Star Wars The Acolyte Episode 7 Breakdown

Choice is the seventh episode of The Acolyte. It finally answers what happened in Brendok and why Master Sol feels so guilty about it.

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

Recap of the story so far

Osha wakes up in Qimir’s hideout. She is angered by his presence but after some talking he is able to connect with her. They have many things in common, and it seems like Qimir can understand Osha in a way that no Jedi could.

He uses Osha’s fears and insecurities to get close to her. At this point it looks like her fall to the dark side is inevitable.

Master Sol asks the Jedi Order for Backup, Master Vernestra Rowh assembles a small team and immediately heads to Khofar. Before they arrive to the planet Sol discovers that it’s Mae who’s with him and not Osha.

The Jedi Master stuns Mae and restrains her. When Mae wakes up Sol tells her that there are many things he wants to tell her, and she’s going to listen to every single word.

We’ve also got you covered with all the possible background knowledge you need about The High Republic with a reading order guide for when you decide to jump into reading mode. 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 formula for disaster

The third episode of The Acolyte showed us the events of Brendok. It was a good glimpse of what happened, but something felt very odd about it. This week we learned that’s because that’s only that the Jedi reported to the High Council.

Opening shot from The Acolyte episode 7 - the planet Brendok

I can’t believe the number of bad decisions made in such a brief period. Sol, Indara, and Torbin really showed everything that a Jedi should not be.

First, we have Torbin. An arguably strong and good-hearted Jedi with the tolerance of a toddler. I don’t remember the last time that I saw a Padawan being so reluctant to do a mission simply because he wanted to go back to the Jedi Temple. Not even Anakin Skywalker whined so much about being homesick.

Mastrer Indara and her padawan Torbin on Brendok in The Acolyte Episode 3

At the first opportunity, he just grabbed a speeder and ventured into the Coven’s fort, doing the exact opposite of what his own Jedi Master told him.

I don’t care that he was young and impulsive, the fact that he did it because of an urgency to be done with it and return home is inexcusable.

The worst thing is that he continued not only to be a Jedi but to become a Master. These events happened sixteen years ago, before his death the Jedi mentioned that he took the Barash Bow ten years ago.

This means that it only took six years for him to go from a Padawan to a full Jedi Master. How does someone with such flaws obtain such rank?

Next is Sol. As a Jedi Knight he should be aware of his emotions and what drives them. Sometimes we can’t control feeling a certain way, and that’s fine.

But what’s not right, especially for a Jedi, is to completely ignore the reasons for said emotions.

Torbin’s inexperience and lack of maturity certainly played a role, but Sol was a full Jedi Knight and he didn’t even try to think why he got so emotionally attached to Osha.

During the High Republic era, the Jedi were less restrictive when it comes to attachments. However, this doesn’t mean that they can let them guide their thoughts or actions. I still can’t believe how Sol ignored the code, the Jedi Council, and Indara’s orders without hesitation.

The witches rightfully felt invaded, four Jedi breaking into their hideout “politely” demanding to test the kids isn’t what you would expect from the so-called protectors of the galaxy. The witches felt threatened and acted accordingly.

A Force cult does not view the Jedi like the rest of the galaxy. Many Force religions have a very fixed view of the Force, the Jedi usually try to be respectful of these but as we saw this changes quickly when the foundations of a specific group are based on the dark side.

I don’t blame Sol for thinking that Osha and Mae were in great danger but forcing their way in was not a smart move.

The love of a mother

My impression when watching Mother Aniseya and the coven of witches for the first time was that she would be too apprehensive of Osha and Mae. That letting them go to take the tests was only an attempt to appease the Jedi.

Mae takes the Jedi test on board of the ship with Masters Sol and Indara

In the beginning, it certainly was but everything changed when Osha verbally expressed her desire to go with the Jedi. Mae, Mother Koril, and all the other witches opposed this.

Even Aniseya herself didn’t want to let one of her daughters go, but surprisingly, she put aside her own desires. She’s the leader of the coven, and I’d assume that also the most powerful witch.

I’m very curious about what would’ve happened if Sol and Torbin didn’t rush in. In my mind, the conflict was inevitable. Osha wanted to leave, and Aniseya would not let anyone stop her daughter.

I doubt that Koril and the others would accept her decision. When given the choice, Mother Aniseya decided that her duty as a mother was more important than her role as leader of the coven.

The witches protest the decision to allow Osha to be taken and trained as Jedi

As the biological mother and backed by the other witches, Koril could try to replace Aniseya, not that it matters too much. The damage was done the moment Torbin and Sol entered the hideout.

Despite all this, it was very cool to see Mother Aniseya stand up for Osha. It shows that even if someone draws their powers from the dark side of the Force, it doesn’t mean that said person is evil.

Point of no return

Even if Aniseya didn’t want violence, she never stopped the other witches’ aggression. Mother Koril made it very clear that she wasn’t going to let anyone take her daughters away, combine this with Torbin’s eagerness to draw his lightsaber and you have the recipe for tragedy.

Mother Koril fights Master Sol and Torbin in the witches' fort on Brendok in The Acolyte Episode 7

It’s hard to understand Aniseya’s powers and what she was doing. To me, it looked like Aniseya was going away and taking Mae with her. Visually, it was very scary but I still can’t get over how Sol’s immediate reaction was to stab her.

Sol kills Anniseya in The Acolyte Episode 7

With the obvious exception of Anakin, I don’t remember the last time I saw a Jedi be that violent without good reason.

I get that he might have felt threatened but in my eyes, it was a very extreme reaction. No wonder why Mae despises the four of them, especially Sol, the man killed Mae’s mother in front of her.

The cherry on top is the moment when both Osha and Mae are about to fall. Sol is trying to prevent them from falling but it’s impossible, if he continues to do so both will fall to their deaths.

It’s an incredibly tough choice, who lives and who dies? Ultimately, he makes the choice to save the girl who wants to become a Jedi.

I really hope that we get to see Osha’s reaction to all of these events. If she finds out, her relationship with Sol will be completely broken.

Sol attempting to save both Osha and Mae on Brendok

As much as I dislike Sol’s actions, watching him make such terrible mistakes feels very fresh. The Jedi Order is filled with good people, but that doesn’t exempt them from making terrible mistakes. As Aniseya wisely points out, noble intentions can lead to horrible situations.

When Koril engages Sol he refuses to fight back, he’s probably still in shock about what just happened but this doesn’t stop the fierce Zabrak.

I was afraid that we were not going to see more of the witches’ powers and thankfully I was wrong. Watching Koril possess Kelnacca was very cool.

It’s always nice to see the
depth of dark-side-fueled powers
even if it’s briefly.

At first, I thought that Kelnacca had a weak mind for a Jedi, but this quickly changed when the other witches appeared in some sort of trance.

Getting into someone’s mind is a very powerful ability but it carries a high risk. If for some reason the attacker is cut out from the opponent’s mind, it can cause damage that no one can recover from.

This is exactly what happened when Indara released Kelnacca from the spell, every witch just collapsed and never got up again.

I wonder what happened to Mother Koril, did she get away or did she just stay inside Kelnacca’s mind?

His home in Khofar was filled with the same marks that the witches have in their faces so there’s a possibility that at least a part of Mother Koril’s mind was inside the Wookiee.

Kelnacca ended up in the middle of Khofar, a witch invaded his mind, he probably shared a lot of the guilt for everything that happened and in the end, he got killed for the same reason.

The worst thing is that he’s the only Jedi who didn’t do anything wrong but still paid the price, I feel so bad for the Wookiee.

This episode was full of questionable decisions. I already discussed Torbin and Sol but Indara isn’t free of responsibility. She did try to keep Sol and Torbin from interfering but when Torbin ran away she should have been the one to chase him, it’s her Padawan and therefore, her direct responsibility.

I understand why she told Sol not to report the truth to the High Council but it still feels questionable to hide such a horrendous event. Because of this lie, so many people have suffered. It’s inconceivable that a Jedi Master believes that lying like that leads to the best outcome.

Final thoughts about The Acolyte Episode 7

We finally got to learn the truth about the Brendok events, it was a long wait. My perspective of Sol has changed significantly and I’m probably not the only one. It’s no wonder why he’s been drowned in guilt for so many years.

Osha wakes up with Sol next to her on the Jedi ship

With only one episode left, there are so many questions that I have. Will the Council and the Senate find out about this? If so, what are going to be the implications for the Jedi Order? There are many people that don’t like the Jedi and would use these events to launch a political campaign against them.

What’s going to happen with Osha and Mae? It wouldn’t be a surprise if Osha follows Qimir after finding out the truth. Would the two sisters join the so-called Sith to destroy the Jedi?

Speaking of Sith, we still need to learn a lot more about Qimir’s past and intentions. We have explored different perspectives but this series is supposed to show us how the Sith infiltrate the Republic.

Personally, I have some very high expectations for the last episode. My guess is that Qimir is only an apprentice and the person behind everything is yet to be revealed.

There are many hints that point to Darth Plagueis and Darth Tenebrous. Having any of these Sith Lords appear in the season finale would be amazing but until this happens (or not) we can only speculate about it.

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.