Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 3.

The third episode of The Acolyte has officially introduced a new point of view to the Force, and Star Wars as a whole. Since the very beginning of the Star Wars saga, the Force has been central to the stories of the episodic movies. From those episodic movies, various books, comics, video games, and more were all spawned, further expanding not only the Star Wars timeline, but also the Force itself.

In the original Star Wars trilogy, audiences are introduced to the Jedi Order (or what’s left of it) and the Sith. These two groups have largely defined how viewers of the Star Wars movies and shows understand the Force, and how one uses it – whether for good or evil. In expanded Star Wars stories, however, the Force is not just used by the Jedi and the Sith, but also by many other groups that interpret it in different ways – and The Acolyte is bringing these interpretations to live-action.

This Is The First Live-Action Force Story Not From A Jedi Or Sith POV

Witches & Other Force Cults Have Existed For Decades

While Star Wars has recently had live-action stories that feature the Nightsisters of Dathomir, they have almost always served as antagonists of the story. The Acolyte is truly different, because two of the main characters, both protagonist and antagonist, are originally from a coven of witches viewers finally meet in episode 3 of the series. This new witch group views the Force in a very different way, something not new to Star Wars, but certainly new to the screen.

The Acolyte episode 3 brings viewers to the planet Brendok, where a coven of witches has been living in order to avoid entanglements with the Republic and Jedi. These witches claim to be persecuted across the galaxy, and view the twins Mae and Osha as a blessing to their coven, as they were created through the Force. The witches in The Acolyte, however, do not actually call it “the Force.”

How The New Witches Compare To The Jedi & Sith

The Force Vs The Thread

The new witches introduced in The Acolyte are very different from the Jedi and Sith. They don’t believe in the Force in the same way, as they instead believe it to be an energy field known as the Thread, which ties everything together. They use magical energy, much like the Nightsisters, but describe their abilities as somewhat unnatural – the same word Palpatine uses to describes the dark side. This indeed seems extremely unnatural, as at one point they even possess a Jedi.

The witches view the Thread as a force that ties one to their own destiny, binding them to others in a spiritual and metaphysical way. They don’t describe it as using the Thread, but pulling it, and understand its consequences. This is not new to Star Wars – as Star Wars Legends featured religions like the Fallanassi – but is new to live-action Star Wars, and it’s fascinating to see this distinctly different view being introduced to the saga so prominently in The Acolyte.

The Acolyte episode 3 is now streaming. New episodes release Tuesdays on Disney+.