The Acolyte: Is There A Second Sith Lord Pulling the Strings?

Star Wars: The Acolyte has The Jedi Order of the High Republic era facing the threat of Force-user assassin Mae and her dark side master. There are already theories about the true identity of The Acolyte‘s “Master” character; however, there are also theories that this Master is just a red herring and The Master is actually an apprentice to another, more powerful Sith Lord villain. 

Who Is The Acolyte’s True Sith Lord? 

Star Wars has traditionally made Sith apprentices act as dark side warriors/assassins (Maul, Asajj Ventress, Vadar, Kylo Ren). Like their Jedi counterparts, Sith tend to “ascend” beyond physical combat when their attunement with the dark side of the Force gets strong enough; Sith Lords (like Palpatine/Sidious) therefore tend to operate from the shadows using manipulation and deceit as their main tools of operation. 

That detail is key to remember when looking back at the first four episodes of The Acolyte:  This helmeted “Master” is definitely presented as being more of the assassin type, ready to spark their red Lightsaber and engage in physical combat. That’s all to say: “The Master” definitely seems more like the “apprentice,” by traditional measures of the Sith. 

There are some exciting ways that Leslye Headland could throw a big twist into The Acolyte by revealing that a true Sith Lord “master” has been hiding in plain sight the whole time. 

The Acolyte Theory: Vernestra Rwoh Is the Sith Lord Master?

One ambitious twist would be revealing that the character of Vernestra Rwoh is a Sith Lord. Rowh plays a very small supporting in the first four episodes of The Acolyte – and that could be with good reason. When you look back:  Rwoh has appeared at key moments in the Jedi temple, arguably stoking Sol’s emotions several times, and affecting his decision to hunt for Mae and bring Osha along. In Episode 4, Rwoh is the ranking Jedi who first casts suspicion about the master who trained Mae, but also coerces the other Jedi not to report the Master theory to the Jedi Council or Republic. 

Rwoh would be a significant Jedi to have turned to the dark side. She is a character who has appeared in Star Wars‘ The High Republic line since it started in 2021 – a Jedi prodigy who became a Knight at age 15. Rwoh was part of the Jedi and Republic’s expansion into the Outer Rim – and part of the war for that territory, fighting against the marauder group the Nihil, the plant monsters the Drengir, and other threats. 

Rwoh started out spirited and brave in her youth, claiming victories against the Nihil alongside good friends, and swinging her purple, whip-style lightsaber. However, when the Jedi and Republic’s space station Starlight Beacon was destroyed in a horrific Nihil attack, Vernestra lost her former master, Stellan Gios, her droid companion, and thought she lost both her Padawan Imri Cantaros and close friend Avon Starros. That stress made Rwoh stumble in her faith; she left the Jedi Order and became a “Wayseeker,” i.e. a Jedi who serves the Force directly, instead of operating under the Jedi Council’s authority. She eventually returned to help the Jedi Order free the portion of space the Nihil conquered as their “Occlusion Zone,” after learning her padawan was still alive and trapped inside Nihil space.   

Vernestra Rwoh had powerful Force vision abilities when young, and she spent some significant time away from the order during her disillusionment with the Jedi Order. Even even the current High Republic storyline about the Nihil Occlusion Zone wraps, Rwoh will have lived approximately 100 additional years by the time The Acolyte takes place. Could all that time, and changing perspective, have turned Vernestra Rwoh’s doubts into an all-out rejection of the Jedi belief system? 

Having Rwoh be the true “Master” Sith Lord would be a bold move. It would mean her entire line of Star Wars’ High Republic stories were a villain origin; it would also be a way of generating renewed interest in the novels and comics of The High Republic. 

Best of all, Headland could arguably wrap this season of The Acolyte by only revealing to the audience (not the characters) that a prominent Jedi is also a secret Sith Lord (see also: Keyser Soze in Usual Suspects). That would set up a tradition of both Jedi hubris and Sith cunning that would run right into the Skywalker Saga. 

Star Wars: The Acolyte premieres new episodes on Tuesdays on Disney+.