The meeting between Dafne Keen’s Jecki and Amandla Stenberg’s Osha suggested a romantic interest in ‘The Acolyte’ Episode 4. Young Jedi showed a soft side to Osha in a scene before Master Sol distrupted the moment.
Keen confirmed that there were hints of love between the two during a chat with Decider a few months ago:
“I am so happy you asked that because this is my favorite question ever. I think; for Jecki, it’s very confusing because as a Jedi you’re not allowed to have feelings for other people. And I think… I think she… Hehehe, I think she does. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that, but I think she does.”
Their Romance Couldn’t Move Forward
The show couldn’t develop a love arc between Osha and Jecki, though, because Sol’s Padawan was killed the next episode (‘Night’). Instead, the story shifted towards a potential romance between Osha and Jecki’s killer, Qimir/The Stranger.
Showrunner Leslye Headland revealed to Collider:
“It’s so clear what’s going on. So, anybody that’s picking up on it, congrats, awesome.”
Qimir actor, Manny Jacinto, shared in a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly:
“It was always something that we wanted to allude to. From the beginning, we knew the journey of these characters, that it would end up in sort of this more intimate type of relationship. Everything from the being seduced by the dark side to the power of two. There is this sense of intimacy and romanticism that is just there, especially when you have two people that are thought of as being outsiders. You want somebody to go through this world that doesn’t accept you. You want to go through it with somebody. It was always implied.”
Reactions To The Queerness In The Show
Previously, the series introduced a queer relationship between Jodie Turner-Smith’s Mother Aniseya and Margarita Levieva’s Mother Koril as they led an all-female witch coven.
The LGBTQ+ elements in ‘The Acolyte’ received backlash from some ‘Star Wars’ fans at the start. Headland responded to the criticism by explaining:
“They’re in a matriarchal society. As a gay woman, I knew it would read that their sexuality is queer, but there also aren’t any men in their community. So, a closeness between the two of them would be natural. It seemed plot-driven. I would say it’s really reductive to call them lesbians. I think it means you’re not really paying attention to this story.”
‘The Acolyte’ Season 1 is streaming on Disney+. Season 2 is yet to be greenlit.
