Heading into the third episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte, some critics who had seen and reviewed it called the episode “controversial.” It was speculated that some fans would create a controversy over how it changes how the Force works, how it introduces an all-female witch clan, and how it suggests that the Jedi may not be all good. At the time of writing, the user IMDB rating for this episode is rated a low 4 out of 10, though there are many reasons why some viewers don’t like it. Here’s whether the so-called controversy over The Acolyte Episode 3 holds water or if it’s just overblown.
What’s the controversy around Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 3?
The controversy over the third episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte has several parts, with the the main focus being the idea that the twins Mae and Osha were conceived using the Force.
Other avenues of controversy stems from the concept of an all-female sect of witches that use the Force in a way that isn’t tied to the Light or Dark side of the Force and that the Jedi, who are supposed to be the good guys in the galaxy, are either responsible for genocide or forcibly taking Force-sensitive children as padawans. It is contended that these ideas don’t fit with the canon established by the main Star Wars movies.
However, fans with knowledge of the Star Wars extended universe shouldn’t be surprised by any of the concepts introduced in the third episode. The Witches of Dathomir, including the Nightsisters, have been established in the lore as all-female clans with their own set of rules on how the Force should be used. As for Mae and Osha being conceived using some unknown ritual using the Force, Anakin Skywalker was also created without a father by the Force itself, so the idea doesn’t fall far from the tree. Some fans are annoyed that the twins’ birth makes Anakin’s “chosen one” conception less special, but it’s clear from the dialogue in the episode that the Force was used by the witches to conceive the twins whereas the Force gave birth to Anakin on its own.
On a related note, the witches’ “gift of life” would be interesting origin for Sith Lord Darth Plagueis, Emperor Palpatine’s Sith master, who is said to be able to use his powers to create life through the Grand Experiment by controlling Midi-chlorians. Now, some fans find the concept of Midi-chlorians itself still controversial to this day, so they aren’t pleased by these lifeforms being used again in the franchise, but there’s little in Episode 3 that actually breaks canon.
As for the four Jedi in the episode not being good, the series is about showing how Jedi are flawed human beings. It’s clear that the incident that happened caused the Jedi to separate and seclude themselves. Given that the witches might be using the Force that leans toward the Dark side of the Force for the conception ritual, the Jedi might have had other reasons to be there than merely testing padawans. We do see Sol tracking Mae and Osha in the forest after the opening scene, which lends credence to Mother Koril being afraid that the coven would be caught if the twins continue to leave unchaperoned. We’ll likely learn more details about what really happened between the Jedi and the witches, perhaps from the perspective of Mae, in later episodes of the series.
As for the low user review scores for the episode, it partly come from what some believe to be poor writing, acting, and pacing. At any rate, the rumored controversy over the episode looks to be over-exaggerated to a degree.