Star Wars The Acolyte Episode 3 Breakdown

“Destiny” is the third episode of The Acolyte. In it, we learn more about Osha and Mae’s past and the events that changed their lives forever.

The article contains major spoilers from this episode and references events from previous episodes.

Recap of The Acolyte’s story so far

The investigation of Master Indara’s murder led the Jedi Order to Osha, a former student of Master Sol. Everything pointed out at her but in reality, it was her twin sister Mae who was presumed dead.

With confirmation that Osha is innocent, Sol and his team are sent to investigate an incident in the temple where Master Torbin is stationed. Sol, Indara, Kelnacca, and Torbin were on Brendok when the fire happened.

This is a personal vendetta and the four Jedi are the targets. Two of them have already been killed by Mae. Why is Mae Killing these Jedi? And who trained her to do so?

We have a detailed breakdown of the Premiere two episodes of The Acolyte. Make sure you are not missing out on interesting hidden details and references.

We’ve also got you covered with all of the possible background knowledge you might want to obtain about The High Republic with a reading order guide to get you started. And our Prep Guide for The Acolyte will give you all of the details you need to learn before you start the show.

Star Wars The High Republic Full Catalog and Reading Order Guide

The High Republic Catalog

The Acolyte Prep Guide

A coven of Witches: a different take on the Force

You might not be aware of this, but there are many religions with different perspectives and interpretations of the Force, especially during the High Republic era.

Guardians of the Whills, the Brotherhood of the Ninth Door, the Path of the Open Hand, the Sorcerers of Tund, the Matukai, the Sith, the Lonto, the Church of the Force, the Nightisters of Dathomir, the Dagoyan Order, the Yacombe and of course, the Jedi Order – just a few of many religious groups that have existed across the known galaxy history

Force Religions Convocation of the Force

Mainstream Star Wars media has barely explored some of these groups. It’s fun to see a new group being introduced in The Acolyte’s third episode: the coven of witches on Brendok.

This coven of witches has many similarities with the Nightsisters, it is only made out of women and their powers are more inclined towards the dark side of the Force.

The head of the coven makes all the decisions and is arguably more powerful than the other members.

Even if their powers are rooted in dark knowledge, they don’t appear to have bad intentions. They are protective of their way of life but even when the Jedi showed their intentions to take both children Aniseya let them take the test.

Obviously, she wanted both to fail but when Osha was sincere about her desire to become a Jedi Aniseya was more than supportive. The fact that she was willing to let her go speaks volumes of her character.

Mother Aniseya talks to her daughter Osha in Episode 3 of The Acolyte

The revelation that Mother Aniseya created Osha and Mae is one of the highlights of the episode. This kind of power is something that very few individuals possess.

I really want to know more about how she did it or the true motivations behind it but we’ll have to wait and see.

Twin Sisters as Twin Suns

As twin sisters and force users the bond between Osha and Mae is extremely powerful. Despite their very obvious differences, they care and love each other deeply.

Osha and Mae in an opening scene from episode 3 of The Acolyte

During the first episodes of the series the phrase “Always one, but born as two” was repeated a few times and I thought that it was an analogy to how close they are to each other but this episode clarified that it’s a lot more than that.

The problem is that they didn’t train together for enough years to determine the true power of their connection. Could it be a Force dyad?

They were never able to see or hear each other like Ben Solo and Rey did but maybe those visions that Osha had in the previous episodes were a similar manifestation.

It’s funny how despite being twins and very connected to each other they are quite opposite. Osha is kind, shy, and insecure while Mae is aggressive, intense, and confident. They are two sides of the same coin but how deep this goes is unknown.

Mae and Osha train with Aniseya in episode 3

It would be a little too harsh to say that one is aligned with the light and another with the darkness. If Star Wars has shown us something is that almost no one is completely good or completely evil. Things aren’t just black or white.

The Jedi hypocrisy

I don’t get why Sol gets so defensive when they are recriminated by the fact that Jedi take children away.

It’s not that they are kidnapping them from their families in the middle of the night, but let’s not pretend that Jedi aren’t incredibly intimidating figures.

A poster of Jedi Knights from The High Republic era holding lightsabers up in the air

Especially in the High Republic era, they were acknowledged and recognized as heroes and protectors. Their golden status wasn’t achieved just by the ideals of peace but because of their strength and power as warriors. That’s why Jedi and the Sith stand out from other Force religions.

Becoming a Jedi is considered an incredible honor by most people, but what happens if a family isn’t willing to give up their kid? Indara told Aniseya that she couldn’t deny the kids from taking the test.

This case might have been different because Osha showed interest in it, but most younglings are taken when they’re incapable of speaking for themselves so they have no say in the matter.

I can’t imagine a family trying to prevent the Jedi from taking their sons and daughters. Everyone knows that their efforts would be futile.

It might be insignificant and maybe I’m emphasizing something that’s inconsequential to the plot but I really disliked how Sol got angry as if it was some sort of blasphemy.

Something doesn’t add up

I have the feeling that Osha, Mae, the witches, and even the Jedi were being manipulated during the Brendok incident. Something happened off-screen, and we’re just getting the perspective of Osha (for now).

For a long time it was believed that the world of Brendok was uninhabited. It’s not an official part of the Galactic Republic. The planet’s landscape features vast mountains and forests and at least one ancient stone fortress, home of the coven of witches.

How did an entire coven of Force-sensitive witches get annihilated by a fire and some rubble? I don’t think it’s remotely possible.

Mother Koril isn’t among the dead, and since she was very vocal against the Jedi taking Osha it’s not too crazy to think she had something to do.

Aniseya and Koril talking about the children in The Acolyte episode 3

It would be funny if the Zabrak woman is a villain. I am not a fan of stereotypes but Star Wars is used to reinforce them.

Zabraks, Quarren, and Aqualish are species that are often portrayed as the bad guys so it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world.

The power of these witches is virtually unknown. So even if Mae did start the fire, I don’t believe that it was a hundred percent her fault.

Mae starting the fire to try and stop Osha from leaving

As much as she’d hate to see her leave, I don’t think that Mae would just try to kill Osha to prevent it from happening.

Theory moment: Somehow, the Sith is probably involved in this. Maybe the creation of the twins, the Jedi interference, or the fire that destroyed everything. The entire strategy of the Sith is to play for the long run, devising a plan that takes a few decades or less is children’s play to them.

Throughout galactic history, the Sith managed to trick and manipulate many of the greatest Jedi to ever live; Revan, Satele Shan, Anakin, Luke, and Yoda. Toying with a bunch of kids, witches, and unsuspecting Jedi is nothing.

What we saw in this episode didn’t clarify why Torbin decided to drink the poison. Did the Jedi kill some of the witches or refuse to save them?

This episode only brought up a lot more questions that hopefully will be answered in a satisfactory and graceful way in a future episode.

Sol’s emotional attachment to Osha

Sol got attached to Osha as soon as he met her. He didn’t even try to hide how these events moved something inside him. This is a time when Jedi aren’t so strict about their feelings but it’s still very surprising to see how open he is about it.

Sol talking to Osha about the possibility of her becoming a Jedi if she agrees to get trained

Relating to someone with a similar story to yours is the most human thing to do. Having something in common is one of the easiest ways to develop a friendship with someone who is completely different from you.

I don’t know how or why Sol feels responsible for the well-being of Osha. Maybe he said it to comfort a child who just lost everything but a promise like this ties him to Osha in ways that he didn’t consider when saying those words.

Mae and Osha will inevitably meet again. If the Jedi have been hiding something from Osha and Mae tells her, her relationship with Sol will change forever. As good and noble as Sol is, he isn’t immune to negative feelings and the possible consequences of it.

Final Thoughts about this Episode

It was very refreshing to see a group of witches that isn’t the Nightsisters. Their powers and philosophy looked interesting but it’s a shame that we couldn’t see more of it. Can’t wait to see what happened to Koril and learn if she’s involved in something sinister.

This episode shows us a partial perspective of what happened on Brendok. I really want to see the point of view of Kelnacca, Indara, and Torbin but the idea of spending another full episode on it isn’t exciting.

Torbin talks to Osha in The Acolyte episode 3

There are only eight episodes in this series, and so far the pace feels “OKish” but it would be good if The Acolyte doesn’t repeat the mistakes of Ahsoka.

Expanding on details and backstories is important but it can make the last episodes feel incredibly rushed. Let’s hope that this isn’t the case.

Star Wars The Acolyte Episode Breakdowns

Everything you may have missed while watching Star Wars The Acolyte TV Series. We did detailed breakdowns and analysis of every moment and scene from each episode, all of the characters and their story arks and backgrounds. We've also done our best to help you better understand The High Republic era by providing references and details about anthing you may have missed or be unfamiliar with if you have not read the books and comics.