Summary
The Acolytefeatures a mysterious new Sith Lord, and here are all the clues to his true identity. Officially referred to only as “The Master,“The Acolyte’s Sith Lord is clearly a force to be reckoned with. He made his proper debut at theend ofThe Acolyteepisode 4, generating a telekinetic blast that tossed Jedi around as though they were flies caught in a hurricane. Like many Sith Lords, he wears a mask; this has led viewers to speculate he’s concealing his true identity, and that he’s actually someone else in the show.
The top theory is that the Sith Lord is in fact the smuggler Qimir, secretly monitoring his potential apprentice from close by as she performs her mission for him. There’s certainly a lot of circumstantial evidence supporting the theory, although at the moment it’s difficult to say whether this is too obvious; it may be misdirection. If it isn’t, though, here are all the clues that suggestQimir isThe Acolyte’s Sith Lord.
Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode Guide - Cast Members, Biggest Takeaways & Easter Eggs
Here’s everything you need to follow along with Star Wars: The Acolyte, from references and trivia to main takeaways from each new episode.
8Mae Doesn’t Know Who The Sith Lord Really Is
Why is the Sith Lord hiding his true identity?
There’s nothing particularly unusual about Sith Lords wearing helmets, of course; what’s more, just because someone wears a mask, it doesn’t mean they’re hiding anything. This is a lessonStar Warsviewers really should have learned fromAhsoka, where months of speculation about the Inquisitor Marrok were ended with the disappointing revelation he was nothing more than a reanimated corpse. ButThe Acolytedoes seem to be setting up a different approach.
UnlikeAhsoka,The Acolyteis hintingthe mystery Sith Lord has something to hide.There’s a pointed conversation between Amandla Stenberg’s Mae and Manny Jacinto’s Qimir inThe Acolyteepisode 4, with Mae curiously questioning her ally about the Master’s secrets. Mae has never seen his true face, and apparently doesn’t even know his name; she senses this is a big deal, and wonders just what it means.
7Qimir & The Sith Lord Have Never Been In The Same Place
Is this just a coincidence?
Foundational to this whole theory is, of course, the most basic fact of all: thatQimir and the Master have never been seen together in the same place.This is even when they’re known to be geographically close by to one another, such as on Khofar inThe Acolyteepisode 4. It definitely raises some red flags.
6Qimir’s Claims About “The Master” Don’t Add Up
He’s clearly being evasive
Next we have Qimir’s evasive response when Mae asks him how much he knows about the Master. “I just owe him,” he insists. “You know how he collects people.” While it’s possible he just doesn’t like disclosing information, there’s a level of visible discomfort in Jacinto’s performance that suggests he’s unhappy about the questions. Qimir doesn’t really want Mae to think about his relationship with the Master.
Is Qimir just fobbing Mae off? Or is he actually wary of encouraging Mae to think about the face behind the Sith Lord’s mask, because he fears she might start questioning whether they’re one and the same? This particular piece of dialogue feels about as subtle as a moment of lampshading in the latestScooby Doomystery, raising the possibilityThe Acolyte’s Sith Lordis in fact Qimir.
5Qimir’s Reaction To Osha Is Disturbingly Threatening
He pivots to sinister with chilling ease
The next clue can be found inThe Acolyteepisode 2, whenAmandla Stenberg’s Oshaimpersonates her twin in a meeting with Qimir. The smuggler falls for it at fiirst, saying a little too much, and then he pivots to sinister and threatening with disturbing ease. Even more striking, though, is the fact that he switches back to bumbling and naive the moment Jedi arrive. The clear implication is that this isn’t just another roguish Han Solo characters;he is something far more sinister.
At the very least, Qimir is a close ally of the Sith who’s playing his cards close to his chest. Alternatively, if Qimir is this good at acting, then it’s entirely possible he’s concealing his true self from Mae as well. Could he actually be the Sith Lord, playing mind-games with everyone around him?
4Qimir Has Sources Of Information That Don’t Make Sense
He has sources inside the Jedi Order
The Acolytehas subtly hinted at Sith infiltrators among the Jedi. The first two episodes feature moments in which both Mae and Qimir hint at having access to restricted information; Mae knows the contents of Torbin’s past reports to the Jedi Council, while Qimir has successfully tracked down Kelnacca on Khofar.Both would involve access to the Jedi Archives.
Qimir’s casual name-dropping of Khofar, in particular, seems rather more mysterious afterThe Acolyteepisode 4. Previously, it seemed as though he’d simply figured out what planet the Wookiee Jedi was living on; now, it’s clear he actually scouted the forests and found him. His story appears to have subtly changed, in rather a suspicious manner, but the source of his information still surely lies with the Jedi. Only a Sith who “collects people” would have such resources.
3Qimir Feels Like A Master Reminding Mae Of Her Mission
He’s careful to nudge Mae in the right direction
There’s an amusing “Lord of the Rings” feel to the trek through Khofar’s jungle inThe Acolyteepisode 4, and the journey allows Mae some time for reflection. Qimir doesn’t appear to be best pleased with this, continually attempting to guide the conversation back to Mae’s mission. He reminds her of the rules (also serving as a useful infodump for viewers, helping clarify that Mae must either kill a Jedi without a weapon or with their own lightsaber).
On reflection, though, this feels more than a little pointed. Qimir already knows this, and yet there’s an intensity to this scene that suggests it’s more than just idle chat. It really is as though he’s a master, carefully reminding Mae of her mission because he fears the sight of Osha has caused her to forget it.
2Qimir Predicts How The Master Will React To Mae’s Betrayal
It feels like a final warning
Qimir is right to believe Mae is losing her edge. The sight of Osha has awoken something deep within her, something she no doubt thought had long since been killed off. TheSith assassin Maeis feeling the redemptive pull of the light side of the Force; attachment can lead people away from the dark as well as cause them to fall into the shadows. Mae springs a trap an Ewok would be proud of, and she heads off to surrender herself to Master Kelnacca. She wants only to be reunited with her long-lost sister.
Qimir’s reaction is interesting. He begins by trying to remind Mae of her mission, then moves to warning of the consequences. It’s only when he learns she intends to tell the Jedi everything she knows of the Master that he seems resigned to the inevitable. “He’ll kill you,” Qimir tells her. He knows the Master guards his secrets well, and will now view Mae as a potential threat. It’s entirely possible he knows this because he is in fact the Master, and he can’t afford Mae’s knowledge to be shared with the Jedi.
1The Master Appears On Khofar After Mae Has Left Qimir
Surely there are too many coincidences
The Acolyteepisode 5 promises to be an epic action-packed battle between light and dark, because - unbeknownst to Mae - the Master is in fact on Khofar. It’s striking, though, that he emerges only after Qimir has been trapped. What’s more, he’s clearly using the forest canopy to travel undetected - the same canopy Mae tried to trap Qimir in with her Ewok trap. It really does feel as though this is Qimir.
One line of dialogue seems to lampshade this twist inThe Acolyteepisode 4. “He’d have to find me first,” Mae tells Qimir as she runs off into the jungle. “And I don’t know if even he could make it all the way over here without a guide.” She’s right; it’s not easy to navigate the jungle of Khofat, and even the Master couldn’t do it. But it’s quite possible the Masterisin fact the guide, Qimir, meaning she’s utterly wrong to believe herself safe from the Sith Lord as she runs on through the jungles of Khofar.
The Acolyte
Cast
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
