The Acolyte’s Huge Sith Reveal Isn’t What You Think

This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 5.

After five episodes of Disney+’s The Acolyte, the mask has (quite literally) slipped, and we know who the mysterious master of Mae (Amandla Stenberg) is. There were plenty of theories on who was under the helmet of “Smylo Ren,” and while many were on the money with who the stranger was, this isn’t the end of the story.

“Night” revealed that the shady Qimir (Manny Jacinto) was Mae’s master, backing up his dodgy dealings from his introduction in episode 2 and even more suspicious behavior in episode 4. Qimir doesn’t reveal his name, but instead says, “The Jedi like you would call me a Sith.” While his name is likely being kept back for a reason, fans are already predicting one more twist to the tale.

Over on Reddit, there’s wild speculation that Qimir isn’t the puppet master he appears and is actually working for a higher power. Like Yoda warned in The Phantom Menace, “Always two there are, no more, no less. A master and an apprentice.” Despite Qimir’s impressive lightsaber skills, his age hardly paints him as the Sith overlord who’s pulling the strings. 

As you can imagine, lots of theories are popping up online at the moment about the true nature of the Sith menace on the show. Redditor u/Crafty_Soul suggests that Qimir’s own master will turn up in the final episode and easily beat him. As for who the master’s master is, there’s no shortage of options. Backing up one of the earliest theories, someone on Twitter guessed before episode 5 even aired that Master Indara is Qimir’s master. There’s disappointment that an actor as big as Carrie-Anne Moss had her character killed off in the opening scene, but then again, it definitely provided the shock factor. 

Others think that Margarita Levieva’s Mother Koril is destined for a surprise comeback, which would neatly tie into the events on Brendok. In episode 5, viewers noted how Qimir’s arms have burn marks on them, suggesting that he was there on Brendok when the Jedi clashed with Mother Aniseya’s coven, and it all went down in flames. Qimir pointing out that Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) doesn’t recognize him is further proof that Osha’s memories of Mae being responsible for the death of the witches might not be all it seems. 

With the events of The Acolyte taking place 16 years after the Brendok massacre and Qimir suggesting Sol go back to before Mae, Osha, and the Jedi “first” met him on Olega, the Jedi Master likely knew him as a child. There was no sign of a boy in the coven, but if not Qimir himself, some other mystery person rescued Mae from the fire. Namely, the idea that Qimir is a reckless Force user searching for his own apprentice to shape is one that’s catching on. 

Further afield, fans are looking to the now non-canon Legends continuity and a few famous Sith faces that we’ve already predicted could make their way into live-action. Backing up the OP Reddit theory, others suggested that the famous Darth Tenebrous (Darth Plagueis’ predecessor) is the ultimate big bad of the series. The Sith Rule of Two has long been in effect at this point in the timeline, although it’s interesting that it’s around this time Darth Tenebrous broke the cycle of master and apprentice by training Darth Plagueis as his official successor and Darth Venamis in secret.

In Legends, Plagueis was a Munn and Venamis was a Bith, which seemingly counts Qimir out from being either of them, if Disney wants to follow a similar path. But interestingly, Venamis was thought to have a ghostly floating ability and Plagueis the power of Force healing, which were both things we’ve seen Qimir’s character do in the series. Did he learn these powers from his master, and will they be passed down the Sith line? 

Episode 5 also had an interesting tease of Kylo Ren’s theme playing when Qimir used Force healing on Osha. This has led to equally wild theories that he’s a precursor to the Knights of Ren. Someone speculated, “The only cool theory I can think of is that Qimir is either a member of a Sith cultist group/a precursor to the Knights of Ren or is a failed Sith Acolyte/Apprentice. Then Darth Tenebrous & Plagueis come in and absolutely VIOLATE him for being too loud in the season finale. Keep the Darth Tenebrous-Plagueis-Sidious line of succession.”

As with all things The Acolyte, it’s all guesswork about where the final three episodes are heading. Still, with this lucrative period of Star Wars history set 100 years before The Phantom Menace and The Acolyte alumni Ki-Adi-Mundi claiming the Sith haven’t existed for a millennium during Episode I, the Jedi Order either willingly hides what’s going on or never finds out. Either way, it’s not looking good for Master Sol’s chances of making it into a potential season 2 alive with Sith now haunting his past.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is streaming now on Disney+.