If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
The Acolyte's reveals Mae and Osha's backstory, and asks a really big Star Wars question that might tie the show to Darth Vader
What if Mae and Osha were so much more important to overall Star Wars lore than anyone saw coming?
Popverse's top stories of the day
- Comic creators come together to explain and expose Project 2025's radical plan to reshape American politics if Donald Trump wins re-election
- Triforce Cosplay arrives at New York Comic Con with one mission: to give fans what they want
- DC launches a new webcomic vertical (literally) with DC GO!
The third episode of Disney+'s Star Wars prequel The Acolyte is one that might significantly change how some fans watch the rest of the series, revealing the backstory of the twins at the center of events — with one particular detail that might change the context of the story moving forward.
Spoiler warning! Stop reading now if you haven’t watched the third episode of The Acolyte, and want to remain mercifully unaware of the big reveals!
So… now we have a better idea of what happened to Mae and Osha’s family 16 years ago. Maybe not a complete picture — there was a notable time jump between Osha collapsing in the burning temple and waking up onboard the Jedi ship, after all — but enough of one that we can both understand why Mae and Osha both believed the other was dead for more than a decade (Osha saw Mae fall into the void; quite how she survived remains a mystery, albeit a small one, while Mae believed she was the only person to escape the temple), why Mae has such hatred for the Jedi, and, perhaps most importantly, why both Mae and Osha were seemingly trained in different areas of Force usage:
They’re both witches, raised by their mothers to access the Dark Side of the Force… although, fascinatingly enough, Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) doesn’t see it that way, and in fact rejects the idea of the Force entirely, describing the power she and her daughters can access as being a thread that can be pulled upon. Nonetheless, Mother Aniseya and Mother Coral had trained Mae and Osha for a long time — arguably since birth, if context clues throughout the episode’s dialogue can be trusted — suggesting that they’re potentially very powerful when working in unison… which firmly seems to be the preferred method of the coven, given the number of times “the power of two, the power of many” is repeated throughout the episode.
(Does the notion that Mae and Osha would be more powerful working together feel like major foreshadowing for something later this season? Yes, it really does.)
It’s not just that Mae and Osha already had Force training from a young age that sticks out from the episode; it’s that there’s an explicit mention that the twins have no father. How to take that line, is the question? Is it simply a reference to Aniseya and Coral being their parents, or should we be reading more deeply into it? After all, Coral mentions that she carried the twins, to which Aniseya replies that she created them… did she do so using the Force? And if so, are they Force babies in the same way that Anakin Skywalker is revealed to be in The Phantom Menace? If so, maybe either Mae or Osha could end up being part of a similar prophecy that Anakin was believed to be, even if their own family denied the concept of destiny.
What is Mae, Osha, or a combination of the two, are the figures that pushed the Force out of balance in the first place, leading to the creation of the prophecy of The Chosen One that underscores Anakin Skywalker’s life, and the Skywalker Saga as a whole…?
It’s a heady question, and one that makes the rest of The Acolyte an even-more compelling proposition. New episodes of The Acolyte airs weekly every Tuesday on Disney+ through July 16.
The only place where Rebels and the Empire get along. Meet Cameron Monaghan, Freddie Prinze Jr., Mads Mikkelsen, Paul Bettany, and so many more Star Wars guests and comic creators at New York Comic Con October 17-20, 2024. Limited Thursday NYCC 2024 tickets are still on sale.
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.
Comments
Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.