By George & Josh Bate
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Acolyte – Episode 6
The planet that The Stranger and Osha are on at first appears like Ahch-To. This is the island planet that Luke Skywalker exiled himself on in the sequel trilogy. The rocky geography of the “Unknown Planet” in episode 6 evokes similar imagery of Ahch-To in The Last Jedi, while some of the little creatures on the planet look similar to the Thala-sirens (one of the creatures that Luke milks in Episode VIII).
However, series creator Leslye Headland confirmed that this unknown planet is NOT Ahch-To. Later in the episode, there are hints that this location is Bal’demnic, a planet from Legends. Bal’demnic was introduced in Chapter 22 of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Star Wars: Clone Wars series, but is most notable for its inclusion in James Luceno’s novel Darth Plagueis. In Luceno’s book, Bal’demnic is where Darth Plagueis kills his master Darth Tenebrous. The two Sith were originally led to the planet due to its large concentration of Cortosis, which was thought to parallel the actions of Darth Bane generations earlier. The unknown planet in episode 6 appears to have Cortosis embedded within the walls of its cave, suggesting that The Stranger may have selected this location for its quantity of lightsaber-resistant material.
Osha’s clothing in the episode is similar to Rey’s outfit in The Last Jedi, which she wore as she visited Ahch-To.
Master Sol tries to contact the Jedi on Coruscant to alert them to the deaths of Jecki, Yord, and company. He uses the code, “Emergency Code Zero,” which originally appeared in the video game Star Wars: Empire At War. In that game, “Emergency Code Zero” was an Imperial emergency code that asked others to abandon their current task and assist.
The Stranger has a scar on his back, which he implies came from a lightsaber after he was stabbed in the back. The scar has a curved, winding pattern, which just so happens to feature in the same episode in which Vernestra Rwoh’s wields her lightsaber whip. Did The Stranger’s scar come from Vernestra’s lightsaber…”
Manny Jacinto’s The Stranger becomes the latest Star Wars character to be shirtless on-screen. He follows in the illustrious footsteps of Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker, Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren, and Charlie Barnett’s Yord.
The Stranger tells Osha, “Your anger betrays your thoughts.” This language is similar to what Obi-Wan says to Anakin in Attack of the Clones (“Be mindful of your thoughts, Anakin. They betray you”) and represents a dark side distortion of a Jedi principle.
Vernestra Rwoh consults with a member of the Republic Senate, which reveals that some Senators cast doubt on the Jedi Order and wish to conduct a review of the Order. It is suggested that these attempts represent the Senators “grasping for power.” This aligns with the state of the Senate by the time of the prequel trilogy as the Republic has slowly lost much of its moral standing. In John Jackson Miller’s novel Star Wars: The Living Force, the growing corruption in the Senate is referenced and also ties to the corruption we are beginning to see in The Acolyte.
A Jedi says to Vernestra Rwoh, “You get nauseous when you travel through hyperspace.” In The High Republic novels, Vernestra Rwoh possesses an ability to navigate ships through hyperspace only using the Force. Also, while in hyperspace, Vernestra would often have visions, also depicted in High Republic comics.
Vernestra Rwoh ignites her lightsaber to reveal her iconic lightsaber whip! This unique weapon appears throughout the High Republic books and comics.
Jacinto’s character dismisses Osha’s claim that he endorses the dark side by simply saying, “Semantics,” a line that highlights how The Stranger (like many Star Wars villains) do not view themselves as evil. As Palpatine said in Revenge of the Sith, “Good is a point of view.” The Stranger takes this advice in his stride by dehumanizing the people he just killed, responding to Osha’s statement that he killed Jecki and Yord by simply saying that he killed Jedi (as if the very fact that they are Jedi should explain why they deserved to die).
The Stranger quotes Palpatine with the line, “Do it” as he insists that Osha use his lightsaber to give in to her anger and kill him. And, like Palpatine, The Stranger is trying to evoke the dark side in a vulnerable person by encouraging them to act on their anger.
The Stranger’s origins are hinted at throughout the episode. It appears that he was once a Jedi and lost people, much like Mae and Osha do. In the previous episode, The Stranger questions whether Sol remembers him. This line could refer to Sol and Qimir meeting one another in episode 2, but it could also imply that the two knew once knew one another when The Stranger was in the Jedi Order.
Mae (disguised as Osha) resets Osha’s Pip droid to his factory setting, which makes its white lights change to red. This parallels C-3PO’s change to red eyes when he is reset in The Rise of Skywalker.
Manny Jacinto’s The Stranger namedrops the metal “Cortosis,” after the abilities of his Cortosis helmet were shown off in the last episode. He confirms that his Cortosis helmet is “a sensory deprivation headpiece, like we used as younglings.” This means the helmet is similar to the helmet worn by Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars when training with Ben Kenobi (another pretty cool parallel).
Osha asks The Stranger, “What do you want?” The Stranger responds, “The power of two.” This harkens back to the Rule of Two, the Sith ruling that there should only be a Sith master and apprentice (no more and no less, as Yoda described). This line adds further evidence to the theory that The Stranger is actually the apprentice of another Sith master and wants to overthrow his master with an apprentice of his own.
During the credits, parts of Kylo Ren’s dark side theme from the sequel trilogy can be heard again. This theme also played throughout the previous episode of The Acolyte, hinting at The Stranger’s possible connection to the Knights of Ren. When asked in a recent interview to elaborate on the inclusion of Kylo Ren’s theme in The Acolyte, series creator Leslye Headland said, “Ah, wish I could. It is there on purpose, but I can’t tell you why, and I can’t go into what it is. But you shall see.”
Check out our Spoiler Review and Analysis of Star Wars: The Acolyte – Episode 6 below….