What’s the deal with that end-credits song in ‘The Acolyte’ episode 7?

We’ve reached the penultimate episode of The Acolyte, and we finally know what really went down on Brendok that fateful night. Namely, a rather violent mess of selfishness, insecurity, and facing the consequences of not listening to the smart ladies in the room (Ellen Ripley would be disappointed in pretty much everyone involved).

But this isn’t a story about mistakes; this is a story about two twins who are at each other’s throats just as resolutely as they’re within each other’s hearts, and this latest episode had a particularly unique way of proving that.

The “Power of Two” song, explained

Those of you who stuck around for the end credits of The Acolyte‘s seventh episode probably expected the usual orchestral flare that has become so commonplace in the closing sequences of Star Wars projects. Perhaps you were surprised, then, to hear a broodingly electric pop song instead. Some of you, as with all things Acolyte it seems, found a way to complain about it, but there’s more depth behind the tune than it may seem.

For one, the song, called “Power of Two,” was recorded specifically for The Acolyte by Victoria Monét, and the lyrics are structured around the relationship between Osha and Mae, who we now know share a consciousness between one another; one soul in two bodies, if you will.

The lyric “and we so one and the same, so all my pain is your pain” makes this especially apparent. As individuals, Mae and Osha are driven by different sets of desires (perhaps a result of the aforementioned soul’s sense of duality being fractured); desires that invariably put them at odds with one another, and therefore inflict an inner pain upon the two girls, who love each other as sisters but who seem to recognize one another as enemies first and foremost.

The Acolyte is currently streaming on Disney Plus, with new episodes releasing every Tuesday until the season finale on July 16.