If you’re not a die-hard Star Wars fan, it’s likely that LucasFilm’s recent output of Star Wars shows will have totally lost you. With a few exceptions (namely the excellent Andor), each new series seems to pile directly on top of the last, creating a precarious tower of impenetrable lore that comments on previous Star Wars stories and little else. The Acolyte steers clear of this problem, becoming the rare Star Wars streaming series that might be approachable to the non-obsessed. Judged exclusively against other live action Star Wars shows that Disney has pumped out since acquiring the franchise 12 years ago for $4.05 billion, it’s better than average simply by having a clear point of view and something to say. However, simply avoiding the pitfalls of its sister programs may not be enough to make it worth watching.

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The Acolyte is set hundreds of years before the events of the Skywalker Saga, during the age of the High Republic. The High Republic Era has been explored previously in novels, comics, and animation, but this is the first live-action depiction of the Star Wars galaxy’s golden age, before the Republic became a corrupt bureaucracy and the Jedi Order a cult of complacency. (Or, at least, that’s how it appears.) This setting isn’t too different from The Phantom Menace or the rest of the Prequel Trilogy in terms of technology, culture, or fashion, but it has one key........

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