Like the proverbial Bat Signal, all types of creatives have been drawn to the Star Wars universe. Disney Plus’ influx of television has made it easy for many actors to venture to a galaxy far, far away.
The newest venture is the 8-episode first season of The Acolyte. Canonically set a century before the events of The Phantom Menace, The Acolyte features a crop of Jedi and their trials during the High Republic. Amandla Stenberg stars as a nefarious character who seeks to destroy the Jedi, as well as her twin sister, Osha. Also in attendance is Squid Game’s own Lee Jung-jae as a Jedi master and youngling teacher. But perhaps the most exciting for sci-fi fans is the addition of Carrie-Anne Moss to the cast. Her role as Jedi master Indara brings back memories of her days as leather-toting hacker Trinity in The Matrix in the best way possible.
Who is Carrie-Anne Moss in The Acolyte?
While Indara is tragically killed in the first moments of the series, that’s almost a red herring. She recurs throughout the first season in a series of flashbacks that slowly reveal the plot of the Jedi. After a formidable sequence where she fights — mainly without the use of a lightsaber — Indara is in the thick of events that show how insidious the Jedi are in their own way. The very code that the Jedi live by is ultimately to their detriment. Clinging to the ways of the Order that indoctrinate young children and squirrel away feelings is the direct cause of the creation of Mae, the titular first acolyte to Manny Jacinto’s The Stranger.
Entertainment Weekly states that Mae is not necessarily a Sith, but has a morally gray character alignment. This state of affairs is highlighted by showrunner Leslye Headland’s interest in telling a different kind of Jedi story, which she shared with the outlet.
“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?”
The Acolyte accomplishes this in an interesting fashion, showing the different perspectives of one harrowing event. Master Sol sins terribly while many of his fellow Jedi are complicit, after discovering the existence of a coven of Force-using witches. They storm the community which has devastating consequences. The only one truly absolved of wrongdoing is Indara.
The equivocal leader of the group investigating a Force vergence on the planet, she urges patience in her fellow Jedi. After Sol discovers the existence of Mae and Osha, he rushes to quote-unquote save them from their evil coven. While at first, it seems that Indara is just as guilty as Sol, her support of restraint proves that if Sol wasn’t there, these events would have been very different. She tells Sol that the girls are too old to train and they shouldn’t be taken from their community. She doesn’t want to be perceived as a threat but Sol’s impulsiveness causes the destruction of the coven.
Indara is the exception to the rule that many Jedi are corrupted by bureaucracy. Should The Acolyte get a second season, it is unlikely we will see a recurrence of the character. A real shame since Moss was an asset to the unique series. Fans can revisit these differing perspectives by streaming The Acolyte on Disney Plus.