All 15 Star Wars Easter Eggs In The Acolyte Finale

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The Acolyte episode 8

Summary

• The Acolyte’s finale is packed with Star Wars Easter eggs and references, including the on-screen debut of Darth Plagueis.
• Sol’s final showdown with Qimir and Osha’s turn to the dark side highlights the episode’s major moments and key Star Wars references such as kyber-bleeding.
• The appearance of Grandmaster Yoda at the end hints at potential future storylines in upcoming seasons.

The Acolyte’s finale features a wide collection of Easter eggs and major references to the greater Star Wars canon. Culminating the major Jedi mystery that’s been surrounding a pair of twins extremely powerful in the Force, The Acolyte’s first (and hopefully not only) season has come to an epic end. However, the final episode of the later Star Wars show had plenty of surprises, right up to its very last shot.

The Acolyte’s finale features a final showdown between Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and Qimir (Manny Jacinto). The last episode also features a reunion between Mae and Osha Aniseya, alongside major decisions they each make before the Jedi Order arrives in search of the one responsible for killing so many Jedi over the course of the Star Wars show. To that end, here are 15 of the biggest Easter eggs, references, and major cameos featured throughout The Acolyte’s finale.

15 Firebird Helmet

Symbol of the Jedi and Future Rebellion

After escaping Sol’s custody in orbit around Brendok, Mae attempts to flee in an escape ship. Donning a helmet and climbing into the cockpit, the helmet itself bears a familiar firebird sigil. While this was an original symbol for the Jedi Order, it would later receive some design changes before becoming the official symbol of the Rebel Alliance decades later in the Star Wars timeline.

14 Sol’s Targeting Computer

Mirrors Original Trilogy

Pursuing Mae, Sol enters the rings of Brendok’s moons while also using a targeting computer to lock on to her ship’s position. The targeting visuals are notably the same as those that are prominently featured in A New Hope and the Rebellion’s Death Star trench run from the original trilogy. Darth Vader himself used a targeting computer to lock onto enemy X-Wings before ripping them apart with a hail of laser fire from his TIE Advanced.

13 When A Jedi Snaps

Anakin Skywalker Foreshadowing

Meeting with Master Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson), Senator Rayencourt (David Harewood) wishes to conduct an external review of the Jedi Order on behalf of the Republic Senate. This is because he fears the unchecked power at the Jedi’s disposal, as well as their intensely controlled emotions:

“You project an image of goodness and restraint, but it’s only a matter of time before one of you snaps. And when, not if, that happens, who will be strong enough to stop him?”

Rayencourt’s comments certainly seem to serve as some key foreshadowing for the prequel trilogy, especially considering the fact that Anakin Skywalker did indeed snap and was too powerful to be stopped.

12 Chancellor Drellik

An Alien Tarsunt

References are made to Supreme Chancellor Dreillik, who eventually makes an appearance closer to the end of The Acolyte’s finale. Drellik is a member of the alien Tarsunt species. Interestingly enough, a Tarsunt served as Chancellor during the New Republic Era as seen in The Force Awakens. There was also a Tarsunt youngling at the Jedi Temple as seen in The Acolyte’s premiere.

11 Darth Plagueis

The Acolyte’s True Sith Master

As Qimir and Osha leave Qimir’s remote ocean world in search of Sol and Mae, a hooded figure is seen watching them from the shadows. Based on the long fingers, flat nose, and yellow eyes in line with the Sith, this appears to be none other than Darth Plagueis the Wise, the Muun Sith mater of Palpatine himself. However, it remains unclear if Plagueis is Qimir’s master, has tracked him down and intends to kill him as a rival, or wants Osha due to his unique existence. Either way, the first-ever screen debut of Plagueis is a major moment in Star Wars franchise history.

Master Yoda Is Most Likely

Urgently trying to get in contact with someone, it’s unknown who Master Vernestra Rwoh was trying to meet with. However, it was established by the being on the other end that trying to reach out to this person was quite unorthodox. As such, a strong guess would be that Vernestra was trying to get in contact with Grandmaster Yoda who was often on meditative retreats during the High Republic Era. Naturally, the end of the episode certainly supports this idea as well.

9 Samurai Clash

Sol vs Qimir

At the end of their incredible duel in The Acolyte’s finale, Sol and Qimir rush each other with lightsabers drawn, the ultimate victor initially being unknown. As such, this very much mirrors the classic samurai sword fighting trope known as a “single-stroke battle” or “passing strike”. Eventually, it’s revealed that Sol won the duel, having severed Qimir’s lightsaber as he passed.

8 “Strike Him Down And Your Journey Will Be Complete”

Qimir Line Echoes Palpatine

After Mae takes Sol’s lightsaber, Qimir instructs Mae to strike him down and complete her journey to the dark side. Naturally, this line echoes Palpatine who said the same to Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi. Wanting Luke to strike down Darth Vader, Empeor Papatine knew that Luke’s corruption to the dark would begin in earnest if he killed his father out of hate and anger, and Qimir knew the same would happen for Mae…and/or Osha.

7 “Very Few With This Power”

Who Else Can Use The Force To Create Life?

Upon revealing the truth that Mae and Osha are the same consciousness in the Force split by their mother into two beings, Sol claims that “very few” have the power to manipulate the Force to create new life. However, one has to wonder who exactly he’s talking about. While Darth Plagueis would be one, he was unknown to the Jedi, so who else could wield this power whom the Jedi were aware of? It’s certainly an interesting mystery with key ramifications for both the Jedi and the Sith.

6 Star Wars Finally Debuts On-Screen Kyber Bleeding

Corrupting Kyber To The Dark Side

Picking up Sol’s lightsaber, the blue kyber within turns red in Osha’s hands as she gives into her hate, having learned the truth about her master and his murder of her and Mae’s mother. As such, this is the first on-screen depiction of kyber bleeding in Star Wars, a practice done by Sith apprentices which explains why they all wield red lightsabers. Pouring all their rage, hate, and pain into the kyber of a Jedi they’d slain, the living kyber bleeds. This is why Sol’s lightsaber turns from blue to red, confirming Osha’s embrace of the dark side.

5 Osha Kills A Jedi Without A Weapon

Force Choke

While Mae struggled to kill any Jedi without using a weapon in The Acolyte, Osha darkly succeeds where her sister failed. Using the force to choke Sol, Osha’s murder of her master completed the second part of her dark side initiation, seeing how Sith apprentices typically bled the kyber belonging to a Jedi whom they’d slain. As such, Osha seems to have done both simultaneously in The Acolyte’s finale.

4 Mae’s Brendok Survival Mirrors Luke Skywalker

Sucked Into A Tunnel

Leaving the witches’ compound, Mae reveals to Osha that she survived her fall as a child by being sucked into a core tunnel. This is not unlike what happened to Luke Skywalker after his Cloud City duel with Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back. Humorously, even the tunnels look the same.

3 Traditional Jedi Funeral For Sol

Funeral Pyre

Ultimately, Sol becomes a scapegoat, with Vernestra using his death as part of a cover-up. However, the Jedi Master still gave him a proper Jedi funeral on Brendok all the same. Just like the many Jedi who came before and will come after, Master Sol’s body was burned on a funeral pyre at the very end of The Acolyte’s finale.

2 “A Pupil Of Mine Before He Turned To Evil”

Vernestra Echoes Obi-Wan’s Line About Darth Vader

Having a mind-wiped Mae in her custody, Vernestra tells her that she needs her help to find someone. When Mae asks who, she says “he was a pupil of mine before he turned to evil.” This is a reference to Qimir, seeing as how they both reacted to each other’s presence the moment Vernestra stepped foot on Brendok. However, Vern’s line is also the exact same as Obi-Wan Kenobi’s when he first tells Luke about Darth Vader in A New Hope.

1 An Appearance From Grandmaster Yoda

As a Puppet, Not CGI

The final shot of The Acolyte’s finale sees Vernestra meeting with none other than Grandmaster Yoda. This is most likely who she was trying to connect with earlier in the episode. To that end, this suggests that Yoda will be informed about the cover-up, and might even play a role in potential future seasons of The Acolyte. It’s also exciting to see that Yoda looks to be a puppet in The Acolyte, rather than being computer-animated as he was depicted in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

All episodes of The Acolyte are streaming now on Disney+.