By George & Josh Bate
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Acolyte – Episodes 1-2
The Acolyte has finally arrived, and with it a number of fascinating easter eggs. Here is every hidden detail we noticed in the first two episodes of The Acolyte….
Episode 1 Easter Eggs & Hidden Details
The first episode of The Acolyte begins with an opening crawl, a fixture present in Star Wars since the original film in 1977. The opening crawl of The Acolyte is distinct from the crawls of the Skywalker Saga films in which moving yellow text ascends the screen. The opening crawl of Ahsoka had red text, while Solo: A Star Wars Story’s opening crawl continued with blue text following “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” The Acolyte, meanwhile, borrows from Ahsoka and Solo’s opening crawl for a kind not seen in Star Wars before.
The opening crawl also establishes the time period in which The Acolyte is set. “A hundred years before the rise of the Empire” suggests the show is set in the year 119 BBY.
The opening crawl specifies that “a powerful few learn to use the Force in secret.” This is an important line as it sheds light on the state of the Sith at this time in galactic history. The Jedi believe that the Sith have been destroyed for centuries and, in The Phantom Menace, the Jedi discover that the Sith are still operating. This means that, in The Acolyte, the Jedi are unaware of the Sith. As such, it makes sense that they are operating “in secret.”
The first scene of the show is set on the planet Ueda. This is a new location in Star Wars.
Mae makes her first appearance at the beginning of episode 1. Mae is played by Amandla Stenberg, who has previously impressed in the likes of Bodies Bodies Bodies and The Hate U Give. Stenberg notably appeared on stage at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 dressed as Padme from Attack of the Clones.
Mae enters a bar much like the cantina on Mos Eisley in A New Hope and Maz’s tavern in The Force Awakens. Bars and cantinas are commonplace in a galaxy far, far away.
On the bar at the cantina, there is a glass of blue milk. This iconic drink first appeared in A New Hope in 1977 and has since shown up in Andor and at Galaxy’s Edge.
Mae challenges Jedi Master Indara to a duel. Indara is played by Carrie-Anne Moss, known for her role as Trinity in The Matrix movies.
Indara responds to Mae’s challenge that Jedi do not fight unarmed individuals. Indara is referencing part of the Jedi Code here, which is that Jedi are not to kill an unarmed opponent. Anakin notably violated this tenet of the Jedi Code when he massacred Tusken Raiders in Attack of the Clones and executed Count Dooku in Revenge of the Sith.
Mae and Indara fight in a style termed “Force fu” by series creator Leslye Headland. This hand-to-hand combat that incorporates the Force is relatively unique to Star Wars.
Mae throws a knife at the bartender in order to shift Indara’s attention away from her. This is reminiscent of Reva in the opening scene of Obi-Wan Kenobi when she threw a blade at a patron of a cantina as a means to draw out a Jedi. As the Grand Inquisitor in that show said, “Jedi cannot help what they are. Their compassion leaves a trail.” And, as seen in The Acolyte, Indara’s compassion leads to her death.
The “O” in The Acolyte title is layered, with a red “O” seemingly situated behind a blue “O.” This may be a reference to the episode’s twist that Mae and Osha are twin sisters. The red “O” would symbolize the twin aligned with the dark side, whereas the blue “O” would symbolize the twin aligned with the light side.
Osha wakes up and greets her droid Pip. This pocket-sized droid’s name is similar to the term “pip-squeak,” which defines something which is small.
A kind of Gonk Droid can be seen on the ship Osha is stationed on. The official names for these droids is GNK power droid and they first appeared in A New Hope.
Osha’s friend says that she “missed a wild trip to Nar Shaddaa with the piloting crew.” Nar Shaddaa is the moon of the planet Nal Hutta, which is where the Hutts come from. Nar Shaddaa is nicknamed the Smuggler’s Moon due to it being a hub for criminals and bounty hunters.
Aboard the ship with Osha are Neimodians, a species that first appeared in The Phantom Menace as members of the Trade Federation. Moments after appearing, Osha mentions the Trade Federation when she refers to the Neimodians as “Trade Feds.” It appears that Osha works for the Trade Federation in The Acolyte. Eventually, the Trade Federation align themselves with Darth Sidious and the Sith in a plot to invade Naboo.
Osha wears a space suit to walk on the exterior of a ship while in space. Similar space suits featured in Rebels and more recently in Ahsoka.
The Neimodians refer to Osha as a “meknek.” This spin on the term “mechanic” has not been used in Star Wars before.
While doing repairs on the ship, Osha becomes mesmerized by a flashback to her past. She hears her voice as a child cry out for Mae and then she hears Mae say, “I won’t let you leave.” This sequence is reminiscent of various moments in The Mandalorian in which Din Djarin and Grogu are triggered by something in their environment, which activates a flashback to a traumatic past.
The Jedi arrive at Osha’s ship in what appears to be a variation of a Jedi Vector. This class of starfighter was used by members of the Jedi Order during the High Republic era.
Yord Fandar and his padawan Tasi Lowa come aboard to speak with Osha. Yord is played by Charlie Barnett, who previously starred in Leslye Headland’s previous television series Russian Doll.
Tasi Lowa is a Zygerrian, a species that featured in The Clone Wars. Zygerrians have a troubled history involving slavery and violence, both of which are explored in The Clone Wars episode “Slaves of the Republic.” This species was first mentioned in 1987’s The Star Wars Sourcebook and are also mentioned in the classic Legends novel Heir to the Empire.
Yord and Tasi both have white and gold robes, which are distinct from the Jedi robes seen in the prequel trilogy and are more akin to the robes seen in various High Republic projects. The brightness of the white and gold contrast the darker colors the Jedi eventually adopt, a metaphor for how the Jedi gradually lost their way.
Yord states that he is looking for a former Jedi named Osha Aniseya. This last name is important as it is the name as Mother Aniseya, the character in The Acolyte played by Jodie Turner-Smith.
Yord is about to perform a Jedi mind trick on a Neimodian. Jedi have previously tried manipulating people with the Force in various stories, including Ben Kenobi in A New Hope and Rey in The Force Awakens.
Osha says to Yord, “You finally passed your trials.” Osha is referring to the process padawans must go through in order to obtain the rank of Jedi Knight. In The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan states that he is ready for the Trials when his master Qui-Gon tries to take on Anakin Skywalker as his apprentice.
Yord says to Osha, “CorpSec is about as far away from Coruscant as you can get.” CorpSec is short for Corporate Sector, which is a section of the Outer Rim in which various large corporations rule over their own territory. CorpSec was first mentioned in the novel Tarkin by James Luceno and first appeared in the novel Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel before also featuring in the comics Doctor Aphra and Bounty Hunters. CorpSec will next be seen in the video game Star Wars Outlaws.
Tasi mentions that “a major concern of admitting you [to the Jedi Order] was your age” to Osha. This was also a concern of the Jedi Council in The Phantom Menace when Qui-Gon proposed that Anakin be trained as a Jedi. Typically, Jedi are taken in and start their training when they are infants or toddlers.
Osha being wrongly accused of a crime by the Jedi is exactly what happens to Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars. There are more parallels between The Acolyte and this Clone Wars arc throughout the two-episode premiere.
The galactic capital Coruscant and the Jedi Temple on the planet appear in these episodes. These locations were key to the events of the prequel trilogy.
Master Sol trains younglings in the Jedi Temple. Sol is played by Lee Jung-jae, who appeared in the Netflix series Squid Game.
One of the younglings trained by Master Sol is a Tarsunt. This species first appeared in the novel Lost Stars. Arguably the most well known Tarsunt is Lanever Villecham, who was chancellor of the New Republic.
Sol tells the younglings that their eyes can deceive them. This is exactly what Ben Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker in A New Hope.
Sol is joined by Vernestra Rwoh. Played by Rebecca Henderson (who is also the wife of series creator Leslye Headland), Vernestra has featured prominently in a variety of High Republic stories, including A Test of Courage, Out of the Shadows, and Defy the Storm. Vernestra Rwoh is a Miralan, the same species that Barriss Offee from the recently released Tales of the Empire is.
The parasite Dybuck used to subdue the convict is reminiscent of the facehuggers in the Alien series.
The cell guard looks similar to Rothgar Deng, a bounty hunter who appeared in The Rise of Skywalker. Although not confirmed, many believe Rothgar Deng is actually the notorious bounty hunter Dengar after he subjected himself to various cybernetic surgeries, much like the cell guard apparently.
Sol’s padawan Jecki Lon is played by Dafne Keen, who previously starred as X-23 in Logan. Jecki is a Theelin-human hybrid, the same cross-species as Rystáll Sant, a singer with the Max Rebo Band in Return of the Jedi.
The convicts trapped with Osha called her “Jedi-Killer.” Before arriving upon the character’s name, Kylo Ren was named Jedi-Killer by J.J. Abrams during the development of The Force Awakens.
The prisoner transport crash lands on the planet Carlac. This planet is the setting of the episode of The Clone Wars titled “A Friend in Need,” which depicts the first appearance of Bo-Katan Kryze.
Sol says, regarding Osha, “She is alive. I can feel it.” Darth Vader says a similar line at the end of Revenge of the Sith regarding Padme, “She was alive. I felt it!”
Yord has a shirtless scene just like Kylo Ren did in The Last Jedi. Jecki hilariously tells him, “Yord…put your clothes on.”
Yord ignites and raises his lightsaber to create a source of light in a dark cave. Cal Kestis often uses his lightsaber for the same purpose in the video games Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor.
Osha is cornered by Sol, Yord, and Jecki in a scene very much reminiscent of key moments in both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the Harrison Ford thriller The Fugitive. All three projects involve a character wrongly accused of crime being chased down a tunnel before pleading their innocence to those trying to bring them in.
The final scene of the episode takes place on a planet that looks eerily like Ahch-To, the planet that Rey met Luke Skywalker on at the end of The Force Awakens.
The mysterious dark side figure says, “If you attack a Jedi with a weapon, you will fail. Steel or laser are no threat to them.” This line perfectly captures Palpatine’s approach to overthrowing the Jedi and taking over the Republic. In the prequels, Palpatine did not engage in an outright war with the Jedi, instead opting to more insidiously and covertly weaken the Jedi.
Episode 2 Easter Eggs & Hidden Details
The second episode begins on the planet Olega, which is a new location in the Star Wars galaxy.
The Jedi Temple on Olega is guarded by a gatekeeper droid, much like the ones that oversee Jabba’s Palace in Return of the Jedi.
Mae’s mission for revenge next takes her to Master Torbin. Torbin is played by Dean-Charles Chapman, known for his role as Tommen Baratheon in Game of Thrones.
Jecki says to Mae, “I thought that only R2 droids did the outer ship work.” Astromechs like R2-D2 are seen doing outer ship repair work in The Phantom Menace and other Star Wars stories.
Mae consults with former smuggler turned trader Qimir, who is played by Manny Jacinto. Jacinto is known for his roles in The Good Place, Top Gun: Maverick, and Bad Times at the El Royale.
Qimir and Mae say that “peace is a lie.” This is the first line from the Sith Code in Legends, which was created by Sorzus Syn and taught by Darth Bane.
Mae says that Torbin took the Barash Vow. This refers to an oath taken by some Jedi, who decide to dedicate themselves entirely to The Force and, in turn, refrain from engagement in any other activities. The comic series The High Republic – The Blade details the creation of the Barash Vow, which was first referenced in issue 2 of Charles Soule’s Darth Vader comic. In this comic, Vader sought out Jedi Master Kirak Infil’a, who had taken the Barash Vow.
The music that plays as Osha investigates the death of Torbin is similar to elements of John Williams’ score from Attack of the Clones.
Qimir says that he started out “gunrunning for the Hutts.” The Hutts are one of the notorious crime families of the Star Wars universe.
Yord says, “I have a bad feeling about this.” Of course, this is a classic quote from various characters throughout the Star Wars universe.
The fight between Mae and Sol is choreographed similarly to Mae’s fight with Indara in episode 1. Both Jedi fight with their arms at their sides and try to evade blows from Mae. Slow-motion is used to depict Mae trying to grab Indara and Sol’s lightsabers.
Qimir unexpectedly shows how formidable he is by holding off Mae’s attack. So far, Qimir has been presented as one of the series’ few non-Force sensitive characters, but his allegiance to Mae’s master, quoting of the Sith Code, and now formidability in combat with a Force wielder all suggest there may be something more to Qimir’s character….
The two scavengers walking through the woods on Khofar speak Huttese, the language of the Hutts.
Episode 2 concludes with our first look at Kelnacca the Wookiee Jedi. Kelnacca is played by Joonas Suotamo, who played Chewbacca in the sequel trilogy and in Solo: A Star Wars Story. At Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, Suotamo appeared in costume as Kelnacca during the Lucasfilm Studio Showcase panel.
Stay tuned to The HoloFiles and Star Wars Holocron for continued coverage of The Acolyte.