Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Acolyte episode 5.

The Sith Lord of The Acolyte massacred the Jedi sent to stop him, but not all of their deaths carried the same weight or impact. The Acolyte episode 5 depicted one of the best lightsaber fights since Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and also one of the most brutal ones in all Star Wars. The Acolyte has always positioned itself as one of the darkest Star Wars shows ever, but the Sith Lord’s rampage in The Acolyte episode 5 went even darker. He decimated the group that was sent after him, and left quite a mark on both the Jedi and viewers.

While the Jedi were able to unveil the identity of The Acolyte‘s Sith Lord, it was far from a victory. Qimir ripped through much of The Acolyte‘s cast of characters, and when the dust settled, he had killed seven of the eight Jedi sent to Khofar, leaving only Master Sol alive. Each of the Jedi he killed died in a truly devastating way, but not all of them had the same impact. Several of the Jedi had no names or speaking lines, but others were major characters in The Acolyte, and their absence will be sorely felt.

5

Unidentified Male Human Jedi

This Jedi’s Death Immediately Set The Acolyte Episode 5’s Tone

The first Jedi casualty of the fight with Qimir didn’t have a name, but his death did serve a purpose. The Acolyte episode 5 didn’t pick up exactly where the previous episode left off, as Osha had been knocked unconscious when the Sith Lord tossed her aside. After she woke up, she tripped over the body of a Jedi who was already dead, and had been killed off-screen. That Jedi’s death served a few narrative purposes, and the fact that he was already dead before the fighting even began had a good bit of impact.

By starting The Acolyte episode 5 with a Jedi who had already been killed, the show accomplished a few things. The unidentified Jedi’s death immediately established that while this episode may feature several lightsaber fights, it was actually closer to a horror than action. It also established that the Sith Lord was not taking prisoners: a Jedi had already died off-screen in the episode’s first minute, and his death indicated the next thirty minutes would be equally brutal. The unidentified Jedi might not have had the most emotional impact, but he set up The Acolyte episode 5 quite well.

4

Ithia Paan

The Acolyte’s Newest Kel Dor Jedi Died Almost Immediately

The next Jedi to die in The Acolyte episode 5 was Ithia Paan, a Kel Dor Jedi. While Ithia didn’t have much of a role in The Acolyte, and she very quickly fell to Qimir’s blade, her death did carry a bit of weight. As the first Jedi to actually be shown dying, Ithia highlighted something the first unidentified Jedi didn’t: Qimir himself. Qimir mowed Ithia down like she was barely even a threat, slicing her in the knee and stabbing her in the back. Her death came while Qimir was fighting off four other Jedi simultaneously, which really shows just how powerful he was.

Ithia’s death highlighted Qimir’s brute strength, but other Jedi’s deaths also accomplished that same thing. That detracts from the impact of her death, but one thing about Ithia sets her apart from the other Jedi who died on Khofar: she was a Kel Dor. Her species didn’t give her any actual advantage in the show, but it seemed like a layer of protection from a real-world perspective. Ithia was the first Kel Dor Jedi seen in live-action since Plo Koon, a fact that made many believe she would be around longer. Being among the first to die completely subverted that assumption, and gave Ithia’s death some weight.

3

Three Unidentified Human Jedi

These Jedi Were Used As Canon Fodder To Show Qimir’s Strength

Ithia’s death stood out because she was a Kel Dor, but the next three Jedi to fall to Qimir’s blade seemed doomed to die from the start. As three unnamed humans, it seemed these Jedi were only brought along on the mission to Khofar to show the Sith Lord’s strength. While their deaths were expected, they also allowed Qimir to show off one of his biggest surprises. Qimir’s helmet and gauntlet were made out of cortosis, a metal that could disable lightsaber blades temporarily. His use of cortosis was shocking, and it also allowed for some of his most vicious kills.

In a span of just seconds, all three of the remaining unnamed Jedi died, and each one of them met a more violent end than the last. The first Jedi died rather simply: Qimir slashed him across the abdomen. The next two, however, really showcased the darkness of the Sith. Qimir impaled the female Jedi on his lightsaber, used the Force to pull the last unnamed human onto his blade behind her, and beheaded them both for good measure. The sheer brutality of Qimir’s methods turned the Jedi’s fight for survival into little more than an execution.

2

Yord Fandar

Yord’s Death Was Tragic, But It Was Overshadowed By Another

Qimir didn’t just kill unidentified cannon-fodder Jedi in The Acolyte episode 5, though. One of the biggest and most devastating twists of the entire fight on Khofar was when Qimir killed Yord Fandar. After Osha convinced him to turn around and rejoin Jecki Lon and Master Sol, Yord attacked Qimir and removed his cortosis gauntlet. Yord was able to stall him long enough to let Mae escape, but he didn’t put up much more of a fight after that. Qimir took advantage of Yord’s surprise at his true identity and snapped his neck, then tossed his lifeless body aside like trash.

Yord’s death was a stunningly violent end to one of The Acolyte‘s main characters. The simple brutality of it, of Qimir killing him with his bare hands, had a huge impact. It was also so shocking simply by virtue of Yord being the one to die. He was one of the most beloved and prominent Jedi in the entire group, and based on the first half of the series, it seemed like Yord would be one of the few Jedi who survived long enough to leave Khofar. The Acolyte had other plans for Yord, though, and his death came as a total blindside because of it.

While his death was tragic and shocking, Yord wasn’t the most earth-shattering character to die in The Acolyte episode 5. He was the final Jedi to die, and after watching six other warriors fall, all bets were off. Audiences had already come to the realization that none of the Jedi were safe, no matter how skilled they were, which made it much less surprising that Yord also died. On top of that, another main character had already been killed in an even more devastating way, which showed that Yord’s prominence wouldn’t protect him.

1

Jecki Lon

Jecki’s Death Was Truly Shocking & Devastating

The most devastating death in The Acolyte episode 5 was Jecki Lon. Like Yord, many viewers expected Jecki to survive long after episode 5. Dafne Keen is a very popular actor, and Jecki became important to several other characters, like Sol, Osha, and Yord. There were so many reasons to believe Jecki was going to be an important part of The Acolyte, which only made her death at Qimir’s hands even more tragic. Instead of being one of the show’s central figures, Jecki was just one of Qimir’s many victims.

Another aspect of Jecki’s death that made it so gut-wrenching was the actual surprise of it. Jecki was more than holding her own against Qimir in a straight lightsaber duel, and it seemed like there was even a chance she could defeat him. That is, until Qimir revealed his second lightsaber blade, and used it to stab Jecki through the chest three times. Qimir’s trick blade surprised both Jecki herself and viewers. It completely turned the tide of their fight, and made Jecki’s death feel like a punch to the gut.

Jecki’s age also added to her tragedy. Jecki was still a child and a Padawan, and Qimir cut her down before her prime. She had so much potential as a Jedi, and so much of her life left to live, and all of that was gone in a single moment. It also felt like The Acolyte underutilized Jecki as a character. Jecki was only in a handful of scenes that focused on other characters, and she never really got a chance to shine on her own. The fact she was killed after having so little screen time made her death feel like a waste.

The various Jedi who died in The Acolyte episode 5 weren’t all the same caliber, but their deaths were all shocking. From brutal executions to the deaths of beloved characters, each one of Qimir’s killings had a huge impact. The Jedi’s deaths have accomplished what The Acolyte set out to do: tell a truly horrifying Star Wars story. Watching Qimir massacre so many powerful and important characters made him a truly terrifying villain and showed that there’s no predicting what will come next in the show. Now that Qimir has taken out so many Jedi at once, The Acolyte is even more compelling than before.

New episodes of The Acolyte premiere on Tuesday nights on Disney+.