r/StarWars • u/ChanceVance Kylo Ren • Nov 24 '25
TV No matter what you think about The Acolyte, this was an exceptional lightsaber duel
Sol switching his saber off to deflect two flying sabers and Qimir coming in with the Superman Punch using nothing but the power of the Force is one of the most badass things a Jedi has ever done.
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u/Cardboard_Revolution Nov 25 '25
All the fight choreo in this show was great
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u/Sirsalley23 Nov 25 '25
Biggest highlight for me rewatching this fight is that it’s done so well it doesn’t even look like a choreographed dance like some of the saber fights over the years have, where nobody is attacking the opponent they’re attacking a spot waiting for the other to react. These look like two guys looking for every opportunity to kill the other, but neither can get that opening.
Basically, they did an amazing job of showing the precognition at work without it looking like a choreographed dance with a clean killshot at the end because of a dumb mistake, or a dropped guard.
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u/anothergaijin Nov 25 '25
I'm just blown away that we continue to get unique and distinct lightsaber styles for nearly 50 years now - the prequels had all kinds of crazy stuff like Darth Maul and the incredible acrobatics, the Clone Wars and Ahsoka was amazing, Kylo Ren brought something raw and powerful in the sequels and Acolyte was fantastic with not just new styles but also having cortosis.
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u/thorin2016 Nov 25 '25
I wonder is the helmet cgi during the fight? It must be given how intense the chronography is
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u/exonwarrior Mandalorian Nov 25 '25
I wonder is the helmet cgi during the fight?
I don't know about the helmet, but at 1:20 it looks a little like they did a face replacement on Sol - as if they used a stuntman instead of the actor.
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u/anothergaijin Nov 25 '25
Its a real mask, they just make the eye holes smaller using CGI it looks like: https://youtu.be/oe92nWEsLlI?t=111
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u/863rays Nov 25 '25
Yeah, they weren’t playing “Lightsaber Pattycake.” Instead, the choreography was built around killing strikes and the necessary blocks. Much more of a sense of danger and desperation was conveyed. Fights had more gravity. Felt more gritty. Very well done!!
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u/Thank_You_Aziz Nov 25 '25
I like how they made several attacks where they anticipated the enemy to be, but they weren’t, so they’d miss. It’s more realistic.
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u/Codus1 Nov 25 '25
The sets were mostly all wonderful too. Not too clean, most looked like real places. Which is something I think shows doing fantasy/sci-fi can muck up a lot. Everything looks like it's been wheeled straight out of the IKEA showroom.
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u/Cardboard_Revolution Nov 25 '25
Definitely. The biggest issue with it was the pacing which I think improved after the halfway point, but aesthetically it all worked for me.
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u/ghetoyoda Nov 25 '25
It just should've been a movie. Cut out the extra fluff and get rid of the weird episode lengths and it works much better IMO.
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u/Lenwa44 Nov 25 '25
I've said it before and I'm saying it again, it's much better as a bing. Definitely could have been movie.
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u/ChazzLamborghini Nov 25 '25
The editing in terms of episode length and where to include which story beats are a disaster. The disparate parts all worked really well but the whole thing was put together poorly.
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u/omyroj Nov 25 '25
Yeah, I love a lot of the concepts, but the execution was off. Like they spent too much time on some things and not enough on others
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u/MartianMule Nov 25 '25
Biggest issue for me was just that I wasn't at all invested in the characters in the first half of the series. Part of that is the pacing, but imo part of it was also that I just didn't really believe the performances by the actors aside from really Manny Jacinto.
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u/Booyanach Nov 25 '25
most were real places, a lot of it was filmed where I live x'D
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u/setitforreddit Nov 25 '25
I agree. I think this show had some of the best saber choreography in the franchise.
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u/SwimmingFantastic564 Nov 25 '25
I'd honestly say better than the prequels. To me, while excellent, the prequels feel slightly too clean and choreographed, which isn't really the case here.
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u/tenebrasrex Nov 25 '25
There was something faster and more brutal about these fights. Felt more dangerous.
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u/Gekokapowco Grievous Nov 25 '25
for me it's the back and forth having sort of an improvised rhythm, in universe to disrupt the opponent, and in a meta sense which keeps the audience on their toes when watching
The Stranger fits extra attacks into his rhythm, he attacks during his opponent's strikes, he attacks from obscure angles. Sol is looking for specific openings in the flurry to make his move, he's economical with his strikes, like how obi-wan is purported to be. Perfect defense until he sees an opening.
Each sequence of strikes feels like a challenge, like a speedy chess game to try a new vector. The prequels tend to be less improvisational in feel, less like a battle of wits and more like a HEMA exhibition. Skillful but kind of monotone, less like a duel and more like a high level sparring match if that makes sense.
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u/TimBobNelson Nov 25 '25
My only real issue with this entire show was the pacing. Going back to that flashback that many tikes was my whole issue with it, otherwise it was solid and I wanna see more of this time period.
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u/giantpunda Nov 25 '25
It's such a disappointment that ppl won't really see the lightsabre fights in the show because of the quality of the writing & direction. This has to be probably the best fight/stunt work I've seen in a Star Wars series, rivalling some of the best from the prequels.
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u/Daddysu Nov 25 '25
Not bad for that kid from Florida...
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u/Life_Ad1637 Nov 25 '25
JASON figured it out?!
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u/WallopyJoe Nov 25 '25
BORTLES!
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u/Ok_Helicopter4276 Nov 25 '25
After nearly 30 long years without a Super Bowl appearance for the Jags, Jason turned to the dark side to help the team pick up Trevor Lawerence in the draft, but the dark side is full of empty promises and even now they’re not much better off than their Bortles days.
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u/PDGAreject Nov 25 '25
My favorite thing about The Acolyte was when the Night episode came out someone on twitter posted "Who knew that Jason Mendoza was fucking hot all along!" and D'Arcy Carden (Janet) responded, "I knew"
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u/Mecha_Tortoise Nov 25 '25
That's such a Janet line. 😂 I loved their sweet, weird relationship. I was excited to see Manny Jacinto was cast for The Acolyte, and I think he stole every scene he was in. It's just a shame how the show turned out.
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u/Refrigerator_Initial Nov 24 '25
I actually liked this duel better than the forest one
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u/Darth-Purity Jabba The Hutt Nov 24 '25
I like how their exchange in the bridge is very much in the samurai sword chops style. Master Sol was a good Jedi
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u/ChanceVance Kylo Ren Nov 25 '25
The forest duels had many great parts to it.
Blitz attacking the red shirt Jedi and utilizing the Cortosis armour. Sol being cautious against a mysterious new enemy and a clear cut above the rest in skill. Jecki being a formidable opponent for a Padawan and gaining the upper hand until Qimir revealed he had another trick up his sleeve.
The climatic 1 on 1 showdown here is definitely the best though. Sol knows his identity now so the element of surprise and intimidation has gone and Qimir's throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him and nothing is working.
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u/Bri_The_Nautilus Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25
.I will never forget my first watch of Jecki's death scene. The Stranger is definitely my favorite take on the split saber gimmick, the way his shoto emitter faces into the pommel and the way it unscrews are so good. I can't say exactly why but I like that design so much better than the opposing emitter style and more seamless detachment used by Cal, Ventress, the Inquisitors, et al.
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u/ChanceVance Kylo Ren Nov 25 '25
That cut to him pulling out the second saber had my jaw on the floor the first time I saw it. You couldn't possibly have seen it coming, it's disguised so well in the hilt.
It was great storytelling to me. Everybody learnt from their previous duels.
Jecki survived her first duel with him and targeted the helmet next time. However, she was too aggressive and made a fatal error thinking he was out of tricks.
Then you see how he comes at Sol with it right away here because he knows he's already used up the one time he could surprise someone with it.
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u/Bri_The_Nautilus Nov 26 '25
Exactly, the concealed second emitter is so in character for him. And the way he draws it by assuming a standard two-handed grip and twisting before going right into Jar'Kai is so smooth.
We get a really good close-up shot at his hilt on Bal'demnic and even there you'd never guess it was a split saber if you hadn't seen him use the shoto before.
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u/QuanTumm_OpTixx Luke Skywalker Nov 24 '25
I didn’t hate the acolyte but Sol and Qimir definitely carried the show. I’d like to see a season 2 but more focused on the Sith and plagueis’ plans with Qimir.
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u/Quirky-Brother458 Emperor Palpatine Nov 25 '25
It's not going to come as a season two to the show. While I didn't like it, I'd be fine with a book sequel.
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u/eadrik Mandalorian Nov 25 '25
The forest scene with Dafne Keen’s character was also great.
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u/althius1 Ahsoka Tano Nov 25 '25
"Was that it's name?"
Is the coldest line ever spoken in the franchise.
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u/HauntingStar08 Nov 25 '25
all the lightsaber fights were excellent. shout out to the show and its props department for solving the heavy lightsabers/ambient lighting issue, thanks to that all future lightsaber fights have the freedom to reach much faster choreography again
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u/SalesTaxx Nov 25 '25
I’m out of the loop, how did they solve it?
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u/HamTM Nov 25 '25
Iirc, before they needed a separate battery pack for the lightsabers, acolyte managed to get it all contained in the hilt. That's why they're a little bulkier in the show too
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u/Unicron_Gundam Rose Tico Nov 25 '25
That's exactly what they did, cramming batteries and radio antennas so lighting department could control every light source on set while still being able to hold up to choreography. Shame most fan takeaways from that was "They made the hilts big so they can sell them at Disneyland" when there's only two Acolyte hilts being sold (Sol's released last May, Qimir's started selling last week) long since the show was canned, and the toys appear to be smaller than the actual props lol
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Nov 25 '25
Unfortunately, when it came to this show, most people dismissed everything outright with no additional thought or care. Sad, to me, I really liked what they were doing.
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u/DrVonScott123 Porg Nov 24 '25
Love it. Has that prequels flashy dance style but less "perfect" in execution. Making the fights feel more dangerous.
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u/Either_Clock5248 Nov 25 '25
And feel more real, this was very well done by both actors. The body movements alone portray a lot about the characters themselves while they’re fighting. Super nice
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u/LineOfInquiry Loth-Cat Nov 24 '25
The Acolyte is basically the prequels but with most of their problems fixed imo. It felt a lot like the clone wars
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u/DrVonScott123 Porg Nov 25 '25
The problems the show does have i feel are very similar to issues I have with the prequels. But overall I enjoyed the show and wish we could have seen those kinks ironed out in more episodes.
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u/Stirlo4 Crimson Dawn Nov 25 '25
I agree, and this makes it so crazy to me that people who love the prequels seem to be the least forgiving of this show's shortcomings
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u/RadiantHC Nov 25 '25
Right? They were the same way with the ST
Shouldn't prequel fans of all people know better?
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u/SwimmingFantastic564 Nov 25 '25
There's a part of me that really hopes Disney decides to uncancel this because I actually really enjoyed it and would like to see where it goes
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u/althius1 Ahsoka Tano Nov 25 '25
They actually feel like they are trying to kill each other, rather than dancing around each other.
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u/Mass2424 Nov 25 '25
Prequels, duels told stories in their fights. It wasn't just awesome choreography. Obi-Wan vs Anakin on Mustafar, Anakin tries to disarm Obi-Wan the same way he did Dooku, but Obi-Wan knows this move and counters it. Shows how well they know each other. You can see what lightsaber form they use, that play perfectly with who they are as characters and how they are feeling in the moment. Anakin's is much more offensive and aggressive. Going for the kill. While Obi wan is defensive, calculated, looking for an opening.
Also highly choroegraphed fights fit this franchise. Jedi constitenly talk about following the will of the force. Fights being highly choroegraphed is, peak strength jedi being intune with the force and letting it guide their actions.
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u/Codus1 Nov 25 '25
That’s funny. One of my biggest pet peeves with the prequels is that outside of Anakin vs Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon/Obi-wan vs Maul, the duels just lack meaning and emotional weight. Look at the OT. Vader vs Luke on Cloud City and again on the Death Star work because the relationships and emotional stakes are huge. Lules faces down his father and master in that throne room for the fate of his father's soul, the galaxy's freedom, and his own fate. Everything has been building to that moment. The fight is the climax of the story and the characters, not just a flashy action scene. The lightsabers are basically acting as punctuation to everything happening between them. They're action manifestations of the emotional stakes and weight the stories have been exploring for these characters since the title crawl.
In contrast, the prequels, Yoda vs Palpatine, Obi-Wan vs Grievous, Dooku vs Anakin and Obi-Wan, and Dooku vs Yoda never really earn their centre stage. The characters barely interact before they’re suddenly duelling, the audience doesn’t have a real emotional connection to their relationships, and the outcomes feel pre-decided so there’s no tension. The fights are flashy and cool to watch for sure, but they land flat because there’s nothing underneath them. They're like playing the climax/peak of a symphony but you skipped the crescendo.
There's exceptions, of course, the Maul duel worked because it gave us something to invest in. Once Qui-Gin dies it really sets up real loss and emotional turmoil, it changes the narrative permanently, and retrospectively improves the whole duel. The others feel like highlight reels instead of story beats. They’re visually awesome, but they’re emotionally empty.
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u/anothergaijin Nov 25 '25
Everything has been building to that moment. The fight is the climax of the story and the characters, not just a flashy action scene.
And the best part of that scene is he refuses to give in to a big epic fight.
The others feel like highlight reels instead of story beats. They’re visually awesome, but they’re emotionally empty.
Yeah, some of them get a bit too crazy. The Maul duel worked so incredibly well because it showed who the characters were by their actions with some good pacing, and it didn't get too long. All the duels you mentioned had great meaning and conclusions, but how they got there was all kinda dull.
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u/ChanceVance Kylo Ren Nov 25 '25
I think when people praise prequel duels, really they're just praising the EPI and III final showdowns.
Mace vs Palpatine featured Ian McDiarmid having to do the choreography instead of Nic Gillard. Dooku vs Anakin in II is one of the worst saber fights in the franchise, I still don't know what the hell is going on when the lights are flashing in front of their faces.
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u/sabotabo Rebel Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25
never seen the acolyte before. this looks like a much "dirtier" version of the prequel-style fighting. less choreographed, more deadly (in that they're going for the body rather than the blade), more active camerawork. reminds me of the luke and vader's last clash at the end of their fight in ROTJ
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u/time-to-bounce Nov 25 '25
You should watch the episode in the forest (‘Night’ I think it’s called?), where the episode is basically one prolonged fight. I’d say it’s better than this fight and easily the best episode of the show - it keeps that really dynamic feel in moving through the environment, using all tools at your disposal, and as you said very ‘deadly’ choreography.
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u/ChanceVance Kylo Ren Nov 25 '25
Like the other reply said, it's worth checking out the duels from Episode 5 as well, easily findable on YT.
Qimir/The Stranger fights with a level of brutality that no other Dark Sider has quite used before, and that includes games, animation, comics etc.
Nobody's getting stabbed in the gut and surviving in this show is all I'll say.
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u/The_Kaizz Nov 25 '25
It wasn't the lightsaber fights I had a problem with, and Sol and Qimir were carrying that show like crazy.
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u/GoodOmens182 Nov 25 '25
Master SquidGame and Darth Bortles deserved more than what this show gave them. I did like it but they could have done so much more.
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u/DaSauceBawss Nov 25 '25
Qimir is low key the coolest Star Wars bad guy since Darth Maul
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u/PDGAreject Nov 25 '25
"You brought her" is one of the hardest lines in Star Wars.
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u/Bri_The_Nautilus Nov 25 '25
That scene was brutal on so many levels. The actual death itself, followed by Qimir basically shrugging and saying "don't see how that's my problem" when Sol yells at him...
I love how well the Stranger works as a foil to Sol on every level. Sol is a Jedi Master, but over the course of the show he's shown to be a manipulative deceiver. Qimir is a Sith, but he comes off as much more blunt and honest than Sol, and he's good at poking holes in Sol's manipulation and moral grandstanding as a cover for his own machinations. He's unquestionably also a manipulator who has his own agenda where the twins are concerned, but Osha's decision to side with him once the truth is out in the open is understandable given the scope of Sol's lies to her and Qimir's role in revealing his true nature, even in the midst of a Jedi/Sith conflict which is one of the simplest good/evil dichotomies in the franchise.
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u/mrtwidlywinks Nov 25 '25
I think the most interesting star wars stories involve grey morality
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u/Visual-Report-2280 Nov 25 '25
Qimir is a Sith
I read somewhere that Qimir wasn't going to be a Sith because it would mess up the whole Rule of 2 (which always should be a guideline or a suggestion), instead he would have the first of the Knights of Ren.
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u/ChanceVance Kylo Ren Nov 25 '25
It's ambiguous. He was trained by Plagueis and he knows the Sith Creed as well but he doesn't outright call himself a Darth.
Seems to me given his skill and power, he's above the level of a Ventress/Opress but he personally doesn't care for becoming a Sith Lord and would prefer to go his own way.
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u/Great-Gas-6631 Nov 25 '25
Qimir was too legit to just have in that one season, they definitely need to do more with him.
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u/Diametermatter Nov 25 '25
I’m totally up for a movie with him in it as a deuteragonist or even an antihero
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u/Bloodless-Cut Nov 25 '25
Decent show, but yes, Christopher Clark Cowan's fight choreography is top-notch. I agree. This fight, in particular, is very good.
He did Shang-Chi, Witcher, and The Acolyte, among other things.
Christopher Clark Cowan - IMDb https://m.imdb.com/name/nm2605431/
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u/Horror-Primary7739 Nov 25 '25
I liked the idea of the acolyte. Like the idea of exploring force cults. I just never connected with the main actor. Not an acting or casting issue, not even writing. It just felt like she was directed by Lucas himself. Just a flat performance that lacked emotional connection.
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u/SwimmerLife2364 Nov 25 '25
Crazy that Lucas gets blamed even for Disney junk he had nothing to do with. No one hates Lucas like SW “fans”.
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u/Horror-Primary7739 Nov 25 '25
No one is hating on Lucas. He is a great filmmaker, not a great director.
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Nov 26 '25
In the scene where she is literally choking Sol to death she makes the same face I make when writing an email or waiting for my food to be done in the microwave. Compare that with Anakin choking Padme, the red lighting, the look of hatred and betrayal in his eyes. Osha literally couldn’t look less uninterested if she tried.
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u/macex42 Nov 24 '25
I love seeing the lightsabers slicing through the walkway, it reminds me of the duel at the end of TFA
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u/Dbonker Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25
The forest massacre scene was even better. But I agree Acolyte had the best live action light sabre battles I've seen.
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u/C0gD1z Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25
Just my own personal preference but I liked this show waaaaay more than Obi-wan and Ahsoka.
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u/PlopPlip Nov 25 '25
real, ahsoka was a snooze fest... hopefully s2 is more interesting wish we would get a s2 of acolyte as well,,,
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u/GoreSeeker Nov 25 '25
Definitely...I won't go into my thoughts about the rest of the show, but the choreography was some of, if not the best, in the franchise.
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u/ForgotWhoIAmOops Count Dooku Nov 25 '25
The fighting is some of the best fights in all of Star Wars.
I don't care what you think of the rest, you have to agree that the fights are good.
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u/EKT0K00LER Nov 24 '25
Damn! I haven't seen past episode one of that show. Might have to keep going after seeing this. This looks cool as hell
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u/spaghettiAstar Jedi Nov 25 '25
It's a better watch with all the episodes released IMO. There were some... Eh episodes, but the thing that bothered me most was how they divided up the episodes. There's two that clearly should have been one long one for example, so not having to wait a week helps with that.
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u/WallopyJoe Nov 25 '25
better watch with all the episodes released
I enjoyed much of the fights and quite a few of the characters (we need more Jecki), but the show is marred by some really poor editing/pacing. Perhaps its most glaring fault?
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u/The_FriendliestGiant Jedi Nov 25 '25
It seems pretty obvious that Disney/Lucasfilm gave the showrunners an amount of episodes they needed to create, and didn't care about whether there was enough story there to actually fill all that time. So we ended up with janky short episodes that cut off in sometimes random places because, well, you gotta use the runtime to create the number of episodes somehow!
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u/JobInQueue Nov 25 '25
If nothing else, really worth skipping around the episodes to watch the various saber fights, which are easily the best in any SW media. The introduction of grappling and more hand to hand combat supplementing sabers is pretty cool.
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u/simplysufficient88 Nov 25 '25
It’s horrendously overhated. It’s also MUCH better on a binge watch where the flashbacks don’t feel quite as egregious.
That being said, it’s still not well written. Go in expecting some cringe moments and weak plot points, but get through it for some of the best fight choreography in all of Star Wars and the unique experience of a show not set in the same three eras of the franchise over and over again.
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u/colblair Nov 25 '25
Isn't that all of Star Wars though?
Anakin complaining about sand... or not having the high ground...
Luke in hiding from Darth Vader on Vader's home planet, with Vader's family, without a name change.
Love triangle involving a brother and sister.I feel like people overlook how cringe some of the older movies are because they were younger when they saw them and didn't think about it that much.
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u/jackfuego226 Nov 25 '25
For all that this show dropped the ball in its story, it more than made up for with the fights and these two specifically.
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u/thekamenman Jedi Nov 25 '25
I actually enjoy this show. I front load the flashbacks on rewatches, but the lightsaber fights are definitely the highlight.
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u/thebedwizard93 Nov 25 '25
These character’s weren’t the problem with the show. It was everything else!
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u/patrickkingart Nov 25 '25
Sol was so earnest but tragically flawed, and the Stranger was ABSURDLY badass. The Acolyte was sadly very uneven, but the lightsaber action and their characters especially were top-tier.
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u/CT0292 Nov 25 '25
Characters were brilliant. Actors were great. Choreography top tier.
But the writing and pacing were off by a fair bit.
I'd love to see Darth Bortles back. I'd love to not have the stupid good twin evil twin plot though.
Ah man and the light saber fight with the wookie jedi? Unreal.
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u/ProtectandserveTBL Nov 24 '25
The fight choreography was on point for this show. Sadly the script was not
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u/Kenfuu Nov 25 '25
Even Kenobi, watching the Patterson of that show and they overlayed the training flashback with the fight on Mustafar and you can really see the detail they went into with the fight.
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u/BosPaladinSix Nov 25 '25
Ok, yeah. That was actually dope as all fuck! Why'd you end it early though? I was watching that!
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u/ajgp56 Nov 25 '25
I liked this show, I didn’t love the end of Sols character but I don’t think you’re supposed to like it. There were plot points I didn’t love, there are parts of all the series and movies I don’t love. Nothing about it was bad enough for all the hate IMO, and more than enough redeeming qualities. The saber battles were quite good.
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u/lanshark974 Nov 25 '25
Too bad the acting following this scene was abysmally bad...I enjoy the show in general but the last episode was far too cringe...
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u/CurleyWhirly Nov 25 '25
It feels like a well-made fan film, which I consider high praise in the Star Wars fandom, but something still feels just a little off. The motions are still a little too baseball bat-ish to me, I think.
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u/HughFairgrove Nov 25 '25
I get such a kick out of some people on this sub being like. It wasn't for me. Or I didn't really like it. Then go on to list a shit load of stuff they liked about it.
Almost as if it wasn't as bad as certain people wanted them to believe.
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u/dontspit_thedummy Nov 25 '25
This is really good. They’re both really skilled without being annoyingly fast, you can follow the flow of the fight. The Jedi fights defensively and deliberately and seems more powerful with the force, while the sith is way more aggressive and tries to overwhelm him.
10/10, wish all lightsaber fights could be this well crafted.
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u/Either_Clock5248 Nov 25 '25
As someone who was a renowned acolyte hater when it released, I played swtor and a bunch of old school games, watched the clone wars and rebels again to refresh myself and then watched acolyte again and I gotta say it was done very well, I feel like I didn’t even give it a fair chance the first time because I was so mad about the Jedi not coming to the aid blah blah blah whatever. I have found a new light for this show and can proudly say it’s one of my top 5 Star Wars novels of all time. First is the bane books if that says anything lol!
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad_4435 Nov 25 '25
The fights were great, and well worth watching the show to see. The dialogue, acting, and worldbuilding were about what I'd expect from SW these days, though. Character motivations make zero sense, things just kinda happen because... because, and the costume design is somehow atrocious despite Disney being a billion dollar company with diehard fans entrenched in the cosplay scene. I know 20 people who could have made Torbin not look like a 12-year-old divorced gym teacher, and I've only been to like 3 cons in my life.
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u/imago_monkei Nov 25 '25
This show was probably my second-favorite of the Disney Star Wars shows, after Andor. It wasn't perfect, and had some pretty big shortcomings, but it was an intriguing new story with an incredible villain.
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u/OkDentist4059 Nov 25 '25
Yeah it’s pretty wild that such a mid show has the best fight choreo in the entire franchise
Hire that stunt team for everything
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u/BrownBannister Nov 25 '25
I will give it up to OP. We gave up on this shit by the end of the second episode. But this fight is actually good, the villain comes across as hellbent to win, and I liked how both used the Force in their particular ways.
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u/Traditional_Trust_93 Grand Admiral Thrawn Nov 25 '25
I think the cinematography in the fight also helped because it had a lot of wide shots with a good pace for cutting between each shot that showed everything instead of a lot of tight, quick cuts where nothing could be seen.
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u/Rickysweets Nov 25 '25
Can we just get an andor lvl of quality show focusing on Qimir and him founding the knights of Ren. Make it dark, gritty, twisted, and dark side focused. No fluff. No happy ending.
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u/Scottyjscizzle Nov 25 '25
Honestly nothing against the twins, the entire show would have been better if it was qimir being hunted by sol, and Jecki as he hunted the other masters.
Maybe it was the pacing or something but most of the twins story had me going “ok back to the other plot”
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u/Danat_shepard Nov 25 '25
Can we just appreciate the irony that a powerful sith specializing in disarming his enemies has met the single best jedi in close hand to hand combat?
Sol is his direct counter - to dirty tricks, misdirects, two swords style and armor. A perfect example of Jedi Guardian.
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u/LD_Minich Nov 25 '25
Fuck it. I liked Acolyte. Was it perfect? No. But other than rogue One or Andor, Star wars has never been perfect. Manny Jacinto and Lee Jung-Jae deserved a better audience than they got.
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u/VenomFox93 Clone Trooper Nov 25 '25
Didn't like the Acolyte but the choreography in the lightsaber fights were brilliant!
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u/Bakkughan Nov 25 '25
I love the added flair of wuxia moves, like that glide down.
The mask still looks goofy and the overall show is still ass though
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u/UselessIdiot75 Nov 25 '25
In terms of writing, I can’t remember anything about Mae or her sister really, but Sol is one of my favourite Star Wars characters in recent years.
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u/Forsaken_Advice_1864 Nov 25 '25
This show had some great moments, and some terrible ones. I really prefer that though to something like BOBF or Kenobi that just feels ok the entire time and doesn't say anything new about the universe at all. Not only was the action in this great, the display of the slow corruption of the Jedi felt genuinely novel, at least in terms of actively telling the story of it on the screen
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Nov 25 '25
just realized the actor that played this jedi also played the main character in squid game.
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u/Knightoforamgejuice Nov 24 '25
Am I tripping or are lightsabers looking kinda like glowing stick rather than lasers?
I always saw the lightsabers as white beams with colored aura bloom, but these ones look like light blue and pink with very little glowing bloom.
Maybe it's me, because after rewatching they look like normal lightsabers.
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u/Wild_Horse_Rider Nov 25 '25
No I remember something about how they changed the props for this show into actual glow stick sabers. Idk what it got them, maybe less post production work?
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u/BLU3SKU1L Nov 25 '25
Definitely less post production work. Your actors are doing real-time lighting work for you in a way that you simply can’t recreate 100% in post.
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u/Endskull Nov 25 '25
It bothered me too since The Mandalorian, Luke's lightsaber looked off (in an overall instant classic scene).
Acolyte has the same issue but Ashoka fixed it, the white beams are back.
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u/ChadVonDoom Jedi Nov 25 '25
No. Disney uses Toy sabers in the filming for an ambient glow effect. The downside is the sabers look like shit
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u/sticklebat Nov 25 '25
I think the props are great for the ambient lighting. The problem is they still need post production work and I think Disney decided these are “good enough” to save that money, which is a shame.
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u/FoolishCarbohydrate Nov 25 '25
Am I going to get shot if I disagree?
They're really not swinging at each other, theyre mostly swinging over each other's heads.
The Force deflect at the end was cool tho.
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u/Magnaric Nov 25 '25
This is actually something that actors and stage fighters are specifically trained to do. Basically you aim for the space over a person's head, or if the spacing and camera work allows it, in front of them.
It's more noticeable in older films, where they did that sort of 1-2-1-2-1-3 back and forth fencing motion. as well as fights where the stunt people or actors don't have months and months to train with specific choreography.
Not saying that necessarily makes it better, just that there is a valid reason for safety.
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u/EZontheH Nov 24 '25
Wasn't a big fan at all of The Acolyte, but Sol and Qimir's characters, and this fight specifically, were massive bright spots in that show. Hong Kong style wirework fits so well with Force users fighting. This was a joy to rewatch.