The Acolyte episode 7 “Choice” finally reveals what happened on Brendok from the Jedi’s perspective, highlighting the bad choices they made which led to disaster. The overarching plot of The Acolyte season 1, at least for the first half, was Mae Aniseya’s desire for revenge against the Jedi for an unknown crime they committed. The show hinted that there was more to the story than Jedi Master Sol was letting on, while Torbin was so wracked with guilt that he took his own life.

This mystery culminates in a second flashback episode that highlights every choice the Jedi made that they eventually see as mistakes. In all fairness, many of their decisions are completely understandable in the moment and make sense from the Jedi’s point of view. Even so, there’s no denying that the 10 bad choices made by the Jedi in The Acolyte episode 7 had several short-term and long-term consequences.

10

Relying On Science Instead Of The Force

The Jedi should have tried sensing the vergence

The Jedi’s first mistake in The Acolyte episode 7 was how they initially conducted their mission on Brendok. Their goal was to find a Force vergence, a powerful concentration of Force energy that could explain how life could have appeared on Brendok after it was destroyed during the Great Hyperspace Disaster 100 years earlier. However, rather than meditating as a group to sense the vergence and let the Force guide them, the Jedi primarily focused on taking plant samples and using what appeared to be a metal detector.

A basic scientific approach wasn’t totally uncalled for, but the Jedi had already been there for seven weeks with no sign of where the vergence was. Luke Skywalker felt the dark side cave on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back, and while Qui-Gon Jinn measured Anakin Skywalker’s midi-chlorian count, he believed that the will of the Force brought them together in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Trusting their feelings could have led the Jedi to the witches of Brendok sooner and given them greater insight into the danger they faced.

9

Seeking Adventure And Excitement

“A Jedi craves not these things.”

Yoda warned Luke Skywalker that a Jedi doesn’t crave adventure and excitement, and The Acolyte episode 7 is a perfect example of why. Torbin had trouble committing to the mission because he was tired of being away from home and didn’t feel like it really mattered, and even Sol wasn’t immune to this. Indara noted that he may have been confusing Torbin’s feelings with his own, and Sol did seem eager to find a destiny and noble purpose on Brendok.

This attitude clouded Torbin and Sol’s judgment and caused them to make mistakes throughout the episode. While Sol’s concerns for Osha and Mae’s safety were understandable, his desire to save them and take Osha as his Padawan pushed the group into rushing into a situation where they didn’t have enough information. If both characters hadn’t desired more meaning in their mission, they may have acted a bit more rationally and proceeded with greater caution.

8

Not Contacting The Jedi Council Immediately

It seems like the smart move when dealing with a vergence

One recurring mistake throughout The Acolyte is characters choosing not to inform the Jedi High Council of what’s happening, and this happens multiple times in episode 7. After Sol discovered the twins and observed the witch’s compound, Indara wanted to contact the Jedi Council before proceeding, but Sol convinced her to gather more information. While this seemed reasonable the first time, the Jedi kept finding reasons not to consult the Jedi Council until after Osha and Mae had been tested.

The conflict between a lone Jedi’s initiative and the authority of the Council has been explored in Star Wars before, but many of the group’s problems could have been prevented if they consulted the Council sooner. They would likely have told them not to proceed any further until more information could be gathered, and they may have sent reinforcements since they were dealing with a vergence in the Force. Understandably, Sol felt the need to act at the moment, but keeping the Jedi Council out of the loop only created more problems in the long term.

7

Sol Jumping To Conclusions Based On Brief Observations

Indara was right to question him

When Sol discovered Osha and Mae on a planet that was supposed to be uninhabited, it made sense that he would want to gather more information, but he also jumped to conclusions based on admittedly brief observations. The only things of significance he really saw were Mother Aniseya training the twins with the Force and a group of witches performing a ritual around a dark chasm. While this may have been enough to raise an eyebrow and warrant an investigation, it didn’t entirely justify Sol’s fear or his need to rush in and save the twins.

Despite Indara warning Sol that they didn’t have all the facts and should consider the consequences of their actions, Sol behaved in a very non-Jedi-like manner. Obi-Wan Kenobi warned Luke Skywalker in A New Hope that a person’s eyes can deceive them and shouldn’t be entirely trusted, but Sol didn’t consider that he may have misread the situation. After all, the training he saw wasn’t any more cruel or sinister than the Force combat training Jedi would go through. Sol’s concern and kind heart are his greatest strengths, but he may have allowed his fear to make him act rashly.

6

Not Checking To See If The Witches Were Really Dead

The episode makes their deaths unclear

The previous episodes of The Acolyte all seemingly confirmed that there were no survivors on Brendok other than Mae, but episode 7 makes the manner of her family’s death confusing. All the witches banded together to perform a spell that took control of Master Kelnacca’s mind and forced him to fight Sol and Torbin, permanently scarring the latter’s face. Master Indara was able to use the Force to push the witches out of Kelnacca’s mind, and the episode doesn’t clarify if this immediately killed all the witches or simply caused them to pass out.

Considering how many had already died, the least the Jedi could have done was stop to make sure there were no survivors, rather than leaving them to perish as the fortress began to collapse. Of course, the priority was Osha’s safety, and perhaps this can be attributed to the heat of the moment. If the episode had Indara clarifying that she felt all the witches died when she broke the connection, then the Jedi leaving them would make sense. As it stands, the viewer is left wondering if the Jedi could have done more.

5

Sol Saving Osha Over Mae

A decision that would come back to haunt him

Another heat-of-the-moment decision that resulted in an apparent death was Sol’s decision to save Osha instead of Mae. The biggest problem with this scene is that viewers have to suspend their disbelief, as lifting two children at the same time with the Force should be relatively simple for a Jedi Master. In Sol’s defense, he had just fought witches and a possessed Wookiee Jedi, and the fear of not being able to save children from falling to their deaths could have affected his abilities.

Even so, choosing to prioritize one life over another can still be viewed as a mistake given the long-term consequences of leaving Mae to die. Sol could have told them to get off the railing, jump toward him, or trusted fully in the Force and committed to saving both of them. It’s hard to judge Sol too harshly given the circumstances, but it’s also hard to fully defend him when he consciously chose to save the twin he felt a greater connection to.

4

Torbin Rushing Off Against Orders

One of the most reckless moments in the episode

One of the most reckless and inexcusable mistakes in The Acolyte episode 7 was Torbin directly defying the masters to go find Osha and Mae. Unlike when Sol thought the twins were in danger, there was no time limit to give a sense of urgency, and Torbin’s motivations were entirely selfish. He wanted to go back to Coruscant more than anything, so when he discovered what seemed like a quick solution, he rushed off without considering the consequences.

Torbin’s desire to leave was likely fueled by Mother Aniseya invading his mind, and Sol joined rather than stop him when they reached the compound. Either way, Torbin’s actions kicked off the chain of events that led to the conflict between the Jedi and the witches and the destruction that followed. While not everything was his fault, the fact that he was so young means he would have taken it the hardest, explaining why he eventually chose to take his own life.

3

Ignoring Mae’s Plea For Help About The Fire

This should have been a priority for both sides

While The Acolyte episode 3 implied that Mae fully intended to kill Osha when she started the fire, episode 7 revealed that she never meant for it to spread and tried to stop it. Sadly, both the Jedi and the witches chose to ignore her pleas and immediately resumed fighting instead of going to put it out. Sol could have urged Torbin to go find Osha while he dealt with the witches, or pleaded with Mother Koril to set aside their feud until the twins were safe.

Even if the witches had ignored this and resumed fighting, it would have shown the Jedi making a greater effort to complete the mission that brought them there. By the time they remembered the fire and went to save Osha, Kelnacca had already been possessed, forcing the Jedi to work together to stop him. The witches may be as much to blame as the Jedi, but it was a failure on their part nonetheless.

2

Sol Killing Mother Aniseya

This made a violent confrontation inevitable

Without a doubt, Sol’s biggest mistake in The Acolyte episode 7 was killing Mother Aniseya, one of the show’s most shocking twists so far. Admittedly, turning into a cloud of dark smoke wasn’t the best way for Mother Aniseya to defuse the situation, especially if her powers affected Mae. From Sol’s point of view, Mae was disintegrating in front of his eyes, so his instinctive reaction to stop Mother Aniseya was understandable.

Despite this, it doesn’t change that Sol killed their only real potential ally among the witches and guaranteed there would be no peaceful resolution. It also emotionally scarred Mae, seeing a Jedi kill her mother and fueling a hatred that would eventually be exploited by the Sith. Not only that, but he chose to hide the full truth from Osha, a decision that will undoubtedly backfire when she learns what he did.

1

Not Telling The Jedi Council The Truth

A choice with the most long-term consequences

After all the mistakes the Jedi made in The Acolyte episode 7, their final error in judgment was hiding the truth from the Jedi Council. The events of Brendok were too big an incident to try and cover up, and even Sol felt that the Council should know what happened. Choosing to omit the details not only created more problems for the Jedi when Mae returned 16 years later, but it was also somewhat out of character.

Master Indara was the one constantly saying that they should defer to the Council, only to be the one to say that hiding the truth was best for Osha’s dream to be a Jedi. This ignores the fact that Osha was left in the dark about her mother’s death and her sister’s actions, causing greater emotional pain that eventually made Indara believe she shouldn’t continue her Jedi training. Telling the Council the truth could have led to a proper investigation and made the Order better prepared, making it the Jedi’s worst choice in The Acolyte episode 7.