Also, the general on the Death Star mocked the Jedi “religion” right up to the moment Vader force choked him.
I’m upset that the show was cancelled, because while the story was serviceable and mostly predictable with a few surprises, the underlying theme was interesting and articulated early on: “power, and who gets to wield it.”
The witches utilized the force. They were refugees from Jedi persecution, and fully expected to be attacked and killed by the Jedi, and were.
The Sith stated he just wanted an Acolyte. Apart from using the force as a tool of vigilante justice, there wasn’t anything particularly “evil” about his actions.
The Jedi are morally suspect, as highlighted by many in this thread. In the show the biggest red flag was their statement that, legally, they could abduct children into their order. They preferred parental and child’s consent, but wouldn’t necessarily honor the decision. The second biggest red flag was their own position that the force should only be wielded their way.
I remember reading an article online about how Star Wars’ villains reflect American fears of the time. In the original trilogy it was the Empire: an unstoppable, implacable foe — Space Nazis or Space Commies. In the prequels it was corrupt politicians and corporations insidiously working together and against each other to undermine democracy and enslave the citizenry. In the sequels it was rage filled young men willing to kill anyone and anything indiscriminately.
In the Acolyte, it is unaccountable police/law enforcers (Jedi as peace keepers) who are more intent on maintaining their status and power than justice and who, when they do “protect and serve” do so selectively, deciding who deserves that protection and who does not. And woe unto anyone who falls outside their narrowly defined “proper order.” (I don’t think it an accident that the Witches were also a commune of Space Lesbians.)
I don’t have much hope that Disney will continue the series and explore these themes further (still upset they cancelled and pulled the Willow series), but they were interesting and part of why I was eager to watch the show.
(Edit: change “maintaining the peace” to “justice,” as those two concepts are not necessarily synonymous.)
