The Acolyte is here, and there’s been no shortage of discourse between Star Wars fans over the first two episodes. While critics were largely on board with the High Republic story, a growing number of people seem less impressed with what they watched so far, and are sharing such grievances online. To each his own, but one particular gripe has driven me to the point where I feel forced to give such naysayers a reminder about which franchise they’re watching.
That said, I will be writing about a minor spoiler explaining the logistics behind a scene that ultimately has very little to do with the overall plot of The Acolyte. If you haven’t seen the episodes yet with a Disney+ subscription and wish to remain completely unspoiled, proceed at your own risk!
Some Are Critical Of The Acolyte’s Use Of Fire In Space
The Acolyte introduces viewers to Mae, a former Padawan now working as a “Meknek” in the Star Wars universe. In The High Republic, Mekneks are freelance humanoids who are hired by ships to do work on the outer hull. Typically, this is performed by Astromechs in Star Wars, and seemingly isn’t a common job in the galaxy because of how dangerous it can be. Mae still does it, however, and she’s shown putting out a fire spreading on the outside of a Neimoidian vessel.
That moment, though insignificant to the overarching story, has become a “hot” topic online, with Star Wars Explained and others generating tons of responses by calling out the idea that flames are happening in the vacuum of space, which is an impossibility under the most realistic circumstances. Therefore, in the minds of some Star Wars fans, this moment doesn’t make any sense, is a knock against the series as a whole, and is a sin The Acolyte cast should answer for. Sigh.
Star Wars Features Explosions And Non-Accurate Space Stuff All The Time
So many people are up in arms over this moment in The Acolyte, while seemingly ignoring that Star Wars literally features fireball explosions in space all the time. Sure, maybe not always a sustained fire as the one seen in The Acolyte, but still something that doesn’t line up with what science has told us. Yet those moments aren’t fueling the same kind of complaints.
In fact, there’s a lot we see in Star Wars that isn’t in line with what typically happens in the vacuum of real-life space. (And don’t expect huge changes in upcoming Star Wars movies and shows.) For example, there are not enough atoms bouncing around to create sound, but George Lucas & Co. never shied away from the noise of lasers blasting and ships exploding.
Also, when Leia was in space, why didn’t her lungs explode? And if the Millennium Falcon is truly the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, why isn’t NASA constructing one right now? Okay, I guess that one’s not on the movies themselves.
The point I’m trying to make here is we could continue to nitpick Star Wars projects for not being scientifically accurate and never get anywhere positive, or we could acknowledge that the universe’s rules for space were never rooted in hard science in the first place. This is why writers for the franchise don’t know how fast hyperspace is, or why it always seems that the only time Wookiees speak are when there’s at least one English-speaking creature around to translate.
Star Wars fans are allowed to like or dislike The Acolyte, but such opinions probably shouldn’t harbor on scientific justifactions within a universe that never adhered to those rules. I think it’s fine for there to be a crowd critical of the series for plot reasons, such as the idea that the Jedi are too powerful, and I guess I’m also good with everything who loves the Disney+ series for Yord alone. In any case, I don’t think the backlash is so great it’ll impact the show, possibly getting future seasons.
Catch new episodes of The Acolyte on Disney+ on Tuesdays. I’m looking forward to seeing more of The High Republic era in Star Wars and maybe some characters that could get their own stories somewhere down the line.
Source Agencies
