Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 5, titled Night, focused on revealing the identity of Mae’s (Amandla Stenberg) mysterious Sith Master, Qimir (Manny Jacinto). This proves the number of theories claiming the former smuggler-turned-trader is the villain. But before the big reveal finally occurred, the dark Force user disclosed the apt use of his identity-hiding helmet, unexpectedly giving a nod to a classic X-Men trick.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
The Acolyte Episode 5 picked up where the previous episode left off, continuing the fight between Master Sol’s (Lee Jung-jae) group of Jedi and the mysterious Sith. The action, which features a stunning lightsaber combat, quickly gets underway when the villain begins killing the Jedi Knights one by one, with only Sol, Jecki (Dafne Keen), and Yord (Charlie Barnett) left alive.
The battle then comes to a face-off between the Sith and Sol, with the latter asking the enemy to reveal his face after realizing that he has trained Mae and he is her Sith Master. “Show your face,” he tells him. As expected, the villain refuses but reveals an interesting fact about his smiling helmet.
“And let you read my mind?” the villain responds.
This revelation indicates that the helmet the dark character wears protects his mind from being permeated by Sol and his mind-reading ability. Though the Sith helmets have long been part of Star Wars, varying from their cool designs to being necessary for Darth Vader’s life, The Acolyte gives it a deeper meaning: helping the villains hide their minds from Jedi powers.
This gives a nod to Magneto’s helmet use in the X-Men franchise. The Master of Magnetism’s special form of headgear is designed to protect him from all forms of telepathy and psionic energy. Magneto realizes he needs to defend himself from psychic beings, like his old friend, Charles Xavier / Professor X.
What is the Sith Master’s helmet made of in Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 5?
Aside from shielding the Sith’s mind from the Jedi’s trick, the helmet can temporarily shut down and block lightsabers. This makes the headgear made of cortosis, an ore found in the Star Wars universe. This mineral can block the effects of lightsabers, though it’s also incredibly brittle to offset its overpowered nature.
Though it already existed in the Star Wars canon, it originated from Star Wars Legends, first appearing in the Dark Horse Comics series Jedi Council: Acts of War by Randy Stradley and Davide Fabbri. Here, the Jedi Council faces a race of warriors called the Yinchorri, who use cortosis weapons to counteract the lightsabers’ effects. With its appearance in The Acolyte Episode 5, it is its first time to make its way to Star Wars live-action, being used particularly against Sol and his Jedi Knights.
True to showrunner Leslye Headland’s claim that The Acolyte will delve deeper into the story of the Sith, The Acolyte Episode 5 proves this true after giving more details about Mae’s mysterious Master, from his identity to his motivations. It also provides more context to the Sith helmets, giving them more meaning than being an adornment.
The Acolyte Episodes 1 to 5 are available on Disney+, while new episodes are set to release every Tuesday.
