Leslye Headland Explains Her Decision to Include Darth Plagueis in ‘The Acolyte’ Finale: “Plagueis was Always in Finale”
‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ concluded its first season this week. Despite facing several issues throughout its run, two massive cameos somewhat redeemed the show.
During the final episode, a dark and shadowy figure can be seen watching Osha and Qimir from a cave. Given the timeline and the species, fans quickly deduced that Leslye Headland included Darth Plagueis in ‘The Acolyte.’
For those unfamiliar with Star Wars canon, Darth Plagueis is Emperor Palpatine’s old master. He is first mentioned when Palpatine uses his story to lure Anakin to the Dark Side. Plagueis is a mysterious Sith figure obsessed with immortality, a drive that Palpatine inherited.
Plagueis eventually met his end at the hands of his student, but his legacy lived on. The events of ‘The Acolyte,’ however, take place before the prequels, specifically in 132 BBY, giving us a chance to witness Darth Plagueis’ rise to power.
Headland recently discussed with IndieWire why she chose to include him in the final episode. She revealed that Plagueis was always included in every draft of the finale, and she needed him to “step on” the moment of Qimir’s and Osha’s triumph.
Plagueis was always in the finale, in every version. […] There was a version where he was the button of the finale [instead of Yoda], But having the sinister figure be the last thing that we see never felt quite right. You want to feel Osha’s triumph. You want to feel her joining forces with The Stranger. Plagueis stepped on [that moment]. […] I was OK with having the cameo come so early if it meant I could wrap up these characters in a way that their final shot was not a, ‘And he’s been pulling the strings the whole time’ feeling,
Headland also discussed the implications of Plagueis’ appearance, hinting at a very dark future for both Qimir and Osha:
Even though [Osha and The Stranger] are standing there, sort of looking out at the sunset, ready to conquer the world, the tragedy is we know they don’t. We know there can only be two. We know Plagueis is there. We know that these two are doomed in some way. So to me it’s a bittersweet tragedy, this foreboding ending. But that’s because I know about the Sith lineage and all these other things, whereas I think a different subset of the audience can be like, ‘They’re married!’
Recently, Headland revealed that she has a concept for connecting Plagueis to Palpatine’s story and ‘The Acolyte,’ though it’s quite complex and intricate. If ‘The Acolyte’ gets a second season, we might see this connection unfold.
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