The Acolyte, Disney’s latest attempt to bring Star Wars to the small screen, received a surprising jolt at its halfway point. The Disney+ series has languished in its uncompelling revenge plot that threatens to consign it to the same forgettable heap as Ahsoka and Obi-Wan Kenobi before it. Yet, while the show hasn’t improved, it has found its feet—or rather, its arms? Manny Jacinto’s arms, to be exact. Manny Jacinto’s toned, well-defined, often perfectly wettened arms… wait, what was I saying? Oh yes, The Acolyte is still bad but Manny Jacinto’s rocking bod might save it.
Though Jacinto’s Qimir was present in earlier episodes, it was his reveal as “The Stranger”—the Sith benefactor to Mae’s (Amandla Stenberg) Jedi-hunting murder romp around the galaxy—in Episode 5 that showed us that there’s a sexy side to the force. The twist itself wasn’t a surprise, but what was hard to foresee was, despite The Acolyte taking every opportunity to get him wet, how much of a thirst Jacinto’s soaking wet abs would inspire in everyone. Just go look at Twitter to see how rabid it’s become—no, go look: People are helpfully clipping The Acolyte up so you can just watch Jacinto’s bits if you want to.
The unmasking of Jacinto as the series’ big bad also coincided with one of The Acolyte’s rare bright spots—literally, this show is so dark—thanks to a technically impressive and, at times, exhilarating lightsaber battle between a band of Jedi redshirts led by Master Sol (Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae) and a Qimir intent on retrieving his would be apprentice, Mae from their potential custody. It should have served as a memorable set piece to mark the series’ halfway point, instead it’s been overshadowed for serving Jacinto’s biceps.
