The Acolyte has finally revealed its Sith master, and it’s a darksider that everyone saw coming (2024)
Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode 8. Make sure you’ve seen the finale before reading on.
The Acolyte finale is here, and while the Star Wars show featured a whole load of intriguing details, perhaps the most exciting was a big cameo. No, we’re not talking about Yoda here, but Darth Plagueis – or at least, someone who looks a lot like him…
Early on in episode 8, Osha sees a vision of Mae killing Sol and decides to take action. With Qimir in tow, the pair head to his ship intent on reaching Brendok. However, as we see them taking off, a shadowy Muun-like figure emerges from the cave, watching them go.
Now, while it’s never spelled out in the episode, it seems pretty clear this is the first live-action introduction of Plagueis. The Sith Lord was first namechecked in The Revenge of the Sith by Palpatine, who tells Anakin Skywalker the legend of him using the Force to create life, as well as ultimately to cheat death. This is something that helps lure Anakin to the dark side.
It’s not entirely surprising that Plagueis makes an appearance in The Acolyte either, as there have been hints throughout about the Sith Lord after it was revealed that Mother Aniseya "created" Mae and Osha using the Force. This is a power that previously had only been linked to Plagueis.
Given that Qimir and Osha return to the planet at the end of the episode, it feels pretty likely that Plagueis could play a role in a potential season 2. Indeed, showrunner Leslye Headland previously teased just that, suggesting that if the series continued, it would tie up some details about Plagueis and Palpatine.
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Given Plagueis' ability and the fact that Osha was created using the Force, it's possible even that she could be how he finds out how to manipulate midichlorians to create life. We’ll have to wait and see…
The Acolyte is now available to watch in full on Disney Plus. For more coverage, check out our guides to:
Despite being featured only briefly and largely in the shadows, some key distinguishing features help identify this new Sith Lord as none other than Darth Plagueis himself.
Darth Plagueis, who is mentioned by Palpatine in a much-memed speech in the prequel trilogy, is said to have uncovered deep, dark secrets within the Force, and sought mastery over life and death. Plagueis appears briefly in The Acolyte finale, and is thought to be the Master of Qimir (Manny Jacinto).
But “The Acolyte” achieves balance in the (cameo) force by tucking in a true IYKYK glimpse of a legendary dark lord, too. “Plagueis was always in the finale, in every version,” creator Leslye Headland told IndieWire on an upcoming episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast.
During the final episode, a dark and shadowy figure can be seen watching Osha and Qimir from a cave. Given the timeline and the species, fans quickly deduced that Leslye Headland included Darth Plagueis in 'The Acolyte.' For those unfamiliar with Star Wars canon, Darth Plagueis is Emperor Palpatine's old master.
In episode five of The Acolyte, we learn that its evil Sith-esque villain, Qimir, once trained to be a Jedi “a really long time ago.” But as Qimir tells Osha, his Jedi Master “threw him away,” abandoning him, failing him, and leaving him with a scar.
Darth Plagueis is the Sith Lord who trained Palpatine, making him one of the most important figures in galactic history. He is the mysterious alien we see in the cave around the 12-minute mark in Episode 8 of The Acolyte.
Plagueis had attempted to glean the secret to eternal life. According to the theorist, Palpatine learned this secret from before killing his master. However, instead of cloning himself at first, Palpatine cloned Plagueis, resulting in Snoke.
He captured Darth Venamis, who was a competitor to Plagueis. After a duel, Plagueis put Venamis into a coma and brought him to his midi-chlorian research lab. Over the next few years, Plagueis killed and resurrected him multiple times, often with Palpatine there as a witness.
Although the episode never officially confirms the identity of this mystery character, it will be clear to Star Wars fans that this was none other than the legendary Sith Lord Darth Plagueis the Wise.
According to the DisInsider podcast it seems that Sith lords Darth Revan, Darth Bane, and Darth Nihilus will be making appearances in the upcoming Disney+series.
Darth Plagueis (pronounced /'pleɪɡ.əs/) was a Force-sensitive Muun male Dark Lord of the Sith and the Sith Master of Darth Sidious. Plagueis lusted for immortality, believing the secret laid in science.
The Acolyte's showrunner, Leslye Headland, confirmed that the shadowy figure in the finale was Darth Plagueis. Darth Plagueis' appearance in The Acolyte provided the first canon image of the Muun Sith Lord since James Luceno's novel was categorized as Legends.
It's difficult to identify the creature lurking in the darkness, but creator Leslye Headland has confirmed that we are staring into the eyes of Darth Plagueis himself. Senator Rayencourt's surprise visit with Master Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) is certainly not a welcome one.
But now, The Acolyte's fourth installment, “Day,” may have finally spoiled who Mae's Sith Master is. That's right: as of The Acolyte Season 1, Episode 4, Mae's smuggler-turned-trader buddy Qimir is the show's secret Sith Lord frontrunner.
Tenebrous was trained by an unnamed Twi'lek Sith Lord, who he eventually killed in accordance with the Rule of Two. In Legends, Darth Tenebrous toyed with multiple apprentices: Darth Plagueis and Darth Venamis, who became rivals seeking to claim the line of succession in the Sith.
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