The Acolyte Episode 5's Three Most Brutal Kills, Ranked
Contains spoilers for "The Acolyte" Season 1, Episode 5 — "Night"
Given that "The Acolyte" chronicles an early chapter of the Sith's origins, things were going to get dark. We just didn't know they'd get to "WTF" levels of dark. After finally confirming Qimir (Manny Jacinto) as the masked assailant, "Night" sees the Acolyte villain who calls himself a Sith absolutely wreck the team of Jedi on a mission to stop him. This wasn't your typical dark side-wielding whopping either, but unquestionably one of the most brutal lightsaber battles in Star Wars history. A handful of our key brown-cloaked heroes fall in the line of duty. Not to dwell on the tragedy too much, but considering how much death is dished out, who got the worst exit out of the lot of them?
By killing off key characters in such an unforgiving fashion, the threat level on "The Acolyte" has undeniably risen, ensuring that in this chapter of Star Wars history, anyone can be cut down without a thought. Dying as almost a demonstration of Qimir's power, "Night" sees us lose Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen), Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett), and a handful of no-named Jedi. Here's our ranking on who got the best departure, marked carefully on technique, terror, and straight up badassery. Read on and be sure to keep your guard up (not like it matters).
Jedi kebab, anyone?
The final moments of "The Acolyte" Episode 4 show that Qimir didn't come to play, as he sends his opponents flying in a blur of dust and terror. On "Night," audiences are reunited with them as Sol's (Lee Jung-jae) back-up, and they may as well have been wearing Star Trek red shirts as they run in before quickly realizing that it might have been better to just stay down. Taking on a team of Jedi solo, Qimir makes short work of the no-named Knights with unforgiving artistry — with one particular move taking down two in a brutal skewering.
After giving one Jedi the traditional stabbing through the chest, Qimir proceeds to go on the offensive against another by Force-pulling them onto his blade. It's a Deadpool-level move that hasn't been seen in live-action Star Wars, one made all the more worse when, as the camera hides behind a tree, Qimir pulls his blade back and beheads them both in one ferocious swoop. This is the first of many moves illustrating that we may be dealing with one of the most powerful Sith in the universe, setting an understandable benchmark for all the dark side Force users who will follow in his bloodsoaked footsteps.
Yord gets runner-up getting snapped back to reality
He may have been quick to draw his lightsaber since the start of the show, but it turns out that Yord's elegant weapon was no match for Qimir's downright incredible hand-to-hand skills. The staunch Jedi deserves credit for returning to help after the group is split up during the carnage, and it got to the point where it looked like he had a chance. That being said, Yord was already rattled before the final encounter after losing at a battle of minds.
While Qimir is shutting down any attack that comes his way, Yord and Mae (Amandla Stenberg) are trying to find a way through the dense forest, with the former already a little hazy. "He gets into your head. He stays there," Yord explains, the first time we've seen him so shaken. It makes sense that when he goes into battle against Qimir, he's subdued in fast fashion. The villain breaks Yord's lightsaber and his neck in no time at all, before chucking his lifeless body away like it's nothing as another Knight bites the dust. Plenty of Star Wars characters have survived a lightsaber wound, but surviving a broken neck might take a bit more work.
Jecki gets three-hole punched
While plenty of Jedi fall at the hands of Qimir on "Night," there's something about Jecki's death that hits harder than most. They were all undoubtedly enforcers for peace and good in the galaxy that gave it their best, but Jecki's death stung because of how quickly she was becoming a prominent piece in the show. Her words of advice to Mae, the bond they had slowly formed, and the connection she shared with Sol made her stand out more than most. She also fought harder than all of the doomed Jedi, making her execution by Qimir the most shocking of all.
There's an air of rage when she and Sol team up to take on the bad guy, as she leaps off ledges and swings at Qimir like a Theelin possessed. Perhaps it was the rage spilling out that leads to her defeat and the horrific attack from her opponent that sees her get stabbed not once, not twice, but thrice through the chest. "She was just a child," Sol cries as he watches his Padawan fall. Maybe, but she fought like an absolute master.