The Acolyte getting review-bombed for being “woke” makes me mad and now I definitely want to watch it.
(Not that I wasn’t going to watch it… I’ve watched everything Star Wars so far and am not going to stop)
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I really do not understand some people. Don’t they have anything else to do?
Happy for “The Acolyte” showing so high viewer numbers. I mean, that’s the only thing, that really counts for a corporation like Disney.
So sad 
for the poor little trolls wasting time with review bombing.
I personally lost interest at episode 2 and switched off when episode 3 still did not spark my interest.
However, I am becoming ever more curious: between the (not ‘anti-wokeness’ related) reasons some reviewers mention for not liking the show and the absolute excitement from others, it might be worth giving it another go. I think for some, episode 4 was the turning point regarding interest in the show. Maybe I just switched off too soon. 
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@Goibniu I know what you mean with the Acolyte. It wasn’t really until towards the end of episode 4 I was really hooked on it.
Episode 5 is amazing and a real turning point of the series
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Ok, that seals it: It’s “The Acolyte” binge-watching time.
(Just in time before my current Disney+ subscription does expire. The current price hike unfortunately hurts a bit too much. But will be back for the next Doctor Who, hopefully giving Disney the right signal of more Who → more new subscribers. )
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There was an attempt to make an american version of the british tv show The Avengers!
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I’ve watched the first 4 episodes of ‘The Acolyte.’ Some things I liked, some things I disliked. One of the impressions I got was that it felt similar to the live-action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ on Netflix: I like most of what is shown, but sometimes it misses the connecting tissue between the story beats and scenes. Of course, these are just my 2 cents; everyone else’s mileage may very well differ.
A little more in depth (be warned, spoilers ahead):
Summary
Episode 1
Episode 1 impresses with its fantastic visuals and solid fight choreography. While the story starts off slow, that’s ok for the first episode. One scene even gives off strong KoTOR 2 vibes, which is a definite plus for me.
No fan of the “Darth …” scene at the End. “blah blah acolyte blah blah an acolyte kills the dream”. I mean, I do feel the feels but at the same time I think to myself “What?”. Nothing so far showed me any dream-killing. And so, for me, this essentially very cool scene comes across as just posing without substance.
3.5/4
Episode 2
Again, the visuals were just stunning. The fight choreography was even better than before. Some of the story progression did not smoothly fit together, imho. But it’s more a nagging feeling I can’t quite grasp than anything concrete I could point to.
Mae’s motivation is still somewhat fuzzy. Does she hate the Jedi she wants to kill? Or is this just some ascension ritual given to her by her master? Or…?
I think the story wants me to believe there is festering hatred for the Jedi she kills. But the character does not really show that. I would have wished she had an emotional outburst like Osha in another scene. Or icy stares or… Just something to convey what motivates her.
I found the assassination of Torbin very interesting. Many layers here and much more than the fight at the beginning of episode 1.
3.5/5
Episode 3
The backstory. The way it is told, it seems to have some major gaps, and I am already curious about what other perspectives on the events we will get later on.
I guess for a sub-group of the fandom this is pure horror (poor little things): a group of strong women who do not need a man, not even for having children. From what we see, the witches are wise and likable characters.
I absolutely could not stand how the Jedi, first and foremost Sol, manipulated the young Osha for their own gains. I guess part of the story is to show the Jedi Order from a more negative side—snatching children from their families all in the name of the greater good, but really only in the name of their own conviction, which could be wrong. Well-meaning but with too much institutionalized power. If so, mission accomplished.
So, my problem is not with the excellent episode but with the simple fact that I do not want the Jedi portrayed that way. The witches are (and I have a feeling sadly this will be revised later on) much more the way I would like the Jedi to be than the Jedi themselves.
My favorite episode so far, but at the same time, I wish the Jedi had approached the situation in a less arrogant, self-righteous way.
PS: In an earlier post, I was mistaken. In my first attempt to watch the series, I did not watch episode 3; I just skipped over some scenes. In hindsight, this was unfortunate because this episode actually makes me want to see more.
Strong 4.5/5
Episode 4
Starts with showing the symbol of the witches in conjunction with what I know as the Tao-Symbol (and the more correct name seems to be Taijitu - Wikipedia in its dualist form). In combination with what we learned in the last episode, my interest is piqued. I always was a sucker for the mystical aspect of Star Wars. And indicates a deeper mystery surrounding the twins.
The next scenes feel a little bit like a mini-restart for the story. It feels like the transition from the previous story beat did not function as well as it should have.
Osha touching the monster seemed at first slightly stupid but was explained well enough with her reawakening Jedi powers. I find it plausible to make mistakes in such a situation.
But Mae’s decision to leave her master came out of nowhere. She gives a little bit of an exposition dump, and I am able to construct additional reasons in my headcanon. But that was not expressed in the acting of the character until that point. I mean, presumably she was a 16-year apprentice to her master? I do get that seeing her sister is able to disrupt whatever emotional bond connects master/apprentice. But between her seeing her sister and that moment, there were quite a few scenes. I really did not see that coming, even in hindsight. So, it took me out of the immersion into the story.
The plasticky-seeming shrubbery in the second half of the episode (after again beautiful visuals in the first half) did not help either. I am sure it’s way better, but I felt reminded of the scenery in First Doctor stories (or old movies).
The Wookiee master already being dead was a bit of a letdown. The entrance of Mae’s master was not as epic as it probably was intended to be.
But to close on a positive note: Yord, after being played for laughs most of the time, gets a scene with Osha where he is able to show actual nuances in his character. I liked that.
weak 3/5 or even 2.5/5
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Just watched The Sign - the feature length Bluey episode. This show gets parenting in a way few other shows do and at times is laugh out loud funny and at others extremely moving. My kids are 12 and 15 but we have all grown to love the show.
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I watched some Bluey when we had my godson stay with us. It was cute but I couldn’t sit and watch any number of them!
We finished Star Trek: Discovery last night. The final series was probably the weakest of them all, but I will miss it.
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And finished the second half of ‘The Acolyte’ season 1.
I don’t know. Strange series. I don’t think it’s bad. I do think it’s too often plot-driven, and the Osha/Mae portrayal just did not quite gel with me for to long. When that changed in the big finale, it was just too little, too late.
But there are also many positive aspects (including some Osha/Mae scenes in earlier episodes). And I can see why some people are so excited about “The Acolyte.”
For myself: If I hadn’t watched it as kind of a little challenge for myself, in which I actively tried to see the positives others see in it, I would have dropped out along the way. The 2 episodes I really liked (3 & 7) would not have been enough to keep me watching. There are so many things to watch, and other—also flawed, no doubt, it’s not about perfection—things just get me hooked more.
But because of episode 7, I am happy I kept watching (thanx @shauny & @BillFiler für triggering that), and I still hope there will be a season 2.
My personal hope is that they will delve deeper into the mysteries of the Force. Osha and Mae being “created” via the Force combined with Darth Plagueis’ search for eternal life should be interesting. I actually wouldn’t care if they break canon, as long as the story is good. And one can always hope they don’t just do what they set up to do in the last episode: repeat the story they already told in a soap opera way, just from another angle.
A little more in detail (beware spoiler ahead):
Summary
Episode 5
Well made, slow start drawing me into the story. When we reach the point with the felled trees, I am in.
Soon after, it’s indicated that trope time is coming: Osha does not want to make way and get to safety. The trope either being her interfering and getting people killed (the more realistic one) or her interfering and being the hero (the more unrealistic one).
But at first, it seems I am wrong. She acts reasonably.
Very cool scenes for Jecki Lon, played by Dafne Keen. Her triumphs as well as her warrior’s death seem earned. And her demise does make me sad (which is a sign of how well she used the limited material given to her).
The reveal of Qimir as the rogue Force user and master to Mae did not really surprise me. I suspected as much. But real good acting on Manny Jacinto’s part. I do not really know what happened to make Qimir the person he is, but through his performance, I kinda get a feel for it. I feel like I do understand his motivation, being a person who’s not able to be thrive/live in the structure upheld by the Jedi. That does not mean I think he should just be allowed to be his obviously murderous self. Of course not. But I am able to understand, and that makes for a good tragic villain on Qimir’s part. And all that conveyed with only a few sentences and a lot of well-played body language. Respect.
Of course, then Osha gets back and it is plot device time: there is just no reason for her to stop Sol when he finally gets the upper hand in the fight and is ready for the killing blow. But she has to because only that way the situation goes from a fighting scenario to now killing an unarmed man, which it wasn’t a minute before. And only that way do we get all that follows, including Osha suddenly having no reservations to kill Qimir by insect attack herself.
Shoddy storytelling pulling me out of the immersion necessary for the suspension of disbelief all such stories need on the side of the audience to work. Now I will notice faults I would not have if the immersion from the beginning of the episode had not been broken.
But, for this “exercise”, I deliberately try to immerse myself again and it kinda works: some interesting scenes follow.
But the acting from Amandla Stenberg just does not do it for me. I am hesitant to call it bad because it’s not, and there are moments I really like. I just get the feeling the overall direction, especially for the character of Mae, is somewhat fuzzy and that shows in her acting. The acting registers neutral for me, but her two characters are the pivotal points of the whole story, so I think neutral is not good enough.
To close with something positive: Did not notice before, the witches’ Force push is done with a Dragonball Kamehameha stance. Cool.
(at parts strong) 3/5
Episode 6
The visuals were again gorgeous.
There were more scenes with Osha and Mae where their body language actually conveyed things about them (so, better acting than before). Especially the scene where Qimir provokes Osha to attack him. I could feel the emotions Osha kept sealed within her until now, and when she undoubtedly falls to the dark side later on, it will be plausible enough for me.
It’s not necessarily plausible why it took Sol so long to identify Mae. I mean, she’s got a witch tattoo on her forehead. She concealed it with her hair, but her hairstyle is not really conducive to keeping it hidden constantly. By the way, him not sensing through the Force that she is the twin was actually plausible enough for me: He had quite a shock (so big he left his fellow Jedi to rot in the jungle), and it was mentioned earlier in the series that the twins are one—quite possibly they don’t register that differently in the Force.
In parts, the story was again plot-driven. The backstory between Qimir and Vernestra also seems obvious (the scars on his back remind me of whip lashes). It will be a bit too on the nose if true.
But nothing much else to say. And that’s a positive.
3/5
Episode 7
Brilliant, just brilliant.
Well-meaning people convinced their own narrow view of the world is the right one are just the worst. In this case Sol. Man, was it hard to watch—all so well-meaning but also predictably going to shit. I had a very strong emotional reaction, and that tells me it was a very well-crafted story.
I did dread this episode a little bit because I heard the witches turn bad / finally the dark side with which the series was promoted was shown. Couldn’t disagree more. The witches stayed relatable till the end. The Jedi were the aggressors, and the witches utilizing the full spectrum of the Force to protect themselves does not make them evil. But I guess that got lost, at least for a few reviewers. Where I saw brilliantly told nuances, they saw flawed story about good & evil. Well, all art is subjective.
For me a 5/5.
Episode 8
The chase at the beginning: wow, what visuals. Sol’s character study: denial, regret, the whole shebang. Searching for absolution and making everything worse by doing so—wow, next level. And the fight(s): so cool.
And finally, Osha and Mae have a clear direction, and their portrayal by Amandla Stenberg is brilliant.
Also, what a strong meta story: a woman finding her own way against narrow-minded male figures in her life. Of course, I do not know if that’s intended or just an interpretation I’ve got, but I very much like it.
Oh man, and then at the end the mindwipe scene - we’re back to plot-driven storytelling and deep in soap opera territory. So many ways to end this differently, but obviously, the plot makes it necessary to separate them again, and so they are separated in the most soap opera way possible. They so nearly stuck the landing and did not.
Flying high on the positive impression the previous episode made, still: 4/5.
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Can’t wait to watch it and then I can read those spoilers 
I’ve watched everything Star Wars, including seasons of The Clone Wars which were very difficult to make it through, I’m sure I’ll be fine watching this show even if it has issues.
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We’ve been catching up on Taskmaster this week during our downtime. This show is so silly and so funny
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Which series? We love Taskmaster and are currently watching the third New Zealand season. But nothing beats Greg and Alex.
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I just binged Wednesday completely.
Not the first time that happened, probably won’t be the last time it happens either.
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Series 17, we just picked a new one at random
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Oh brilliant - we fell in love with Sophie Willan and sought out her comedy on the back of it. Nick Mohammed is adorable too.
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Same, we’re deeply charmed by Sophie Willan and we just watched the ep where Nick wins for the first time which was very exciting haha
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There’s a Peacock employee with great music taste
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Didn’t know this was a thing until I saw it on my firestick homescreen. Similar feel to Batman: The Animated Series but this is set in the 1940s. Couple episodes in & enjoying it.
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Watched 2 episodes of The Acolyte now and not seeing what the fuss is about, it’s just good Star Wars! An interesting mystery.
The biggest mystery of all so far though is if neither twin knew the other was still alive, how come they have the exact same hairdo? 
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