Star Wars The Acolyte gives the Jedi some powers you might not expect

The High Republic is a time of relative peace in the Star Wars universe. Sure, there are still plenty of problems, and plenty of people who want to threaten the galaxy, but without the Sith to occupy them, the Jedi can be on top of these other dangers in a way they couldn’t during the Skywalker Saga or the Old Republic. Star Wars: The Acolyte gives us a glimpse of the Jedi as galactic peacekeepers, but it also shows us a darker side of the Jedi, and a hint that their High Republic incarnation could be more like the Sith than they’d like to admit — particularly when it comes to their use of the Force.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte.]

Anyone who has spent time thinking about the Jedi, especially as they are in the prequel trilogy, will essentially understand them as the Star Wars galaxy’s police force. Ostensibly agents of the peace, they’re sent into difficult situations with the purpose of de-escalating them, but somehow — sometimes through their fault and sometimes not — the situation escalates to violence anyway. The Jedi must then, in spite of showy faux-monastic protestation, violently end the conflict, usually with the death of one or a few sentient beings.

Despite all this, the Jedi are generally (and not without reason) seen as the good guys in the Star Wars universe, thanks in part to their counterpart the Sith. The exact lines between the two factions have always been murky, but among the most important concerns their use of the Force. The Jedi use it to push and pull their foes, but there are clear delineations between what they deem good and bad. Using the Force to choke someone, turning it into lightning, reading someone’s mind, or holding their body in Force-induced paralysis are all seemingly frowned upon in almost every era of Star Wars.

But The Acolyte’s first two episodes suggest that this might not be true in the High Republic. Late in the second episode, Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) ends a fight with Mae (Amandla Stenberg), the show’s titular acolyte and the assassin who’s been hunting down Jedi, by freezing her body in the air, rendering her completely unable to move. Then he reads her mind.

The show doesn’t treat the moment with much regard, but to a longtime Star Wars viewer it’s an unambiguous change in the Jedi’s usual code of conduct. In fact, the most memorable time we’ve seen Force mindreading in live-action, the character to use it was Kylo Ren, not exactly a beacon of ethical Force use. In some ways this makes sense.

Image: Lucasfilm

With no Sith to compare themselves against, it seems reasonable that the Jedi’s actions would slip closer to their counterparts’. There’s no similar-but-bad group running counter to them, and the Jedi essentially have free rein over how the Force is defined. In the High Republic, it seems that means mind-control by way of Force stasis is a tool of the good guys. Or at least a tool of those that see themselves as the good guys — not entirely unlike Obi-wan Kenobi’s gray-area mind trick in A New Hope.

While The Acolyte is only just getting started, it certainly seems like it’s going to be a show about the faults of the Jedi, both in the High Republic era and beyond. After its first two episodes, the show is still playing most of its cards close to its chest with regard to what exactly happened to Mae and what the Jedi’s role in it was. But we certainly see that at least one Jedi is carrying so much guilt that he hasn’t spoken or done anything but meditate in years. If the rest of the show really is about the failings of at least some of the High Republic’s Jedi, then showing the ease with which they use the same tactics as the Dark Side of the Force, while still claiming to be working for good, would certainly be a compelling way to demonstrate that.

Image: Lucasfilm

Of course, all of this involves a lot of “if”s, particularly for a Star Wars project. Star Wars’ live-action track record on meaningful themes isn’t so good, particularly of late. Ever since the prequels’ suggestion that the Jedi’s strict ban on emotions could push people toward evil rather than prevent it got reduced to a bizarre series of misunderstandings that pushed Anakin to the Dark Side, Star Wars has frequently been enamored with bringing up big ideas and important themes, only to drop them when things get complicated. Book of Boba Fett took a character with the potential to explore themes like regret in the face of aiding fascism and turned him into a mayor instead. Ahsoka flirted with giving Ezra a non-violent appreciation of the Force after his accidental exile, then abandoned that without a second thought. The sequel trilogy is perhaps the best example of this, with each movie gesturing toward something important before the next movie dropped it entirely. Only Andor has actually managed to find a voice and say something truly compelling, and those are awfully big shoes to fill.

Nonetheless, this is the position that The Acolyte has put itself in. And whether it succeeds or not, showing us an otherwise noble and upstanding (so far) Jedi who also happens to use the Force to torture someone is a pretty compelling starting point for the misdeeds of the Star Wars galaxy’s most powerful cult.