konemanen

[konemanen]

if you like ryan cooglers projects please support iron heart it comes out today and episodes drop every tuesday on disney +. racists are review bombing despite the fact that the show literally isn’t out yet because they’re losers who can’t handle a black woman leading a show. this is the acolyte all over again and i at least hope this time that disney doesn’t bend these freaks

[konemanen]

For the Oshamir Summer Solstice Gift Exchange, a gift for @mochibrokenheart. I hope you like it! <3

Prompt: domestic Oshamir. What's more domestic than a beach date with your darksided honey?

[konemanen]

Ooh it does seem like the show was setting up Qimir and Osha to make babies with the *lineage* statement here😳 or maybe they were just referring to another Acolyte?!

What was he planning???

[konemanen]

I hope that even if they tried to go through with it, Manny Jacinto would not accept because the only reason why he appeals to many people is because of how Leslye Headland conceived him along with how the current characters relate with him. What is The Stranger's story without the Twins or Vernestra ? Knowing Disney, if they move forward with his story without the original creator, the stranger would be a man forever masked and he will be reduced to a one dimensional villain with none of the charm or personality that we fell in love with.

Maybe it’s just me but I feel like I’m seeing a couple of articles floating the idea of a Stranger spinoff series. While I can’t speak for how credible these articles are, I can’t help but wonder if it’s a way of testing the waters, to gauge people’s interest. But, here’s the thing, while I actually believe Disney isn’t so stupid as to not realize that they have struck gold with Manny Jacinto’s character, if they want to continue on with him, then why not just renew the Acolyte? Seriously, that is the sphere in which he exists. Just renew the show and let the arch’s be finished. I think they would find a spin off series to be even easier to do if the Acolyte was allowed to be finished. To just try and do a series with him as things currently stand would be incomplete and disjointed. Not to mention a massive slap in the face to Amandala and the other Acolyte cast members. The only reason to justify a Stranger spinoff that I can come up with is, if it is a hit (I use the word ‘hit’ lightly as DLF seems to have rather fluid standards for what qualifies as a hit) it might just renew interest in the Acolyte. That would be my hope anyway. I also saw an article about how the actor from Boba Fett is wondering when he is getting his season 2. That’s also interesting. Shows like Obi wan and Boba fett, while not all out successes, are just kind of being left on the back burner. They were not flat out cancelled, and word of the cancellation waved like a damn flag, like the Acolyte. I guess the thing that really kicks my ass is, as usual, Disney is destroying things right and left but still finding ways to milk any situation for more money.

[konemanen]

[konemanen]

My weekend at PHX Fan Fusion

It happened, I got a photo op with Manny Jacinto and an autograph as well. Manny was so gracious and was super excited to meet a member of the effort to save the show. He told me how he fell in love with his character and I could tell by his posture that he was still bummed about the show's fate. But then he told me to "Put it out there (meaning my hope for the show), you never know what might happen." I found that to be very encouraging as I listened to the person ahead of me who also asked about show. To him, Manny answered "Leslye had some ideas that would a path way to that but I am not able to say." I took that to mean that whatever is going on, Mr. Jacinto himself is under an NDA. So who knows. The bottom line is that he was so kind and it was an absolute treat to have been able to meet him and gain such a precious memory. the process.

[konemanen]

[konemanen]

Love these two 💕

[konemanen]

just some more full-page Amandlas from the visual guide

[konemanen]

just some more full-page Amandlas from the visual guide

[konemanen]

— THE ACOLYTE: TEACH / CORRUPT

[konemanen]

?

[konemanen]

Amandla is so pretty the hell??

[konemanen]

damn spacesuit Osha kinda 👀👀

[konemanen]

The Acolyte episode 1 is so fucking good, part 2

scene change with dramatic, disorienting camera tilt! our assassin seems to be waking up from a nightmare, and have a new haircut. she is on a spaceship - after a timeskip? was the opening a flashback, a Force vision? what was she dreaming about?

she touches the very spot on her chest where Indara was stabbed in the opening. (very cool observation by @flythesail!)

her living space is muted in both color and light. combined with her uneasy sleep we get the sense she isn't in a good place in her life.

we see her worktable filled with tools, right in her bedroom, immediately recognizing her as a mechanic (and perhaps in a bad living situation). a little droid greets her enthusiastically, and her demeanor changes right away to sunny and amused. we wonder whether she is simply putting on a happy mask, pretending everything is fine. (with more context even from the rest of this first episode we can tell Osha had been having a nightmare about the fire on Brendok, and probably has been regularly for the past 16 years.)

the droid "Pip" becomes the second named character in the show. we get the sense that our main character is either very empathetic, taking care to notice the overlooked robots, or closed off from other people and connecting more easily with droids.

(Pip is also both adorable and cleverly designed from a prop-making perspective.)

our protagonist, "Osha", has to get to work right away, only snatching up a quick bite of something from a wall dispenser for breakfast. the ship is dim, drab, almost depressing, as is her work uniform in the same color scheme.

she is friendly but distant with her coworker, "Fillik", and we learn that she did not go out with the crew the previous night. (this is her pointed lack of an alibi for Indara's murder, and her lack of interest in hanging out a contrast to her later story of getting tattooed with her buddies. we will wonder whether she became less outgoing over time, whether she perhaps felt inexplicably unwell around the time of Mae's revenge quest beginning, or her tattoo trip was an especially impulsive but perhaps characteristic thing for her to do.)

Osha and Fillik have to get out of the way of passing Trade Federation employees, and Osha shoots a look their way. she seems to have a low status in their eyes, and resent it. (we will also continue to see Osha wanting more for herself, like with her childhood on Brendok, and being stuck in a situation that she chose but which didn't end up being right for her, stalling to change it, like with her apprenticeship in the order.)

(the Trade Federation making an appearance both visually and via spoken dialogue helps make a link to the chronologically closest piece of onscreen star wars in The Phantom Menace.)

"no rest for the wicked?" "the wicked rest, they just don't brag about it." is a fun little piece of banter but also makes us wonder at a deeper meaning, perhaps whether Osha is thinking about her secret murder of a jedi. (the bad guys surviving in secret is also how the season ends.)

Osha matter-of-factly takes the lead in walking out to her and Fillik's destination, exiting the ship, as well as talking back to their superiors. perhaps she wants to be in charge, or is a natural risk-taker. (confidently walking off is something we will see her do with the Stranger but less so with the Jedi, who she doesn't feel worthy next to at that point.)

(the hatch opening also reminds us of Luke's rescue near the end of The Empire Strikes Back.)

(our characters doing outer ship repair while wearing space suits with magnetized shoes is also a very cool concept.)

Osha's form is tiny on the hull of the huge ship in the darkness of space, giving us the impression that she is lost.

(the alien prosthetics look so good here, too. the fact that their voice acting isn't an offensive caricature helps as well.)

on a rewatch, Osha jokingly calling Fillik disposable unlike herself feels like foreshadowing of her (although hesitant) willingness to sacrifice others for herself.

despite being no-nonsense and competent right before, Osha freezes up completely when looking at a fire. why? (Pip helping ground Osha or snap her out of a flashback will also come back again and again, and her losing her most consistent support in him is a major point in her journey to the Stranger.)

the arrival of jedi on the scene feels ominous, with Osha's unreadable reaction, the officers' clear annoyance, and Fillik's cryptic "friends of yours?". the audience is once more sharing the perspective of non-jedi characters, unlike most star wars media where the jedi appear. (with the context of Osha's departure from the order - and the remoteness of the Corporate Sector, brought up by Yord soon after - we can also assume she goes directly to her room in order to avoid them entirely, and perhaps get away from the ship.)

the jedi, "Yord" and "Tasi", stroll confidently onto the bridge. we get a first look at their pristine white-and-gold robes, making them stand out in the grey space. Yord seems completely self-assured, even amused, and casually makes to influence the captain with the Force.

we also learn that Osha's occupation is illegal due to being too hazardous, and normally done by droids; this furthers her characterization as either seeking danger (for thrill or self-punishment) or desperate (for a living or to get as far from the jedi as possible). it also helps sell the idea that this is long before the movie events and connects to them thematically, with the future reliance on droids, dissatisfaction with the republic's regulations, and reckless pursuit of profit by the separatists' supporters.

the jedi are looking for Osha, and we learn her last name - Aniseya.

Osha seems worried but immediately lights up when she sees Yord, and we learn they know each other well - or used to, since they never expected to meet again after saying goodbye years ago. Osha realizes Yord is wary of her despite being glad to see her. she seems genuinely surprised and we wonder whether the character is that good an actor, or genuinely doesn't know why the jedi are looking for her.

we learn more of Osha's backstory, this time having no reason to suspect unreliable narration - joined the jedi order at 8 years old after losing her entire family to a fire and being rescued by "Sol", left six years ago and became a meknek. she is awkward speaking to Tasi, presumably both due to being pretty much interrogated and having a stranger intrude on her reunion with Yord.

she has an interesting reaction to the news of Indara's death (she is, indeed, first learning of it, and we are soon after told she ended up having a complicated relationship with Indara, as the latter did not think she should remain in the order. we will also wonder whether Indara was trying to look out for the jedi or for Osha herself with her concerns.)

we also learn concretely that the cold open happened the night prior relative to ship-time. since Osha just woke up in the previous scene, and the ship is clearly not over Ueda (seen better in a later shot), and Osha specifically moved far away to get away from them, the jedi seem quick and competent in their investigation. (them finding Osha's location quickly might also make us wonder whether they were checking up on her from afar, whether for her well-being or as a precaution.)

Osha is adamant that leaving the jedi was her own decision, and that it was difficult for her; she is indignant at the very idea that she would betray the jedi in such a way. (her line about "betraying the order, overpowering a jedi master, and murdering [them]" is also exactly what she does in the finale.)

Yord is obviously conflicted but resigned to do his duty, while Osha is disappointed in him but resigned as well.

Tasi deactivates Osha's friend Pip, putting the audience at odds with her. (giving all the more antagonistic actions and lines to her makes it easier for us to like Yord later.)

the prisoner transport is guarded by an imposing red droid, its head looking like scary helmet with eyes that turn red as it looks at Osha. it towers over her and is filmed at an angle from below, putting us in her shoes.

the scene ends with our first wipe transition, reminding us of the visual language of the film series, this time nicely matched to the transport's movement off-screen.

what a great scene! introduces both Osha (plus Pip) and Yord nicely, gives us the bare-bones facts of Osha's backstory to orient us but make us want to find out what exactly happened to her, and connects the setting to the prequels in a satisfying way. the worldbuilding here is nice, too.

[konemanen]

Happy anniversary to The Acolyte. Thank you for introducing us to these beauties and their characters 🥰

[konemanen]

sometimes i think about how disney cancelled the acolyte and screwed over manny jacinto, who brought a level of dedication to lightsaber choreography we haven't seen since hayden christensen, and get really mad again