Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode 5.
The Acolyte‘s fifth installment, suitably titled “Night” given its dark themes, well and truly shut the haters up by delivering one of the most thrilling episodes of TV Star Wars has ever had. What’s more, unlike last week’s misguided cameo for Ki-Adi Mundi, it even features a callback to the Skywalker Saga that’s got the fans hyped.
Specifically, an oh-so-subtle Easter egg in episode 5 offers a nod to a certain sequel trilogy character, and it teases that a long-dormant part of lore that The Rise of Skywalker totally failed to answer might finally be on the cusp of being resolved. And, no, don’t worry, it’s nothing to do with Palpatine. Instead, it’s Ben Solo, the Master of the Knights of Ren himself, Kylo Ren.
The Acolyte episode 5 teases revelations to come with Kylo Ren Easter egg
As we all know by now (and many guessed weeks back), Qimir is indeed Mae’s master in the dark side of the Force, who has essentially been confirmed as a Sith lord. Just like the Sith’s Rule of Two, Qimir is devoted to finding himself the perfect acolyte. He thought this was Mae, but now that she has betrayed him, it seems Qimir is instead hoping to reshape Osha into becoming his apprentice instead.
Episode 5 ends with Mae masquerading as Osha and leaving with Master Sol to return to the Jedi, abandoning an unconscious Osha behind. When Qimir finds her, however, he heals her wounds and strokes her arm, hinting at his desire to make Osha his ultimate acolyte. The thing is, the music playing over this scene is very clearly an altered, slowed version of John Williams’ Kylo Ren motif from the sequels.
On the one hand, this may simply be a nod to how the Force healing ability first debuted in the sequel trilogy, but many are convinced the Easter egg is more specific than that. Some are theorizing that Qimir will be revealed as the original Knight of Ren.
Is The Acolyte just one big backdoor origins story for the Knights of Ren?
The Knights of Ren were frustratingly left unexplained in the movies themselves, but those who’ve kept up with Marvel’s Star Wars comics know of Ren, Kylo’s original mentor who he ultimately killed and replaced as the knights’ leader. It’s worth nothing that Qimir’s look seems to owe a little something to Ren’s.
Plugging one of the biggest plot holes from the sequels would definitely earn The Acolyte a lot of street cred among the Star Wars fandom. Or are we just seeing connections that aren’t there and are setting ourselves up for disappointment? As the man once said, let the past die — kill it if you have to.