Disney Plus has gone all out with The Acolyte, the highly anticipated Star Wars series that, despite not being very well received by the majority of the audience, has been a big bet for the streaming platform to continue expanding its universe.
Throughout the series, however, a secret that many expected to emerge earlier has been kept: who is the Sith Master behind all the events? Finally, the last episode has served to reveal it. After months of speculation, the series concludes with the cameo of a classic Star Wars character that many had predicted, but that had never been seen on screen before: Darth Plagueis.
Who is Darth Plagueis?
In the climax of the final episode, Qimir (Manny Jacinto) and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) leave the remote oceanic world of Qimir to search for Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and Osha’s sister, Mae. As they take off, a hooded figure appears in the shadows, revealing himself as Darth Plagueis, a Muun alien known for training Darth Sidious. Although his appearance is brief and largely hidden, distinctive features such as his long fingers and flat nose, along with the characteristic yellow eyes of a Sith Lord, confirm his identity.
This revelation has important implications for the Star Wars canon. Plagueis is known in the canon mainly for what Palpatine tells in Revenge of the Sith: he had the power to manipulate midichlorians to create life and prevent the death of his loved ones, although he was ultimately killed by his own apprentice, the future Emperor Palpatine. In Legends (outside the official canon), Darth Plagueis is presented as a complex character who kills his master, Darth Tenebrous, and performs various experiments with the Force, as well as training Sheev Palpatine.
The longevity of the Muun and Plagueis’ experiments to extend his life suggests that he could have been one of the active Sith Lords during the High Republic Era, in which The Acolyte is set; approximately 100 years before The Phantom Menace. This opens up the possibility that Plagueis was still serving as Tenebrous’ apprentice or that he was already seeking a new apprentice. We will likely see him in the second season.
