Star Wars: The Acolyte – Revenge/Justice review S1 E2
There were some elements of Revenge/Justice that felt more like the Sequel Trilogy than the original or prequels. It’s just a matter of characters withholding valuable information from other characters that would greatly benefit everyone when shared.
Clearly in this case it’s Sol not passing along that Osha had a twin sister. Especially when Osha is accused of killing Jedi.
Not that it matters as Mae is continuing to cross another name off her hit list. This would-be victim proves more difficult than Inari, requiring Mae to get poison from her ally Qimir (Manny Jacinto, I Want You Back).
Mae has some serious issues against the Jedi but isn’t ruthless and unflinchingly evil enough to be a memorable Star Wars villain. At least not yet. She’s a little too nice actually paying accomplices for their efforts and generally not forcing people to do her bidding.
Sol, Yord, Jecki and Osha are in pursuit and arrive just in time for Osha to see the dead Jedi. Director/Writer Leslye Headland thankfully eliminates the question if the Jedi can trust Osha just as she appears most suspicious. Even better, it’s Yord who finds her as he was the one that questioned Osha’s loyalties the most.
Jecki continuing to harass/otherwise dismiss Yord remains a major annoyance. Did Headland think this pairing was fun or simply wanted to treat Yord like a joke character? The whole dynamic is wrong. It’d be like an intern constantly insulting or demeaning a tenured employee while the supervisor sits back and allows it to play out.
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Revenge/Justice doesn’t have as much action as the first episode. Headland goes for more mystery and tension here. It’s not a bad decision so much as it feels like the Jedi again have to be somewhat neutered to deal with a threat that three of them should be able to handle.
With the big twist revealed, Headland leans further into her Kill Bill meets Frozen pitch. The twin sister dynamic makes sense for the initial confusion of the assassin’s identity, but it’s amusing how this is another Star Wars story revolving around twins.
Revenge/Justice also suffers from a weak conclusion with a tease of a new character. A Wookie (Joonas Suotamo, Solo) that at least shows the ability to use the Force. Clone Wars already showed that could happen so the “shock” of this reveal isn’t as huge as Headland might have anticipated.
This new addition seems cool, but hardly the kind of big reveal to leave viewers anxiously awaiting the next week to payoff this cliffhanger.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Photo Credit: Disney