Leslye Headland Discusses Potential Canon Issues in ‘The Acolyte’ Episode 3: “Some characters believe certain things”
‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ recently released its third episode, and calling it controversial would be an understatement. In a flashback, viewers witness events on the planet Brendok 16 years before the main storyline. The episode reveals a secretive coven of witches, similar to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, who possess unique Force abilities distinct from those of the Jedi and Sith, hiding from the Jedi and the Republic.
Osha and Mae, the only children on Brendok, are strongly hinted to be born from the Force’s power. A conversation between Mother Aniseya and Mother Koril implies their unusual conception, suggesting she may have had a role in their creation. Echoing a line from ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,’ Aniseya states, “There is no father,” mirroring the phrase used to describe Anakin Skywalker as the Chosen One.
Mother Koril is said to have physically carried the twins, while Mother Aniseya created them through unusual means, likely by manipulating the Force until life manifested.
Fans were upset, interpreting the episode as implying that Anakin is not unique, and that the Force created not one, but two “chosen ones” a century before the events of ‘The Phantom Menace.’
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Leslye Headland explained how they crafted the episodes and hinted at how the mystery behind the twins’ origin might be resolved.
I was very inspired by the Nightsisters storyline and the Ventress storyline on The Clone Wars when I was a budding writer. So when I got the chance to make a show set in the Star Wars universe, it felt like, ‘Well, of course I’m going to do my version of witches. I just am going to shoot my shot. […] As the characters developed, it made a lot of sense that they would be at the center of a coven. That the girls would be almost revealed not as children, but as the legacy of what their mother started. […] he power of one, the power of two, the power of many. In our show, the Jedi have the power of many. I think their mother started as one, and the girls are two, and she wants her legacy to be the power of many. So it was thought of as paying homage to The Clone Wars, but it eventually became the story of a mom and her children and the way that our parents have particular expectations for us. And if Star Wars is anything, it’s got a lot of parents and children and living up to or rejecting the legacy of those parents.
Directly addressing the girls’ “creation” rather than natural conception, Headland explained that the show’s point is to highlight that different characters hold different beliefs:
If you keep watching the show, we do talk about that and explore that. I would say there isn’t one answer to it. Some characters believe certain things, and other characters believe other things in terms of what she means by that. So you’re going to have to watch and decide which side of that argument you’re on.
We’ll likely have to wait for the final episodes of the show to uncover the true origin of Mae and Osha, as well as the identity of Mae’s dark Sith master. Fans are already speculating that the twins might be connected to Darth Plagueis, who was rumored to have the ability to create life. Although the timeline doesn’t quite align with this theory, anything is possible.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!