The Acolyte: The price of Jecki Lon's loyalty and friendship to Osha

Within the first episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte, one of the most interesting relationships has been between Sol's former Padawan and his current apprentice. Jecki Lon, played by Dafne Keen, Jecki begins as a Jedi who asks permission to speak freely to her master and waits until Master Sol is out of earshot before chastising a fellow member of the Order.

Her wariness of Osha in the first episode gradually evolves into the moment when she trusts this unknown quantity to be the central figure in the Jedi operations on Olega. When we return to this new relationship in episode 4, "Day," we find Osha and Jecki in a more comfortable place. Keen has this to say on how things stand before they sent out for Khofar, as quoted by Meghan O'Keefe on Decider.com:

"There’s that kind of almost competition as well, that they’re both Sol’s Padawans...But also the magnetism and the friendship that they build and the camaraderie — and the fact that they become a team later — and it was really fun to play with like confusing feelings and we don’t really know ever what it is."

- Dafne Keen

By the time they leave to intercept Mae, it is clear that Osha and Jecki are not just friends; they have each other's backs, and loyalty has heart-wrenching consequences in "Night."

Much of Master Sol's storyline in this episode is taken up with the protection of Osha, but Jecki is engaged in a mission that springs from her loyalty to her friend. From the start, she is on a mission to subdue and restrain a person to whom she owes nothing. It's true that Keen defines Jecki as trying to be the perfect Jedi student, which means being a guardian of peace and not attacking the unarmed. However, over and over in this episode, she works to protect the only family Osha has left.

On four separate occasions, Jecki engages in direct combat with the Master, who is revealed to be Qimir, fighting a man who is vastly more powerful. In three of those instances, this reckless heroism gives Mae a chance to escape. On the fourth occasion, she is murdered after finally revealing the dark Force user to both Mae and her Jedi adversaries.

Jecki died in the place of a criminal and on behalf of a friend. Whatever the rest of the series brings, I will feel that loss most keenly.