How The Acolyte Taps Into the Romance of the Dark Side

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Season 1 finale of The Acolyte.]

The Acolyte's first season ends on an unmistakably romantic note, with protagonist Osha (Amandla Stenberg) holding hands with her new partner and mentor, Qimir (Manny Jacinto), after turning to the dark side of the Force. While they're not yet an official couple, their chemistry is crucial to Osha's arc, leaning into the seduction part of "seduction to the dark side." 

Working with deceptively little shared screen time between Osha and Qimir, The Acolyte wields expert knowledge of both Star Wars lore and romance as a genre. It's not just that Qimir and Osha share a beguilingly flirty enemies-to-lovers vibe. It's that Qimir respects Osha's agency as an individual, contrasting with the insular and controlling atmosphere of the Jedi Order. Compared to the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker, her turn to the dark side almost feels like a positive step, offering a newfound sense of empowerment. 

In early episodes, Osha is isolated and uncertain, implicitly struggling to make connections after leaving the Jedi. Qimir is a villain hiding in plain sight, courting Osha's estranged sister, Mae, as a potential apprentice. In the latter half of the season he evolves from antagonist to love interest — a journey that begins with sexual tension but develops into something much deeper.

The show intentionally establishes Qimir as a sex symbol, from his costume choices (Manny Jacinto's biceps practically deserve their own screen credit) to his body language, taking cues from Pride & Prejudice's iconically sensual hand flex. However, physicality is only one facet of his appeal. In an interview with GQ, showrunner Leslye Headland emphasized the importance of Qimir's emotional life. "Manny's magnetism is rooted in his acting, not just his physique. His ability to access vulnerability, empathy, and longing is very compelling."

After revealing his identity as a darksider, Qimir spends Episode 6 in seduction mode. Whisking Osha away to his secret lair, he baits a tempting trap, allowing her to follow him as he walks along a nearby beach. Osha watches from a distance as he strips off for a swim, leaving his lightsaber on the shore. The following scene is a one-two punch of sexual tension and phallic imagery, as Osha grabs Qimir's saber while he slinks out of the water, giving her bedroom eyes and talking about the "special relationship" between master and pupil. Soulful violin music plays in the background, hammering home the subtext of this conversation.

Later on, things heat up when Qimir provokes an emotional outburst about Osha's history with the Jedi, and she holds the lightsaber to his throat. "I understand," he says, tenderly wrapping his hand around her forearm. "I lost everything, Osha. But when you lose everything, that's when you're finally free."

Riffing on the prequel trilogy's portrayal of the Jedi as a stagnated, conservative institution, The Acolyte explores the fallout of a crime committed by Osha's former Jedi master, Sol (Lee Jung-jae). Though he was initially depicted as a loving mentor, we learn that Sol actually murdered Osha's mother and covered up her death, adopting Osha under false pretenses. This left Osha unable to achieve closure for her childhood grief — and thus unable to follow the Jedi tenet of emotional detachment. When she learns of this deception in the finale, she kills Sol and turns to the dark side. 

In a story full of dyads and mirror images, Qimir and Sol represent two opposing types of mentor. They obviously offer different spiritual philosophies, with Sol preaching Jedi serenity while Qimir talks about embracing powerful emotions like fear, hatred, and desire. But their roles also reverse our expectations for the traditional divide between hero and villain.

Sol, it turns out, is a hypocrite. Motivated by a possessive desire to train Osha, he's a paternalistic liar who destroyed Osha's childhood "for her own good." Meanwhile, Qimir urges Osha to find out the truth and make decisions for herself. We get the sense that he understands her in a way Sol simply doesn't — in part because the Jedi discourage emotional authenticity. Hinting that he also feels betrayed by the Jedi, Qimir views Osha as a kindred spirit. The finale reveals that he's the former student of Master Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson), a staunchly emotionless and inflexible Jedi. Ominously, she wields a whip-shaped lightsaber, and Qimir has a prominent whip scar on his back.

Alongside this prequel-adjacent critique of the Jedi Order's flaws, The Acolyte draws inspiration from a more recent source: Rey and Kylo Ren's romantic tension in the sequel trilogy. For many fans, this callback marks a long-awaited turning point for the franchise — not only because Qimir and Osha deliver on Reylo's potential as a dark/light pairing, but because The Acolyte embraces romance in general.

Up until now, Star Wars hasn't capitalized on the popularity of Reylo. In fact, there's an air of reticence toward putting any kind of love story front and center in recent spin-offs. Apart from Andor, most of the Disney+ shows lean into shallow nostalgia and avoid rocking the boat. By contrast, The Acolyte — the first spin-off with a female showrunner — caters to an underrepresented corner of Star Wars fandom. Its homage to Reylo is baked into the story's core themes, exploring an unusually sympathetic path to the dark side.

Despite The Acolyte's darker tone, Qimir and Osha's relationship reflects a mode of storytelling we're more used to seeing in romance-focused dramas like Bridgerton. These characters aren't just flung together; they're constructed as a romantic unit. Their mutual attraction builds on a strong foundation of sexual tension, compatible vulnerability, and desire for equal partnership. 

Speed-running an enemies-to-lovers arc, Qimir starts out as a sexy antagonist before revealing his sensitive side. While the Jedi are portrayed like a corrupt law enforcement agency, Qimir's self-aware moral ambiguity is more forgiving. And when Osha finally snaps and kills Sol, Qimir doesn't react like a cackling Darth Sidious who just manipulated his victim into a breakdown. He reaches out to comfort her.

This undercurrent of tenderness is a familiar trope in dark romance, suggesting that while Qimir is still basically a villain, he can be sweet and loving toward one specific person. When he was training Mae, he didn't even let her know his real identity. Yet as soon as he met Osha, he felt a unique connection. Soon after slaughtering a squad of Jedi (including Dafne Keen's lovable teen padawan Jecki!), we see him carefully covering Osha's unconscious body with his cloak, preparing to carry her home so she can recover in his bed. It's all very Phantom of the Opera.

Of course, as Osha and Qimir hold hands and gaze toward the sunset in the finale, this isn't exactly a happily-ever-after. Qimir's master Darth Plagueis is lurking offscreen, reminding us of the Sith "rule of two." You can only have one master and one apprentice at the same time, so if Plagueis is still around, someone has to go. Qimir left out some crucial information during Osha's recruitment process.

The Acolyte wants us to consider the gray areas of the Force, but it's important to remember that the dark side is still, you know… bad. The Jedi may be problematic, but joining the Sith isn't a positive outcome either. It's a path to senseless violence and self-destruction.

In order for Osha and Qimir to get their happy ending, they need to do something Star Wars fans have wanted to see for decades: forge a new path between the Jedi and Sith traditions, finding a way to wield the Force without succumbing to hatred or rejecting emotion entirely. Considering The Acolyte's already-fruitful marriage between romance and Star Wars lore, this is an obvious route for Season 2, finally making good on the unrealized subtext between Rey and Kylo Ren. 

The Acolyte Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.