'The Acolyte's Most Subversive Move Happens in the First Seven Minutes (2024)

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Episode 1 of The Acolyte.

To say The Acolyte opens with a bang is an understatement. After promotional materials for Disney+'s newest Star Wars series highlighted Carrie-Anne Moss's presence as Jedi Master Indara (a sentence that filled fans with anticipatory delight), creator and showrunner Leslye Headland pulls a fast one by killing Moss's character less than seven minutes into the premiere. No marketing strategy is a stranger to over-amplifying a fan favorite's presence; if something enhances audiences' interest, that's a job well done. Still, Moss is enough of an internationally and multi-generationally recognized casting coup to make Indara's swift end a shock. The sly move — Headland's plan from the start — is superbly effective within multiple contexts. Losing a promoted character before the opening credits subverts Star Wars norms, establishes high-stakes tension for a never-before-seen era, and tells an unspoken story via Moss's cinematic legacy.

The Acolyte

Sci-Fi

The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.

Release Date

June 4, 2024

Cast

Carrie-Anne Moss , Amandla Stenberg , Lee Jung-jae , Manny Jacinto , Dafne Keen , Jodie Turner-Smith , Rebecca Henderson , Charlie Barnett , Dean-Charles Chapman

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Seasons

1

Studio

Disney+

See Also

On The Acolyte, No Mystery Is as It SeemsThe Best New Star Wars Game Subverts a Boring Franchise Trope10 Most Overused Naruto TropesWays My Hero Academia Redefined Super-Hero Tropes

Franchise

Star Wars

Carrie-Anne Moss Brings Her Strengths To 'The Acolyte'

Before The Acolyte's premiere, Leslye Headland teased Indara as “very much inspired by Trinity." For a character whose death kicks off the series' mystery, Headland needed "somebody that would come in and you immediately would be like, Oh, that’s the most powerful Jedi in the room.” Those traits are evident the instant Carrie-Anne Moss turns her head to glance at Mae (Amandla Stenberg) across a crowded bar. The Acolyte takes place at the tail end of the High Republic era, approximately a century before the rise of the Empire and when the Jedi are at their most powerful. Naturally, any High Republic Jedi would exude more poise than the average Skywalker-era Force user. Even though they've suffered great losses in the past, they maneuver the galaxy with ease. Assured experience — both trained and lived — goes hand-in-hand with a lightsaber.

However, unlike the over-eager and battle-ready Yord (Charlie Barnett), Moss's Indara radiates the qualities to which every Jedi should aspire, and of which too many miss the mark. Between Moss’s skill and the cultural implications of casting her, we draw assumptions about Indara. Moss embodies those expectations. There's a nobility to her carriage, a wisdom about her presence, and a studiously deployed strength to each movement. Indara's awareness prickles when Mae approaches. Even though she politely declines Mae's challenge to a duel, she respects this woman and understands that her motivations should be taken seriously. Indara's table companions uproariously laughing at someone wanting to fight her says much about her reputation, but so does the Jedi Master quieting them with a small gesture. Moss lends Indara gravity, the weight of a long life spent attuned to the Force's will.

As Mae instigates a bar fight, Indara slowly rises, keeping her watchful eyes fixed on her would-be opponent. She only intervenes when it's clear that the patrons have no chance; Mae's ruthlessly winning this brawl. Stopping conflict is Indara's role as a galactic peacekeeper, and innocents are endangered. Still, she doesn't strike out. She evades Mae's attacks, and the movements are as effortless as a well-known dance. Her silent steadiness speaks volumes against Mae's full-body effort and heavy breathing. Although Indara's Force-fu abilities are convenient (this is Trinity we're talking about, after all), relying on different fighting techniques expands the Star Wars world. The High Republic Jedi should be utilizing the Force with a deeper affinity and greater creativity. And, frankly, Indara side-stepping Mae's acrobatics is visually satisfying. The Acolyte's atmosphere is recognizably Star Wars while offering something different in a franchise overstuffed with clashing lightsabers trying to substitute for middling scripts.

Indara Is Flawed But Noble In 'The Acolyte'

Once Indara recognizes Mae as a legitimate threat (a talented Force user trained outside the Jedi Order has worrying implications), she goes on the offensive. Her gaze sharpens, shifting from a mediator to a guardian dispensing preventative measures. Moss carries over two decades of focused competency into the change, even when Indara's actions keep deflecting Mae's bombardment, not instigating her own. Her surprise is severe upon seeing Mae's face, but quiet; Moss has established there's an intensity but no fiery temperament under Indara's calm surface. Her reaction leaves room to wonder if, like everyone else, Indara mistakes Mae for her twin sister Osha, or if the Jedi Master feels suspicious.

Either way, since Indara was one of the Jedi stationed on Mae and Osha's home planet, things just turned personal. A ghost from Indara's past has returned to haunt her — a ghost she refrains from mind-reading when Mae wrenches her head away from Indara's approaching hand. For Indara, the answers aren't worth ignoring Mae's lack of consent. It's a small moment with a larger thematic substance. Other Jedi in her position wouldn't hesitate to invade Mae's mind.

'The Acolyte's Indara Is The Perfect Jedi

The fact Indara doesn't ignite her lightsaber until she has to undermines Mae's critiques of the Jedi — at least, this particular Jedi. Indara and Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) parallel arrogant, short-sighted ones who value appearances and political currency, or itch to solve problems with their weapons. Because the former value empathy and diplomacy, they represent the Order's true principles. And even while Indara approaches an unarmed Mae with her weapon drawn, she holds off overpowering the younger woman. Her warning doubles as advice and pleading; a Jedi Master isn't worthy of her title if she's fine with having her hand forced into lethal violence. Mae hissing, "a Jedi doesn't pull her weapon unless prepared to kill" makes Indara lower that elite weapon. Challenged with her sworn responsibilities, she drops her guard.

That protector of the innocent instinct gets Indara killed. Mae plays dirty and exploits Indara's best traits by tossing a dagger at the innocent bartender. Before this, Indara had established her priorities by stopping a falling girl from striking the floor. Now, she takes a dagger to the heart in an act of self-sacrifice. Although startled and remorseful (for what, we have yet to know and might not discover), by saving the barkeep, she made the active choice to expose herself. Jedi Master Indara dies like a dutiful hero emblematic of the Order's purpose. Thanks to Carrie-Anne Moss's precise performance, she's a human warrior, too. Indara exhibits flaws and a history, not just a collection of "proper Jedi" accolades.

Carrie-Anne Moss Is Perfect For 'The Acolyte'

Because Indara’s death provides The Acolyte’s key event, the stakes have never been higher for a Star Wars series. One of the franchise's favorite tropes might be dramatic deaths, but never so rapidly. All bets are off if they can take out Carrie-Anne Moss, the most recognizable name attached to the show. Not only does a Jedi die before the opening credits, it’s Moss's Jedi: the one certain fans were the most excited to see. Her loss is the Star Wars version of the trick Scream pulls with Drew Barrymore. After Indara, no Acolyte character is safe, nor are the crumbling values the Jedi strive to uphold.

Leslye Headland sought that "the tables have turned" reaction. “I thought [Indara's death] was a good tone-setter for the show," she told Variety. "It shows that the Jedis are going to take some losses, and that the good guys and the bad guys are not always who you think they are.” The Acolyte sprinkles that introspection throughout its two-part premiere. So far, the series foreshadowing the Jedi's downfall means exploring both the flawed people inside the Order and how the institution compromises itself.

For Moss’s part, she was captivated by Headland’s vision and enjoyed her limited time on the series. She shared with Empire, "Within my soul and my spirit, to get to play this Jedi Master and train for the fight was [an] amazing experience. A part of me forgot how much I love action."Although Moss had limited time to practice her clash with Amandla Stenberg, it's no surprise that the ever-captivating Moss makes it look effortless, intimidating, and tragic.

The actress' presence might be only seven minutes (not counting flashback scenes teased by the trailers), but the massive ripple effect across The Acolyte speaks to Moss as much as Indara. The opening scene is a gambit combining her talents, our associations with her, and our expectations about Star Wars canon. It's a hat trick success few except Moss could've pulled off with the necessary impact. The Acolyte doesn't compromise itself by relying upon a famous performer's cameo. Moss breathes striking life into her character, amplifying the few moments where an older, matured, and wiser Trinity whips around a green lightsaber into something we can't look away from.

New episodes of The Acolyte are available to stream Tuesdays on Disney+ in the U.S.

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