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Trying to find balance in the force has not always been the easiest thing for Disney to do when it comes to Star Wars shows. Disney+ was meant to be a huge launch for a new part of the galaxy that went beyond the films and previous iterations of shows and books. However for as much as shows like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and the Book of Bobba Fett tried to sell itself on original stories, they all found themselves locked to an era of the Skywalker saga that many have grown tired of and want to see beyond. It is a tough sell to make any of your shows disconnected to the biggest characters that once skyrocketed your entire universe, but better shows such as Andor found a way in being more focused on its anti-war sentiment than cameos of infamous rebel scum. The latest show from Lucas Films and Disney, The Acolyte has found its own success avoiding familiar territory. While based on a book series following the galaxy during the era of the High Republic, The Acolyte quickly establishes itself as its own thing early on in its premiere episode. The Republic and the Jedi Council are at peace with one another cooperating to maintain security throughout the galaxy, but any avid Star Wars fan can tell you danger is always near. This danger comes in the form of a mysterious drifter hunting down Jedis. Played by Amandla Stenberg donning a purple cloak, braided hair and a set of deadly knife skills. This unnamed (for now) person encounters a Jedi master known as Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) and while Indara does not understand why this mysterious person is seeking vengeance it is clear her new advisory has come a long way to find her. The first two episodes are directed by showrunner Leslye Headland and the directing is impressive with a mixture of old time western and kung fu action that feels fresh and always engaging. Yes there are lightsabers but most of the action is stylistic hand to hand combat that shows off how Jedis use the force to fight and only bring out lightsabers when they mean to kill. This is something that has always been overlooked in other live action Star Wars shows. Yes lightsabers are always badass to look at but what The Acolyte prides itself in is reminding us of the patient fighting skills of the Jedi. Amongst its stylistic approach to action, The Acolyte takes on a new genre for the Star Wars live action shows and that is a murder mystery. After a deadly encounter from our mysterious assailant we are introduced to Osha (Amandla Stenberg) a mechanic who just happens to look like the unnamed Jedi killer. We learn that Osha was once trained to be a Jedi under her Master Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) but has abandoned the Jedi for a secluded life aboard any cargo ship that will have her. Stenberg as Osha quickly wins you over as both someone lost in the galaxy as well as confident in their former abilities even if they have convinced themselves that they have rejected their former life.

The Acolyte moves quickly introducing us to our new set of characters that will become our intergalactic detectives. Sol, in investigating Osha and the Jedi murders, brings along with him his padawan Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen) and fellow Jedi Knight Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett). Star Wars has never had a problem creating an array of amusing characters and The Acolyte is no different. This feels like a show tailor made for online shippers and fan accounts as each member feels unique and lively in their own way and destined to speak to many. Barnett as Yord has a fun time balancing a cockiness that is clearly overshadowed by his naïve and childish manners coming to odds with both Jecki’s more pragmatic thinking. Jecki herself also still finds a way to shed a heart for Osha who may or may not be the murderer they are looking for. Dafne Keen and Amandla Stenberg are the shows biggest highlights reminding us once again how much the Star Wars world belongs to its most inspiring female characters. Headland who has made a name for herself with shows like “Russian Doll,” “Single Drunk Female” and films such as “Bachelorette” and “Sleeping with Other People” has a strong ability to showcase her voice as a woman through her female characters that feel fully alive even within the first two episodes. When a secret about Osha’s past comes to light Stenberg as a performer is given double duty and is able to demonstrate both pain and ingenuity making her one of the better original characters in recent memory for Star Wars. Even as the mystery starts to unfold early on, there is an instant attraction to Osha and wanting to discover where her place is and will be in all this. The episodes, like all television shows, end on cliffhangers making you instantly want the next episode but thankfully The Acolyte never feels like a means to an end. The biggest credit for this goes to the cast (that also includes a wonderfully fidgety Manny Jancito as an apothecary) who is able to keep the premise engaging when the mystery elements fall into slightly predictable moments.

The Acolyte for super Star Wars fans may feel familiar because after all they are inspired by the High Republic book series, but Headland and her team of filmmakers have set the events decades after the book series run and a century before “The Phantom Menace.” This allows for almost all avoidance of eye roll name drops and cameos. Even when a criminal mentions working for the Hutts it is less wink wink and more just an acknowledgment that this is a wide universe but eventually you will run into someone you know. Rebecca Henderson as Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh is the sole retuning character from the books but as previously mentioned the series takes place so far after her first introduction that even die hard fans will have to wait and learn what she has been up to for the last one hundred years. But for now the early few episodes hinder all fears of pointless cameos and connections to the eventual saga allowing for the story to play out on its own. This may be the biggest draw to The Acolyte early on, the idea that for once in a long time Star Wars can actually surprise you. This critic was thrilled to experience the shows biggest (and early) reveals in real time allowing for the second episode to play out like a third act of a movie. Credit to the showrunners and some of the marketing for not needing to spill everything beforehand.

Since The Acolyte only has eight episodes there seems to be a lot of ground to cover and given its only thirty minute episodic runtime there is always the worry that things can be too rushed. The first few episodes definitely don’t take time to slow down, but it still finds a way to keep the action and character development evenly on par. This is also due to the fact that this really is the first live action Star Wars film that truly dives deep into what makes the Jedi and their ancient ways. It might surprise the average Star Wars fan but outside of Yoda’s monologues there really is not all that much discussion into who the Jedi are as guardians of an ancient practice. Much of the films have been based on what a Jedi should and should not do (Anakin being told not to be with Padme, Luke being told to avoid the dark side) but the temples, the ancient texts and especially the mistakes of the Jedi have rarely been at the forefront. The Acolyte wants to change that as we see the mystery at hand starting to reveal that maybe the Jedi are not as faithful and obedient as they claim to be. The Jedi have always been one of the biggest if not the biggest draw to Star Wars, but outside of watching a slew of them get killed off during Order 66 The Acolyte is the most time we have spent with Jedi as a collective. Seeing the Jedi temple on Coruscant is a welcomed return but what’s even better is getting to see the teaching put into action as Master Sol and his crew use their knowledge and skills to hunt down this possible murderer. The Acolyte has most of the summer to show us what it has in store for audiences but for now it seems to be on the right path. At its best The Acolyte has the opportunity to become a shining examples of what Star Wars can and should be, and at its worst it will fall like its predecessor shows and become just another bridge to connect us with boring overdone familiarity. But for the first time and in a long time the galaxy seems to be on the right path and could actually bring peace to this franchise.

EPISODE 1 RATING: A-

EPISODE 2 RATING: B

THE ACOLYTE WILL HAVE ITS TWO EPISODE PREMIERE ON MAY 4 AT 9 PM ET ON DISNEY PLUS. NEW EPISODES WILL BE RELEASED WEEKLY THROUGH JULY 16.