The Acolyte Season 1 Finale: Who Was That Sith Lord In The Cave?

Contains spoilers for "The Acolyte" Season 1, Episode 8 — "The Acolyte"

"Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?"

This line from "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" isn't just fun to quote; it also hints at greater machinations within the dark side of the Force, how Sith masters have conquered unnatural powers. And it would appear the season finale of "The Acolyte" has finally given us our first look at one of the most powerful Sith in the "Star Wars" universe — Darth Plagueis. To be fair, the character isn't referred to by name, only being seen peering out of a cave for a brief moment in Episode 8, also titled "The Acolyte." But given what we know about "Star Wars" lore and the timeline "The Acolyte" occurs in, it's a safe bet it's Plagueis.

As we know from Emperor Palpatine's (Ian McDiarmid) speech in "Revenge of the Sith," Plagueis was obsessed with cheating death, using the Force to both create life and prevent the ones he loved from dying. Plagueis was ultimately killed by his apprentice, whom we know was Palpatine himself, who carried on his mission of avoiding death (which is how he somehow returns in "The Rise of Skywalker"). 

Seeing as "The Acolyte" occurs roughly 100 years before the events of "The Phantom Menace," Plagueis is still alive and kicking. Since he's only hanging out in a cave in the "Acolyte" season finale, it's hard to ascertain what his relationship with Qimir (Manny Jacinto) is, but it's still possible Qimir could be Plagueis' master, Darth Tenebrous.

"The Acolyte" ends with several lingering questions, making the prospect of Season 2 all the more of a necessity despite no confirmation of it at this point. The potential reveal of Darth Plagueis would really seem to warrant a further exploration of this time period in "Star Wars." As Yoda once said, "Always two there are, no more, no less. A master and an apprentice." With Osha (Amandla Stenberg) coming to the dark side, it would appear three are now in the mix, and Plagueis may have already had a hand in Mae (also Stenberg) and Osha's journey.

Plagueis could manipulate midi-chlorians to create life, and we know from "The Acolyte" Osha and Mae were created through a vergeance as two parts of the same soul. Knowing about Plagueis' fascination with life and death, it's possible this was the work of the Sith lord. There's a "Star Wars" theory that Anakin Skywalker has two fathers, as it were, with Plagueis and Palpatine/Darth Sidious having potentially created him. Osha and Mae could've been a practice run that didn't quite work as well as Plagueis would've liked.

With Plagueis lurking in the background, what could this mean for the dark side trio? If Qimir is actually Darth Tenebrous, it's possible Plagueis will soon kill his master, as occurred in "Star Wars Legends," which is no longer canon but could still be adapted. Qimir could always be someone else, perhaps the apprentice of Plagueis whom he will soon dispatch if he would prefer Osha to stand by his side. These are intriguing possibilities for a prospective "The Acolyte" Season 2, and hopefully, this isn't the last we've seen of live-action Plagueis.