[Spoiler]
Leslye Headland’s The Acolyte has finally made its big reveal in its fifth episode. The Jedi-murdering Sith Lord in the series was revealed to be the Stranger. Actor Manny Jacinto still can’t seem to comprehend how he managed to hide his character Qimir’s secret identity for so long. With its new Sith Lord reveal, The Acolyte also achieved a rare Star Wars record.
The Stranger is the first Sith Lord in the Star Wars universe since George Lucas’s 2002 film, Attack of the Clones. Interestingly, the series has received a lot of flak from the fandom, who review-bombed it on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Acolyte Episode 5 Might Be The Series’ Much Awaited Redemption
From the get-go, The Acolyte has teased one Sith Lord who has been giving orders to Amandla Stenberg‘s Mae. While fans came up with several theories as to whom the masked villain could be, the fifth episode revealed that the apothecary Qimir was the Sith Lord known as the Stranger.
The revelation comes after the villain goes on a murdering spree in the series, ending the lives of numerous Jedis. The Acolyte Episode 5 was filled with action-packed scenes from beginning to end. During the episode, Dafne Keen’s Jecki Lon captures Mae but the masked villain tries to kill Mae for trying to betray him.
The villain strikes down Jecki, but she cuts away the mask before she is killed, revealing the villain to be Qimir. While Qimir kills all the Jedi, except for Sol and Osha, Sol almost overpowers and kills him before being stopped by Osha. She causes the Umbramoths to attack Qimir and carry him away.
During an interview with EW, Jacinto opened up about his role as the Stranger. According to him, the series planned the character in such a way that he was unlike Darth Vader who had a dominant screen presence.
Instead of going for the oppressive and powerful villain, the series decided to go in the direction of a villain who made viewers uncomfortable. Jacinto explained how he brought this attribute to his villain to EW:
We wanted a character that was not just oppressive and powerful, but when you see him, you feel disturbed by him. We wanted a character that isn’t just a Darth Vader type of guy who overpowers the screen.
It’s the concept of the uncanny. It can be a stumble in a person’s walk or a twitch in somebody’s eye. It’s very subtle, and it’s just like this uncomfortableness that people experience — and that’s what we wanted to hone in on for this Sith Lord.
By the end of the episode, Mae uses the Force to knock out Osha and take her place as she returns to Sol. Meanwhile, Qimir, who broke free from the Umbramoths, finds the unconscious Osha. Fans are now super excited to see what the upcoming three episodes have in store for them.
Some Fans Speculate That This Is Not The Big Reveal Of The Acolyte
Fans loved the twist in the fifth episode, and for the first time, discussions have been rampant in the Star Wars forums about The Acolyte. The episode was appreciated for its cool lightsaber moves, and Qimir instantly became many fans’ favorite villain. However, some fans believe there’s more to the story.
These fans point out one scene in the episode, where the Stranger reveals that he is searching for an acolyte to be his apprentice. Fans speculate that Qimir might not be a Sith master but a Sith apprentice, and the real master might only reveal their face in the final episode. Redditor u/Crafty_Soul suggested:
I’m pretty sure thats whats going on. My guess is the last episode is going to have the master show up in the last episode and effortlessly beat Qimir to show just how strong a fully trained Sith Lord is in this era. Also shows Qimir has a way to go until he’s strong enough to defeat his master
Several other Redditors also agreed with this theory. If this theory proves to be true and executed well, it could further make the series more favorable to the fandom, who are currently hating on it. The Acolyte Episode 5 is now streaming on Disney+. The next episode will drop on July 2, 2024.
