The season finale of The Acolyte left us with quite a bit to mull over while we await a (presumably inevitable) season 2 announcement, and while several plotlines and character arcs were left open to continue, "shippers" now seem satisfied that there is a romantic connection between Qimir, aka The Stranger, and Osha after that final shot.
After the Stranger witnesses Osha kill Master Sol using a good ol' Force-choke, the pair return to the island (which will likely be revealed as Bal'demnic) where he brought her after the Jedi massacre in episode 5. Osha looks out over the ocean, and Qimir approaches his new apprentice, resting his hand on hers as she grips her (formerly Sol's) lightsaber.
This definitely seems to be hinting at more than just a teacher/pupil dynamic, and actor Manny Jacinto pretty much confirmed as much during an interview with EW, while also revealing that he improvised that final moment between the two.
"It was always something that we wanted to allude to. From the beginning, we knew the journey of these characters, that it would end up in sort of this more intimate type of relationship. Everything from the being seduced by the dark side to the power of two. There is this sense of intimacy and romanticism that is just there, especially when you have two people that are thought of as being outsiders. You want somebody to go through this world that doesn't accept you. You want to go through it with somebody. It was always implied.
I remember that specific scene, I was only meant to stand beside her. Amandla was just standing there looking out into the ocean, and I would just stand beside her. And we were just supposed to look out into this vast ocean together. And I suggested, 'Hey, would it be cool if I reach my hand over where she's holding the lightsaber, and I kind of just wrap my hand around her hand?' And fortunately, Leslye is very collaborative and she was like, 'Yeah, let's try it!' And then we filmed it a bunch of times and she was like, 'I really like this!' And then lo and behold, we kept it for the final cut.
I think it alludes to something more romantic, but it also alludes to something I think a lot of Star Wars fans are yearning for. In this IP, you have the ships like Reylo, and you have all those relationships that people just innately want to see — these romantic relationships that people want to see in Star Wars. So Leslye was like, 'Give the people what they want. Let's lean into this.' And hopefully we can explore more of that again in a possible season 2 and in subsequent seasons.
In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.
Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.
"I really wanted to tell a story about the Sith," Headland told EW in a recent interview. "That was kind of my dream Star Wars idea. But it felt like the time period to do that in would be something pre-Phantom Menace. That seemed to be the most interesting trajectory for the Sith: How did the Sith go from the Rule of Two and being quote-unquote 'extinct' to Palpatine coming into power without the Jedi knowing about it?"
Award-winning composer Michael Abels, known for his work on Get Out and Us, scored The Acolyte.