Leslye Headland’s The Acolyte, which is part of the Star Wars saga, sparked high hopes. While the show was initially well-received by fans, it soon became embroiled in issues and controversies. From the show’s plotline to having a more progressive tone in the series, The Acolyte faced a lot of challenges when it premiered on the streaming platform Disney+.
Now a new controversy is brewing around the corner, this time pulling Disney into it as well. The series once again demonstrates what occurs when a studio inserts excessive limits on an IP, setting it up for failure.
The Acolyte disappoints fans yet again
The most recent episode of The Acolyte has received a lot of attention, but not in a positive manner. While there was a lot of hype surrounding episode 6 of the show, the crowd was disappointed, to say the least. The primary reason for this was the short duration of the episodes. Taking the matter to Reddit, a fan posted an extract from Forbes’ review of the sixth episode, and many users appeared to agree with what the media outlet stated.
The viewers critiqued the showrunners, saying that the storyline within the episodes was not given enough time to develop before moving on to the new plot. This sudden abruption made the episodes seem jarring and very difficult for viewers to keep a track of all the events taking place causing a sense of inconsistency.
According to Forbes, the major reasons for the unfavorable feedback were the show’s poor pace and momentum. Further, the episodes should be longer and contain more depth and substance, as abrupt endings interrupt the whole viewing experience. Further, if the audience pays some attention, episode 5 of the show was perfectly balanced.
However, it was sandwiched between two short episodes. The explanation that the writers gave for the short episodes was that there had been a combined running slot for both episodes. So, in order to address this, they crafted a short episode 4 and spent all of the extra time on episode 5. This perfectly demonstrates how restrictions by Disney affected the overall viewer experience of the show. The review also added:
They had been given a rough combined runtime for 4 & 5 they had to hit, so kept 4 shorter to put more into 5. Which seems an obviously unhelpful restriction on the writing, if you have to hurt one episode to aid the other.
The write-up further reads that the series has only eight episodes, so they should produce the episodes in a strong and engaging manner; however, the fluctuating episodes fail to achieve this feat. Further, a fan on Reddit suggested a good solution for the same:
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byu/Ok_Magazine_3383 from discussion
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He added that instead of releasing one episode per week, Disney should just release all episodes together so that the storyline doesn’t feel frustrating. Further, if somebody wants to binge-watch the entire show in one go, they’ll also be able to do so.
Leslye Headland’s The Acolyte has been surrounded by controversies
The Acolyte was Disney’s biggest launch for the year, gathering a staggering 4.8 million views on the first day itself. However, even this couldn’t stop the controversies from seeping in. The most significant being the portrayal of queerness in the series. The twins Osha and Mae were born to two mothers, Aniseya and Koril.
The internet quickly justified both of them as a lesbian couple. However, Headland denied these rumors, claiming that their strong relationship is justified considering they belong to an all-female community.
Leslye Headland, who is openly queer herself, further squashed these allegations in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying:
I don’t believe that I’ve created queer, with a capital Q, content.
She went on to say that the online conversation and debate surrounding the queer issue made her feel very concerned. Furthermore, she is saddened that some people on the internet would want to ruin and dismantle what she views as a significant work of art she has created.
The Acolyte currently streaming on Disney+
