The Acolyte: What Happened On Brendok Explained

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS from The Acolyte episode 7.

The Acolyte episode 7 finally revisited the fateful night on Brendok, when Mae and Osha’s family were killed, and it began to unravel some of the show’s many mysteries. Brendok was one of the most important planets introduced in The Acolyte because it was the site of one of the show’s central mysteries. Brendok was where the Witches of Brendok were destroyed 16 years prior to the rest of The Acolyte. That night has been one of the show’s most closely guarded, and most important, secrets, and the most recent episode of the Star Wars show finally gave it more context.

Brendok was a major part of Mae and Osha’s backstory, but neither of them seemed to know much of the truth about what happened that night. The Acolyte episode 3, the first time Brendok appeared, left quite a few questions unanswered. Fortunately, The Acolyte episode 7 answered several of those questions. Unfortunately, it did so by changing key aspects of episode 3, which made the truth about Brendok a bit confusing. The truth of the tragedy on Brendok will likely be important to the finale of The Acolyte, so having a good understanding of the dark events is important.

The Jedi Were Looking For A Force Vergence On Brendok

The Jedi’s reason for being on Brendok seemed shady from the start, and it seemed to be part of the larger mystery of the show. The Acolyte episode 7, however, revealed that the Jedi were on Brendok because they were looking for a Force vergence. A Force vergence was a place where the Force naturally gathered, and it let Force-users tap into some remarkable powers they wouldn’t normally be capable of. Vergences were quite important, and the Jedi Order often tried to study any of them they could find, so it seems the Jedi had a legitimate reason to be on Brendok.

Related

What Is A Force Vergence? The Acolyte’s Powerful Nexus Explained

The Acolyte has revealed a brand-new Force vergence in the Star Wars galaxy, a rare nexus of power with ties to the unique twins Osha and Mae Aniseya.

Since they were just looking for Brendok’s Force vergence, discovering the Witches of Brendok and their children was a complete coincidence. Sol simply stumbled upon Mae and Osha while looking for evidence of the Force vergence, and the Jedi weren’t looking for or hunting down the Witches of Brendok; they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. While finding the twins was a complete accident, Sol wasn’t entirely absolved by The Acolyte episode 7.

Torbin & Sol Went Back To Retrieve The Twins

After the Jedi first met with the Witches of Brendok and tested Mae and Osha’s Force sensitivity, they returned to their camp. At that point, Master Indara spoke to the Jedi High Council to get their guidance on how they should proceed on Brendok, and the Council told them to leave the coven and the twins alone. Torbin and Sol, however, disobeyed the Council’s orders and went back to the compound to retrieve Mae and Osha, but for different reasons. Sol went back because he was already emotionally invested in Osha, but Torbin’s reasoning was a bit more complicated.

Sol

Master Sol is a wise, highly respected, powerful Jedi Master, strong in the ways of the Force, who is going through emotional conflict.

Created By

Leslye Headland

Cast

Lee Jung-jae

RELATIONSHIPS

Mae (Former Padawan), Jeckie (Padawan)

Alliance

Jedi

Throughout The Acolyte episode 7, Torbin expressed how much he wanted to return to Coruscant. He told Indara that multiple times, but she explained that they wouldn’t be leaving Brendok until they had proof of the Force vergence’s existence. It was because he wanted to return to Coruscant so badly that Torbin returned for the twins: he believed Mae and Osha were proof that the vergence on Brendok existed. Since he had the twins’ blood samples that proved they were created with the help of Brendok’s Force vergence, Torbin thought he had his ticket back to Coruscant.

Mae Started The Fire, But Sol Started A Battle

Several of the details about Brendok shown earlier in The Acolyte changed between the two depictions of that night. The Acolyte episode 3 showed that Mae started the fire to prevent Osha from leaving. While Mae did start the fire, The Acolyte episode 7 proved that she didn’t intend to start it or kill her sister, and it was a complete accident. That wasn’t the only way The Acolyte episode 7 changed the role Mae played in the destruction of the coven, though, as it also introduced a key aspect of the night that the previous episode omitted entirely.

• 

  Mae

  The former Padawan of Jedi Master Sol, Mae gets swept up into a sinister mystery—one that puts her into the center of a conflict in unexpected ways.

  Created By

  Leslye Headland

  Cast

  Amandla Stenberg

  RELATIONSHIPS

  Sol (Former Master)

• 

  Sol

  Master Sol is a wise, highly respected, powerful Jedi Master, strong in the ways of the Force, who is going through emotional conflict.

  Created By

  Leslye Headland

  Cast

  Lee Jung-jae

  RELATIONSHIPS

  Mae (Former Padawan), Jeckie (Padawan)

Previously, the Witches of Brendok seemingly died from the fire, but the Jedi were much more responsible than Mae ever was. While Sol and Torbin were looking for the twins, they ran into Mother Aniseya and Koril. Aniseya tried to flee with Mae using her Force powers, but Sol stabbed and killed her with his lightsaber. Sol’s hasty decision started a battle between the witches and the Jedi, and the witches eventually used their magick to possess Kelnacca and force him to fight his fellow Jedi. Indara was able to free Kelnacca, but doing so either knocked out or killed the rest of the witches.

Sol Chose To Save Osha Over Mae

After the witches were taken out, Indara sent Sol to retrieve Osha and Mae. By the time he got there, though, they were already on the falling platforms as the building exploded around them. Sol tried to hold them both up using the Force, but it was too difficult, and he had to let go of one of the twins. At that moment, Sol decided to save Osha and let Mae fall to what he believed would be her death. After he made his choice, Sol took Osha back to the ship, and the Jedi left for Coruscant.

The Jedi made several massive, detrimental mistakes and bad decisions during their time on Brendok. Sol expressed serious remorse for his role in the night, and he told the other Jedi that he wanted to come clean to the High Council. Indara, however, persuaded him not to. Indara said they would tell the Council their own version of the truth, one that omitted their role in the destruction of the coven and placed the blame on Mae. She explained that if Sol came clean, it would destroy Osha’s dream of becoming a Jedi, and that would be too difficult after losing her entire family.

Now that the truth about the tragic night on Brendok has finally been revealed, there’s no telling what the fallout will be. It seems that Sol told his version of the night to Mae, since he still had her trapped on the ship in The Acolyte episode 6. That means Osha still doesn’t know the truth about how her family died, which could make for a very dramatic confrontation between her and Sol. The truth of Brendok is absolutely explosive, and while only The Acolyte episode 8 can prove exactly what effects it will have, it seems doubtful that anything good could come from the truth.

New episodes of The Acolyte premiere on Tuesday nights on Disney+.

The Acolyte

The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes – all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.

Cast

Amandla Stenberg
, Lee Jung-jae
, Joonas Suotamo
, Charlie Barnett
, Dafne Keen
, Leah Brady
, Manny Jacinto
, Rebecca Henderson
, Carrie-Anne Moss
, Jodie Turner-Smith
, Dean-Charles Chapman
, Lauren Brady
, Anthony J. Abraham
, Thara Shöön
, Danielle Xin Yao Waterman
, Sienna Khiroya
, Jeramiah Evans
, Dan Milne
, Thomas Coombes
, Archie Singh Swali
, Nick Court
, Ed Kear
, Jumayn Hunter
, Scroobius Pip
, Abigail Thorn
, Margarita Levieva
, Amy Tsang
, Saskia Allen
, Deborah Rosan
, Tabitha Alege
, Paul Bullion
, Indra Ové
, Derek Arnold
, Lewis Young

Character(s)

Mae
, Master Sol
, Kelnacca
, Yord Fandar
, Jecki Lon
, Little Mae
, Qimir
, Master Vernestra Rwoh
, Master Indara
, Mother Aniseya
, Master Torbin
, Padawan Torbin
, Little Osha
, Fillik
, Tasi Lowa
, Youngling
, Restrained Convict
, Convict
, Olega Urchin
, Olega Master
, Olega Padawan
, Scavenger
, Ensign Eurus
, Mother Koril
, Ensign Rane
, Scout Sarria
, Ensign Shima
, Elder Jaalyn
, Master Lakshay
, Master Holden
, Master Ki-Adi-Mundi
, Jedi Knight

Showrunner

Leslye Headland

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