Editor’s note: The under consists of spoilers for The Acolyte Episode 4.

Not only of murders and mysteries is The Acolyte created. This week’s episode in the new Star Wars series, “Day,” has provided fans the cameo of a character from the Prequel Trilogy, Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi (Derek Arnold). He is present in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when the Jedi are discussing the subsequent measures with regards to Mae’s (Amandla Stenberg) Jedi-killing spree. While he is not necessarily amongst the 1st when fans speak about their preferred Jedi, Ki-Adi-Mundi is a symbol of the Prequels, tying the new series to the Skywalker saga and even raising some quite essential concerns about why the Jedi are the way they are in these films.

The Acolyte

The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are additional sinister than they ever anticipated.

Release Date

June 4, 2024

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Seasons

1

Studio

Disney+

Franchise

Star Wars

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Ki-Adi-Mundi Is a Unique Jedi in the Order

Over the years, the Prequel Trilogy has grow to be a by no means-ending supply of memes for fans thanks to its quirky dialogue (yes, Star Wars fans are that weird). One such is Ki-Adi-Mundi’s (Silas Carson) “What about the droid attack on the Wookiees?” line in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, a radical shift in topic for the duration of the Jedi Council meeting scene correct following Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) becomes a member. Apart from this, even though, the Cerean Jedi has some exceptional traits when compared to the other Jedi in the Order.

In the non-canon Legends continuity, Ki-Adi-Mundi is really the only Jedi who is permitted by the Council to have a family members. In the 1998 Star Wars comics by Dark Horse, it really is established that the planet Cerea has issues with low birthrate, which is why Cerean society has adopted the custom of polygamous marriage. Ki-Adi-Mundi then had 4 wives and seven daughters. When the Clone Wars started, having said that, a single of the 1st battles occurred amongst the Grand Army of the Republic and the Separatists on Cerea, resulting in the death of each member of the Mundi family members. Ki-Adi-Mundi himself would only die 3 years later, when Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) troubles Order 66 and the clones turn on the Jedi, killing most of the Order.

Since he showed up in The Acolyte, Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age has also grow to be a supply of controversy. When Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace came out in 1999, reference material in the Star Wars: Episode I Insider’s Guide CD-ROM states that Ki-Adi-Mundi was 60 years old by the time of the film. However, anything published prior to 2012, when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, is no longer regarded as canon and is now component of the Legends continuity. If he have been certainly 60 in the film, his look in The Acolyte would make no sense, considering that the series is set a hundred years prior to it. In canon, even though, there is nevertheless no reference to how extended Cereans typically reside, nor how old Ki-Adi-Mundi would be in The Phantom Menace.

What Is Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Role in the Prequel Trilogy?

When the Jedi are discussing Mae and the mission to capture her in The Acolyte, Ki-Adi-Mundi admits that she has ability, but vehemently deems the notion of an apprentice not recognizing her master as absurd. Seconds later, he says she could grow to be a key threat, and overhears the conversation amongst masters Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) about the Brendok incident sixteen associated to Mae that took spot sixteen years prior. Ki-Adi-Mundi’s disdain when speaking about Mae’s partnership with her master is nothing at all new, even though.

Around a single hundred years later, for the duration of The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) take young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) to be tested by the Jedi Council. Shortly prior to, even though, Qui-Gon reports on his fight against Darth Maul (Ray Park) on Tatooine, which would supposedly be the 1st time a Sith has been encountered in a extended time. “The Sith have been extinct for a millennium,” says Ki-Adi-Mundi, quite considerably dismissing the possibility. Then, in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, he makes use of the very same tone to dismiss the notion that Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) could be behind the try on Senator Padmé Amidala’s (Natalie Portman) life in the opening scene, saying Dooku is “a political idealist, not a murderer.” He was incorrect on each accounts, and, in The Clone Wars, is normally regarded as becoming ruthless, even ordering his Clone battalion to burn enemies with flamethrowers for the duration of the second battle of Geonosis.

Ki-Adi-Mundi genuinely is not regarded as a single of the finest Jedi. The arrogance displayed when dismissing essential matters and the lack of tact in tense scenarios has created him quite considerably a symbol of anything incorrect with the Jedi Order at the time of the Clone Wars, and what ultimately led to their demise. His look in The Acolyte, then, aids to establish the transition amongst the golden age of the Jedi for the duration of the High Republic and their downfall in the Prequel Trilogy. It’s thanks to masters like him that the Order grows blind and deaf to the indicators of the shifting instances.

What Does Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Cameo in ‘The Acolyte’ Say About the Jedi?

Ki-Adi-Mundi’s line in The Phantom Menace about the Sith becoming extinct has been an additional supply of controversy considering that his cameo in The Acolyte. The series has currently revealed that twins Mae and Osha (each Stenberg) have been designed by some sort of Force manipulation, and anything points to Mae’s master becoming a Sith Lord. First, how could Ki-Adi-Mundi say that the Sith have been extinct for a millennium? Second, he has currently noticed men and women who have been conceived via the Force, so why would not he mention it when Qui-Gon Jinn introduces Anakin Skywalker to the Jedi Council?

The answer to each concerns is straightforward: due to the fact he most likely did not know. Ki-Adi-Mundi is not component of the mission to apprehend Mae and recall Master Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) on Khofar, and, pretty frankly, it does not appear that this mission will have several survivors. Although they outnumber the Sith Lord who shows up at the finish of the final episode, shock and the element of surprise give the Dark Sider the upper hand. And, even if there are some survivors, considering that there are some major characters involved, Mae and Osha’s fate might differ from that of the Jedi. Ki-Adi-Mundi might have overheard some of the conversation amongst Masters Sol and Vernestra, but that does not imply he is entirely in the loop about the entire affair.

And, even if he did know about it, he could possibly not necessarily make a decision to divulge that data — specially becoming a Jedi. Vernestra is clear about the will need to preserve the Khofar mission a secret and not involve the Jedi Council, considering that the political consequences might bring even additional issues for the Jedi Order. Compartmentalizing and delegating responsibilities appears to be important at this moment in the Order’s history, and Vernestra does have the seniority necessary to deliberate on such matters. Even if Ki-Adi-Mundi knows about anything in The Phantom Menace, the Jedi are recognized to cover up data that might compromise them, like the existence of a Sith Lord for the duration of the Clone Wars. With The Acolyte only halfway via its 1st season, there is nevertheless time for him to understand additional about the Mae case, to fully grasp that silence and compliance are the way to go, or to basically be left out of the loop, as it occurs.

New episodes of The Acolyte air weekly on Wednesdays on Disney+.

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