The Big Picture
In
The Acolyte
, the Brendok witches view the Force differently and are connected by the Thread, which is a collective power that binds them.
The Jedi disapprove of the witches and their use of the Thread, believing it goes against the natural order and throws the Force out of balance.
Various Force-based religions in the Star Wars galaxy, like the Church of the Force and the Guardians of the Whills, have different perspectives on the Force.
The Acolyte has come with a lot of revelations. In Episode 3, “Destiny,” the series begins to show us what happened on the planet Brendok between the Jedi and Mother Aniseya’s (Jodie Turner-Smith) coven, and a lot has to do with how the witches view the Force differently from the Jedi. As Aniseya explains to her daughters, twins Mae (Leah Brady) and Osha (Lauren Brady), their faith is in something called the Thread, and is fundamentally different from the usual Force the Jedi follow. So what is so special about the Thread when compared to the Force?
The Acolyte
The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.
Release Date June 4, 2024
Main Genre Sci-Fi
Seasons 1
Studio Disney+
Franchise Star Wars
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What Is the Thread in ‘The Acolyte,’ and How Does It Work?
The episode takes place as Mae and Osha are about to perform the Ascension ceremony, a coming-of-age ritual that turns them into witches and formalizes their status as active members of their coven. As the twins are preparing for it, Mother Aniseya explains the concept of the Thread and how it works. All living things are connected by the same Thread that’s woven through all existence. Since everyone is connected by this Thread, if one person pulls it, this will cause a reaction that has the power to change everything. “It ties you to your destiny. It binds you to others,” says Aniseya.
Then, Aniseya goes on to perform a physical demonstration of how the Thread works. She uses her power against another witch, and easily pushes her away. “The power of one,” she explains. Then, two witches resist her for a little longer, but end up being pushed away, too. “The power of two,” she says. At the Ascension ceremony, with the whole coven present, this power is increased, becoming what she calls “the power of many.” As the witches chant and invoke their power, Aniseya performs the ceremony with the girls, giving Mae the marking on her forehead, but, unfortunately, she doesn’t have time to do so with Osha, since the Jedi show up.
The Thread is an interesting change from how the Jedi view the Force. Those two concepts are not that different, and what sets them apart is really a different philosophical perspective. The Jedi perceive it as an energy that simply exists in everyone, connecting everything and binding the galaxy together. Ultimately, though, it’s up to the individual to perceive it and learn how to wield it for good — or bad. Instead, the Thread puts the strength in the collective by introducing the notion that all beings are tied by it. Pulling the Thread on one side will inevitably affect other people, which is what “the power of many” really means. One person can pull the Thread. Two people may hold it for a while, but only many people acting together may truly make good use of it.
Why Wouldn’t the Jedi Like the Thread?
Deep down, the Thread and the Force come from the same idea that there is something that connects everything. And, yet, Mother Aniseya also tells Mae and Osha that “the galaxy isn’t a place that welcomes” women like them. We know that Brendok isn’t where the coven is from originally, and that they chose Brendok because it was deserted and not a part of the Republic. When the Jedi show up, they express concern that the coven is training children, implying that the power the witches wield isn’t safe for children. Both Aniseya’s quote and the Jedi’s position help explain why the coven is always in danger.
Mother Aniseya’s coven isn’t the first time witches show up in Star Wars. In The Clone Wars and Ahsoka series, the Nightsisters of Dathomir are also an all-female coven of Force-users who reside and operate on the planet Dathomir. They share many similarities with the coven in The Acolyte, including viewing the Force as a Thread and claiming their power isn’t the Force itself. Instead, the Nightsisters call it “magick,” and use it for many practices that are also considered dark and unnatural by the Jedi. However, claiming that the Nightsisters are inherently evil is a mistake. They often just want to be left alone, and are pulled into conflict and war by outsiders like the Sith and the Jedi themselves, until it eventually leads them to be leads to their downfall.. And much earlier, in the High Republic novels, the Path of the Open Hand was likely a predecessor to both covens, believing that the Jedi’s monopoly over the Force “damages” it, and ended up exterminated by the Jedi. So the galaxy really isn’t a place that welcomes witches.
The problem the Jedi have with witches is connected to their own view of how the Force works. The Force isn’t something to be wielded often, and using it for things that go against the order of nature is what causes it to be out of balance. Killing is unnatural, as is creating life. The contact the Jedi have had with other kinds of Force-sensitive religions other than themselves has led them to be weary of how these beings perceive and wield the Force. For them, “magick” is definitely unnatural and has the potential to throw the Force out of balance, so Mother Aniseya’s coven is something they definitely wouldn’t approve of.
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What Other Force-Based Religions Are There in Star Wars?
The Star Wars galaxy is big, as galaxies often are. It’s difficult to have the full measure of how vastly, mind-bogglingly huge it is; but in such a huge place, it’s natural that beings develop their own points of view, ideologies, and faiths, and that’s what The Acolyte shows as being a problem with the Jedi enforcing their perspective. This enforcement definitely happens, which is why pretty much the whole galaxy is aware of the Jedi and their reputation as guardians of peace and justice, and also why the idea of the Force is so present.
It’s undeniable that the Force is a very present element in Star Wars, but different cultures have different perceptions of it, and this is natural. The witches are only but one of such cultures. In the book The Legends of Luke Skywalker, for example, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) goes around the galaxy a few years after Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi to learn more about how the Force is perceived before starting his new Jedi Order. He eventually arrives at the ocean planet Lew’el, where local Force-sensitive tribes talk about “the Tide,” another perspective on the Force. In the game Jedi: Fallen Order, Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) comes into contact with an ancient civilization called the Zeffo, who perceive the Force as “the Life Wind.” Even Grand Admiral Thrawn’s (Lars Mikkelsen) species, the extremely rational Chiss, believe in an ability called “Third Sight,” which allows some of them to have supernatural perception.
Since the Jedi are the dominant Force-based religion, though, many other religions believe in the Force, too. In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) are Guardians of the Whills, a religion that views the Force similarly to the Jedi, but with a very low Force-sensitivity. In Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow) is the leader of a sect of the Church of the Force, a religion that believes in the balance of the Force and the Jedi as its keepers. So, the Jedi usually have no quarrel with those who believe in them and see things similarly. Those who are different, however…
The Acolyte is streaming on Disney+ in the U.S.
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