The Acolyte defies the haters by celebrating the female gaze

The Acolyte has come to an end, closing out Mae and Osha's (Amandla Stenberg) narrative after igniting a long forgotten part of the Star Wars fandom by doing the one thing the franchise has only touched on in the past: cater to the female gaze.

Leslye Headland has been bold and brave as The Acolyte's showrunner, creating the story she wanted to make without fear of backlash or the trolls — many of whom have been review bombing the series since before it began airing. This part of the fandom have been vocal in their belittling of the series, but the longer The Acolyte aired the louder other voices became in sharing their love for it.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Acolyte

Getting episodes in advance is always interesting as a reviewer, because you're able to see the potential of a show but can only hope the audience will respond in kind. Even if I was only given four episodes ahead of time, a fleeting moment in episode 2 showed the potential of Qimir (Manny Jacinto) and Osha's relationship and I wondered if anyone else would see what I was seeing. Luckily the Disney+ show had me covered on that front.

Episode 5 revealed Manny Jacinto's character as the real big bad of the piece, he killed characters indiscriminately and engaged in brilliantly bold lightsaber battles. His switch from being comedy relief as Qimir to the smooth-talking villain The Stranger brought him to the forefront of viewers minds, Headland put it best: "Your faves are going down. Welcome to your new fave."

The character is dangerous yet exciting, as all good Sith are onscreen (looking at you, Anakin), and the episode also proved what is possible when you cater to the female gaze.

Read more: 'The Acolyte fulfils its promise of being the gayest Star Wars has ever been'

It helped that Jacinto's outfit highlighted his physique for viewers, for one. He looked good whilst wreaking havoc, and the amount of thirst tweets and video edits of Jacinto in the wake of the episode's release (even from the official Star Wars account) proved the effectiveness of it.

Many Star Wars fans who hadn't yet started the show, or had written the franchise off completely, were suddenly interested again because of Jacinto's sex appeal.

Episode 6 only added to the delight of this part of the fandom because it doubled down on the attractiveness of The Stranger but also his connection to Osha. The heroine had been walking the line of the Light and Dark Side, while she was hesitant of the villain he spoke to her with a rare honesty, telling her of the failings of the Jedi and the appeal of the Dark Side.

The episode was meant to show how one can be seduced by the Dark Side, Headland has said, and it certainly worked for the franchise's female fandom. The potential of the enemies to lovers trope with the characters seemed like more than a possibility all of a sudden, especially with the way The Stranger was talking to Osha about things like desire.

The Acolyte doesn't just cater to the female gaze, it also pushes the boundaries of what can be done onscreen in terms of female empowerment. Osha is allowed to explore her rage, she's allowed to be powerful, and though The Stranger is aggressive with the Jedi he's the opposite with her because, as Headland has said, there is a mutual respect between them.

And then the finale arrived and it delivered ten-fold on its promise. Osha turns to the Dark Side and agrees to train with The Stranger after ensuring her sister Mae's safety, and in the final shot of them The Stranger holds her hand. The fandom, as one might expect, have had their collective minds blown — never has Star Wars treated them with this much respect by actively pursuing a narrative they had only dreamed of.

Read more: Star Wars fans compare latest Acolyte episode to The Last Jedi

The franchise has been hesitant to appeal to its female fandom in the past, The Last Jedi was the last real example of it with the tension between Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey (Daisy Ridley). Sadly the backlash to Rian Johnson's bold take on the universe meant the franchise immediately undid everything he tried to do when it released The Rise of Skywalker, and no that kiss does not count.

The last film of the sequel trilogy was a perfect example of what pandering to the toxic side of the Star Wars fanbase — also known as The Fandom Menace — can create. The movie felt soulless and was full of empty fan service, it seemed designed specifically to indulge the whims of a group who are never happy regardless of what the franchise does.

Headland had no such qualms about The Acolyte, she knew what she wanted to do and delivered on her vision. The show was review bombed and criticised, sure, but the new and different direction she took the franchise in has reached the right viewers, the ones who have too long been ignored or even ridiculed for what they hoped to see in Star Wars.

Even now, as this fandom connects with The Acolyte, many have been bombarded with a deluge of ridicule for liking the show at all. To the Fandom Menace Star Wars can only represent one thing, and that isn't something that welcomes stories aimed at women or features people of colour like The Acolyte, so to see the show push forward and be celebrated regardless has been comforting.

Star Wars should be able to cater to women too, it should represent society by elevating people of colour to the forefront of storytelling, it should also be able to do something different.

Highlighting the female gaze is only the start, and it's exciting to think of where Headland will take the show next because, let's face it, The Acolyte deserves a second season.

The Acolyte is available to watch in full on Disney+.