‘The Acolyte’ Episodes 1-4 Review – The Balance Between Hoping And Coping

Now that we’ve hit the halfway point with The Acolyte, having seen four episodes (and read a ton of vitriolic discussion) it’s high time to take a pit-stop on the edge of the outer rim and look back on what we’ve seen so far, before we venture in and see what the latter half, and ultimate end, have in store.

Despite being in the middle of the series, unfortunately, The Acolyte feels like it’s hardly gotten started. Much of these first four episodes are spent deliberating on mysteries that have no actual mystique; interesting in concept, perhaps, but walloped in execution. With two hours (give or take) of content so far, we’ve been given more questions than answers, and the answers that we actually have gotten are all arguably less than satisfying.

For a Star Wars show set in a time period that’s never been adapted on screen, the whole thing just feels mundane. From those aforementioned answers and other issues on paper to things like a lack of visual variety (save for a few moments in the first two episodes) and any sort of stylistic differentiation, it just feels like we’ve seen all of this before. Going in, a big question about this one was what made it different from the other disappointing television projects in the franchise as of late. So far, the answer seems to be another that just won’t cut it: there’s no difference at all.

Leslye Headland, the lead creative mind behind the series, does manage some occasional promise and paces the whole thing well enough to maintain interest from dedicated fans. Her best decision, though, was the cast. Top-to-bottom, this is an expert lineup.

Amandla Stenberg in her dual-lead role makes a real case as one of the more likable figures in the newer set of Star Wars content, followed by rock-solid efforts from the likes of Lee Jung-jae, Dafne Keen, Manny Jacinto, and pretty much everybody else. You aren’t going to find a much more well-rounded cast elsewhere, and they all go a long way in making the show watchable at worst, and enjoyable due to their additions at best.

To that point, most of the characters are likable too, if not a bit bland. There isn’t any standout writing in this department either, but much of what is delivered is reliable, tried and true character archetype stuff that works now in the same way that it always has. Relatable, heroic motives, tragic backstories, and split decisions, all seek through a set of macrobinoculars… it just works.

You have to be thankful for it when so little else does. It’s hard to judge this one fully just yet as, again, it feels like we’ve barely touched the wheels down here. That’s an issue all alone though, and The Acolyte simply hasn’t earned the intrigue that it’s chasing just yet. With four more episodes to go, and coming off of a respectable ending to the most recent one, fans may see some promise yet that this ship will have time to turn around.

But for casual viewers and those just generally interested, The Acolyte is a hard buy. If you haven’t already jumped ship, there likely won’t be enough in the latter half of this first season to convince you to stick it out. The writing is on the wall it seems, and you’d probably be better off taking heed and spending your credits elsewhere. Though, then again… “Hope is like the sun. If you only believe it when you see it, you’ll never make it through the night.” All we can do is wait.

The Acolyte is currently available to stream on Disney+. New episodes debut every Wednesday through July 16th.