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

The Acolyte episode 3 premiered on Disney+ and gave audiences a lot of answers, but also left them with a lot more questions. After The Acolyte episodes 1 and 2 premiered, the biggest question was what happened on Brendok that made Mae and Osha think the other was dead. Audiences didn’t have to wait long, as The Acolyte episode 3 showed the twins’ life on Brendok and how the fire that ultimately killed Mae and Osha’s mothers started.

The entire episode was set 16 years in the past and showed how Osha met Master Sol and ultimately joined the Jedi by becoming his Padawan. The episode also gave a deeper look at the connection between the twins Osha and Mae. Many things were hinted at during The Acolyte episode 3, but few things were confirmed. In fact, The Acolyte episode 3 left audiences with even more questions and a strong desire for more from the newest Star Wars television show.

10

How Did The Fire Spread So Quickly On Brendok?

Was There Some Kind of Accelerant?

At the end of The Acolyte episode 3, Mae starts a fire so she can prevent Osha from leaving her and their family. Mae says that she cannot let Osha leave, and instead decides to attempt to kill her rather than try to change her mind. As the flames grow in Mae and Osha’s room, Osha finds a way to escape, but quickly finds that the entire fortress of the witches of Brendok is falling apart from a fire.

While it’s not impossible that the fire could’ve spread so far, it seems unlikely, given the speed at which it accelerates. It’s possible that Mae could’ve gone through the rest of the fortress and set more fires, but if her goal was to only kill Osha, then that wouldn’t make sense. The fire could’ve caught a natural accelerant and that’s why it spread so quickly, but it seems more likely that something more sinister happened.

9

How Did The Witches Of Brendok REALLY Die?

They Didn’t Look Burned

As Master Sol helps Osha escape the witches of Brendok’s fortress while it falls apart, audiences can see the dead bodies of all the witches. It’s unclear how these women died, though it seems obvious that they did not burn to death. It’s possible that smoke inhalation was the cause of their demise, but that likely would’ve also affected Sol and Osha, which it didn’t.

It seems more likely that something or someone else massacred the witches. It is possible that their deaths were at the hands of Mae, like Sol led Osha to believe, but it’s also possible it’s a Jedi coverup. Knowing Mae’s vendetta against the Jedi in the future, it’s likely audiences haven’t gotten the full story in The Acolyte episode 3. While audiences can hope that the Jedi are better than that, it’s not currently looking that way.

8

Why Did Master Torbin Feel Guilty About Brendok?

There’s Still Some Missing Details

The Acolyte episode 2 introduced audiences to Master Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman). Master Torbin had undertaken the Barash Vow sometime after the events on Brendok, and it’s known he did so because he felt guilty about something. That likely has something to do with the events that took place on Brendok. Right before taking the poison that will kill him, Master Torbin asks Mae to forgive him, and that they thought they were doing the right thing.

This hints that there is more to what happened on Brendok than what The Acolyte episode 3 showed, meaning audiences can expect more flashbacks. These missing details will likely be key to both Mae’s and Osha’s stories moving forward. If Master Torbin sought forgiveness from a Sith assassin, whatever the Jedi did (or didn’t do) on Brendok must’ve been truly horrific.

7

If The Republic Had No Jurisdiction On Brendok, Why Were The Jedi There?

Something Doesn’t Add Up

When Master Indara, Sol, Kelnacca, and Torbin appear in front of the Witches of Brendok, Mother Aniseya tells them that the Jedi do not have jurisdiction because Brendok is not part of the Republic. It poses the question of how long the witches have resided on Brendok for. Additionally, it’s unclear if the fortress they reside in was there before they arrived or if they built it themselves.

It seems that the Jedi had been seeking out the witches of Brendok for a while, but it’s unclear why, or what laws they were breaking by following them to a planet that wasn’t a part of the Republic. The Jedi’s mission could’ve been covert and therefore made them break laws in order to get the outcome they wanted. However, with Jedi being keepers of the peace during the High Republic Era, breaking the same laws they police is quite hypocritical.

6

How Did Mother Aniseya Create The Twins?

Was It The Force?

Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) revealed in The Acolyte episode 3 that while Mother Koril (Margarita Levieva) carried and gave birth to Mae and Osha, it was Mother Aniseya who created them. Mother Koril seemed apprehensive that if the Jedi found out how the twins came to be, the coven would be hunted by the Jedi Order. It was also revealed to the Jedi that there was no father involved in the twins’ conception, though there’s no indication how they were created by Mother Aniseya.

While the witches of Brendok’s magic seems to be rooted in the Force, it’s not entirely clear how they operate. There are some allusions that the witches use the dark side of the Force, but it’s not confirmed. It’s possible that Mother Aniseya used dark side magick in order to create Mae and Osha. It’s unclear why she created the twins, or if the birth of the Force-sensitive twins led the Jedi to believe that one or both of the twins were the Chosen One, considering their lack of a father.

5

What Would The Ascension Have Done To Mae & Osha?

If It Had Been Completed

The Acolyte episode 3 showed Mae and Osha preparing for the Ascension, a ritual held by the witches of Brendok. It’s not clear what this ritual did or was even supposed to represent. It seems that the ritual would’ve officially made Mae and Osha witches, but it’s not clear what kind of transformation, if any, they would’ve gone through. Mae took an oath and was given markings similar to Mother Aniseya’s on her forehead, though Osha never got to go through with her oath.

Considering the twins were created by some kind of magic, and they were the only children in the coven, it’s unclear what their roles would’ve been with their family moving forward. The Ascension looked like a coming-of-age ritual that was intended for one or both of the twins to take over for Mother Aniseya if she were to die. The ritual also took place near the edge of a cliff, posing the question of what, if anything, would’ve been thrown off the cliff, or if there would’ve been some kind of natural phenomenon caused by the ritual.

4

Where Were The Witches Of Brendok Banished From?

They Were Being Pursued by the Jedi

The Acolyte episode 3 hints that the witches of Brendok had been on the run and had finally settled on Brendok after being pursued by the Jedi. It’s unclear where these witches originated from or why they were forced out of their home. It’s possible that their original home was on a planet that was controlled by the Republic and witchcraft was not allowed, forcing them to find a new planet to live on.

Knowing that the witches of Brendok likely tap into the dark side of the Force for their magic, it’s no wonder they were pursued by the Jedi. Despite this, it also poses the question of what the witches of Brendok did to land themselves on the Jedi’s radar. With so many planets joining the Republic during the High Republic Era, it’s hard to think that the Jedi knew of everything that happened on all of those planets. This means there needed to have been an incident that made the Jedi take notice of these women.

3

Do The Witches of Brendok Have Any Relation To The Nightsisters of Dathomir?

Could Star Wars’ Other Famous Coven of Witches Appear?

The other famous coven of witches in Star Wars are the Nightsisters of Dathomir, who were introduced to canon in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Recently, the Nightsisters reappeared and got a new origin story in Ahsoka season 1. It was revealed that the Dathomiri had originally come from a different galaxy before settling on Dathomir. There seems to be many similarities between the Nightsisters of Dathomir and the witches of Brendok.

Most Nightsisters were humans, though some were human-Zabrak hybrids, and it seems that the witches of Brendok were much more diverse. It’s unclear what, if any, connection the two groups of witches have, though it seems both were almost completely wiped out. The Nightsisters were massacred by Count Dooku during the Clone Wars, whereas The Acolyte episode 3 showed the witches of Brendok all perishing in a fire.

2

How Did Mae Get Off Brendok?

Was it the Sith Lord That Found Her?

The final moments of The Acolyte episode 3 showed a young Mae going back to the bunta tree she’d usually find Osha at. Mae was expecting to see her sister, but was instead by herself. It’s obvious that Mae eventually makes it off Brendok and starts training with the Sith Lord seen in The Acolyte episode 1, but it’s not clear when Mae began her training, or how she made it off Brendok.

It’s possible that the Sith Lord found Mae and decided to take her on as an acolyte. Audiences will likely get the answer to this question before the end of The Acolyte season 1, but it’s unclear when that may happen. If it wasn’t the Sith Lord who found Mae, it would be interesting to see how she got brought into the fold as a Sith acolyte.

1

Why Did This Mission Call For Four Jedi?

It Seems a Bit Excessive

One of the puzzling things about The Acolyte episode 3 was that four Jedi were deployed for the mission on Brendok. While Torbin was Master Indira’s Padawan at the time, it still doesn’t make sense why there were so many Jedi. Did the witches pose such a threat that so many Jedi were deployed? Considering how non-combative Mother Aniseya was toward the Jedi, this doesn’t seem like the case, though past experiences may have said something different.

Additionally, it wasn’t clear what the Jedi’s roles were. In particular, Master Kelnacca seemed to just be there fixing stuff and not doing other things. While Torbin did things like take the twins’ blood and escort them on and off the ship, he seemed to be observing more than anything. Even though Indara seemed to be the leader of the mission, it wasn’t clear why they were there in the first place, which The Acolyte will likely continue to explore in future episodes.

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