Star Wars: The Acolyte, Star Wars’ next Disney+ TV show, may bring back the best concept from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and I couldn’t be more excited. The sequel trilogy has remained controversial in the franchise, with many still considering The Rise of Skywalker one of Star Wars’ worst movies, if not the single worst. While the movie suffered from the sequel trilogy changing hands multiple times, some decisions made in The Rise of Skywalker sealed the movie’s fate in terms of audience reception.

One of the biggest issues with The Rise of Skywalker was the return of Emperor Palpatine, which was infamously only explained by Poe Dameron saying, “Somehow, Palpatine returned.” In addition to this seeming loosely thought-out at best, it reinforced the notion that the sequel trilogy had a bit of a copycat problem, given its many similarities to the original trilogy. However, one of the most inventive concepts in The Rise of Skywalker, the likes of which had never been seen in Star Wars movies and TV shows, may be returning in The Acolyte, which I sincerely hope is the case.

The Acolyte’s Twins Set Up A Potential Force Dyad

While I happen to agree with much of the criticism about The Rise of Skywalker—namely, the issues with Palpatine’s sudden return and how disappointing Ben Solo’s death was—I loved the Force Dyad, which was brand-new to the franchise. This was one of the most creative ideas in the sequel trilogy, and it worked well to make Ben Solo/Kylo Ren and Rey’s connection more interesting (and make more sense). Through the Dyad, or Force bond, Rey and Kylo Ren were able to defy the laws of space and time because their connection in the Force was so strong.

This also explained the moments throughout Star Wars: The Last Jedi, when Kylo Ren and Rey were suddenly able to see and hear each other while on completely different planets. It also built upon what had already been established about the Force since the very beginning of Star Wars. After all, Leia uses ‘a feeling’ to find Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, and Luke hears the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi after his death. While neither is quite the same as Rey and Kylo Ren’s incredible bond, it’s clear that connections in the Force have long been canon.

However, the Force Dyad was only named in The Rise of Skywalker and was under-explored. As Ben Solo died in The Rise of Skywalker ending, it also seems unlikely that this concept will be further developed, even in Rey’s upcoming Star Wars movie. Now, The Acolyte could bring the Force Dyad back, establishing its history long before the sequel trilogy and exploring it in much greater detail.

In an interview with Good Morning America, The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland explained:

“So ‘the power of one, the power of two, the power of many’ is a little bit about what [Mother Aniseya’s] hope for the legacy is. The Jedi are a power of many, that’s what they are. [Mother Aniseya] is the power of one, the twins are a power of two.”

In this quote, Headland was referencing Mae and Osha, who were only recently confirmed to be twins in the upcoming show. This was a surprise, as marketing for The Acolyte hadn’t indicated that Mae was a twin, only that she was a dark side Force-user potentially affiliated with the Sith. Now, this may perfectly set up the next generation (albeit in the past) of the Force Dyad.

A Force Dyad Explains Why The Sith Emerge In The Acolyte

One of the most shocking reveals in marketing for The Acolyte has been the confirmation that the Sith are returning to Star Wars. The Acolyte is set 100 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, when the Sith were believed to be extinct. While that was already proven false in the prequel trilogy, given that Palpatine, Count Dooku, and Darth Maul were all working in the shadows at various points, it was surprising to see that the Jedi would encounter the Sith in the show.

It remains to be seen how The Acolyte will explain the Jedi in The Phantom Menace believing the Sith had been extinct for hundreds of years in light of this Sith encounter. Nevertheless, the Sith are confirmed to be playing a role in the show, which raises a much more pressing question. Given how hard the Sith worked to hide themselves from the Jedi, why would they suddenly emerge?

The answer could be a brand-new Force Dyad between twins Mae and Osha. This would make sense, as such a strong Force bond between twins seems more than plausible. Moreover, the twins were evidently separated from one another while they were young. Such a separation could more than warrant the Force wanting to connect them in that way.

If that were the case, it would be plenty of motivation for the Sith to emerge. As made clear in The Rise of Skywalker, the Sith were obsessed with the Force Dyad. In fact, the Sith Rule of Two was directly shaped by the Force Dyad, although they were never able to successfully replicate it. If they discovered that a Dyad in the Force had been created, they undoubtedly would have wanted access to the two.

The Rise of Skywalker Wasted The Dyad, But The Acolyte Can Do It Justice

Although the Force Dyad was one of my favorite concepts from the Star Wars sequel trilogy, it was unfortunately wasted. As Ben Solo died in The Rise of Skywalker, that Dyad has almost undoubtedly come to an end. While The Last Jedi did offer some very cool moments with the Dyad, for most of them, Kylo Ren and Rey were enemies, so they were less focused on testing the bounds of their connection and more focused on arguing with one another.

It wasn’t until The Rise of Skywalker when they passed a lightsaber to one another through the Force bond that they really began exploring their power, and Ben died soon after. However, The Acolyte could bring the Force Dyad back in a compelling way and explore it in much greater detail than The Rise of Skywalker did. This would be especially exciting because it wasn’t clear whether the franchise would bring that concept back in another project.

While it isn’t confirmed that a Force Dyad will be included in The Acolyte, both Headland’s commentary and the inclusion of twins make it quite possible. Moreover, it would be one excellent explanation for the emergence of the Sith and could even explain what they were doing while they were in the shadows for hundreds of years. Although Star Wars: The Acolyte is sure to be innovative in a number of ways, I would be thrilled to see the show pull from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker by implementing a Force Dyad.

The Acolyte premieres on June 4 on Disney+.

Source: Good Morning America

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  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.

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  Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker

  This is the third installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and serves as the culmination of the Skywalker saga. The film sees Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe (Oscar Isaac), and Finn (John Boyega) team up to put an end to the First Order after Palpatine mysteriously returns. Jurassic World helmsman Colin Trevorrow was originally named director back in 2015 when the film first entered development, but he parted ways with Lucasfilm due to creative differences over the script. In September 2017, Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams signed on to finish what he started.

ALL STAR WARS MOVIES AND TV SHOWS ARE AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON DISNEY+