Star Wars: The Acolyte’s Lightwhip Explained

Last week’s episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte showed fans some of the most unique ways for a Force-user to wield a lightsaber. The sixth episode of the series, which hit Disney+ on Tuesday night, brought to life another unique element of the iconic weapons. A variation of the lightsaber known as a lightwhip has only appeared in comics and text to this point, but the new edition of brought it into live action.

Vernestra Rwoh has been a recurring character throughout the High Republic era books and comics, and has become the most famous wielder of a lightwhip throughout canon. Rebecca Henderson plays Vernestra in The Acolyte, and her latest appearance in Tuesday’s new episode of the series featured her weapon for the first time. Star Wars fans that have been reading about the character’s lightwhip got to see it used in real time.

For those wondering how the lightwhip works, it’s not all that different from a lightsaber, it just takes an enormous amount of control. They are essentially modified lightsabers that have flexible containment shields, allowing for a more fluid and flexible blade to be utilized. 

Vernestra’s lightwhip is a lightsaber most of the time, but it has an option for the whip to be utilized instead of the standard saber blade. In the new episode of The Acolyte, Vernestra brought out the purple saber blade and activated the whip when she sensed a dangerous creature lurking in the trees behind her. 

Given where The Acolyte‘s story is with two episodes left, it stands to reason that this won’t be the last time we see Vernestra’s unique weapon. She’s trying to piece together what happened to Sol’s team that cost so many Jedi their lives, and a potential conflict with Qimir is looming.

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.