The Acolyte's Leslye Headland Talks Keeping Her Big Villain Reveal Solvable

In a caller interrogation with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Leslye Headland discussed her process conceiving this week’s shockingly convulsive occurrence of The Acolyte: “I deliberation a bully twist is telegraphing what’s going to happen, and past erstwhile it does, executing it without an ounce of pity oregon sentimentality.”

For those who missed it—though we highly promote you to ticker the occurrence earlier speechmaking immoderate further—episode 5 of the Star Wars series, “Night” reveals that Manny Jacinto’s mysterious smuggler Qimir is successful information the evil Master (though helium calls himself The Stranger) down Mae’s tutelage successful the Dark side, arsenic helium carves a way done the Jedi pursuing his apprentice. Of course, this uncover was telegraphed—Qimir virtually quotes the aged Sith codification to Mae in occurrence 2, which already had fans speculating that his screen arsenic Mae’s smuggler interaction was a small circumspect. Later, connected their travel unneurotic in occurrence 4 past week, helium besides does a batch of needling astir however she’s “failing” their Master’s “tests,” and precise cagey erstwhile asked astir his ownrelation to her Master, simply mentioning helium “collects” people.

Reflecting connected the massacre, Headland states she deliberately mislead the spectator by having Qimir dispatch a fewer unnamed characters first—before helium moved successful for the termination connected a fewer of the show’s main characters, namely Dafne Keen’s padawan Jecki Lon, and Charlie Barnett’s loveably stick-in-the-mud Jedi Knight Yord Fandar. “That’s what I loved astir starting with the reddish shirts. You’re benignant of like, ‘Oh, he’a conscionable going to termination a clump of reddish shirts, and everybody is going to beryllium good and… OH MY GOD, JECKI’S DEAD! Okay, I’m listening,’” Headland said. “I conscionable figured idiosyncratic would halt maine and cipher did. I figured idiosyncratic would say, ‘This is excessively far!’ But they didn’t.”

In the expansive Star Wars tradition, Headland additionally noted that Qimir’s unmasking arsenic the Stranger was inspired by an earlier martial arts movie— this time, the 1966 Hong Kong film, Come Drink With Me, successful which an unassuming alcoholic is revealed to beryllium a deadly Shaolin master. “We talked a batch astir however you instrumentality a low-status quality and person him to a badass,” Jacinto said of playing the reveal. “He’s a feline that is truthful nether the radar, that cipher is paying attraction to, and each of a abrupt he’s really the feline pulling the strings.”

There’s a comic timing successful the merchandise of “Night”, and Headland’s handling of the “twist” uncover of Qimir’s existent nature. Just days before, successful the last episode of Doctor Who’s latest season, pursuing a lengthy enigma questioning the parentage of the Doctor’s latest companion, Ruby Sunday—one that invoked everything from child-stealing goblins, magical snow, and the instrumentality of a classical villain 50 years successful the making—we yet larn her commencement parent was a teen of nary important importance.

Why does that substance to Star Wars? By Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies’ admission, the communicative arc was inspired by his ain disapproval of The Rise of Skywalker revealing Rey was the granddaughter of the Emperor himself, Sheev Palpatine retired of nowhere, going against what helium thought had been laid out successful The Last Jedi. In the interview, Headland herself rejects this benignant of anti-reveal arsenic a communicative device, stating, “I deliberation a bully twist is not astir hiding everything from the assemblage and past throwing it connected them like, ‘Hey, this is what you didn’t see! We hid it truthful good that you didn’t spot this!’” Maybe don’t bring a sonic screwdriver to a lightsaber fight?

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