The Acolyte’s silly rock fire in episode 3 is a perfect symbol for its bigger problems

The Acolyte’s third episode introduced up a entire lot extra questions than it answered. For example: What’s up with that Power Cult, how had been Mae and Osha born, why are the Jedi right here to start with, why is the dialogue so dangerous, and what really occurred in that fire? However a very powerful query of all is: How in the hell did all that stone catch on fire?

In fact, Star Wars is a collection filled with deep and sophisticated lore, so listed here are our greatest makes an attempt to clarify precisely how a mountain caught on fire in The Acolyte.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 3.]

Earlier than we get into explanations, it’s vital that we go over the occasion in query a little bit first. The fire in the mountain on Brendok is the inciting incident for all the things else that occurs in The Acolyte. It’s what separates Mae and Osha, and what offers each of them their diametrically opposed views on the Jedi. So once we acquired the flashback in episode 3, it initially appeared prefer it may be a complicated occasion, rife with childhood misunderstandings and missed perspective. Perhaps from what Osha noticed it appeared like Mae created the fire, whereas Mae noticed that it was some type of Jedi accident, resulting in her hatred.

Sadly, none of this is what really occurs in the episode. As a substitute, we see child Mae clearly and emotionlessly say that she would moderately kill her sister herself than see her depart, then set all the mountain temple on fire. Whereas the occasions that led as much as the fire are a fairly excessive disappointment — even when the present might simply be utilizing this inexplicable baby assassin plot as a smokescreen for a later shock — it’s nonetheless in some way the fire itself that appears silliest. Mae takes Osha’s sketchbook, lights up its pages utilizing a lamp, after which throws it into the stone hallway… which promptly ignites prefer it’s made from dry wooden. Right here’s the place we now have to satisfy the present far more than midway.

Idea 1: The alternate-material concept

Maybe what seemed like stone contained in the mountain was really a completely different materials? Whereas many of the temple we see on Brendok in The Acolyte’s third episode seems to be carved straight into the mountain, possibly the coven of witches really coated the inside tunnels of their residence with some extraordinarily flammable, non-rock materials.

This is the silliest and most cop-out concept potential, however is additionally a little little bit of an old-school Star Wars rationalization too. Identical to setting fires in area or the scream of TIE fighters, it’s one thing silly and enjoyable that defies all explanations of Earthly science, and that’s superb. In fact, this may be a little simpler to abdomen if The Acolyte had been taking itself a little much less significantly, and if the fire in query didn’t depart so most of the individuals concerned paralyzed with guilt, filled with remorse, dead-set on vengeance, or just useless altogether. Silly problems are nice to satisfy with silly solutions, however tragedies deserve one thing a little extra thought-out.

Idea 2: The hidden-culprit concept

This concept revolves round the concept what we noticed in episode 3 was solely a part of the story. Positive, Mae made a infantile, rash assertion that she needed to kill her sister, however her sketchbook fire ought to have merely fizzled out, besides that one other perpetrator used the Power to unfold the flames.

The most-likely consequence of a concept like this may be that somebody from Mae and Osha’s coven fanned the flames to attempt to get the ladies out and blame the Jedi. The perpetrator right here, most likely, can be the Zabrak witch who appeared to be having a little bit of a energy wrestle with the twins’ mother. Maybe she’s stronger, and extra harmful, then she appeared and easily determined that destroying the coven’s residence and splitting up Mae and Osha can be the witches’ solely path ahead. She might even be the darkish determine coaching Mae in the long run and tasking her with killing the Jedi who visited Brendok.

An much more thrilling model of this concept, nevertheless, is that every one this destruction was attributable to the Jedi all alongside. Mae, regardless of her horrific proclamation that she was going to homicide the one different baby she’d ever identified, was principally innocent and was as an alternative arrange after which left to die by a band of Jedi determined to get their fingers on a promising new recruit. This might be genuinely stunning. Not out of line completely with the darkish edges lurking across the Jedi in Star Wars canon (in spite of everything, how do they get all these youngling recruits?), however nonetheless extra gutsy and attention-grabbing than virtually something we’ve seen of them on display screen.

Making the Jedi the true villains of the Brendok fire would mark a significant indictment of the Excessive Republic Jedi, an instance of them figuring out themselves to be decide, jury, and executioner for this extremist outlier cult. Simply because they decided the cult to be mistaken, they massacred everybody there and tried to steal each youngsters, however when even that proved too troublesome, they merely took one and left the opposite to die.

Even in spite of what can be the present’s silly try at misdirection, and its typically frustratingly wood dialogue or samey characters, this reveal can be a genuinely thrilling one. An actual, daring stance on a sure period of Jedi historical past that, a minimum of in some sectors of the galaxy, was far darker than we had ever thought potential.

Idea 3: The Disney’s Star Wars concept

The third concept is the only of all: The Acolyte is merely a deeply unserious present, in saying one thing new concerning the Jedi, the Power, or the Star Wars universe extra broadly, however too involved with appearances to get the small print proper — each in phrases of storytelling and lore. This concept means that there’s no extra to the occasions than we noticed on display screen: Mae lit a fire in an try and kill her sister; it acquired bigger than she thought and had far-reaching penalties that she blames on the Jedi whereas shirking her personal half in it. With this concept, even when the Jedi did a few issues mistaken, it could nonetheless wash out, with most of them being heroic in the top, leaving all the things principally in the identical place it began.

Picture: Lucasfilm

On paper, this concept can be a profound disappointment. In follow, nevertheless, it simply looks like what we should always anticipate from most trendy Star Wars tales. These initiatives not often have the center to essentially shake up the franchise and introduce one thing actually stunning, as an alternative at all times bringing the established order again on the finish, or just pushing towards occasions we already know the end result of.

Star Wars is firmly in an period of stagnation. So hoping for one thing enjoyable, attention-grabbing, or daring out of a very silly-looking fire, even when it’s set in a completely new time interval, is most likely a little greater than we should always anticipate from the collection at this level. As a substitute, it’s arduous to not think about that The Acolyte’s largest second to this point is nothing greater than rock that inexplicably caught fire as a result of the plot wanted it to.