The Acolyte – Choice – Review: A Lesson In Not Doing Enough

One of the big mysteries this season is what exactly happened to Osha and Mae when the Jedi arrived on their home planet. Frustratingly, Sol has kept promising the twins and the audience some answers. Well, this penultimate episode did give a more detailed explanation but was it worth the wait? 

The episode begins with Brendok, sixteen years ago to that fateful day. The Jedi are on a mission to discover why the planet is thriving. Tobin is homesick and just wants to return home. We begin to see the dynamics and characteristics of each Jedi team member. I don’t blame him, gone seven weeks and turning up nothing can be extremely frustrating. Sol informs him they are looking for a vergence – a concentration of Force energy centered around a location. Something that can create life and the power should be studied and protected. 

Indara chastises Sol the entire episode which was annoying but meant to show her wisdom and Sol’s lack of wisdom when he was younger. When they split up this is when we see the introduction of the twins through Sol’s eyes. A clever way to revisit the prior episode, this was the more interesting part of the episode. 

“Choice” – THE ACOLYTE, Pictured: Carrie-Ann Moss as Indara and Lee Jung-jae as Sol. Photo: Lucasfilm LTD./Disney+ ©2024 Lucasfilm LTD. All Rights Reserved

Sol and Indara bicker about what to do about the coven and the twins while Sol’s immediate connection to Osha still does not make sense. When we see Mother Aniseya take over Tobin, what was meant to be a cool moment was a miss. She just did not come off as scary enough or powerful enough for me in the scene. 

When we finally get to the climax, the big showdown that caused all the problems, I am left a bit confused as to why Sol stabbed Mother Aniseya. It felt out of character and done for shock value but I was not shocked just disappointed. We finally saw Kelnacca fight and he was fighting his team. That was the best sequence in the entire episode. 

“Choice” – THE ACOLYTE, Pictured: Joonas Suotamo as Kelnacca. Photo: Lucasfilm LTD./Disney+ ©2024 Lucasfilm LTD. All Rights Reserved

Ultimately, the episode felt empty and a big let down for me. As a viewer how am I supposed to feel about Sol now? He is a murderer? No doubt, this information will send Osha over the edge to the Dark Side perhaps. It was great to see the Jedi team but they felt underused. Also, this still does not explain how Qimir fits in. More answers and even more questions leaving me just wishing the season did so much more. However, we have one more episode to go and even if it is the best episode of the season, I am not convinced it will be enough to save this season. 

What did you think Acolyte fans? Leave a comment and remember to connect with me on X @jereereviews to discuss even more.