No other franchise created more flawed characters and offered them a path to redemption than Star Wars. However, this opportunity for guilt and redemption is sorely missing from Master Sol's tragic story in The Acolyte, which is why it's so difficult to accept. Master Sol is a complex character, and everyone agrees that he's a stubborn and selfish person who prioritizes his emotional attachment without consideration of the consequences.
But there's more to Sol's downfall than his actions, and what happens after his demise makes his story a tragedy of epic proportions. After his death, Vernestra pins the blame for everything on him. In death, Sol will never get to admit to what he did wrong and defend himself against false accusations. No matter how disturbing Sol's actions were on Brendok, he paid for them. Now that Master Sol has made the ultimate sacrifice, losing his life and reputation, I hope showrunner Leslye Headland will find a way to vindicate him in Season 2. After all, Master Sol wasn't an evil man, and Lee Jung-jae's layered performance reveals a lot about Sol's complex psyche.
There are ways to find a silver lining in Master Sol's tragic fall. Star Wars always leaves the door open for hope and redemption, although completely missing from The Acolyte's finale. In Season 2, if Leslye wishes to re-visit what went wrong with Sol, she can allow him to explain himself in death via a written note or a Hologram message meant for Osha. This would breathe a much-needed dose of hope into the story.
A great way to give Osha some closure and Sol an opportunity to explain himself would be if someone at the Jedi Temple, perhaps Vernestra Rwoh or one of the younglings Sol taught, finds a message Sol recorded in the years after Osha left the Jedi Order. In it, Sol can ask for forgiveness and apologize for killing Mother Aniseya. He can explain that he understands that he committed an unforgivable crime and deserves to be hated by Osha. Sol should admit that by taking Osha from her family and killing her mother, he acted on his emotions. Still, he hopes Osha finds a way to make peace with what happened and doesn't let it ruin her life. Sol also owes Mae a huge apology. Just as Mae had some blamed for everything on Brendok, Sol is now deemed responsible for the massacre of Khofar, which means Sol got what he deserved.
Now that Sol is gone and has paid for his sins, the focus should be on Osha's future. Nothing good can come from Osha's fall to the dark side, but the man who unintentionally led her on that path can bring her back, too. Sol can save Osha and Mae from the same fate because there's still hope. You can argue that Sol was unapologetic to the end, so how could he have ever owned up to his mistakes?
Ultimately, it's all up to Leslye Headland. Something good has to come out of the death and destruction, and as a Star Wars fan, I want hope and redemption to find their way in the end.
The Acolyte is streaming on Disney+.