The Acolyte: The internet has fallen in love with Jecki Lon

The new live action Star Wars series, The Acolyte, is set a century before the prequel trilogy. This means the show is bursting to the brim with new characters.

Some new favorites include Jedi Master Sol, played by Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), and Charlie Barnett as Jedi Knight Yord Fandar. But one newbie in particular seems to capture the hearts of Star Wars fans across the galaxy.

I am, of course, referring to none other than Jecki Lon, played by the talented Dafne Keen (Logan, His Dark Materials). Despite being only nineteen, she has cemented herself a very nice place in modern onscreen culture and is already a veteran of the Marvel and Star Wars franchises.

From a distance it may be hard for some to see why social media has become so enamored with this character. You could easily brush Lon off as just another piece of set dressing. She doesn’t have a lot of dialogue and impact on plot progression is minimal at best. But to fair, so was Boba Fett’s in The Empire Strikes Back.

In fact, it’s often the side characters, whose wider lives can only be left to the imagination, that truly inspire a fanbase and raise them up to having cult-like popularity.

Keen’s muted performance displays little of Lon’s emotions, especially under heavy prosthesis, yet her personality inexplicably shines through and often steals the scene. Her sibling-like rivalry with Yord was a joy to witness as she struggles between becoming the model Jedi and the everyday perils of youth.

Lon is a member of a unique species in the galaxy. She is a hybrid between a Theelin and a human. Previous Star Wars Legends canon states that due to genetic mutation, Theelin were unable to reproduce with their own kind and thus diversified themselves through the galaxy. Another notable member of this hybrid species is Rystáll Sant of the Max Rebo band, who appears on Jabba’s Sail Barge in Return of the Jedi.

In a franchise with a truly staggering number of characters, both major and minor, it's always nice to know that despite having been around for nearly half a century, Star Wars is still able to produce memorable figures from all corners of the galaxy.