The Acolyte has finally revealed its Sith master, and it’s a darksider that everyone saw coming

Manny Jacinto as the Stranger in The Acolyte episode 5 — (Image credit: Disney Plus/Lucasfilm)

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode 8. Make sure you’ve seen the finale before reading on.

The Acolyte finale is here, and while the Star Wars show featured a whole load of intriguing details, perhaps the most exciting was a big cameo. No, we’re not talking about Yoda here, but Darth Plagueis – or at least, someone who looks a lot like him…

Article continues below

Now, while it’s never spelled out in the episode, it seems pretty clear this is the first live-action introduction of Plagueis. The Sith Lord was first namechecked in The Revenge of the Sith by Palpatine, who tells Anakin Skywalker the legend of him using the Force to create life, as well as ultimately to cheat death. This is something that helps lure Anakin to the dark side.

Darth Plagueis in The Acolyte (2024) — (Image credit: Disney Plus)

It’s not entirely surprising that Plagueis makes an appearance in The Acolyte either, as there have been hints throughout about the Sith Lord after it was revealed that Mother Aniseya "created" Mae and Osha using the Force. This is a power that previously had only been linked to Plagueis.

Given that Qimir and Osha return to the planet at the end of the episode, it feels pretty likely that Plagueis could play a role in a potential season 2. Indeed, showrunner Leslye Headland previously teased just that, suggesting that if the series continued, it would tie up some details about Plagueis and Palpatine.

Given Plagueis' ability and the fact that Osha was created using the Force, it's possible even that she could be how he finds out how to manipulate midichlorians to create life. We’ll have to wait and see…

The Acolyte is now available to watch in full on Disney Plus. For more coverage, check out our guides to: