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

The duality of light and dark has been a major theme of The Acolyte, and new Star Wars artwork has brought the show’s Yin and Yang dynamic to the forefront. The Acolyte has long promised to examine the relationship between the Jedi and the Sith, and The Acolyte episode 5 took a very large step towards achieving that goal. It revealed the identity of The Acolyte‘s Sith Lord and included the biggest Jedi massacre since Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Along with The Acolyte episode 5, Star Wars has added to the examination of the Jedi and Sith with new artwork.

A new piece of artwork shared by Star Wars UK highlights the idea that the Sith are the mirror image of the Jedi, and the other side of a complete picture, just like the concept of Yin and Yang.

The post also included a quote from Daniel Clarke, the artist behind this image.

My inspiration was a theme that George Lucas strongly emphasised in his original films – the idea of a dark light duality, similar to a lot of ancient eastern traditions, a balance of dark and light. This quote from Solzhenitsyn articulates it well: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart…”

The artwork, combined with this quote, makes it clear that The Acolyte is painting the Sith Lord as the Yin to the Jedi’s Yang. In real life, the concept of Yin and Yang symbolizes that in all things there is both darkness in the light, and light in the darkness, and that the two concepts should live in harmony. The Acolyte doesn’t take its inspiration as far as to say the Sith should coexist with the Jedi, especially not after all the Jedi deaths in The Acolyte episode 5, but the parallels are clear.

Sol & The Sith Lord May Have A Deeper Connection

The artwork clearly emphasizes how the Jedi and Sith relate to each other as groups, but it may have a hidden connection between two characters. The hands and lightsabers depicted in the artwork seem to be Master Sol’s and Qimir’s. While they may have been chosen simply for their prominence – Qimir as The Acolyte‘s Sith Lord and Sol as the only Jedi survivor of the massacre on Khofar – there could be a deeper reason Clarke chose to depict them. This artwork may be a sign of a connection between Qimir and Sol, one that was already hinted at in The Acolyte itself.

During Sol and Qimir’s fights in The Acolyte episode 5, there were multiple hints that the two had a connection that predated Khofar. Sol said that he sensed “something familiar” while speaking to Qimir, also known as The Stranger, and Qimir made multiple references to Sol’s dark past. The Stranger seemed to have an intimate knowledge of Sol’s history, as well, as he criticized Sol for refusing to show his true face to his students and hinted that Osha should have some reason not to trust Sol. It’s possible that the two know each other from Brendok, the planet Mae and Osha were from.

Currently, there’s no way to tell for certain how Sol and The Stranger know each other, or if they even have a connection to begin with. There’s also a real possibility that the parallels to Yin and Yang are hinting that Sol is not a perfect Jedi. The concept of Yin and Yang asserts that there is darkness in the light, and since Sol was chosen to represent Yang, that could be a hint that he’s hiding some darkness deep within him. No matter how it plays out, it seems clear that Sol and Qimir will have another showdown before The Acolyte is finished.

Source: Star Wars UK