I am not sure that anyone was expecting The Acolyte to turn into perhaps the steamiest Star Wars story we’ve seen, but that…appears to be where we’ve found ourselves, against all odds.
As of this past week’s episode, we saw new, mysterious Sith Qimir morph from Jedi-slaughtering badass to a dark side lure, now that he’s captured Osha and stranded her on a Cortosis-infused island.
I was not expecting there to be uh, actual nudity in a Star Wars production. They didn’t show anything, of course, but Osha sees Qimir disrobe and swim in a nearby spring, and clips of star Manny Jacinto have gone viral, completing overtaking the whole “The Acolyte sucks and is ruining Star Wars” discourse that we’ve mostly seen so far. The week before this, even the show’s biggest critics had to admit “okay that fight was pretty awesome.” Now, we are in new, uncharted territory.
Of course there has been romance in Star Wars before. Han and Leia (we won’t talk about the Luke kiss), Anakin and Padme, and Kylo and Rey are the most famous examples. Here, we have a spin on the dark side/light side enemies-to-lovers concept that is prevalent in stories like these and was the basis of Kylo/Rey. But here? Things are heating up even more quickly and intensely.
Showrunner Leslye Headland actually talked about how she read immediately-written Qimir/Osha fan-fiction by fans and talked about that she was surprised how “prescient” it was, indicating an actual romance may be in the cards. But she mostly talks about how she has been fascinated by the concept of being “seduced” by the dark side of the force, a concept spoken about frequently, but not presented in the form of…literal seduction, at the same time. Sith, for whatever their attractive powers may be are rarely only sporadically actually attractive (Anakin, sure, Vader? Less so…), and Manny Jacinto has much of the fanbase lovestruck. He is embracing his newfound heartthrob status and potential romance, posting Osha/Qimir fan art on Instagram.
I am still trying to figure out how Headland said she would only write this specific character for the show if she could get Manny Jacinto. Don’t get me wrong, Jacinto is amazing in this role so far, but is obviously most known for his completely goofy turn as Jason in The Good Place. Initially, it seemed like he was doing a similar character, but since the reveal of his true nature, he now balances comedy with violence with charm. She really had a great eye to snag him for this, clearly.
It remains to be seen if the dark side “seduction” will turn into a literal romance, or if Headland is simply using those same vibes to corrupt Osha. It seems likely she will turn, once she learns the truth of what role the Jedi played in the death of her family (we don’t know exactly, but it’s heavily implied it’s something terrible), as I don’t see a reason she would have any loyalty to them, and Qimir is…making some good points.
I just don’t know if I’ve seen a Star Wars character written to be this level of seductive. Sure, we had Leia in a bikini and Padme in a mid-riff revealing top and shirtless Anakin, but this different, and I think everyone is holding their breath to see what happens next.
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