Summary
In spite of a favorable response from critics,The Acolyteis currently being review-bombed on sites such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. The Disney era ofStar Warshas hardly been an uncontroversial one, with the fandom dividing in the aftermath ofStar Wars: The Last Jedi. Those divisions remain to this day, as has been proven withThe Acolyte. ShowrunnerLeslye Headland has proved especially controversial, and there’s been a vocal backlash against theStar WarsTV show from certain parts of the fandom.
This has continued with the release ofThe Acolytepremiere on Disney+. At time of writing,The Acolytehas an audience score of just 32 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, whilethe show has a user score of 4.1 on Metacritic. Looking at the actual reviews, there’s evidence of a review bombing campaign; many appear to be AI-generated, consisting only of basic plot synopses. A surprising number of half-star reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are from brand-new accounts, another indicator of a review-bombing campaign.
Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode Guide - Cast Members, Biggest Takeaways & Easter Eggs
Here’s everything you need to follow along with Star Wars: The Acolyte, from references and trivia to main takeaways from each new episode.
What’s Going On With The Acolyte?
TheStar Warsfandom has always been a divided and divisive one, but it’s become worse over the last few years, with a portion objecting to what they perceive as “wokeness” in the Disney era. This even resulted in aSouth Parkparody ofStar Wars, declaring that everything was the fault of Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy.The Acolyteis headed by a lesbian showrunner, and stars female and Asian leads, meaning it was always going to be controversial with this part of the fandom.
The campaign againstThe Acolytehas hardly been in good faith, with many quotes pulled out of context on social media. When star Dafne Keen discussed the ambition to produce fight choreography as good as that ofStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, it was seen as an insult to the prequels rather than proof of how highly they were held by the creative team.Kennedy and Headland addressedThe Acolytebacklashahead of their show’s release, calling out what they perceive as racism and sexism.
It’s important to note there are probably genuine criticisms amid the review bombing, drowned out by the campaign. Some critics have called out pacing and dialogue problems, and those could well pose a problem to members of the audience as well, resulting in negative reviews. Ironically,the review bombing campaign means real dissatisfaction is impossible to evaluate, while those who lovedThe Acolytewind up on the defensive. It’s a self-defeating strategy, because it makes it easier to tune out any criticism as part of the campaign.
How Do Star Wars TV Shows Typically Fare On Rotten Tomatoes?
It’s not unusual to see disagreement between Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audience scores. In fact, that’s quite normal forStar Wars; but what is remarkable here, and indicative of review bombing, is the sheer scale of the difference.
Critic score
Audience score
86%
69%
19.77%
Andor season 1
96%
10.42%
82%
62%
24.39%
66%
53%
19.7%
The Mandalorian season 1
93%
92%
1.08%
The Mandalorian season 2
91%
2.15%
The Mandalorian season 3
85%
51%
40%
32%
65.59%
As can be seen, the critics scores do tend to be more generous than the audience - with the most notable example beingObi-Wan Kenobi. But the difference withThe Acolyteis simply too large to be natural; a jump from 93% critic score to 32% audience score. Incredibly, that audience score suggestsThe Acolyteis less popular thanThe Book of Boba Fett, Lucasfilm’s biggest failure in the Disney+ era.
The interesting question is whether this review bombing technique works. It’s used a little too frequently, and there’s no verification system to prove a review actually watched the show (indeed, some of the AI-generated comments onThe Acolytemay indicate bot activity of some kind). The studios are aware of this technique, and the comments from Kennedy ahead ofThe Acolyte’s release probably mean the audience scores will be discounted when deciding whether to renew the show. All in all, review bombing is probably a waste of time -an act “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
The Acolyteepisodes 1 and 2 are streaming now on Disney+.
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.
