Warning! This post contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode 7.

The Acolyte episode 7 finally revealed the true fate of the witches of Brendok, including that it was Master Sol who killed Mother Aniseya; however, the reason he did so was complicated. In The Acolyte episode 3, the death of Osha and Mae’s coven seemed highly suspect. Although Mae was positioned as the killer, it seemed impossible that the fire she started was the cause of the witches’ deaths, especially since their bodies weren’t burned. Now, Star Wars has confirmed what really happened on Brendok.

It wasn’t Mae’s fire at all, but rather a battle between the Jedi and the witches that led to so much loss of life. In the case of Mother Aniseya’s tragic demise, though, it was very specifically Sol’s impulsive, ill-informed actions that killed her. However, as with most Star Wars movies and TV shows, this mystery thriller in particular, there is more to the story. While Master Sol’s decisions in The Acolyte episode 7 were wrong, he had (misguided) reasons for what he did.

Sol Mistakenly Believed Mother Aniseya Was Going To Fight Him

The Acolyte episode 7 was full of misunderstandings and miscommunications, which had devastating effects. For reasons that remain a bit murky, Sol believed that Osha and Mae were in danger on Brendok and needed to be saved. This led him to feel intense fear and anxiety, which muddled his read on situations throughout the episode. Sadly, this included the final confrontation between the Jedi and the witches, when he believed Mother Aniseya intended to attack him.

Yes, Master Sol had seen both mothers be a bit rough with the girls, particularly while training them, but he misunderstood this to mean that the witches intended them harm. More importantly, in terms of Mother Aniseya’s death, he viewed the witches as violent and dangerous. This was true of Mother Koril, who began to attack Sol, but it was not true for Mother Aniseya.

In fact, Mother Aniseya had cried “no!’ about the impending attack and turned to smoke seemingly to stop the battle from happening. Out of fear, Sol rashly stabbed Mother Aniseya in her smoke form, which brought her back to her body and, tragically, ended in her death. Worst of all, Mae was standing there the entire time, which finally explains her mission to kill the Jedi.

Mother Aniseya Had Already Decided To Let Osha Go

One of the most tragic aspects of Mother Aniseya’s death is that she had already chosen to be a mother over being the leader of the coven. Despite the pain it clearly caused her and the outrage of the witches, Mother Aniseya was going to let Osha leave Brendok and become a Jedi. In fact, this is even what she said to Master Sol just before she died.

This revelation made the pain of the moment that much more intense, and it was clear that this added to Master Sol’s guilt considerably. It was at that moment that he realized he had completely misunderstood Mother Aniseya, but it was too late to right the grave wrong he had already done. However, that guilt clearly was not quite enough for him to accept his wrongdoing as, in the end, the Jedi framed Mae for the death of the entire coven, Mother Aniseya included, allowing Osha to think the very worst of her sister for nearly two decades.

Sol’s Action Was Rash & Impetuous, But Understandable

Mother Aniseya did not deserve to die, and that Sol killed her is a grave error on his part. In truth, Sol’s guilt about the situation is warranted; he acted rashly and out of fear, two things counter to the Jedi way. Had he listened to Indara and not let himself be led by his feelings of fear and perhaps even anger (or, at least, outrage at how he believed the witches of Brendok were treating Osha and Mae), he might have had enough pause to not stab Mother Aniseya in what seemed to be a panic.

However, it can’t be overlooked that Mother Koril also had a massive impact on this situation, which makes Sol’s sudden attack slightly more understandable (although that doesn’t make it right). Whereas Mother Aniseya was compassionate, calm, and explicitly anti-violent, Mother Koril was aggressive and antagonistic, and she encouraged Mae to tap into her anger and therefore, presumably, the dark side of the Force. Mother Koril being poised to attack surely factored into Sol misinterpreting Mother Aniseya’s intentions.

Moreover, Sol had somehow gotten it into his head that the witches intended to harm or perhaps even sacrifice Osha and Mae, so when he saw Mother Aniseya begin to disappear and Mae (whom he incorrectly believed to be Osha) along with her, he had a knee-jerk reaction that tragically cost Mother Aniseya her life. The implications of this revelation still remain to be seen, as Osha has no idea that her beloved former master killed her mother; surely, the final episode of The Acolyte will address this lingering question.

The final episode of The Acolyte releases on Tuesday, July 16th, at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST on Disney+.