I Can’t Believe How Badly The Acolyte Is Hiding Its Sith Lord Mystery

WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 4.

Summary

• Qimir’s true identity as the Sith Lord in The Acolyte seems obvious after episode 4.
• All signs point to Qimir, who may have dual identities as a smuggler and a Sith Lord.
• Is Qimir a red herring, or is The Acolyte setting up the worst mystery in Star Wars history?

Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 4 just premiered, and it seems pretty obvious who the mysterious Sith Lord is. The still-unnamed Sith Lord first appeared in The Acolyte episode 1, where he gave a chilling speech about how a Sith acolyte can kill the dream the Jedi have of how the galaxy can operate. In The Acolyte episode 4, Mae is clearly scared of the repercussions of completing the Sith Lord’s “final lesson” of having to kill a Jedi without a weapon.

Mae explains to Qimir that if she is not successful in killing a Jedi without a weapon, her master will kill her. In the final moments of the episode, after Mae learns that the Sith Lord is there, she stays hidden inside Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca’s home while the Jedi and Osha confront the Sith. When the Sith Lord appears from the shadows, he adorns the same helmet seen in both The Acolyte episode 1 as well as all the trailer footage. Despite the Sith Lord hiding his face, it seems fairly obvious that Qimir is the one under the mask.

The Sith Lord’s True Identity Seems Obvious After The Acolyte Episode 4

All Signs Point To Qimir

In each of Qimir’s appearances so far in The Acolyte, his purpose hasn’t really made sense. He’s an obvious ally to me, but his motives aren’t entirely clear. Mae was able to trick and string Qimir up before leaving to go surrender to Master Kelnacca; however, when the rest of the Jedi come across the same area where Mae left Qimir, he isn’t there. The Sith Lord may have cut the smuggler down, but it seems possible that Qimir was able to use the Force to get himself down and then transform into his alter ego.

Additionally, when Mae finds Kelnacca’s dead body, the lightsaber wound on his chest is fresh and still smoldering, indicating that the murder had taken place just before Mae’s arrival.

Mae also commented that it would’ve been impossible to navigate Khofar and find Kelnacca without Qimir’s help. She even states that her master wouldn’t be able to find the Wookiee without a guide, yet he was somehow able to navigate the planet and get there before them. Additionally, when Mae finds Kelnacca’s dead body, the lightsaber wound on his chest is fresh and still smoldering, indicating that the murder had taken place just before Mae’s arrival. Since Qimir knew where he was going, he might have known a shortcut and was able to kill the Jedi just before Mae’s arrival.

Qimir Has Always Been The Obvious Guess In The Acolyte

This Theory Has Already Been Floating Around

Ever since Qimir was introduced in The Acolyte, his motives for helping Mae kill Jedi have always been confusing. Manny Jacinto’s character seemed to know too much about the Sith Lord and what they were tasking Mae with. In The Acolyte episode 4, Qimir reveals that he owes the Sith Lord and that he “collects people.” It’s not clear what he means by this, but it’s possible that, as a smuggler, Qimir was spared in return for his servitude. Despite this, Qimir also seems to have an intimate knowledge of Mae’s past on Brendok and her relationship with Osha.

Qimir also seemingly knows some of the Jedi’s tricks when he hides from them in The Acolyte episode 2. This may be because of the large Jedi presence in the galaxy during the High Republic Era, but it might also be because he was trained to counter the Jedi in every way. It’s also known that Sith in both Legends and canon utilize dual identities—their outward-facing persona and their Sith name and identity. This was seen with Palpatine and, in Legends, with Darth Plagueis and his master Darth Tenebrous; The Acolyte’s Sith Lord’s non-Sith identity might be Qimir.

Trailer footage for
The Acolyte
has shown the Sith Lord’s mask on the ground, indicating that audiences will eventually learn their identity.

Is Qimir A Red Herring, Or Is This The Worst Mystery Star Wars Has Ever Done?

It Wouldn’t Be The First Time Star Wars Tricked Us

While audiences will ultimately have to wait and see who the Sith Lord is under the mask, for now, all signs point to Qimir – but this wouldn’t be the first time Star Wars tricked its audiences. Most recently, in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, the clone assassin CX-2 was believed to be Tech for most of season 3, but turned out to be no clone of note. Additionally, The Acolyte may be using Qimir as a red herring to keep the rumors of Darth Plagueis and Darth Tenebrous at bay.

Even though Darth Plagueis and Darth Tenebrous’ stories are no longer considered a part of Star Wars canon, many Legends elements have been re-canonized in recent years, and one of these two Sith Lords may be next. However, it’s also possible that The Acolyte has simply done a poor job concealing the Sith Lord’s real identity. While it would be a shame to see such an interesting and engaging show fall into this trap, it’s a real possibility that Qimir is the Sith Lord in The Acolyte.

The Acolyte episode 4 is now streaming. New episodes are released on Tuesdays at 9pm EST on Disney+.