The Acolyte's Big Star Wars Villain Reveal Spells Doom For Two Characters

This article contains spoilers for "The Acolyte" season 1.

In George Lucas' 2005 film "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) tells a story to Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen) about a mythic Sith lord known as Darth Plagueis the Wise. Darth Plagueis was said to be so powerful and wise that he mastered the dark side of the Force, using negative emotions to create life from nothing. Plagueis was eventually killed by his apprentice, the evil Darth Sidious. "Star Wars" fans will hasten to add that Darth Sidious was Palpatine's Sith alias.

For years, fans theorized that Darth Sidious and Darth Plagueis once combined their dark side powers, shot energy out into the universe, and conceived a Force baby within the womb of a random woman. The Force baby they created was none other than Anakin himself, the boy who would grow up to be Darth Vader. The theory that Plagueis and Sidious "fathered" Anakin was debunked, however, in now non-canonical expanded universe lore. Vader was actually created spontaneously by the Force as a response to Plagueis and Sidious mucking around with midi-chlorians.

In Leslye Headland's "Star Wars" series "The Acolyte," audiences meet additional characters created spontaneously by the Force. Osha and Mae (both played by Amandla Stenberg as adults) were conceived by their mothers, a pair of powerful Force Witches. It's implied, however, that they are not mere twins, but two halves of the same Force entity.

Oh yes, and, because "The Acolyte" takes place about a century before "Revenge of the Sith," Darth Plagueis is still around to lurk meaningfully in a cave. Headland recently spoke with IndieWire about "The Acolyte," revealing that Darth Plagueis was always going to be part of the story ... and that other characters may be doomed.

The villain in "The Acolyte" is Qimir (Manny Jacinto), a practitioner of the dark side at a time in "Star Wars" lore when there weren't many. He wears a wicked mask and has been training Mae for years to get revenge on the Jedi who wronged her and killed her mother. He encourages Mae to be ruthless and powerful. Osha, meanwhile, spent her childhood training to be a Jedi, trying to master the light sie before burning out and becoming an engineer. At some point, the two twins swap places, with Osha finding herself in Qimir's company.

Darth Plagueis is shown in a cave on Qimir's distant beach hideout in the finale episode of "The Acolyte" season 1. His presence has set off a lot of alarm bells, with some fans instantly assuming that he has something to do with the creation of Mae and Osha.

Headland wanted Darth Plagueis to be a part of the story from the start, but was initially unsure as to how she wanted to introduce him into "The Acolyte." She ultimately revealed him about a third of the way through the show's eighth episode, leaving the final "stinger" at the end of season 1 for another notable "Star Wars" cameo (namely, Jedi Master Yoda). She felt that shoving Plaugueis into the end would distract from Osha's story arc. "I was okay," she explained, "with having the cameo come so early if it meant I could wrap up these characters in a way that their final shot was not [an] 'And he's been pulling the strings the whole time' feeling."

However, Headland hastened to add that Plagueis' presence spells doom for Qimir and Osha. It's an ending full of hope, undercut by the gazing ghoul in the background.

One of the final shots of the eighth episode of "The Acolyte" sees Osha, now in the company of Qimir, standing on a beach, staring out over the water, holding a lightsaber in their hands. It's vaguely romantic, but also triumphant. Osha has seemingly embraced the dark side and feels she has a purpose in life. She and Qimir are poised to take on the galaxy, using their dark side powers to overthrow the corrupt Jedi. 

But because that shot takes place on Qimir's hideout world, we know Darth Plagueis is nearby, watching them. His eerie presence reminds viewers that Qimir and Osha will not achieve their goals, and that Darth Sidious will be the one to eventually take over the galaxy. They succeeded, but they're doomed to fail. Additionally, "Star Wars" fans can tell you that only two Sith Lords are allowed to exist at any time. More than that, and the power-hungry Force users risk wiping themselves out.

As Headland put it:

"Even though [they] are standing there, sort of looking out at the sunset, ready to conquer the world, the tragedy is we know they don't. We know there can only be two. We know Plagueis is there. We know that these two are doomed in some way. So to me it's a bittersweet tragedy, this foreboding ending. But that's because I know about the Sith lineage and all these other things, whereas I think a different subset of the audience can be like, 'They're married!'"

Luckily, the ending works both ways. It's a moment of tragedy, but also a somewhat romantic moment of two dark souls who've found a mutual purpose. Osha will be Qimir's acolyte, and they have something to work toward. No matter that their plan involves a lot of murder.

"The Acolyte" season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.