The Acolyte S1E5 "Night" - TV Tropes (2024)

The Acolyte S1E5 "Night" »

Recap

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Ambiguous Syntax:
- At dawn, Mae insists to Osha that "those Jedi got what they deserved"; is she referring solely to the ones from the Brendok party that she herself killed, or to the ones that Qimir slaughtered the previous night?
- When "Osha" (actually Mae) presents herself to Sol, Sol asks about "your sister" rather than use Mae or Osha's name, leaving it unclear if he has suspicions about Mae's deception.
- Qimir doesn't directly identify himself as a Sith, only telling Sol that the Jedi "might" call him that.
Anti-Magic: In addition to its lightsaber-disrupting capabilities, Qimir suggests that his cortosis helmet prevents Sol from being able to read his thoughts with the Force.
Anyone Can Die: With Jecki and Yord billed and acting as main characters (and especially with Jecki still a child), one could easily assume that they'll somehow survive the battle. Nope. Even Infant Immortality can't save Jecki.
At Least I Admit It: Qimir taunts Sol by saying he’s at least embraced his darkness — but given how violent Sol is getting, he’s evidently not dealing with his well in return.
Beware the Nice Ones:
- Jecki is the most levelheaded and calm of padawans, but she fights Qimir with a ferocity that gives even him pause, and she's able to keep up with him in one-on-one combat for a while.
- Sol is an All-Loving Hero who was even willing to give Mae a chance and firmly believes in only using his lightsaber when necessary. After Qimir kills Jecki and Yord, however, Sol flies into a rage and nearly kills him, only barely being stopped by Osha.
Bifurcated Weapon: Qimir's lightsaber hilt conceals a second blade, which he uses to take Jecki by surprise and kill her.
Call-Back: With Qimir revealed as a Sith, his casual quoting of the Sith code in the second episode certainly takes on an even darker light.
Call-Forward:
- Kylo Ren's theme is played in two scenes with Qimir towards the end of the episode, though the significance of it is purely up to conjecture at this point.
- Qimir says "what extraordinary beings we are", a reference to Yoda's "luminous beings are we" quote from The Empire Strikes Back from a Sith perspective.
- Mae accuses the Jedi of turning Osha against her in a manner akin to Anakin/Vader accusing Obi-Wan of doing the same to Padme.
Character Death: Of the eight Jedi sent to the planet, seven are killed by Qimir (eight of nine there if you count Kelnacca). While most are redshirts that audiences have been primed to expect to die, two (Jecki and Yord) are named characters whose deaths are acknowledged by the plot and other characters.
Comforting Comforter: Given a very twisted take when Qimir puts his cape over an unconscious Osha, clearly meaning to corrupt her.
Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Qimir spends the first half of the show effectively being a Stock Slasher villain to the Red Shirt Army, killing the nameless Jedi with ease.
- Osha tries to subdue Mae after all is said and done, but once Mae actually starts fighting back, she quickly overcomes her sister.
Curb Stomp Cushion: Jecki holds her own against Qimir a lot better than the other Jedi by surviving long enough to fight alongside Sol. She even destroys his helmet —revealing his identity — before she's fatally skewered by him.
Deadpan Snarker: Despite his menacing appearance and merciless brutality, Qimir shows off a dry sense of humor as he fights Sol, feigning offense that Sol doesn't recognize him (while Qimir is wearing a mask) and responding to Sol asking why he'd risk exposing himself by pointing out that he was wearing a mask until Jecki knocked it off.
Dies Wide Open: Osha comes across the dead body of a Jedi with his eyes still open; Yord also dies this way after Qimir breaks his neck.
Dirty Coward: Qimir and later Osha accuse Mae of this, and with good reason, as she flees from Qimir and begs for mercy when he catches her. There's also how despite having openly stated she would try to turn herself in to the Jedi in the previous episode, she resists Jecki's attempts to arrest her when it actually happens. When she can't immediately convince Osha to come with her, Mae steals her clothes and poses as her, leaving her sister for Qimir.
Dramatic Unmask: Jecki manages to bash the Master's helmet off, though she herself gets stabbed before the helmet hits the ground. The audience is blocked from seeing his face until her own body slumps over and stops blocking the camera, revealing him to be Qimir.
Dual Wielding:
- Jecki picks up Kelnacca's saber and uses it when Qimir temporarily shorts hers out, then dual wields them when hers comes back on. It proves effective enough that Qimir cuts Kelnacca's in half rather than let her try it again.
- Qimir kills Jecki by splitting his own lightsaber hilt into a second weapon during a Blade Lock and stabbing her thrice.
Faux Affably Evil: While introduced as a smuggler on the wrong side of the law, Qimir previously seemed to be a friendly and rather clumsy young man who was simply in a bad situation, and he seemed to genuinely regard Mae as his friend. In this episode, it's revealed that he's actually a powerful Sith warrior and a calculated, scheming murderer.
Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: Qimir accuses the Jedi of pulling this on the Sith, thus the only way for him to live in peace is to kill whatever Jedi learns of his identity.
Gory Discretion Shot:Two Jedi are decapitated behind a tree by Qimir.
He Knows Too Much: Qimir says that revealing himself to the Jedi present means that all of them have to die. He makes good on it by killing all present except for Osha, Mae, Sol, and Bazil.
Hero Killer: Qimir slaughters the Jedi search party, among them Jecki and Yord.
His Name Is...: Sol is about to confess everything to Osha when Mae stuns him.
Honor Before Reason: Although clearly tempted, Sol refuses to kill Qimir after he's been disarmed, something Qimir mocks.
Hope Spot: As Qimir holds Mae hostage, Yord ambushes him and uses Qimir's helmet against him to disable his lightsaber. Just moments later, Yord is dead via a Neck Snap.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Many of the Jedi perish this way, but special mention goes to Jecki, who's stabbed three times in short succession as her killing blow(s), as well as one Jedi who was pulled and impaled on Qimir's saber while it was impaling another Jedi.
Important Haircut: Mae cuts her long braids with Yord's nearby lightsaber to pose as Osha.
Inertial Impalement: Qimir impales one Jedi, then Force-pulls a second one onto the blade before the first one can fall.
Internal Reveal: Qimir is identified as Mae's mysterious master to Mae, Osha, Jecki, and Sol.
"It" Is Dehumanizing: The Jedi refer to Qimir as "it" since they're unsure of his gender, and he in turn does the same to Jecki after he kills her.
Just a Kid: Sol says Jecki was just a child after Qimir murders her.
Sol: She was a child.
Qimir: You brought her here.
Killed Offscreen:
- One Jedi is killed by Qimir offscreen.
- Pip also is destroyed (or, at least, badly damaged) by Qimir offscreen.
Kill the Ones You Love: Referenced, as Osha tells her droid Pip "I love you" before using him to draw umbramoths to Qimir, letting her, Sol, and Mae escape. Fortunately for Pip, Bazil finds him later after Qimir finally manages to dislodge the droid from his clothes.
Loving a Shadow: Osha and Mae's conversation at dawn makes it clear that, while Mae does love her sister, she prefers her ideal Osha over the real one, choosing to believe that Osha's true self is that of Mae's fellow witch and that the Jedi are to blame for Osha deviating from that path. When Osha fails to come around to her way of thinking and tries to bring her in, Mae knocks her out and poses as her twin, leaving Osha for Qimir.
Mugged for Disguise: Mae knocks her sister out and steals her clothes in order to pose as her.
Musical Nod: Kylo Ren's theme is played twice in scenes with Qimir towards the end of the episode.
My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Osha senses when Qimir kills Jecki.
Mythology Gag: Qimir’s helmet and vambrace deactivate Jedi lightsaber blades that hit them, but still take a scratch. It was confirmed this is the first-ever canon onscreen depiction of Star Wars Legends-era cortosis ore armor, worn in that continuity by the Jensaarai warriors and Imperial Knights.
Mundane Utility: Mae uses her new lightsaber to give herself a quick haircut to mimic Osha.
Neck Snap: Qimir finishes off Yord by overpowering him, getting him in a chokehold, and snapping his neck like a twig.
Never My Fault:
- Qimir claims that the Jedi oppress the Sith because they won't let them use their power freely. Problem is, a Sith's definition of using their power freely usually involves lots o' murder, which Qimir aptly demonstrates through the episode.
- Qimir also claims that he only wanted a pupil, but Mae betrayed him by going back on their "deal" and exposing him. Ignoring the fact that Mae didn't once cotton on to his true identity, Qimir exposed himself by going off to kill Kelnacca when Mae decided to surrender herself and then choosing to murder the whole Jedi group himself.
- When Sol calls him out for killing Jecki, Qimir passes the blame onto Sol himself for bringing Jecki to Khofar in the first place.
- Mae claims that the Jedi brainwashed Osha into hating her. Osha fires back that Mae tried to kill her, but Mae brushes this aside and continues to blame the Jedi for everything.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Sol saves Mae's life several times during his duel with Qimir and even backs off when Qimir threatens her life. Mae repays Sol by shooting him in the back with Osha's stun blaster.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Sol noticeably leans into darkness and unleashes a serious barehanded thrashing on Qimir after he slaughters Yord, Jecki, and so many more of Sol's extended found family. He takes advantage of Yord shorting out Qimir's lightsaber to beat Qimir in aggressive hand to hand combat. Only Osha objecting keeps Sol from killing Qimir once Sol has his lightsaber drawn, as he has to remind himself that "The Jedi do not attack the unarmed."
No Name Given: When Qimir is revealed to be the Sith Master, he claims not to have a real name, indicating that "Qimir" is merely a pseudonym he used as part of his disguise.
No-Sell: Osha tries to fire a stun blast at Qimir, but it does nothing except get his attention focused on her after harmlessly striking his cortosis armor.
No, You: During Sol and The Stranger's Casual Danger Dialogue;
Sol: What master hides his face from his pupil?
The Stranger: You tell me.
The Nose Knows: Bazil can clearly smell the difference between Mae and Osha at the end.
"Not So Different" Remark: Qimir makes a number of these comparing himself and Sol, claiming that they both hid their "faces" from their pupils, Qimir literally and Sol metaphorically.
Not What It Looks Like: While they fight, Jecki tries to place Mae under arrest for Kelnacca's death in addition to those of Indara, Torbin, and the Coven; since she was in Kelnacca's cabin along with his dead body, Mae doesn't even try to protest her innocence, even though she knows that Qimir killed Kelnacca.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Qimir is shown to have been doing this all along. In previous episodes, he seemed to be a clumsy, borderline-incompetent lackey who relied on Mae's protection and was easily outsmarted by her when she chose to rebel against her Master. With the reveal in this episode that he is her mysterious Master and is actually a highly skilled warrior capable of defeating and murdering several Jedi simultaneously, this confirms that his bumbling persona was nothing more than a front.
Oh, Crap!: Qimir clearly has this reaction when Jecki, in quick succession, not only blocks his blade with a lightsaber he didn't realize she had, but hers reactivates and she begins using both to attack him.
Ominous Latin Chanting: Ominous chanting in some language is heard twice, once when Sol goes one-on-one against Qimir and once when Mae cuts down her braids to look like Osha.
One-Man Army: Qimir slaughters his way through the Jedi, with only Jecki and Sol providing him an actual challenge, and he kills the former anyways.
Outside-Context Problem: As Ki-Adi Mundi put a century later, the Jedi have believed the Sith to be extinct for a millennium. The Jedi in this episode are completely dumbfounded as to what Qimir is and even refer to him as an "it", they're so confounded by him. When revealing himself as a Sith to Sol, Qimir even mockingly says he’s what the Jedi "might call a Sith" to clown on how woefully ignorant the Jedi are of the surviving line of his order.
Playing the Victim Card: After identifying himself as a Sith, Qimir notes that the Jedi don't allow his order to use their power freely, as they might wish, framing it as unjust oppression. Even ignoring Qimir's own actions and those of his Acolyte, canon is rife with moments of the Sith using their power to oppress and terrorize the innocent; when Qimir says he wants "freedom", what he wants is the freedom to dominate and kill as he pleases.
Predecessor Villain: If he's part of the main Rule of Two lineage and not a renegade Sith like Maul was during the Clone Wars, Qimir is revealed to be this; being a Sith active seemingly prior to Darth Plagueis, who was (or rather will be) the master of Darth Sidious.
Redshirt Army: The unnamed Jedi who accompanied Sol, Yord, Jecki, Osha, and Bazil are all easily slaughtered fighting Qimir without any characterization.
Resignations Not Accepted: Qimir is very displeased with Mae for her attempt to betray him and tries to kill her more than once. Even when she tries to beg for his forgiveness, he has none of it and taunts her for always having been "weak".
The Reveal: Qimir is revealed to be the Master and a Sith.
Rewatch Bonus: With The Reveal of Qimir's identity, his past behavior as a seemingly shiftless drunk becomes an obvious case of Obfuscating Stupidity, with his quoting of the Sith Code and warnings of "the Master's" wrath taking on a new light as it becomes clear that he was trying to properly educate his acolyte and warn her against incurring his anger.
Sacrificial Lion: After being developed as main characters throughout the season, both Jecki and Yord are killed by Qimir.
Save the Villain: Sol and Jecki intervene several times as Qimir tries to kill Mae.
Self-Serving Memory: Mae insists that the Jedi "invaded" the Coven's home and stole Osha from her family, when Osha chose to leave with them, and the Jedi's meetings with the witches were (as far as the audience has seen) tense, but ultimately nonviolent. Mae also assumes that Osha's fondness for the Jedi is the result of brainwashing, even though her sister clearly wanted to join them even while they were both still with the Coven.
Slasher Smile: Qimir pulls one of these right in Sol's face when they begin their hand to hand fight, and maintains it for a while as they seem to be evenly matched. Then Sol turns up the volume and literally beats Qimir down in the dirt, at which point he's no longer smiling.
Stance System: Jecki fights Qimir three ways: using her single lightsaber, using it in conjunction with Kelnecca's saber holding his standard grip and hers inverted, and holding both standard grip.
Stealth Hi/Bye: Qimir loves doing this, darting in and out of the battlefield seemingly at random as a way to f*ck with his opponents.
Student–Master Team: Sol and Jecki briefly double-team Qimir — until Jecki is killed.
Summon Bigger Fish: Osha lures the umbramoths to Qimir and plants Pip, with his light activated, on Qimir's back, leaving him to be swarmed and carried off by them. While he eventually fights his way out, it takes the rest of the night, allowing Sol and Mae to escape.
Twin Switch: Mae switches places with Osha to take revenge on Sol, leaving the still unconscious Osha to be found by Qimir.
The Unfettered: Discussed by Qimir, who notes that breaking rules is only a problem if one abides by any.
Ungrateful Bastard: Sol and Jecki intervene to save Mae from Qimir's wrath, and Yord's interference allows her to escape her murderous master's grip. Even though without those three Jedi, she wouldn't have survived the night, Mae still stuns Sol and insists to Osha that the Jedi she killed deserved their fates. This is especially apparent with Sol, who resolutely refuses to take action that could endanger Mae's life and saved Osha as a child, but Mae seems to hold him in particular contempt because Osha chose being his student over being Mae's fellow witch.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Sol led a team consisting of two civilians and seven other Jedi into the forest from the landing site. The salvagers who are sitting nearby don't even react to Sol coming back with just one civilian and no other Jedi, being focused more on their gambling.
Use Their Own Weapon Against Them: Yord uses Qimir's own helmet to short out his lightsabers. While Qimir is still skilled enough in unarmed combat to kill Yord without them, Sol kicks his ass, nearly killing him until Osha arrives to convince him to stand down.
Villain Respect: While fighting Jecki, Qimir notes that Mae could learn from her, as Jecki is a loyal pupil. He still kills Jecki without pity when the opportunity comes up.
We Hardly Knew Ye: After being introduced in the last episode, Ithia is swiftly killed by Qimir.
Wham Episode: Qimir is revealed to be a Sith. and Mae’s master, and he slaughters the entire team of Jedi — including Yord and Jecki — except for Sol. Osha is knocked out and replaced by Mae, who tricks Sol into thinking she’s her sister, and Qimir is at large and now has Osha at his mercy. However, based on their actions and dialogue, Bazil, Qimir, and possibly Sol are all aware of the deception.
Wham Shot: The unmasked (but with his face still unrevealed to the audience) Sith pulls out a second lightsaber and stabs Jecki three times; she falls to the ground, revealing her killer to be Qimir.
Would Hurt a Child: Qimir kills Jecki. When Sol objects that she was just a child, Qimir just shrugs and says, "You brought her here."
Wrecked Weapon:
- Downplayed — during the fight, Qimir headbutts a lightsaber blade, causing it to sputter out, which fans of the Legends era will know is a symptom of a rare ore called cortosis, which until now had never been seen onscreen (though it has been made canon in the new era novels). The effect is temporary, but enough to leave most Jedi almost helpless.
- When she manages to get him on the backfoot, Qimir destroys Jecki's appropriated lightsaber to distract her long enough to escape.

The Acolyte S1E5 "Night" - TV Tropes (2024)

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