Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Acolyte season 1.
Summary
Ever sinceQimir (Manny Jacinto)was revealed to be the mysterious Sith Lord inThe Acolyte, someStar Warsenthusiasts have been shipping him with one of the show’s main characters,Osha (Amandla Stenberg). It’s clear that after Qimir’s former apprentice and Osha’s twin, Mae, abandoned him and tried to turn herself in, Qimir was desperate for a newSith Acolyteto train. Osha being left on Khofar provided Qimir with a unique opportunity to start again, but to try a different approach with Osha.
While Qimir trained Mae, she was completely unaware of his identity, as she had never seen him without hiscortosishelmet. However, after being unmasked, Qimir decided to try a different approach to recruit Osha. He didn’t hide his face and was open with her, trying to show her the faults of the Jedi without overtly trying to sell her on joining the dark side. Because of Qimir’s charisma and the chemistry between him and Osha, the internet instantly became enamored with the pair.However, questions remain about whether Qimir truly cares for Osha or not.
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10Qimir Placed His Cloak Over Osha & Healed Her Wound
The End of Episode 5 Changed Osha’s Path
After a brief reunion, Mae used the Force to push Osha back, knocking her unconscious. In the final moments ofThe Acolyteepisode 5, Qimir finds Osha and covers her with his cloak. It’s the first time audiences see Qimir do something without malicious intent. It was initially thought that Qimir Force healed Osha’s abdominal wound, but when Osha wakes up on the unknown planet inThe Acolyteepisode 6, the wound is wrapped but seemingly still bleeding.
Even though Qimir didn’t Force heal Osha, he still took the time to tend to her wound. This means thatoff-screen, Qimir carried Osha back to his ship, a trek that was detailed as difficult inThe Acolyteepisode 4, then continued to care for and tend to her.Qimir placing his cloak over Osha was certainly the first time audiences saw this softer side of Qimir, but it wouldn’t be the last time.
9Qimir Allowed Osha To Wield His Lightsaber
And Trusted She Wouldn’t Use it On Him
InThe Acolyteepisode 6, Osha follows Qimir as he goes to bathe in water near his cave abode. While the Sith is in the water bathing, Osha picks up Qimir’s lightsaber, initially with the intention of killing him after murdering her friends in the previous episode. Osha holds on to the lightsaber for much of the rest of the episode, with Qimir occasionally pointing out that she had the advantage since she held his weapon. At one point,Qimir even points the lightsaber towards himself and tells Osha to ignite it, but she doesn’t.
It’s clear that Qimir expected Osha not to kill him, and part of his plan of seducing her to the dark side included making her feel like she held all the cards, even though he easily could’ve taken his lightsaber back at any time. In this respect,it’s debatable whether this shows Qimir’s care for Osha, or if this was just another manipulation. It may be a bit of both, but audiences may never know without hearing it from Qimir.
8Qimir Pushed Osha To Think Outside The Jedi Binary
And Unlock Her Power
While Osha’s ultimate fall to the dark side happened inThe Acolyteseason 1 finale, the seeds of that fall were nurtured by Qimir in episode 6. Multiple times throughout the episode,Qimir pushed back against much of what Osha thought she knew of the Force and the Jedi Order. In one conversation, he broke Osha out of this mindset that there is only one way to access the Force, and that strong emotions like anger, fear, loss, and desire are also ways of accessing the Force.
By breaking Osha out of the Jedi’s way of thinking and showing her that they rejected her, it allowed her to fulfill her full potential and power in the Force.
Qimir knew that Osha had the power to be a strong Force-wielder, but that she was too caught up in the Jedi teachings. In fact, at one point, he corrected her by saying that ifMaster Sol (Lee Jung-jae)could find her using the Force, it wasn’t because he was strong in the Force - it was because of Osha’s own strength. By breaking Osha out of the Jedi’s way of thinking and showing her that they rejected her, she could fulfill her full potential and power in the Force.
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7Qimir Attempted To Kill Osha Multiple Times
And He Almost Succeeded
Despite the softer side audiences have seen of Qimir in the later part ofThe Acolyte, he did attempt to kill her multiple times in episode 5. He threw her against a tree at the end of episode 4, knocking her unconscious. He also threw his lightsaber at her while it was ignited, something especially impressive knowing that Qimir would have to use the Force to keep the blade ignited while it was not in his hand.
The next time Qimir tried to kill Osha was when she put her Pip droid onto his back to attract the umbramoths, thus defeating him without a weapon. After attaching Pip, Qimir ignited his saber and swung at Osha’s head. She ducked just in time to avoid getting hurt, then was shielded by Master Sol. While many of Qimir and Osha’s interactions hadn’t occurred at that point, it still raised questions about how he could care so much for her if he had tried to kill her only a day or so earlier.
6When Osha Unlocks Her Power, Qimir Is Able To Break Her From His Helmet
And He Looked Concerned About Her
The opening scene ofThe Acolyteepisode 8 began right where episode 6 left off, withOsha wearing Qimir’s cortosis helmet. However, as Osha is experiencing the sensory deprivation of the helmet, her body contracts, andQimir, who is watching, instantly looks concerned and rushes towards her. It’s not clear what exactly happened, but Qimir becomes stuck in place and actively fights off whatever Osha was emitting in the Force.
Qimir’s eyes were black, and he actively fought to reach Osha and remove his helmet, knowing that it’d break whatever spell they were in. Even while under some kind ofwitches of Brendok-related trance where his eyes turned black, Qimir was still concerned for Osha. Manny Jacinto’s acting in the scene is especially good, ashe emotes concern in a way audiences haven’t seen Qimir do before, and his intentions are clear from his expression.
While wearing Qimir’s helmet, Osha has a Force vision of Mae killing Master Sol without a weapon, though when these events actually happened, it was Osha who was doing the killing.
5Despite Everything, Qimir Still Wanted To Kill Mae For Betraying Him
Osha Sought to Save Her In The Finale
After Osha has her Force vision at the beginning ofThe Acolyteepisode 8, it’s clear that she and Qimir will be traveling to Brendok for very different reasons. Qimir aims to kill Mae for her earlier betrayal and for risking exposure to the Jedi, whereas Osha wants to stop her sister from killing Master Sol.Osha always had a soft spot for Mae, no matter what had transpired between them in the past, and Qimir seemingly ignored thatin the name of revenge.
While Qimir does ultimately let Mae go, it’s only at Osha’s insistence. Part of the reason why he allows Mae to live is because Osha agrees to train with him, and because Qimir would be able to erase Mae’s memories of both him and Osha.It’s a bit odd that Osha never seems bothered by Qimir wanting to kill her sister, but after seeing the Sith kill her friends Jecki and Yord in episode 5, she may know better than to expect him to give up on this quest.
Mae
The former Padawan of Jedi Master Sol, Mae gets swept up into a sinister mystery—one that puts her into the center of a conflict in unexpected ways.
4Qimir Has Not Revealed His Relationship With Plagueis To Osha
Is Plagueis Qimir’s Master?
The Acolyteepisode 8’s biggest surprise came early in the episode, where it was revealed that Darth Plagueis had been on the unknown planet with Osha and Qimir and had been watching them. Because this was all audiences saw of the Muun Sith Lord, it wasn’t revealed what his relationship with Qimir is. Qimir may be Plagueis’ apprentice, but it’s also possible that Qimir is completely unaware of Plagueis and is instead a rogue dark side practitioner.
If Qimir is Plagueis’ apprentice, it’s odd that he hasn’t revealed his relationship with the Muun to Osha.If Qimir truly cared for Osha in the way that so many people think he does, he would’ve disclosed his master’s presence on the unknown planet at some point.At the very least, if Qimir is Plagueis’ apprentice and is looking to kill his master - as is customary with theSith Rule of Two- Osha should know the situation she’s stepping into.
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3Osha Still Has Not Learned His Name
Is It Even Qimir?
It’s clear that Qimir knows more about Osha and her past with Mae on Brendok than he has let on, and even though he’s left himself exposed (figuratively and metaphorically), he still hasn’t shared his name with Osha.He hasn’t introduced himself as Qimir or The Stranger, and audiences don’t know what to call him.Even when it was revealed thatMaster Vernestra Rwohhad been the one to train him, she only called Qimir “you.”
It’s odd that Qimir knows so much about Osha’s past, but hasn’t even formally introduced himself.If they are truly going to be partners moving forward, something with their power imbalance has to change. While Qimir tried hard to let Osha feel like she was in charge during most ofThe Acolyteepisode 6, now that she’s agreed to train with him, he needs to follow through and trust her.
2After Killing Sol, Qimir Tries To Comfort Osha
And She Pulls A Lightsaber on Him
InThe Acolyteepisode 8, Osha kills Master Sol after learning thatSol was the one who killed Osha and Mae’s mother. Osha is visibly shaken, as she killed the person who she thought she could always trust after learning he lied to her for their entire relationship. Qimir, knowing that she is experiencing some powerful and conflicting emotions, goes over to comfort her, placing a hand on his shoulder. While Osha instantly ignites Sol’s lightsaber at him andbleeds the kyber crystal, Qimir doesn’t look mad.
However, because Qimir does not adhere to the Jedi’s teachings about controlling one’s emotions and attachments, he can show his concern for her and empathize with her experience.
This shows that Qimir understands exactly what she’s going through and that he can’t blame Osha for acting so rashly when he probably would’ve done the same. However, because Qimir does not adhere to the Jedi’s teachings about controlling one’s emotions and attachments, he can show his concern for her and empathize with her experience. Qimir’s past is still a mystery, andwhile audiences know he didn’t kill his former Jedi Master, he knows what it’s like to be betrayed by them.
1The Acolyte’s Final Shot Sees Osha & Qimir Holding Hands Over A Lightsaber
Are We Seeing Star Wars’ Next Power Couple?
The final shot of Qimir and Osha inThe Acolyteseason 1 is touching, as audiences see Osha join Qimir on the mysterious planet. As they stare out into the sea, Qimir’s hand joins Osha’s on the hilt of Master Sol’s lightsaber, connecting their hands.It’s clear that there issomethingbetween Osha and Qimir, but it’s unclear where it will go. Like most Sith relationships, it’s hard to decipher if it’s manipulation or not. It would be refreshing to see a couple get a satisfying ending together rather than a tragic one, even if they are Sith.
The internet has dubbed Osha and Qimir the dark side love story they felt they missed out on between Rey and Kylo Ren in theStar Warssequel trilogy. If the final shot ofThe Acolyteseason 1 is any indication, there’s a lot more to explore between Osha and Qimir. Audiences will have to patiently wait forThe Acolyteto be picked up for a season 2 to see this relationship continue. Until then, audiences will be left deciphering every small detail fromThe Acolyteto either prove or disprove their theories about Qimir and Osha’s relationship.
The Acolyte
Cast
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
