Nobody has ever accused Star Wars lore of being clear or easy. However even in its mess of post-Disney canon and oft-ignored Legends, there are nonetheless pockets of absolute silliness which can be allowed to play essential roles within the story. And now the newest episode of The Acolyte has let two of these issues take middle stage: vergences and midi-chlorians.
[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for episode 7 of The Acolyte.]
Nearly each Star Wars fan from the ardent book-reader to probably the most informal film watcher is acquainted on some stage with midi-chlorians. First infamously talked about by Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace, they’re a bodily, dwelling measurement of Drive sensitivity that may be measured with a easy Jedi blood check.
It’s a little bit of the lore that’s been ridiculed and rejected by followers since 1999, and with fairly good motive. It’s disappointing to listen to the thriller and magic of the Drive diminished to a query of straightforward genetics. In actual fact, midi-chlorians have been so roundly chastised, that when The Acolyte chooses to deliver them up for plot functions, its writers refuse to even use their full identify, as a substitute using the ridiculous sounding, “M-count,” for brief. Regardless of all that although, vergences, this episode’s different plot-important little bit of lore, are much more ridiculous than the oft-mocked Drive-giving lifeforms.
Vergences had been additionally launched in The Phantom Menace, additionally by Qui-Gon throughout a dialog with Mace Windu. He didn’t increase on them a lot on the time, however since that film we’ve realized that vergences are usually locations with an unusually excessive focus of the Drive. They’re extra descriptively often called nexus factors for the Drive, and canonically embrace issues just like the cave on Dagobah the place Luke confronts Vader. One other instance is the mirror cave that Rey visits on Ahch-To. However that’s not all vergences are, and that is the place factor begin to get ridiculous.
Primarily based on the alternative ways it’s been utilized in canon, vergences might be nearly something. On their first point out, Qui-Gon explains that Anakin himself is a vergence, which is a part of the rationale he believes the kid could possibly be the chosen one. In one other occasion, the Skywalker household lightsaber turns into a vergence when Rey touches it in The Drive Awakens. Why does that occur? Who is aware of! Vegences are a thriller. Which is all advantageous and good once they’re principally relegated to a flavorful little bit of contextual lore round a few of Star Wars’ most essential occasions. However once they grow to be essential, issues get messy.
Which is what brings us again to episode 7 of The Acolyte. Whereas all of this vagueness could also be advantageous for serving to us perceive essential locations and moments in Star Wars canon, but it surely makes for a horrible units to make use of in an ongoing story. Regardless of that truth, The Acolyte’s massive reveal is that the witch coven cult on the planet Brendock have truly arrange their temple round a vergence. Not solely that, however they appear to have used that vergence to create synthetic life, which they then cut up into the 2 extraordinarily Drive-sensitive (excessive M-count) youngsters Osha and Mae — who’re apparently one individual trapped in two our bodies.
This may be an especially difficult reveal it doesn’t matter what Star Wars lore was tying it collectively. However attempting to elucidate all of this utilizing the vagaries of a hardly ever used piece of lore that’s mysterious by nature is downright baffling. On prime of that, how precisely the coven created Osha and Mae, and what it implies that they’re separated into two completely different our bodies stays a complete thriller. Worst of all, it’s potential that none of that is fairly what the present is attempting to disclose, which could actually be the worst case situation of all.
All of this muddies the water on what looks as if it was speculated to be the sequence’ triumphant reveal: it arrange an over-the-top cliffhanger in episode 3 all so we may see what occurred. So why doesn’t it really feel like we all know what occurred?