It looks like fans will again see a forbidden love affair between a Sith and a light-side Force user in Star Wars: The Acolyte. The recently released Episode 6, Teach / Corrupt, saw the incredible chemistry between Osha (Amandla Stenberg) and Qimir / The Stranger (Manny Jacinto), and viewers started shipping the two after being reminded of the romantic connection between Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) in the sequel trilogy. True enough, Osha and Qimir’s time together on the Unknown Planet is leading into something after showrunner Leslye Headland hints at their enemies-to-lovers dynamic.
Warning: Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
In an interview with Collider, Headland discussed everything that happened between Osha and Qimir in The Acolyte Episode 6. After their awkward scene on the Unknown Planet, where Osha saw Qimir naked after going for a swim, the two had a conversation, and there was no denying that he was very soft-spoken to her.
The villain even asked her to leave or join him for a meal. After taking a long look at the ship on the other island, Osha stayed and followed Qimir back to the cavern. As this paralleled Rey and Kylo’s dynamic in Rian Johnson’s 2017 Star Wars: Episode VII – The Last Jedi, the series creator revealed what was going on between the two was quite evident.
“It's so clear what's going on. So, anybody that's picking up on it, congrats, awesome,” she said.
However, she cleared that the dynamics had to be about “what they are” after what Qimir did in Episode 5, Night, killing off several Jedi following his face-off against Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae). As the fifth episode revealed what he was capable of, Headland explained that he couldn’t be the intimidating alpha male to Osha. Instead, fans are about to see his other side.
“We have to see this other side of him, and we have to see specifically the way he is with her,” she continued. “He never let Mae see his face, and he let her see him naked. You know what I mean? The character design was very, very intentional.”
But aside from Rey and Kylo, another couple who has inspired Osha and Qimir’s dynamic in The Acolyte is Lo (Chang Chen) and Jen (Zhang Ziyi) from Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In fact, their relationship has been a big influence in the writer’s room, and like Osha and Qimir, their romance is not based on manipulation but on mutual vulnerability.
“We referenced that relationship over and over again,” Headland added. “The intentional parallel is that they are equals and their relationship is earned through mutual vulnerability, not intimidation or manipulation.”
Will Osha and Qimir be like Rey and Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Acolyte?
Star Wars has introduced several conflicting relationships, from the love triangle between Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman). Of course, there’s also the complex love between Kylo and Rey. But though Headland has drawn a connection between Osha and Qimir’s budding romance and the relationship between Kylo and Rey, The Acolyte’s new pair will be different.
I wouldn't say I took too much from the dynamics after that because the second thing that was really important to me was that Osha never tried to turn him. I don't want to say I didn't like that dynamic; I just think it's a dynamic I wasn't interested in. Because a lot of ETL is like, ‘There’s good in you, blah, blah, blah.’ I think when she sees him straight-up murder people, she's not like, ‘There's good in you!’
Headland explained that Osha is “extremely in denial” of her own anger after what happened to her family on Brendok, making her feel that she’s not allowed to be angry or feel an enormous amount of pain. Then, Qimir comes along to make her acknowledge her feelings to help restore her spiritual foundation. So, for her, Qimir is not trying to manipulate Osha but is only telling the truth, asking her to start living her life and recognize her own strength in the Force.
With only two episodes left, fans may still see how Osha and Qimir’s relationship will develop in The Acolyte. But aside from their dynamic, the show still has a lot of questions to answer, like Qimir’s origins and what happened on Brendok.
The Acolyte Episodes 1 to 6 are available on Disney+, and new episodes are set to release every Tuesday.
