After The Mandalorian’s homage to Westerns and Andor’s foray into political drama, The Acolyte brings crime TV to the Star Wars universe. Kicking off with a murder investigation, the first two episodes are structured like a cop show, portraying the Jedi Order as a worryingly flawed galactic police force.
Set 100 years before The Phantom Menace, The Acolyte leans into the prequel trilogy’s critique of Jedi culture. Restricted by bureaucracy and inflexible rules, this era’s Jedi are an arm of the Republic government. One of their roles is law enforcement, tackling Force-related crimes. So when Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) is murdered by a Force-user, the Coruscant temple sends two Jedi to arrest the prime suspect: former padawan Osha Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg).
