The season finale of The Acolyte left us with several topics to debate, including a few unexpected and jaw-dropping moments that will surely be analyzed for weeks to come.
Here are the 5 most shocking moments from The Acolyte episode 8, "The Acolyte."
1. Darth Plagueis the creep
In the middle of the season finale, a ghoulish figure appears to be snooping around and keeping an eye on Osha and Qimir. Aside from the hilarious memes resulting from this cameo, this moment made many fans jump. Unfortunately, it left us with more questions than answers. We don't know how long Darth Plagueis has been on that mystery planet or just got there. We also don't know if Qimir knows if Plagueis is there or if Qimir works for Plagueis. If anything, this cameo is why fans are convinced that a Season 2 is essential.
2. Osha hears Master Sol's confession
Back on Brendok, Master Sol admits to killing Mother Aniseya, and Osha hears everything. While Sol's actions on Brendok were terrible, and Osha probably felt betrayed, I still wish she had asked him why he did it. The flashback in episode 7, "Choice," makes it look like a split-second decision that Sol quickly regrets. In the finale, Sol tells Osha that he did it to protect her, which doesn't tell us anything new. The lack of a proper explanation is just as tragic as the outcome of Sol's confession. Nevertheless, it's nothing less than shocking to see Osha's reaction to Master Sol's confession.
3. Osha Force chokes Sol
Many fans predicted Osha would be the one who kills Master Sol, but few could've seen it happening in this way. Osha slowly Force chokes Sol, who could've easily stopped her if he wanted to. What's more tragic is that Sol was probably trying to tell Osha that he loved her before she stopped him, and even in his final moments, he tells her, "It's okay." After this, Osha's lightsaber kyber crystal is bled, turning the blade red and confirming her turn to the dark side.
4. Vernestra's cover up
Vernestra Rwoh doesn't waste any time before blaming every single Jedi's murder on Master Sol in her meeting with the Senate tribunal. I'll admit that I didn't see this coming from her and thought her explanation would be a mix of truth and lies. Unfortunately, she went for a complete cover-up, and now Sol is known as the rogue Jedi who killed everyone. It's always shocking to watch a Jedi stoop so low, even if it's to protect the Jedi Order as an institution.
5. The little green guy
As if the Darth Plagueis cameo wasn't shocking enough, the episode ended with a shot of Yoda's fuzzy head. Yoda was around for hundreds of years, so his appearance during The High Republic era isn't shocking as he's a character in the books and comics from this timeline. However, the shock comes from knowing that he'll probably hear what Vernestra has to say and will likely try to sweep the truth under the rug. However, Season 2 hasn't been confirmed yet, so we can only guess the outcome of Vernestra's conversation with Yoda.
Honorable mention: Bleeding the kyber crystal
Osha takes Master Sol's blue lightsaber which turns red as soon as she ignites it. This was a very cool visual and the first time we saw something like this on screen outside of comics and video games. This was shocking moment and a lot of fun!
The Acolyte is streaming on Disney+.