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Since its premiere, the new Star Wars series, "The Acolyte," has faced harsh criticism and backlash from most fans of the saga created by George Lucas. While the series created by Leslye Headland boasts an 84% approval rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, fan opinions are starkly different, with only a 23% average audience score.
But why has it been so heavily criticized? Why do thousands of fans feel that this series represents the death of Star Wars as they knew it? Even in the first two episodes, there were already hundreds of critiques, and with the release of the third episode yesterday, things have spiraled out of control.
In "The Acolyte," Disney presents the story of Mae and Osha (Amandla Stenberg), two twin sisters, one of whom became an assassin while the other was once a Jedi padawan. With the help of the wise Master Sol (Lee Jung-Jae), Osha and other Jedi investigate the murder of several people, including Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss).
Hundreds, if not thousands, of fans on social media are complaining that Star Wars is following a "woke" agenda with this series, featuring characters of different races but almost no white characters. They argue that it portrays all women as expert warriors better than men or includes an overweight Jedi and other elements they believe do not belong in the Star Wars universe.
Critics claim Disney is trying to impose a forced inclusion agenda, in addition to pointing out that "The Acolyte" has poor dialogue, no character development, and many other flaws.
"The Acolyte" Episode 3 ignites fierce fan debate
Things have worsened after the release of the third episode, "Destiny," where the plot introduces what fans call "lesbian witches" who -spoiler alert!- use the Force to bring about the birth of Mae and Osha.
Fans criticize both the inclusion of LGBTQ characters and the fact that this plot point contradicts what was shown in Episode I, where Anakin Skywalker was conceived by the Force without needing a father.
Opinions are divided. While a significant majority disagrees with what is shown in the episode, others applaud Star Wars for daring to explore this theme and for following, according to them, the path shown by Rian Johnson in "The Last Jedi," where the Force becomes "democratic" and accessible to everyone. It remains to be seen how the following episodes develop and whether the story will calm the anger of the dissenting fans or vindicate the critics who have defended the series.