Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Acolyte Season 1, Episode 4, “Day.”
Long before The Acolyte aired its first episode, Star Wars fans were already speculating about the true identity of the Sith Lord instructing Mae Aniseya. But now, The Acolyte‘s fourth installment, “Day,” may have finally spoiled who Mae’s Sith Master is.
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That’s right: as of The Acolyte Season 1, Episode 4, Mae’s smuggler-turned-trader buddy Qimir is the show’s secret Sith Lord frontrunner. There’s no concrete proof of this; we don’t see Qimir donning a sinister helmet, twirling a red lightsaber, or cutting loose with Force powers (Dark Side or otherwise). Yet “Day” adds even more circumstantial evidence to the rapidly growing pile of clues that Qimir is really a dark lord in disguise.
So, have The Acolyte‘s showrunner Leslye Headland and her team let the cat out of the bag too early? Or will Qimir’s apparent “dark lord in disguise” status turn out to be misdirection designed to throw us off the actual Sith Master’s scent?
What Clues Point to Qimir as The Acolyte’s Sith Master?
Let’s dig into the proof that Qimir is The Acolyte‘s Sith Master. For starters, he comes across as incredibly well-informed about the Jedi and Sith for either a smuggler or a trader. Sure, both professions are a good source of esoteric info, and the Star Wars universe is full of characters with knowledge above their supposed station. But there’s a specificity to Qimir’s intel that seems off.
Indeed, he possesses an uncommon insight into the psyche of both Jedi Knights (such as Master Torbin) and the Sith Lord he and Mae supposedly answer to. Would a shady trade really know how to coax a Jedi into suicide? What’s more, the way Qimir shares what he knows with Mae, it’s almost as if he’s coaching her through their scenes together – a master in all but name.
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Qimir also conveniently exits the stage just before The Acolyte‘s Sith Lord arrives in Season 1, Episode 4. Everyone else on the planet Khofar is present and accounted for when the dastardly Dark Sider shows up, except him. This doesn’t automatically mean Qimir performed a quick off-screen wardrobe change into Sith Lord gear, however, it’s certainly possible.
Then there’s Manny Jacinto’s casting to consider. The Disney+ Star Wars shows aren’t shy of hiring actors primarily known for comedic roles. The Mandalorian‘s Bill Burr and Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s Kumail Nanjiani are two notable examples of this. Even so, the choice of Jacinto – best known as The Good Place‘s gormless Jason Mendoza – for Qimir feels especially calculated. It’s as if Headland is trying to wrongfoot us by roping in a loveable performer utterly at odds with the malevolent Sith.
Star Wars Has a Track Record of Easy-to-Pick Sith
So yes, if Qimir is The Acolyte‘s Sith Lord, it’ll be pretty obvious. However, it also wouldn’t be the first easy-to-solve Sith riddle in Star Wars history, either. That dubious honor goes to the prequel trilogy’s Darth Sidious, whose double life as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was obvious from the jump.
Diehard Star Wars fans clocked Palpatine’s connection to Sidious in part thanks to the Expanded Universe. This material confirmed that the Emperor – never actually named in the original Star Wars trilogy – was once Palpatine. So, it was a given that Palpatine would eventually be unmasked as Sidious. But even casual fans didn’t take long to put two and two together. Palpatine and Sidious had the same voice (and chin). They were clearly both portrayed by Palpatine actor Ian McDiarmid.
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Yet Star Wars creator George Lucas still tried to cultivate some sense of mystery around Sidious’ true identity (presumably for less savvy viewers’ benefit). Notably, Sidious isn’t listed in the credits for The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones. Lucasfilm also didn’t drop its final, Sidious-centric Revenge of the Sith behind-the-scenes featurette until after the film came out. And in fairness to anyone who was fooled, the prequels’ Clone Wars setting invited the possibility that Sidious would wind up being Palpatine’s evil double.
Yet, in the end, the simplest explanation proved correct: Palpatine was Sidious. Was this anti-climactic? A bit. It didn’t hurt the prequels overall, though. Finding out Darth Sidious’ identity was never really the point of the prequel trilogy; learning about Anakin Skywalker’s downfall was. All the Sidious stuff was just an extra wrinkle, and one that few of us invested much time in ironing out.
Qimir May Be The Acolyte’s Walking Red Herring
The same doesn’t necessarily apply to The Acolyte‘s Sith Lord. True, outing this baddie isn’t the focus of the show, any more than figuring out the Palpatine/Sidious “twist” was in the prequels. But so much more effort has gone into obscuring the Sith’s identity in The Acolyte. There are no visual or audio clues to give the game away. We’ve actually had to engage our brains this time around. So, unlike with Sidious, it’ll be much more disappointing if Qimir is Mae’s Sith Master.
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Of course, it’s possible Headland and co. are suckering us in with Qimir. The ex-smuggler’s such an obvious candidate, perhaps he’s really a walking red herring. Maybe The Acolyte‘s Sith Master is another eligible party (like a member of Mother Aniseya’s Force witch coven) or even someone we’ve not encountered yet (there are still several episodes left, after all).
It’s still slightly too murky to say for certain – a scenario Mae’s Sith Master would no doubt approve of.
The Acolyte Season 1 is currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping Tuesdays.
