan lmaoo and then an actual decent scene and piece of acting from Jung-Jae is broken to pieces by one of the worst timed "comedy relief" inserts I think I've ever seen. Let this garbage end asap.

As always, the viewer (or Erik Kain )have to do the work for the writers. Lucasfilm writers suck hard

Why does it appear that most people can create a simpler and more engaging plot for the show than the writers and creators? LH mentioned in some articles that the show represents everything the creator wanted to put into a plot in one season, and if that season ended than LH would be fine with the results. But, the show's plot meanders. If this is everything the creators wanted in the show than what does that indicate about the level of general creativity, not even exceptional creativity, but simply the ability to plot a logical course from A to B to C?

I gave up in episode 1. Really just watching through your videos at this point.

It started badly. Unknown Planet. Really, show? That's what you're going with? Is it secret? If so, why? Secret from whom? Us? Jedi? Wtf? Then lock in for: mystery box, wander around the point, misleading dialogue, wander around the point, half reveal and half misdirect, wander around the point, omg please lord let something happen, yawn, damn I'm tired, almost resolution with Mae and almost breakthrough with Osha and ... credits. What was that all about? It should have been SW does Se7en, or Clue, or Jedi on the Khofar Express. Heck, I'd do it hard boiled.

The Acolyte should have... not existed

No, The Acolyte should never of existed.