‘The Acolyte’ Episode 5 Recap & Review: A New Darkness Emerges

Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Acolyte Episode 5 “Night.”

After four episodes of solid television, The Acolyte steps up its game in a significant way for the fifth installment. Not only are there shocking twists and turns throughout, but the action sequences are absolutely brilliant as well. The mystery and intrigue are at an all-time high, with no clear resolution in sight after a chaotic blood bath of an episode.

The series picks up immediately following the cliffhanger from the previous week, as the mysterious foe wreaks havoc on the Jedi. The episode “Night” is just as short as “Day” the week before at 35 minutes; the two work perfectly in sync with one another. Don’t miss out on any details from our recap ofThe Acolyte Episode 5 below!

‘The Acolyte’ Episode 5 Delivers the Best Lightsaber Duels Since the Prequel Trilogy

Osha (Amandla Stenberg) begins the episode by waking up from a daze after she is tossed aside by the Sith Lord. However, while she may have missed some of the action, viewers are treated to an incredibly entertaining lightsaber battle when she returns to consciousness. The Sith Lord easily dispatches the majority of Jedi while showcasing talents that have never been seen in live-action.

As Jedi try to attack, their lightsabers are depowered from the absorbing power of Cortosis, a rare ore covering the mysterious foe’s helmet and gauntlets. Although Jecki and Sol have yet to show up, the Jedi are no match for their opponent.

The only one capable of standing his ground whatsoever is Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett), while the rest meet a swift demise. As Yord is about to meet the same fate, Osha attempts to stun the Sith Lord with a blaster. It doesn’t phase him, but it works well enough for Yord to flee from danger in The Acolyte Episode 5.

Unfortunately, despite saving her friend, Osha has found herself in the sights of the Sith Lord. He begins chasing after her and launches his lightsaber like a boomerang to take her down. However, Osha’s former master, Sol (Lee Jung-jae), arrives at the knick of time to stop the weapon and save her life. He demands that Yord take Osha back to the ship so they can both escape the battle.

Meanwhile, as Sol and the masked enemy go toe-to-toe, Mae (Amandla Stenberg) attempts to escape before she is apprehended by Sol’s Padawan Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen). Although Mae had stolen the recently deceased Kelnacca’s (Joonas Suotamo) lightsaber, she is no match in a fight against Jecki.

Jecki Lon Proves To Be One of the Strongest Padawans in Star Wars

As the battle rages on in The Acolyte Episode 5, essential pieces of dialogue key to unravelling the mysteries within the series are sandwiched within some of the best live-action fight sequences in the history of Star Wars. Sol attempts to question his foe, but with each verbal blow, the Sith Lord reveals he knows secrets from the Jedi’s past.

However, he sees Jecki attempting to escape with Mae and immediately turns his sights toward the young Padawan. Despite quickly dispatching all the other Jedi, Jecki puts up the best fight of any of them. Dafne Keene is incredible in these scenes, as her abilities with a lightsaber are comparable to even Hayden Christensen.

Unfortunately, even though she wields her weapon as well as Kelnacca’s and fights as competently as a young Ahsoka Tano, she can’t compete with the Sith Lord. Just as Jecki manages to hit his helmet off in an attempt to reveal his identity, her enemy stabs her three times and she perishes at his feet. However, The Acolyte Episode 5 doesn’t give viewers any time to mourn the fan-favorite character.

Mae’s Master Is Revealed in ‘The Acolyte’ Episode 5 “Night”

The mystery behind the mask comes to a close as Qimir (Manny Jacinto) reveals himself to be a Sith. His official introduction opens with Kylo Ren’s (Adam Driver) theme, suggesting the two could have a specific connection. Could Qimir be the original head of the Knights of Ren?

Although Sol is angry about losing the Padawan, he is forced to lower his weapon as Qimir grabs Mae captive and threatens her life. He explains his motive, despising the Jedi and how they control the galaxy. While he still searches for an acolyte to train, he is convinced Mae is no longer that person.

Just before Qimir can kill Mae, Yord and Osha come back to distract him after ignoring Sol’s orders to return to the ship. Unfortunately, their return spells the end of the Yord Horde as Qimir snaps the Jedi’s neck, continuing the trend of shocking twists throughout The Acolyte Episode 5.

Consumed with anger, Sol attacks Qimir and disarms him with the intent to kill. However, before he can go through with it, Osha convinces him not to, as it’s not the Jedi way. Osha sacrifices her droid Pip to create a light that attracts the giant bugs from the previous episode who scoop Qimir away — though he still survives the attack. While benevolent in theory, their decision to spare Qimir will likely cause more pain and destruction in future episodes.

The Mystery of Sol’s Past Continues To Grow in ‘The Acolyte’

Throughout his battle with Sol, Qimir constantly asks Sol how he can judge when he, too, has committed such dark sins in his past. Because Qimir is out of the picture for now, Osha finally gets a chance to ask her former master what it all means. Unfortunately, just as Sol is about to reveal what happened on Brendok all those years ago, Mae returns and stuns him with a blaster.

Although the twins are back together for the first time since childhood, it’s not a happy reunion. Mae remains weirdly possessive over Osha, demanding they escape the planet and live a life together. While she doesn’t reveal her perspective of what happened when they were kids, she still attempts to convince Osha the Jedi are the villains. The two fight as Osha decides she wants to bring Mae into custody for the Jedi, but Osha is no match for Mae’s skills in The Acolyte Episode 5.

After knocking Osha unconscious, Mae picks up Yord’s lightsaber from the wreckage and cuts her hair to match Osha’s. She leaves her sister unconscious and changes into her clothes en route to wake up Sol and imitate her twin. Her motivations are unclear since she spent all this time yearning to return to her sister, but she now embarks alongside Sol, pretending to be his former Padawan, seemingly continuing her previous mission of knocking off the Jedi attached to the Brendok incident.

Mae and Osha Swap Places To Conclude ‘The Acolyte’ Episode 5 “Night”

The parent trap shenanigans don’t end there, as Qimir finds the unconscious Osha and immediately takes interest. With his former acolyte now gone, he decides Osha is his next target. The twins remain on opposite sides but now reside with each other’s former master.

The Acolyte Episode 5 is, without a doubt, the best of the series so far and one of the top live-action episodes of Star Wars television of all time. While the reveal of Qimir as the Sith Lord is somewhat obvious, Manny Jacinto’s performance after the made it all worthwhile. He is powerful, menacing, sinister, and sexy as hell, undoubtedly making him a fan favorite for years to come.

There are only three episodes left, and the mystery of where the series could go from here is at an all-time high. With multiple characters the audience has grown to love, such as Yord and Jecki, no longer in the picture, The Acolyte could have a tough time living up to the incredible fifth episode. However, showrunner Leslye Headland has delivered an excellent series to date, so she has more than earned the trust to hope for a spectacular finish as well.

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