The season finale ofThe Acolytegoes out of its way to leave many different possibilities for new seasons to explore in the future, but none remain quite as interesting as to what might happen to Osha and Mae (Amandla Stenberg) now that the former has willingly gone dark, and the latter has also unwillingly joined the light. With themes of free will and brainwashing,Mae brings to mind the example of Revan, a fan favorite character of the Legends continuity who found himself being captured and reprogrammed by the Jedi.
The series finale has already left us withseveral major questions, but the ultimate fate and impact of the twins is perhaps the biggest one, andthe story of Revan might offer some clues. The unique bond Revan uses to redeem his love Bastilla Shan could be of great use to Mae and Osha, especially if the former becomes fully committed to the Jedi. Now that we knowPlagueis is around, the days of Osha and her new master are numbered, and it might be the last chance Mae has to win her sister back. Like with Revan, she might have no chance to defeat the greater evil and instead might inspire him, but where exactly she might end up is something only the Force itself can tell us as the viewers.
The Acolyte
The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.
Who Exactly Was Darth Revan in Star Wars?
The story of Revan can feel a bit odd to describe because he was only a mere template for the player in the originalKnights of the Old Republicgame, which was later explored in greater detail in a novel, comic series, and other video games. In the video game, you play an unidentified Jedi who was trained much later than most, and remain tasked with locating the map to the Star Forge, one of many ancient superweapons used by the Sith Lords over the millennia. When you finally confront the game’s villain, Darth Malak, in the third act of the game,he explains thatyouare in fact Revan, who was ambushed by an elite Jedi strike team led by your love interest, Bastilla Shan, and betrayed by Malak.
Critically wounded,Revan was captured and reprogrammed by the Jedi Councilwith a new identity, using him as a living weapon against Malak. Helping him escape at the expense of her own capture, Bastilla is coerced to join the dark side through torture and later confronts Revan, who uses their bond to defeat her and confronts Malak on the Star Forge. After killing him in single combat, Revan remains unable to consolidate his love with Bastilla, consigning it toyet another tragic love storyin Star Wars as he pursues the remaining Sith to the edge of space.
Other works would explore Revan both before and after the game, giving much more insight into his unique character. InKnights of the Old Republic II, the character is a former student of Revan, officially named Meetra Surik but only referred to as “The Exile” in the game. Your teacher in the game is Kreia, the former master of Revan and Sith Lord who has developedan entirely unique philosophy, independent of either side. Through them, we learn that Revan, Malak, and Surik led the war against an expansionist regime of Mandalorians,ending the war by destroying Malachor V with a superweapon, with the impact being so devastating that it forced Surik to cut off her connection to the Force to survive.
Other comics would explore Revan and Malak in supporting roles duringtheir war against Mandalore, but his arc took a major turn in his novel, wherehe and Surik make a failed attempt to destroy the Sith Emperorbefore the former is captured, and the latter is also killed. Despite the final end of the Legends timeline after Disney took over, Revan made a final appearance in the ongoingThe Old Republicvideo game, where his spirit was split into light and dark halves before they reunited and he died peacefully.
Mae and Revan Have Eerily Similar Storylines
The story of Mae is very different from Revan, partially because of how it was told to the audience. Due to Revan being handled by different writers in different mediums over the years, his discovery of the Sith after destroying Mandalore and fall to the dark side has been portrayed in opposite ways, which is no surprise for a series with so many continuity problems over the decades. The video games noted thatRevan deliberately gave up his soul, in a sense, to defeat and unite the Republicagainst a greater evil, but the Revan novel suggests he was simply brainwashed by the Sith Emperor, Darth Vitiate.
What they all keep, however, is the idea that Revan was brainwashedby the Jedi into going back to the light, basically redeeming him against his will. However, the fact that he forgave them and never again became wholly committed to the dark side gives him an aura of gray morality, something that has come to define his character within the eyes of many fans, to say nothing ofhis immense power in the Forceas a user of both sides of it. As perhaps the most influential character of his ancient era, the legacy of Revan, both within the story and the actual fan base, still remains profound.
Conversely, the character of Mae is told from a chronological perspective, but also in reverse. Although she starts as a dark side user,she is similarly forced to join the Jedi through brainwashing, now by the Sith to preserve their own survival. She also has more similarities to Revan on a spiritual level, as she is literallyhalf of the same personin the exact way Revan has both light and dark manifestations.
Even without the ethical question of mind wiping and involuntary reprogramming, both also explorethe biggest flaws of the Jedias an institution through their storylines and characters. Like Kreia before him,Revan explores the moral binary of the Jediand their codependent relationship with the Republic, given their refusal to interfere in the Mandalorian Wars left him to take matters into his own hands. On the other hand, Mae explores the folly of recruiting children and claiming a monopoly over all Force users, many of whom hail from different cultures.
This Star Wars Novel Has Everything You Need To Know About Darth Plagueis
“Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise? I thought not. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you.”
What Revan’s Story Could Mean For Mae in ‘The Acolyte’
Although his number of appearances in the series are smaller thanother major Legends favoriteslike Thrawn or Mara Jade, the influence of Revan remains quite profound both in theStar Warsuniverse and outside of it and might serve as a road map for where Mae might go. Even if she does fully turn good like Bastilla does,her impact on the galaxy is already securedwith the known presence of Darth Plagueis in the finale. Just as Revan had explicitly inspired Darth Bane to createthe Rule of Twocenturies later, it remains very possible that we could see Plagueis inspired by the twins to create life and seek immortality. As an unabashed fan of Legends material,Leslye Headlandcould easily have Mae mirror the later stories of Revan, allying with Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson) to discover and pursue an evil hidden in the shadows. Such an effort would be certain to end in tragedy, but could render Mae the unsung hero of her era, like Revan was during his own. Unlike him, she might not survive, but her actions would still have a major impact upon her sister, regardless of the outcome.
On a more individual level, Mae also might rediscover who she is and attempt to return Osha to the light with her, just as Revan used his own bond with Bastilla Shan to redeem her. Although we don’t yet knowthe state of the Sithat this point in canon history, it’s still a foregone conclusion thatPlagueis will emerge victorious in any confrontation with Qimir(Manny Jacinto) and Osha. Her sister might seem set on her path now, especially after beingfaced with the ultimate choiceto go dark, but Mae and Osha each still remain connected.
One of the biggest themes of Star Wars has always been that it isnever too late to turn away from darknessand return to the light, if not necessarily the Jedi. Rightly or wrongly, Osha still chose to turn to the dark side and there was a chance to avoid it, but that suggests she also still has hope of escaping it. Just as Revan became both physically and spiritually whole again in his final moments, perhaps Mae and Osha will reconcile before events inevitably begin to overtake them and ensure that, even if Qimir is destined to fail, the twins will still survive or perish as one.
