REVIEW: Star Wars: The Acolyte is the series you need to watch this summer

I've been a Star Wars fan ever since I was 5 years old. My dad decided that would be the perfect age to get me into sci-fi, and he was so right.

Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate - dad sat me down and introduced me to the genre that would shape the majority of my likes and dislikes so, needless to say, I've grown to be very opinionated and passionate about these franchises. I can't explain the giant wave of disappointment that the vast majority of live-action Star Wars shows give me, which made me very nervous when The Acolyte was announced (and if you know me personally, I am so sorry for my constant whining over my disappointment with the Star Wars series).

As initial reviews started to pour in after the first wave of screeners was sent out, I was both relieved and yet still a bit apprehensive as the vast majority of them praised the show to no end. A week later, the second wave of screeners was sent out and I was lucky enough to be one of the recipients.

As I literally binge-watched the first 4 episodes of The Acolyte, it only took me 5 minutes for it to carve a special place in my heart and unseat Andor as my favorite Star Wars live-action show.

Please read the below review at your own risk - while I won't be hitting major spoilers, I will be touching on things that really made me happy with the show and the plot of the show as a whole.

Star Wars: The Acolyte review

I will not beat around the bush here - Star Wars: The Acolyte is not just the series you need to watch this summer, but also the best Star Wars live-action series to date.

Allow me to tell you why.

In a franchise saturated with amazing lightsaber fights, constant struggles between good and evil, and the biggest family-caused drama in the universe, the folks over at Lucasfilm and Disney Studios have put out series after series about characters we've met and loved within the universe. Every single series and movie put out so far has tiptoed the Skywalker saga - Ahsoka, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett all take place within the Skywalker timeline.

It was about damn time they put that timeline to rest.

I'm about to carefully tiptoe on spoiler territory and talk about the overall plot of the show - please, continue to read at your own risk.

In The Acolyte, we are taken all the way back to the High Republic era, a mere 100 years before the Skywalkers were ever a thought. We get to see what the galaxy was like before the rise of the Empire, before Emperor Palpatine, and before the Sith emerged. Not only that, what The Acolyte gives us is nothing short of a brand-new experience (at least for those who never really dabbled in the Star Wars lore and canon before Disney claimed the EU was no longer canon): we get a ridiculously fun murder mystery with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing along the way while remaining fully invested in the characters and plot.

The plot initially circles around a mysterious killer going after four Jedi and the search for her and who trained her. We're eventually introduced to Verosha (Osha) and Mae-ho (Mae) Aniseya, a pair of twin girls created by Mother Aniseya and carried by Mother Koril in hopes of keeping their covenant from going extinct. The Jedi find themselves on their planet and discover they're training children who appear to be Force-sensitive, so they take it upon themselves to test the young girls and see if they'd be trainable. In doing so, Mae becomes irritated that her twin wants to be a Jedi instead of a witch, and she proceeds to set the entire village on fire, killing literally everyone in her convenant except herself and her twin, Osha. Thinking she was the sole survivor of this tragedy, Mae takes it upon herself to kill all four Jedi who were stationed at Brendok at the time of the fire - Master Indara, Master Sol, Master Kelnacca, and then-Padawan Torbin. As she makes her rounds, we quickly find out there's someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes. Who's pulling the strings? Great question, I was only given four of the six total episodes - heck if I know.

We meet original characters that easily and quickly burrow into our hearts, namely Mae and Osha Aniseya, PIP the droid, Master Sol, Knight Yord, and Padawan Jecki. They each have their own personality and purpose in the show, and the actors who portray them do so flawlessly. By far, my biggest shoutouts go to Lee Jung-jae (Master Sol) and Amandla Stenberg (Mae and Osha) - not only did they portray their characters with such dedication, but their characters are made to be very unique and different from the characters we've grown used to seeing and cheering for within the franchise. We're introduced to different cultures and ways the Force was used and called, and we get to see how the Jedi get their bad rep of "stealing children to train as Younglings".

TL;DR: The Acolyte is refreshing and fun. We see a galaxy before the Skywalker drama, and it's pretty immersive, interesting, and new.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is Star Wars at its finest and the kind of Star Wars tale we had been practically begging for for years. It has lightsaber action, it tugs on your heartstrings, it gives you a new tale to focus on, and it's a better look at the Jedi and everything they must go through in the name of peace.

Make sure you do two things:

1) Don't forget to tune in every week for a new episode. The series will be streamed weekly on Disney+.

2) Be sure to come back later tonight at 9:30 pm ET for a recap of the two-episode premiere. I'll recap and go into a bit more detail regarding the first two episodes of this epic tale, and you won't want to miss it.

If I didn't make it obvious, I highly recommend Star Wars: The Acolyte to any and all Star Wars fans. There's something in it for everyone, and the series is executed beautifully. It's that good.