The Acolyte’s first season made Star Wars’ dark past feel like a bright future

Though Disney Plus’ older Star Wars series have sometimes been fantastic, recent seasons of shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka have felt like the products of a franchise unsure of how it wants to move forward. As another show set in Star Wars’ past, Leslye Headland’s The Acolyte seemed like it might similarly wind up being hamstrung by

and distracting nostalgia plays. But by embracing its identity as a story free…