After four dull episodes, The Acolyte's fifth episode tries to spice things up with shocks and dead bodies. Be ready for unexpected eliminations and revelations. Episode 5 sounds promising on paper, but that promise looks unremarkable on the screen. Director Alex Garcia Lopez dispenses twists in the form of divulgence and deaths so casually that you are never sure if you should actually be surprised by anything on the screen. I did admire Jecki's fight with the main villain, and that thing that happens to her is also shocking (albeit mildly due to the lackluster treatment). However, other moments in Episode 5 remain uninteresting. You know the show is in trouble when one of the Big Reveals fails to elicit any response from within.
Remember that Darth Vader-like figure from the previous episode - Mae's master who told her to murder four Jedi Knights? He is Qimir, the supplier who was trapped by Mae in Episode 4 when she decided to surrender herself to the Jedi. The moment when his mask comes out and his face is illuminated by the lightsaber should have taken you by surprise. But you take a few seconds to recognize him because of the dim, ugly cinematography. The images continue to be dark and unattractive. It's a miracle that we are able to see Qimir's body, given he is wearing a black outfit.
Qimir reveals himself to be a Sith. According to Wikipedia, Sith Lords are ruthless, and Sith culture is based on betrayal and treachery. These antagonists use the dark side of the Force to attain power by any means necessary. The Sith Lords are fated to be murdered by their apprentices, and they have a red lightsaber because of "an unnatural corruption of the kyber crystal through the dark side's malignancy, causing it to 'bleed.'" The Wikipedia page is more engrossing than all the five episodes of The Acolyte. On the other hand, the Sith on the screen looks like a wannabe bad guy. I chuckled when Qimir said, "Even in the revelation of our triumph, you see the depth of our despair." Such, um, heavy words sound flat coming from Manny Jacinto's "solemn" and "trying too hard to impress" acting.
There comes a moment here when Sol is about to decapitate Qimir, but Osha stops him. I groaned and wondered why the good characters are usually so irritating. The audience turns out to be smarter than Osha because we predict that Umbramoths won't be able to kill Qimir. If the writers had also been smart, we could have gotten a better version of The Acolyte.
Final Score - [3.5/10]