Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company redefined the Force and introduced a coven of witches led by two lesbians that were able to create life through a power they call the Thread in the Star Wars: The Acolyte series.
Mae (Amandla Stenberg) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©.
In the third episode of the series, the show flashes back to when the twins Osha and Mae are children and living on the planet Brendok. Early in the episode, a character named Mother Aniseya informs the twins that the coven believes in something called the Thread.
She details, “All living things are connected by the same Thread. A Thread woven through all of existence. Some call it a Force and claim to use it. But we know the Thread is not a power you wield. Pull the Thread. Change everything. It ties you to your destiny. It binds you to others.”
Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
This is in direct contrast to how the Force was defined by both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda in George Lucas’ original trilogy. Obi-Wan described it in A New Hope, “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.”
Yoda also described the Force in Empire Strikes Back, “Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere. Yes, even between the land and the ship.”
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, and Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), Lucasfilm
Nevertheless, after redefining the Force, the show then reveals that what the witches practice is considered dark as they begin some kind of ritual described as an ascension.
Mother Aniseya states, “Tonight, we enact a ceremony we have not performed since our exile. We were hunted, persecuted, forced into hiding all because some would consider our power dark. Unnatural. We were on the brink of extinction. And then, we were blessed with a miracle. The gift of life.” This gift of life is the two twins.
(L-R): Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Mae (Amandla Stenberg) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Following this speech and the ensuing ritual that is eventually interrupted by four Jedi who demand the twins be tested as Jedi, Mother Aniseya has a conversation with Koril and a number of the other witches.
Aniseya suggests that they allow the twins to be tested; however, Koril disagrees. She states, “I did not bring the girls into this world so that we would lose them to a bunch of deranged monks.”
Aniseya retorts, “It is not your decision. It is mine. And I’ve made it.” Koril then responds, “I carried them.” Aniseya replies, “I created them.”
Koril then questions, “And what happens if the Jedi discover how you created them?” The back and forth is then interrupted by an ancient witch who suggests the children take the test, but lie so that they will fail.
(L-R, front row): Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett), Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen) and Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
The idea that these witches can create life with the power of Thread also appears to undercut the chosen one prophecy that George Lucas introduced in The Phantom Menace.
When Qui-Gon Jinn arrives on Coruscant with Anakin Skywalker he informs the Jedi Council, “I have encountered a vergence in the Force. … A boy. His cells have the highest concentration of midi-chlorians I have seen in a life-form. It is possible he was conceived by the midi-chlorians.”
Mace Windu then shares the prophecy, “You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force. You believe it’s this boy?”
Qui-Gon responds, “I don’t presume to-.” However, he’s cut off by Yoda, who says, “But you do. Revealed your opinion is.”
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn and Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu in in Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Lucasfilm
READ: Leslye Headland Confirms ‘The Acolyte’ Is The “Gayest Star Wars,” And Claims That R2-D2 Is A Lesbian
This prophecy and the idea that Anakin was conceived by the midi-chlorians or the Force comes after Qui-Gon learned from Anakin’s mother Shmi that Anakin has no father.
She told Qui-Gon, “There was no father. I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him. I can’t explain what happened.”
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn and Pernilla August as Shmi Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Lucasfilm
And as noted by George Lucas, it’s quite clear that the Force created Anakin to bring balance to the Force. In The Making of Revenge of the Sith, Lucas explained, “The prophecy was right. Anakin was the Chosen One, and he does bring balance to the Force. He takes the ounce of good still left in him and destroys the Emperor out of compassion for his son.”
He would reiterate this in “The Chosen One” Featurette in 2005, “Anakin is the Chosen One, and even when Anakin becomes Darth Vader he is still the Chosen One. The Prophecy is that Anakin will bring balance to the force and destroy the Sith. He becomes Darth Vader. Darth Vader does become the hero. Darth Vader does destroy the Sith, meaning himself and the Emperor. He does it because he is redeemed by his son. So the prophecy is true and by doing that he redeems himself and goes from being Darth Vader back to Anakin Skywalker.”
George Lucas via AMC+ YouTube
Given that The Acolyte is showing that this coven of witches is manipulating what it calls the Thread to create life through unnatural means, the show will likely also try to reinforce the false idea that the Force is in balance when the Light and Dark equal. Given the Chosen One prophecy, it’s clear this is indeed false.
Nevertheless, Lucas also went into detail to explain this during a writers meeting for the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Lucas said, “The core of the Force. I mean you got the Dark Side and the Light Side. One is selfless. One is selfish. And you want to keep them in balance. What happens when you go to the Dark Side is that it goes out of balance, and then you get really selfish and you forget everybody.”
“And, ultimately, you lead yourself, because when you get selfish you get stuff or you want stuff and when you want stuff and you get stuff then you get afraid somebody’s going to take it away from you whether it’s a person, or a thing, or a particular pleasure, experience. Once you become afraid that somebody’s going to take it away from you or you’re going to lose then you start to become angry especially if you’re losing it. And that anger leads to hate. And hate leads to suffering. Mostly on the part of the person who is selfish because you spent all your time being afraid of losing everything you’ve got instead of actually living,” he detailed.
David Prowse and James Earl Jones as Darth Vader and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983), Lucasfilm
He later summarized, “The only way to overcome the Dark Side is through discipline. The Dark Side is pleasure, biological, and temporary, and easy to achieve.”
“The Light Side is joy, everlasting, and difficult to achieve. A great challenge. Must overcome laziness, give up quick pleasures, and overcome fear which leads to hate,” he concluded.
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi (1983), Lucasfilm
READ: George Lucas Blasts Disney For Not Understanding Star Wars And The Force
Interestingly, Lucas also made it clear during an appearance at Cannes Film Festival that The Walt Disney Company and current creatives at Lucasfilm had no understanding of the Force or Star Wars.
He said, “I was the one who really knew what Star Wars was … who actually knew this world, because there’s a lot to it. The Force, for example, nobody understood the Force.”
“When they started other ones after I sold the company, a lot of the ideas that were in [the original] sort of got lost. But that’s the way it is. You give it up, you give it up,” he added.
George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson on the red carpet at Cannes via AFP News Agency YouTube
What do you make of Disney Star Wars redefining the Force and introducing a coven of lesbian witches that can create life through unnatural means?
Well here’s the crazy part: This doesn’t break lore at all. These witches created the twins by using/manipulating the Force and impregnating one of the cult members as a vessel. Anakin is still special because the Force literally conceived him. We have seen different factions in SW before like the Nightsisters, Mortis Gods, Whills, and even the Bendu all use the Force differently. Legends even had Time traveling Force users and no one complained about that. There were no lesbians (Hell they didn’t even kiss in that episode), the Force itself isn’t a woman, and we have seen these groups in SW before. It’s like different religions interpreting God and Jesus differently but you guys are upset that they’re not following the Judeo Christian teachings only. Sorry but this wasn’t the lore breaking episode Alvin and Chris were making it out to be and they lied about it. I don’t care if I get downvoted for telling the truth, but I know more about the lore than people here that’s for sure.
It’s just how different people interpret religion differently – it’s the most delusional argument for a gross retcon of the rules of a fictional universe that I’ve seen in a long time.
You’re proving my point on that claim dude. There have been different Force Factions in SW before Disney came in. Why you’re acting like it’s a problem now is beyond me. But do tell me how Lucas is to blame for approving and allowing them in the first place.
This is what happens when someone who hates children and motherhood tries to make a message about motherhood and doesn’t even know how it works.
How is that proof that Leslie hates being a mother?
If this twist had been in a less crappy version of Star Wars, I might be interested. After all, the intimation from the prequels was that Sidious may have created Anikin using Dark Side powers discovered by Darth Plaguis. In that interpretation, the Living Force (basically the Force as a sentient being) cooperates because ultimately it makes Sidious the engineer of his own defeat. Kind of a neat idea.
We also know the all-female nightsisters have been around since the old EU as Force witches, and from what we’ve seen, them using dark powers to abuse the Force into creating life is definitely on brand.
So if this had been pitched as having the nightsisters be the obvious villains, it would have fit just fine: Dark Side users gonna Dark Side, but the Living Force knows what it’s doing and will set the Light Side in charge in the end. But of course that’s not what Headland is doing. She’s incapable of telling the nuanced story from the villain perspective because she fundamentally agrees with the villains: babies can be made with brutal abuse of power because the ends justify the means, children don’t need parents (also a capital sin of the Jedi, but Lucas wrote that in on purpose), and — ironically misinterpreting Qui-Gon’s words — biological reality can be changed to fit one’s beliefs.
It seems likely that later episodes will make this even worse, and truly break canon (to say nothing of the gay nonsense we all know is there), but ultimately Disney did something even worse than breaking canon: they poisoned it.
There’s more than the Nightsisters.
Oh sure; there are lots of Force-using factions in Star Wars canon, and you won’t catch me defending some of the stupider stuff from the pre-Disney days. You’re also right that episode 3 wasn’t *quite* as world-ending as a couple of early reviewers made it seem. Still, it was the worst episode so far from an ideas perspective. The germ of a good idea that was here has been wrecked by the illogic and girlbossing that are two of the Ten Commandments of Wokeness.
When you add in the lame acting, terrible script, odd pacing choices, and overall cheap feel of the whole thing, you end up with the garbage fire that is “The Acolyte”.
We’ll just see what other perspectives are available for the next 5 episodes then won’t we?
Yeah when it comes down to it, it’s not this one idea that makes The Acolyte bad. But The Acolyte is still bad.