As a result of last week’s complete and utter massacre, the roster of characters on The Acolyte definitely feels smaller but that may actually be working in the show’s favour. With each twin with a different master, we get less bounding around and baggage. The episode is ultimately a pit stop episode and once again is far too short that being said.

For the most part, the episode is divided into two chunks, one with Mae and Sol, and another with Osha and Qimir. I found the latter arc to be more interesting, as we still have tons to learn about Qimir and Manny Jacinto is playing the Sith really well, opting not to be a moustache-twirling villain. They appear to be on Ach-To, Luke’s future home in exile in The Last Jedi and Qimir ever so delicately tempts Osha to the Dark Side by showcasing the freedom that comes with tapping into your emotions, and Osha very much seems intrigued no matter what she says. She’s been taught by the Jedi that certain actions are automatically branded as evil, but is it really so black and white as Qimir ponders out loud?

Elsewhere, Sol spends most of the episode with Mae under the belief she’s Osha, which I found hard to believe as this is a universe where one can sense someone in the Force and Sol is a Jedi Master. Once again, felt like the writers were creating a convenient situation and Sol only learned of Mae’s deception thanks to Bazil, the tracker. Sol is still clearly hiding something and it is getting to the point where I wish the show would just tell us. Likewise, everything with Bazil and the droid did come off as childish in a series that seems to be doing its best to not be. This whole segment felt at odds and once again highlighted the problems with this show (namely the writing).

With Sol and Qimir being far more interesting characters, I’m really under the belief now that The Acolyte would’ve been a far better show had it been a show about these two first and foremost. I find the twins the weakest part of the show, especially Mae’s characterization, and I don’t see them as usual avatars to tell this story. Sol is clearly guilty of something and Qimir was once a Jedi, so why aren’t these two the series leads instead?

Elsewhere, Vernestra Rwoh picks up part of Sol’s distress call and it seems the Jedi may end up hanging Sol out to dry for the events of the massacre. The Jedi with Rwoh seemed to jump to that conclusion really quickly and it would make things convenient to keep the Sith in hiding, but it did feel very manufactured. Apart from lightsaber burns, there’s nothing that indicates Sol being responsible.

It’s not surprising that this episode hit the breaks a bit after last week’s action-packed entry. It’s just frustrating to have such a short and inconsistent episode. I can see what works with this show, but it’s bogged down by what doesn’t. With two more episodes to go, hopefully, the answers we’re waiting for aren’t too far off (and worth the wait).