One of The Acolyte’s Stars Perfectly Explains Why It’s So Good

So, uh, that happened. And that happened. And THAT happened as well. The fifth episode of The Acolyte brought a whole new level of action and chaos to the Star Wars universe, something one of the show’s stars rightfully points out doesn’t happen enough in modern franchises.

Dafne Keen, who plays Jedi apprentice Jecki Lon on the Disney+ Star Wars show, spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the latest episode, which requires diving into some heavy-duty spoilers.

“There are so many directors in blockbuster sagas that are so scared to kill off their characters, and are so comfortable with bringing characters back to life, and all of these little writer tricks that I think are quite cheeky,” Keen said, referring to the fact that not only does her character die in the episode, but so does Jedi Knight Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett)—joining The Acolyte’s previous body count, which includes Jedi Masters Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo), Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss), and Torbin (Dean Charles Chapman).

“And I really like that [show creator Leslye Headland] was actually killing people,” she continued. “Because if you’re not making it dangerous, then why are we even here? Why are we concerned by the story? Why do we care? Leslye has such a backbone as a writer, to make you fall in love with these characters and then slaughter them all like pigs and be like, ‘Yeah, this is our villain. We’re not just saying he’s so big and scary, we’re actually showing you how big and scary he is.’”

We find no better example of a franchise failing to do this than, well, Star Wars. Even though The Rise of Skywalker was the end of an entire saga of films, it teased killing not just one or two characters, but also resurrected upwards of 10 different characters. (We broke each one down at this link). That just makes everything permanent or dramatic about the film completely melt away.

But not on The Acolyte. On The Acolyte, main characters have been dying since the first scene of the first episode. It’s one of the biggest pluses of the show being set so far away from any other known story—basically anyone and everyone is expendable. Will that continue as the show moves forward? We’ll have to wait and see in the final four episodes. But Keen really cuts to one of the simplest and most obvious reasons why The Acoltye is working so well. It goes there to give us a better, more compelling, and more captivating story.

If you want to read more about death on The Acolyte, head over to Entertainment Weekly. There, Keen and others talk about the fact they knew their characters were doomed and how that impacted their performances, and much more.

Stream episode five of The Acolyte on Disney+.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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