The Acolyte “Destiny” Review: Jodie-Turner Smith shines in compelling flashback episode

Destiny improves on the first two episodes of The Acolyte by going even further into the past.

The Acolyte goes back 16 years to show what led to the separation between twins Osha and Mae. The Acolyte is lead by a three great performances by Jodie Turner-Smith as Aniseya, Lee Jung-jae as Sol and Leah Brady as young Mae. Lauren Brady shines opposite Jung-jae, but an instant distance between Mae and Osha hurts what should be a strong bond.

Smith exudes strength and understanding as one of Mae and Osha’s moms. Jung-jae’s connection with Osha is really heartwarming, and the pearls of wisdom he offers are excellent lessons. Leah does a great job of showing Mae’s potential for evil while also showing fear of losing her sister.

As a fan of The Last Jedi, I love when Star Wars expands on established lore. The addition of this witches’ coven is incredible. From their restrictive rules to the lack of children aside from Osha and Mae, there’s just something undeniably cool about someone other than Jedi and Sith manipulating The Force.

The depiction of the two moms is fantastic. Their differing parenting styles mimic the separation between the twins. Koril’s fear leads her to want to keep the twins in the confines of their fortress. Aniseya is more understanding of Osha’s desire to see the world, even if that means leaving her forever.

While Destiny is the best episode so far, there are still some issues.

An odd coldness, particularly from Osha, kept me from feeling the love between the sisters. In the latter portions of the episode, Osha’s excitement once she hears there are more children and hunger for adventure is much more compelling. There’s also some odd cheesiness during the ritual ceremony and other small moments that create a tonal imbalance. The show isn’t as serious as it’s trying to be, nor is it leaning into the CW elements that could also work.

The twins’ backstory highlights Mae’s vendetta against the Jedi, and with Sol on screen, The Acolyte has potential.

After the overview and ranking Destiny 7 out of 10 (Good), let’s dive deeper into the episode’s story. The Acolyte is streaming on Disney Plus.

Destiny Recap

The story is pretty straightforward. Osha and Mae live on the planet Brendok. They’re part of a coven of witches who wield The Force. When the twins leave the confines of their fortress, their other mom, Koril (Margarita Levieva), reprimands them. Aniseya is more understanding, but Koril may be correct, as Sol catches Mae using The Force.

A ritual ceremony is interrupted by the Jedi. Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss), Torbin, and the Wookie Jedi Kelnacca are among the Jedi who interrupt the ceremony. They want to test the twins. Osha is interested while Mae wants to remain part of the witches. Osha’s decision to leave causes Mae to start a fire that supposedly kills the coven. Sol takes Osha as his Padawan while Mae is shown alive on Brendok.

There’s some ambiguity regarding the fire. It doesn’t seem possible for the fire to kill the entire coven, yet it’s tough to implicate the Jedi. However, Destiny does a great job showing Mae’s resentment over her sister leaving. It is reasonable for Mae to take out Jedi because they took her sister from her. Hopefully, there’s more to come from this mystery though.

Diverging Paths

Mae and Osha are on diverging paths from the beginning of Destiny.

Osha wants more out of the world. She’s reluctant to participate in the coven’s ascension ceremony. For her, it’s a step towards conforming to the box her parents have set. She’s fine with separating from Mae and doesn’t want to share everything with Mae.

Meanwhile, Mae loves being a part of the coven. When Osha questions where Mae ever wonders if there’s something more out in the galaxy, Mae truly doesn’t care. Mae can’t accept Osha wants a different life and reacts violently.

Mae’s rigid approach to conformity even echoes the ethos of The Empire. For Mae, it’s a sense of comfort. For Osha, it’s prison.

I like where the twins end up by the end of the episode. However, I wish they had a warmer connection early in the episode. Then, when Mae goes dark, you feel a sense of loss.

Jedis vs Witches

Destiny shines in showing the differences between the Jedi and the witch coven.

When the Jedi interrupt the ascension ceremony, Mother Koril is pretty antagonistic toward the Jedi. The witches aren’t a part of the Republic and shouldn’t be under Jedi jurisdiction. Under Indra’s leadership, the Jedi maintain their cool but insist on testing Osha and Mae. Osha is fine with testing after meeting Sol. It’s Sol who insists on testing both Osha and Mae.

The differences between the Jedi and the witches are stark. Both wield the force but in different ways. The Jedi believe in severing personal connections. The Force is more powerful for the witches when wielded together than apart. The Jedi do have a teacher-pupil connection.

The makeup of the Jedi and witches is also different. Outside of Osha and Mae, there are no children in the coven. The Jedi focus on recruiting children and even set age limits.

Adding another group of force users to Star Wars is great. In a perfect world, seeing the Sith mix it up with the witches would be great.

Destiny final thoughts

Episode three is a step in a better direction. The strong performances and dichotomy between different groups of force users work better than the relationship between the sisters and some of the cheesy moments. The shrieking during the ascension ceremony is a prime example.

Here’s hoping returning to the present storyline will lead to a positive trajectory.