What Is An Acolyte? New Star Wars TV Show Title Explained
The upcoming Star Wars show, Star Wars: The Acolyte, will focus on a fledgling member of the Sith, but her title isn’t exactly clearly defined. The Acolyte is set during the High Republic era of Star Wars, at a time when the Sith were thought to be extinct. Because of that, the Jedi had few Force-wielding enemies to contend with, but a new trailer for The Acolyte shows that the relative peace didn’t last for long. As the Sith reintroduce themselves to the galaxy, understanding what a Sith acolyte is will become crucial.
Alongside the trailer, some of The Acolyte’s character details were also revealed, and the show’s namesake was revealed to be a former Jedi Padawan named Mae. While there still isn’t much known about her, she’s described as being swept up into a sinister mystery. Given her fights with several different Jedi in the trailer, it seems Mae will oppose the Jedi, though she might not be part of the Sith, either. Here’s what Mae’s possible moniker and The Acolyte’s title mean in the real world and within the Star Wars galaxy.
What An Acolyte Means In The Real World
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “acolyte” has two definitions. One refers to a person who assists with religious duties, but the other, more relevant definition is “one who attends or assists a leader.” That definition can apply to anyone from an administrative assistant in an office to a superhero’s sidekick. While the word has a fairly general meaning with a neutral connotation, The Acolyte will give it a much darker meaning.
How “Acolytes” Tie In To The Sith
Ever since Darth Bane implemented the Sith Rule of Two, the dark side users have followed a rigid structure in the way they passed down knowledge to future generations. The Rule of Two requires there only be two Sith at any given moment – a master and their apprentice – so that they could operate in the shadows and build power without Jedi interference. While the rule only allows for two official Sith at a time, the rank of acolyte allowed for more followers of the dark side to exist.
Sith acolytes weren’t officially members of the Sith, but they were often Force-sensitive people who hoped to join. One of the intended consequences of the Rule of Two was that it would create competition between a Sith Lord and their apprentice by encouraging the student to overcome the master through betrayal. That envious and competitive mentality also extended to acolytes, who often tried to kill apprentices and take their place. No one was safe within the Sith, and there was always someone lower on the food chain who would be willing to kill to gain more power.
The structure of the Sith also hints at what Mae’s role, and the driving force behind her actions, could be in The Acolyte. If she is an acolyte, she’ll likely be competing for a chance to become a Sith apprentice. That would put Mae on the war path, and her ambition to rise through the ranks could be why she’s picking fights with Jedi. Becoming strong in the dark side of the Force was a long and dangerous road, though, and one of the most important steps put acolytes at a disadvantage in battle.
A Sith Acolyte Wouldn’t Possess A Red Lightsaber… Yet
Part of a Sith apprentice’s journey to gaining power requires them to kill a Jedi, take their lightsaber, and bleed the kyber crystal powering it. Once they turned the crystal red by imbuing it with their own negative emotions, they claimed it for themselves and used it to power a red lightsaber. It was a major step on an apprentice’s path to overtaking their master, and most acolytes would never advance far enough to reach the level of power necessary to take on a Jedi. As such, Mae likely wouldn’t have access to a red lightsaber.
Throughout the trailer, Mae was seen fighting with a dagger instead of the characteristic red lightsaber used by the Sith. If she is a Sith acolyte, her lack of a lightsaber would make sense given her status as an acolyte. Her lack of a lightsaber could also be another clue to her story in The Acolyte, as she is likely hunting Jedi in search of a kyber crystal to bleed. Her search could be the string of Jedi killings referenced in the trailer, and she could earn her lightsaber and a title as an apprentice with blood.
How Powerful Is A Sith Acolyte?
One of the most famous Sith acolytes of all time is Asajj Ventress, and she also functions as a good scale of how powerful an acolyte could become. Ventress was an acolyte of Count Dooku, and she became a hugely important figure throughout the Clone Wars, mostly because of her impressive skill in combat and strength in the dark side of the Force. She proved that Sith acolytes could be some of the most deadly warriors in the galaxy, and that their strength could match even the most skilled Jedi Masters, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Ventress was also a slightly abnormal Sith acolyte, though, as she was trained during a galaxy-wide war as part of Palpatine’s larger plan to destroy the Sith. As such, she never had to operate in secret and she had access to the full strength of the droid army. Mae won’t have any of those advantages, as the Sith were still in hiding at the time, and that could limit her power. Still, she has already proven herself as a more than adept fighter who can hold her own against Jedi Masters, even without a lightsaber, so it’s safe to say she’ll be quite strong.
The Acolyte will provide a deeper look into the inner workings of the Sith than ever seen before in live-action Star Wars, and it will likely accomplish that through Mae. Whatever her quest is, and however she connects to the Jedi killings teased in the trailer, her journey is sure to be interesting. It still isn’t clear Mae whether is a Sith acolyte, or if she falls somewhere between Jedi and Sith, though, and Mae’s mysterious role could quickly make her one of the most intriguing characters in The Acolyte, and Star Wars as a whole.
