The Acolyte: Did Indara lie to the Jedi Council?

Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 7, "Choice," showed us what happened on Brendok 16 years prior, only this time from the point of view of the Jedi. Needless to say, it was a mess of a situation in which no one was right in their actions, resulting in the deaths of the witch coven and Mae being a prime target for the Sith. This episode set the stage for the tragic events of the show.

In the midst of the mayhem, one person seemed to actually be using her head. Jedi Master Indara was adamant that they should leave the witches alone for the entire episode. She repeatedly told Sol and her padawan, Torbin, to stand down at least until they could talk to the Jedi Council about the matter. Also, she put in the request to the Council for Sol to take Osha as his padawan, only for them to deny it.

However, one fan pointed out that perhaps Indara wasn't as innocent in all of this either.

Sarah from Friends of the Force podcast shared a simple text image on her Twitter. The image simply states, "Indara never actually called the Council. She just waited and said no. A twin was never on Osha's file."

Needless to say, I gasped when I saw this take because it's a really good point. Earlier in the season, it was established that there was no mention of Mae on Osha's file. It's why she was originally the culprit when it came to Indara's murder. However, Indara specifically says at the end of "Choices" that she would speak to the Council alone and explain that Mae started the fire.

So what happened here? The obvious possibility is that Indara lied and never told the Council, just as Sarah said. There could also be other explanations too. Maybe the Council wrote off Indara's explanation and didn't add the intel to Osha's file. Perhaps they did not think it was important to note. Maybe the padawan assistant in the archives just didn't do the proper data entry.

Though, I agree with Sarah that the most likely scenario is that Indara withheld the information. That would match the themes and tone of the show. In "Choices," she is adamantly against Sol and his obsession with making Osha his student. I think it's perfectly plausible that she used the weight of the Council behind her and lied that they denied his request. Lying isn't a noble choice, but given how the episode unraveled, I could understand that Indara didn't feel like she had another option on the matter.

It makes her death even more tragic. She's the only character that Mae actually strikes down, and Indara was the one who wanted to leave Mae and Osha alone the most. She wanted the girls to stay with their family, and yet she was the first victim of Mae's revenge.

It's a testament to the complex character work The Acolyte has given us each week as the season comes to a close.