Season 1, Episode 4 of the Disney Plus series The Acolyte, titled “Day,” is directed by Alex Garcia Lopez and penned by Claire Kiechel and Kor Adana. The episode begins with Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) living as a hermit in Khofar, filled with regret for what happened to the witches on Brendock, as shown by the witch symbols drawn everywhere in his hut.
Mae and Qimir
Mae (Amandla Stenberg) and Qimir (Manny Jacinto) arrive in Khofar. Qimir helps Mae find Kelnacca because he owes a debt to Mae’s master. Additionally, he is here to assist Mae in her plan to kill Kelnacca without a weapon. Mae is confused about how to kill a Jedi without a weapon because Jedi never attack or kill a defenseless person.
Unknown to her, Mae’s master actually wants Mae to manipulate others to kill her Jedi targets, similar to how Sidious turned the entire Republic against the Jedi. This manipulation is what Mae’s master is doing by using Mae to kill the Jedi if she is indeed a Sith apprentice to the actual Sith master. Qimir’s suggestions feel more like lessons and advice from a mentor, raising suspicions that he might be Mae’s master, similar to how Yoda acted as a fool in front of Luke before revealing his true nature.
Even if Qimir is Mae’s master, he is unusually generous for a Sith, since most would discard or kill their apprentices if they become too annoying or uncontrollable. He either has some level of affection for Mae or does not want to lose an asset after investing so much in her training and upbringing as his acolyte.
The Jedi Masters Talk about Mae
At the Jedi Temple, Jedi Masters Sol (Lee Jung-Jae), Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson), Ki-Adi-Mundi (Derek Arnold), and others view a holo-recording of Mae fighting Sol. They analyze Mae’s fighting and believe she was trained by a Jedi based on her Force-Fu martial arts techniques. Vernestra Rwoh leads the meeting because she is an expert at dealing with conspiracies, murders, and conflict due to her experience as a war veteran when she and her Jedi colleagues fought the Nihil.
Rwoh tells everyone not to inform the Jedi High Council about Mae’s existence because it would obligate them to tell the Senate of their findings. The Jedi have many enemies in the Republic, and telling the Senate about Mae killing two Jedi Masters with ease would create unrest, leading to further questioning of the Jedi’s strength and efficiency. In other words, a scandal involving two Jedi Masters being easily killed by an assassin would create fear and mistrust. This mirrors the events during the Clone Wars, which led many people across the galaxy to mistrust the Jedi and support Order 66.
Following the meeting, Master Rwoh is angry that Sol did not inform her of what happened sixteen years ago, as there could have been a chance that Mae survived the events. Despite this, Rwoh insists they need to deal with Mae, but Sol argues that they need to capture Mae alive so she can reveal her master, his plans, and his base of operations. Their calling card is Osha, as her appearance in Khofar will force Mae out of hiding.
The Jedi Team
Sol recruits Osha (Amandla Stenberg), Jecki (Dafne Keen), Yord (Charlie Barnett), and some Jedi knights to help him track down and capture Mae. Osha initially refuses, but Sol tries to convince her that there is still good in Mae and that deep down, the sister who loved her is still in the acolyte. This convinces Osha, though she remains skeptical that someone like Mae can find redemption. Later, the team of Jedi arrives in Khofar, bringing Bazil (Hassan Taj), a Tynnan tracker, to help them find Mae. Tynnans were introduced in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU) novel Han Solo’s Revenge (1979).
Mae finds Redemption
Mae traps Qimir in a snare trap and tells him she’s decided not to continue her life as an acolyte. Her loyalty is to Osha, not to her and Qimir’s master. This shocks Qimir as Mae’s actions are so unexpected. What shocks Qimir even more is Mae’s decision to turn herself in to the Jedi and reveal everything she knows about her master and his plans in exchange for not being imprisoned for murder. This is ironic because the Sith’s entire grand plan could be exposed due to Mae’s decision, though it is unlikely Mae will get the chance to warn the Jedi before she dies.
Mae’s choice may seem abrupt, but this is what Vader would have likely done if Padme had been alive even after the events of Revenge of the Sith. He would have willingly given up being Sidious’ lackey if Padme had survived. Mae fell to the Dark Side because of Osha and her entire family. Since Osha is alive, Mae still has something worth fighting for.
The Sith
Mae finds Kelnacca’s hut and plans to turn herself in to the Wookiee Jedi, only to discover that he is dead from a lightsaber strike to the chest. Mae’s master is here, and this shocks Mae as night falls. Soon, the Jedi and Osha arrive at the hut, but Mae’s master descends as a phantom menace, pushing Osha to safety with the Force before massacring the Jedi present.
The Jedi present will likely not survive, as Sith kill anyone who sees their red lightsabers or witnesses them using the Dark Side between the Old Republic and The Phantom Menace. It is likely the Jedi will die, as their final lines to Osha resemble what heroes would say before being killed by the antagonist. The next episode might be titled “Night,” with the last four episodes focusing entirely on the Sith and their agenda for the galaxy. Additionally, Ki-Adi-Mundi’s appearance is controversial, as his species has a normal lifespan, retconning his and his species’ age as a result.
If Qimir is Mae’s master, he could be Star Wars canon’s version of Darth Venamis. Venamis sounds like the word venom, which is something Qimir produced for Mae to poison Jedi Master Torbin to death. In other words, instead of being a Bith like Darth Tenebrous, Venamis is a human who is also seeking an apprentice to overthrow his master and Darth Plagueis by extension. If this is true, Venamis won’t live long as Plagueis kills him after Tenebrous’ death.
Rating: 9/10