The Acolyte Episode 8 Easter Eggs & Star Wars References Explained

Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 8 or Season 1 finale has aired, and viewers want to know how many easter eggs and references to other Star Wars material appear. This is the longest episode of the series to date, so there are predictably more callbacks to pre-existing lore of the Star Wars Universe than any other episode.

Here are the easter eggs that we spotted in The Acolyte finale.

All major Star Wars easter eggs spotted in The Acolyte’s finale

In the final episode, also titled “The Acolyte,” the series introduces certain characters and elements to the live-action aspect of the franchise. It also contains scenes that hark back to older entries in the franchise.

Darth Plagueis

Although he appears briefly on-screen, Sith Lord Darth Plagueis makes his live-action debut in The Acolyte. He has already existed in the Star Wars canon as Darth Sidious’ Sith master and was mentioned in films, games, and comics. In the final episode, Plagueis secretly watches Qimir and Osha as they leave for Brendok.

The creation of a Sith lightsaber

The creation of a Sith lightsaber is another aspect of the franchise that makes its live-action debut in The Acolyte. In their natural state, kyber crystals inside lightsabers are colorless. When a youngling selects a crystal, it changes to green, blue, yellow, or a rare color. The Sith can’t use kyber crystals in their original form because the said crystals are inherently part of the Light Side. So, they must “bleed” them and bend them to their will, turning the color of the blade to red in the process. In The Acolyte, Osha does this subconsciously when she kills Sol for murdering her mother.

The Jedi Master of The Stranger / Qimir

Episode 8 makes it clear that Vernestra Rwoh was Qimir’s master before his fall to the Dark Side. As the series ends, Vernestra asks Mae, who let Qimir wipe out her memory, to help her find the Sith Lord.

Yoda’s appearance

In the final moments of the episode, Vernestra visits Yoda, likely to inform him about everything that happened. Although she hid the truth from the representatives of the Senate, she is unlikely to do so with one of the Grand Masters of the Jedi Order.

A Tarsunt Supreme Chancellor

In the finale, Vernestra faces a Senate tribunal headed by Supreme Chancellor Drellik, who belongs to the species known as the Tarsunt. People who have watched The Force Awakens might remember that the Chancellor during the New Republic Era was also a tarsunt.

The fall of the Jedi

Vernestra meets Senator Rayencourt, a vocal critic of her Order, in the finale. He calls the Jedi Order a delusional cult before adding, “You project an image of goodness and restraint, but it’s only a matter of time before one of you snaps. And when, not if, that happens, who will be strong enough to stop him?” This foreshadows Anakin Skywalker and the destruction of the Jedi Order.

Firebird helmet & targeting computer

During the chase in the orbit of Brendok, Mae wears a helmet with a Firebird sign, the sigil that represents the Jedi Order. In the following century, it undergoes certain changes before emerging as the symbol of the Rebel Alliance.

Meanwhile, Sol uses a targeting computer similar to that of Darth Vader in A New Hope. The symbolism is very clear here. Sol has become the very thing he thought he was protecting Mae and Osha from, while Mae has become a rebel against the stagnant authority of the Jedi.

The power to create life

Sol tells Mae that the Jedi believes that she and Osha are one person. Mother Aniseya’s coven created them using the Force vergence. In the Star Wars canon, Plagueis experiments with similar aspects of the Force. Although the Jedi aren’t supposed to know that he is a Sith, it’s possible that they are aware that Force-sensitive individuals can explore these aspects only through the Dark Side of the Force.

The journey will be complete

After Mae disarms Sol, Qimir tells her to feel her anger and strike Sol down to complete her journey. This is similar to what Sidious tells Luke in Return of the Jedi, though he means himself and not a third person like Qimir does in The Acolyte.