THE ACOLYTE Season Finale Teases the Sith Master Looming in the Shadows

Star Wars: The Acolyte Season 1 has come to an end, and there are a lot of things that fans are talking about. One of the big things revealed in the finale was the big bad Sith Master looming in the shadows, the one seemingly pulling all the strings.

Throughout the series, we learned that Mae and Osha weren't twins, but beings that were created out of nothing but a vergence in the Force and split into two identical entities.

The idea of a vergence put the origin of the twins on common ground with the journey of Emperor Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious, but The Acolyte's finale tied those elements together even closer.

There's a scene early in the season finale where Osha and Qimir are heading to a ship to track down Mae, and an alien Muun-like figure in a dark hood briefly appears in a cave, watching them as they leave.

This creature is the Sith Lord known as Darth Plagueis, who eventually becomes the master of one Sheeve Palpatine.

As Star Wars fans know, Plagueis was obsessed with his quest for immortality. Showrunner Leslye Headland has talked about how the story from The Acolyte to Plagueis training Palpatine connects, saying: "Yes, I do. If I continue to get to tell this story, I know how I would like that to play out. And I would say I think it’s pretty complicated and messy."

When previously talking about the future of the series, Headland said: “I'd say there are four to five major mysteries and plot points that have to get hit in season 2, but until we get a proper pickup, I worry that spending a lot of time in that world — especially being in a period where I've worked so long on this project that honestly I'm exhausted by it coming out — to kind of jump right into like, ‘All right, season 2….

Headland explained: “It will probably be more that I know what needs to happen, and I know what the character development needs to be in order to hit the plot points and the character points for a second, third, or fourth season. So I look forward to working on that, but right now, I haven't."

Darth Plagueis was known for his profound understanding of the dark side of the Force and his quest for immortality. His mastery over the Force was so advanced that he could influence the midi-chlorians to create life and even prevent death.

This knowledge and power made him a key player in the Sith's long-term plans to overthrow the Jedi and dominate the galaxy. Plagueis trained Darth Sidious, who would later become Emperor Palpatine, imparting his vast knowledge of the dark side and his vision for the Sith’s future.

Darth Plagueis met a tragic end at the hands of his own apprentice, Darth Sidious. Believing that his master had become too powerful and a threat to his own rise, Sidious betrayed and killed Plagueis in his sleep. This act of treachery was emblematic of the Sith tradition of apprentices eventually overthrowing their masters.