The Acolyte Episode 5 Secretly Teased The Villain's Connection To... Kylo Ren?

Contains spoilers for "Star Wars: The Acolyte" Season 1, Episode 5 — "Night" 

Whether you saw the big villain twist on "Star Wars: The Acolyte" coming or not, seeing Manny Jacinto's Qimir in full villain mode is a thrilling experience. The Disney+ show uses Jacinto's mellow "The Good Place" vibe to convince the Jedi — and possibly the viewer — that Qimir is a simple smuggler ... right up until this episode, where he unleashes the deadly power of the dark side on Jedi Master Sol's (Lee Jung-Jae) team. Still, while Qimir is a dangerous villain in his own right, some fans have noticed that he might have a connection to a far more major antagonist: none other than Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), whose theme song makes a cameo in some of the episode's Qimir-centric scenes. 

HOLD UP....

Was that Kylo's theme playing?! #TheAcolyte pic.twitter.com/LlFcJCgp9O

— Vader's Order (@VadersOrder) June 26, 2024

On X, previously known as Twitter, others pointed out that the villain theme might not be a reference to Kylo Ren himself — after all, he's not even alive during the High Republic era "The Acolyte" takes place in. Instead, people suspected that the music might hint at Qimir's connection to the Knights of Ren and with that, characters like Kylo's first evil Star Wars master, Ren. "Possible connection or origin?? (Not same character based on timeline but)," @TheBountyGuild wondered, complete with an image of Ren with visible scarring and a face-covering mask — a getup that's not unlike Qimir's attire on "Night." 

Both Ren and Kylo Ren lead the Knights of Ren, a group of Force-sensitive, masked fighters who skew toward the dark side but are nevertheless different from the Sith. The similarity between the two characters' names is no accident. Ren is a title as much as it is a moniker, and whoever commands the eponymous knights uses it. It's also the name of a very specific red lightsaber that the Ren in charge wields — both as a weapon and as a symbol of their command.

It's unclear exactly how long the various Rens have been around, but they date back at least a few centuries. "The Acolyte" using Kylo Ren's theme for Qimir might indicate that this dark side warrior is a Knight of Ren himself, perhaps even the organization's founder. It's worth noting that Qimir explicitly states that he doesn't have a name, and while he admits that the Jedi might label him a Sith, the implication seems to be that he sees himself as something different. His grungy, scarred, mask-wearing aesthetic also seems to be in line with various portrayals of the Knights of Ren, who often have a distinct "Mad Max" vibe. 

Whatever's going on with Qimir, he's dangerous. His hidden hilt saber is arguably the most impressive of the lightsaber tricks on "Star Wars: The Acolyte." He's skilled enough to dispatch Jedi Knights and Padawans with ease, even though Sol is able to get the better of him. He also doesn't really seem like a classic, overpowering Sith antagonist. It appears that "The Acolyte" still has some secrets to share regarding him — and some of them might just have something to do with the untold truth of the Knights of Ren.