[6.9/10] This was pretty easily my least favorite episode of *The Acolyte* so far, and a big part of my complaints is that the dialogue is painfully clunky here. This is Star Wars, so not every line has to be the most poetic or natural thing you’ve ever heard. But the conversations in this episode feel so stilted and declaratory. You have characters outright announcing their emotional states in a jarring way. The actors do their best to make up for it, and some of them manage to inject some emotion and feeling into otherwise tin-eared lines. (The actress who plays Jecki does a particularly good job of this.) But when the words being exchanged by the characters feel so awkward and obvious, and it’s a dialogue-heavy episode, you’re going to have problems. The production design and location scouting helps make up for some of it though! My goodness, Khofar looks lovely. It’s easy to shoot lush verdant landscapes and wow the audience. But the art direction team also does a lovely job of making the planet seem like a deep, interwoven jungle that's alive and treacherous. (For those of you who’ve played *Fallen Order* it feels true to the Wookiee environment on Kashyyyk in that game.) Plus, Master Kalnacca’s camp seems incredibly cozy, with shades of the freakin’ Ewok films of all things. Even as the narrative presentation falters a little bit, this is a nice place to spend half an hour in, which helps. That said, it’s not just the dialogue that suffers here; it’s the character choices. Mae and Osha’s reactions to one another seem sudden and jarring, to the point that I wondered if both were feints at first. I get that Oshi being alive would be a big deal for Mae, but all of a sudden she’s ready to give up her entire quest and turn herself into the Jedi and give up her master? It’s not inconceivable as a character choice, but I think you need more build to that notion to make it meaningful. Here I almost thought she was just messing with Qimir. All we;’ve gotten from Mae so far is this firm resolve and determination to complete her mission, so to turn on a dime like that feels implausible. The same goes for Oshi asking the annoying prig Yord to kill her sister if she has to. I get the idea that Osha thinks she’s incapable of doing it and wants to make sure someone can handle it. But again, the conversation is awkwardly written, and going from “I can't hurt my sister” to “I want to make sure someone else can” feels like a big leap. I do like that we get the awkward dynamic of Osha being on a Jedi mission as a civilian. Her status as an ex-Jedi with her former crew pays some dividends, and her budding friendship with Jecki is especially endearing. The theme of different cultures’ reactions to death and loss is a potent one. And on a pure fun level, Basil the tracker is a memorable design and addition. That said, I’m less up on the partnership between Mae and Qimir. Not to belabor the point, but it’s where the dialogue is at its worst and most emotionally expository, which doesn’t help. But it also feels like the writers are tiptoeing around something in a graceless way that makes their interactions seem off. (Speculative spoilers:I’m sticking with my prediction that Mae’s master is one of her moms, but my backup guess is that it’s actually Qimir, and the show’s trying to pull a legit Darth Jar Jar by taking a jokey character and turning him into a secret menace. There’s at least something more going on with him, I think, and I’m not entirely sure what.) Otherwise, I do appreciate that the awkward relationship between Osha and Sol continues. In a way, Sol is using her, while catching heat from his superiors. But he also doesn’t want Mae hurt. His intentions are good, even if his methods are questionable, which is a compelling way to write a parental figure. Plus hey, halfway through the series, it’s about time we got a little more from our dark side force-wielder. So even if it’s just a tease, seeing Mae’s master show up, compel Osha as an adult much as the Jedi did when she was a kid, and then casually flick away Sol’s forces, gives the baddie a formidable introduction. Overall, this is still the lowlight of the season to date, especially given the tepid lines that pervade it, but there’s some promise for things to come.

Episode 4 is 28 minutes. When will Disney make us 15-minute episodes? 😡😡😡😡