‘Actually winning for the first time in my life’: ‘The Acolyte’ finale stuns the ‘Star Wars’ fandom by giving them what they’ve wanted since 2017

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode 8.

Well, The Acolyte season 1 sure went to some unexpected places, huh? Disney Plus actually did a good job of keeping a lot about its first High Republic era series under wraps ahead of time, so much of what it had to offer — including its twin protagonists, the shocking deaths of halfway through, and its bold deconstructive take on the Jedi — came as pleasant surprises (well, except for the deaths part).

Another surprise? The “enemies-to-lovers” frisson between Osha (Amandla Stenberg) and Qimir (Manny Jacinto). The sequel trilogy proved that Star Wars fans can thirst with the best of them, and from the moment the hot Not-Sith formerly known as Darth Teeth started to seduce Osha over to the dark side, a certain subset of the fandom leaned forward in their seats like they haven’t done since the demise of Reylo.

A dark love affair between Rey and Kylo Ren was, of course, teased in 2017’s The Last Jedi before 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker somehow managed to offend both pro and anti-Reylos by killing Kylo off after Rey gave him a single chaste kiss. So imagine former Reylos’ shock when The Acolyte episode 8 ended with a distinct promise that these enemies are well on their way to becoming lovers.

After killing Sol, bleeding his lightsaber from blue to red, and keeping it as her own, Osha looks all set to embark on the Empress Rey arc that Daisy Ridley’s character never went on in the sequels. The finale’s final shot sees Osha committed to training in the ways of the dark side, with Qimir taking her hand as they watch the sunset — a clear inversion of Luke Skywalker’s famous moment in A New Hope.

For some people, this is like their middle-school fan fiction come to life so they need some time to process.

Victims of TROS don’t know how to cope with a win at last.

It’s so much more than they ever dared hope.

Is Star Wars… back?

For a show marketed as being about the users of the dark side of the Force for once, The Acolyte‘s first season often seemed to forget this, but it certainly looks like this is something showrunner Leslye Headland plans to fix if Disney Plus deigns to give it a second season. If not, there will definitely be a disturbance in the thirst — I mean, the Force.