We’re All Missing The Most Important Question About Star Wars’ New “Sith”

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The Acolyte episode 5

Summary

• Qimir, the “Sith” in The Acolyte, is likely not a traditional Sith Lord but an adjacent dark side user with unique abilities.
• Qimir’s power of mind control is seemingly linked to Mother Aniseya, a witch from Mae and Osha’s past, raising the possibility that she could be his master.
• Osha could also become Qimir’s new acolyte via this same dark side mind corruption.

A very important question about The Acolyte’s new “Sith” needs to be asked. The Acolyte episode 5 unmasked this new dark side user and also teased that he’s something other than a traditional Sith Lord. However, the identity of the one who trained him is likely going to be just as important as well.

In The Acolyte episode 5, Mae’s master is revealed to be the trader she knew as Qimir (Manny Jacinto). Having been referred to in marketing only as “The Stranger”, this “Sith” without a name is more than likely not a Sith at all, but instead some adjacent practitioner of the dark side, hence his comments that only the Jedi might be the ones to call him Sith. At any rate, a few teases in The Acolyte episode 5 about the power at his disposal may hint at where Mae’s master comes from, as well as who might have trained Qimir himself.

Acolyte Episode 5 Confirms Qimir Shares The Power Of Mother Aniseya

“My Mother Could Do That”

In The Acolyte episode 5 when Yord tries to get Mae’s twin sister Osha to safety, the Jedi Knight confirms that Qimir can get inside the heads of the Jedi. According to Yord, “he gets inside your head, and he stays there.” To that end, Osha confirms that this was something her mother could do, a member of the witch coven on Brendock as seen in the flashbacks to her and Mae’s childhood in The Acolyte episode 3.

When the Jedi discovered Mae and Osha as children being cared for by this witch coven, Mother Aniseya somehow took possession of Torbin, Master Indara’s Padawan at the time. His eyes turning black as he fell to his knees, Aniseya initially threatened that she wouldn’t return Tobin to his right mind if the Jedi didn’t leave, only to relent due to Osha’s desire to be tested by the Jedi. As such, this is seemingly an ability Qimir is capable of as well.

Although Qimir wasn’t shown fully possessing a Jedi during his duel as Aniseya had, it’s likely that at the very least he wielded the power to mentally assault the minds of his foes mid-battle. This would explain how he was able to singlehandedly slay seven Jedi in The Acolyte episode 5. By the end of the episode, only Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), Mae, and Osha were left alive.

Who Trained Qimir aka “The Stranger”?

Mother Aniseya or Koril Seems Likely

Keeping this shared power in mind, one has to wonder who might have trained Qimir. Using the dark side to dominate and corrupt the mind is nothing new in the Star Wars canon and has often been used by the Sith in both canon and Legends. However, the connection drawn by Osha between her mother and Qimir regarding this specific method of mind possession can’t be a coincidence.

It’s certainly being teased that Mother Aniseya might have survived the destruction of Brendock’s witch coven, an event that has yet to be seen in full in The Acolyte after its fifth episode. If that were the case, perhaps Aniseya was the one who trained Qimir in the ways of the dark side, who in turn sought to train Mae as his new acolyte. It’s also possible that Mother Koril could be Qimir’s master, having also been Mae and Osha’s mother as well (having carried them with Aniseya being teased as the one who used the Force to influence their conception).

Qimir’s Dark Side Power Is Bad News For Osha’s Future

Forced To Become A New Acolyte?

At any rate, The Acolyte episode 5 ended with Mae disguising herself as Osha to leave with Master Sol. Conversely, Osha herself was left unconscious on Khofar but was soon found by Qimir. Healing her wounds with the Force, Qimir may seek to make Osha his new acolyte, a role she’d likely resist. However, it’s not hard to imagine a scenario in which Osha’s mind becomes corrupted by Qimir’s power, becoming his puppet until he can truly turn her over to the dark side as The Acolyte reaches its final episodes.

New episodes of The Acolyte release on Tuesdays at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST on Disney+.