I'm Horrified At What I Think The Jedi Just Did In The Acolyte Episode 3 (2024)

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The Acolyte!

Star Wars: The Acolyte just released its third episode, and it may have revealed Star Wars' darkest Jedi story yet. The two-episode premiere of The Acolyte introduced twins Mae and Osha, the newest Force-sensitive siblings in Star Wars movies and TV shows. Unlike Luke and Leia, however, Mae and Osha are divided not just by separation at a young age but also seemingly by different sides of the Force.

Mae was revealed to be the antagonist killing Jedi in The Acolyte's premiere, and although she may not yet be a Sith, she is clearly wielding the dark side of the Force. However, the sisters' backstory remains unclear in the show; although Osha and her former Jedi Master, Sol, described Mae burning down the twins' home on Brendok and killing their entire family, the truth definitely won't be so black-and-white. Now, with the show's third installment, it seems the real source of the twins' tragedy may be much more ominous and have shocking implications for the entire Star Wars franchise.

Master Torbin Felt Guilty About Brendok... & We Still Don't Know Why

Torbin Chose Poison Over Facing What He Had Done

In The Acolyte premiere, Mae revealed her plot to hunt down and kill four Jedi: Master Sol, Master Kelnacca, Master Indara, and Master Torbin. These four masters represent the Jedi who were on Brendok, one of The Acolyte's new planets, at the time of the twins' tragedy, and Mae is seeking revenge on each of them for unclear reasons. However, Mae's interaction with Master Torbin in particular clearly suggests culpability on the Jedi's part.

When Mae confronts Torbin, she gives him a choice. He can either confess what he's done to the Jedi Council, or he can take poison and die. Shockingly, Torbin chooses the poison. While neither he nor Mae specifically states what he had done, Torbin's apology is incriminating enough.

Before dying, Torbin tells Mae, "Forgive me. We thought we were doing the right thing." Not only does this confirm that the Jedi were guilty of something, but it also reveals that, whatever it was, Torbin believed it to be right at the time. In light of what happens in episode 3, I fully believe the four Jedi Mae is hunting killed the entire coven of witches on Brendok.

Those Bodies Didn't Look Burned To Me

The Murdered Witches Were Dead... But Not Burnt

In episode 3, Mae and Osha are discovered by the Jedi and tested to see whether they would be suitable candidates for the Jedi Order. While Osha is very open to that future, Mae is enraged enough at the thought that she threatens to kill Mae and sets their room on fire. Initially, it seemed as though this was the fire Sol and Osha spoke of, confirming that Mae did kill their entire family.

However, the events that followed made that explanation nonsensical. For one, Mae set fire to one area, and almost immediately, all the witches of the coven were dead. Mae was also seen running for her life at the same time, which makes it more than doubtful that she would have had time to kill the witches too. For another, and much more importantly, multiple close-ups on the dead witches confirmed that while they had been slain by someone or something, it definitely wasn't fire.

The very first thing I noticed about the bodies of the witches was that they were not burned. Rather, their bodies were completely intact. Even more incriminating for the Jedi, the bodies were piled up in one area, as though there had been an altercation during which they had all fallen. Simply put, nothing about the witches' dead bodies suggested that they had died from burns, begging the very obvious question: who really killed them?

I Think The Jedi Killed The Coven

Currently, The Jedi Seem Much More Likely Than Mae

By the end of episode 3, Indara, Kelnacca, Sol, and Torbin looked significantly more guilty than Mae regarding the death of the witches. In fact, killing the witches would be entirely contrary to Mae's motivations and the vow she had just happily taken. While her assertion that she would kill Osha was disturbing, it seems very unlikely that sentiment would have extended to all the witches of Brendok, even if the fire had been able to reach and kill them that quickly.

Between the twins, Mae was the one who enthusiastically loved and wanted to remain a part of the coven. She had also just taken a vow to protect the Brendok witches and their legacy in the event of their mother's death—Osha, notably, hadn't. Again, though, even if her motivations had suddenly shifted and she wanted to kill their entire family, the bodies of the witches were not burned, and the fire would not have killed them all so quickly.

Unlike Mae, the Jedi had ample motivation to kill the Brendok witches. Counter to the Jedi way, Indara, Kelnacca, Sol, and Torbin were clearly afraid of the power the witches wielded, especially after Mother Aniseya took control of Torbin. They had also already proven hostile to the witches, essentially forcing them to hand over the twin girls to test against the witches' wishes.

It also isn't clear what exactly the exile of the witches entailed; presumably, though, the Jedi would have been the very first to express concern about the witches' ability to wield the Force (or, as the witches say, the Thread). This would, in some ways, be a continuation of the witches' exile or a way to finally stomp them out completely. While it would be incredibly dark, it sadly wouldn't be all that surprising; the prequel trilogy already revealed how much the Jedi were willing to do to survive.

Were The Jedi Afraid Of Osha & Mae?

Osha And Mae, Like Anakin, Were Conceived By The Force

It's possible that, in addition to fearing the witches, the Jedi specifically feared Osha and Mae. Episode 3 revealed a shocking amount of new information about the twins, including that, like Anakin, they were conceived via the Force itself, which explains why they were the only children in the entire coven. The raw power this conception suggests would have been more than alarming to Jedi who had no context for such a miraculous event.

In that case, perhaps the Jedi acted irrationally and impulsively, attacking without regard for the Jedi principles. This would also (horribly) explain why Mother Aniseya's body was in a slightly different location than the other witches' bodies were; she may have been rushing to save the girls. If she died then, this would in turn explain why, when Osha called out to her mother for help, no one came.

I will be devastated if this is the case, as it will mean a major upset to who the Jedi are and have been in Star Wars thus far. Yes, the Jedi Order had many flaws, as did Jedi throughout the Skywalker Saga. However, this type of brutal, heartless massacre would be brand-new territory for the Jedi, and it would be difficult to ever forgive.

Not only would it mean the Jedi had murdered an entire group of people, but they also would have placed the blame on a child, weaponizing Mae to get away with the heinous crime. Moreover, Sol previously told Osha, "This is grief. Let it go," theoretically about Mae. If this is really a way to encourage Osha to ignore what happened in the past, it would become outright manipulative and self-serving. Star Wars: The Acolyte hasn't yet confirmed that the Jedi killed the Brendok witches, but from my point-of-view, that is currently the most likely explanation.

New episodes of The Acolyte release Tuesdays 9 PM EST/6 PM PST on Disney+.

The Acolyte

Sci-Fi

Fantasy

The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.

Cast

Dafne Keen , Lee Jung-jae , Amandla Stenberg , Jodie Turner-Smith , Joonas Suotamo , Carrie-Anne Moss , Margarita Levieva , Charlie Barnett , Dean-Charles Chapman

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Disney+

Franchise(s)

Star Wars

Writers

Leslye Headland , Charmaine De Grate , Kor Adana

Directors

Leslye Headland , Alex Garcia Lopez

Showrunner

Leslye Headland