The Acolyte episode 8 recap and ending explained: What happened to Osha and Mae?

Amandla Stenberg and Lee Jung-jae star in the series from Leslye Headland, with fans already clamouring for a season 2.

But, before that, here's everything you need to know about that action-packed finale.

The Acolyte episode 8 recap and ending explained: What happened to Osha and Mae?

The episode begins with Osha (Stenberg) having a vision of Mae (also played by Stenberg) killing Sol (Lee), with Qimir (Manny Jacinto) realising she's seeing the future. Osha reasons that this future can be changed and Qimir decides that they should go to find them together - and see who gets to Mae first.

Meanwhile, Sol and Mae argue about what happened on Brendok all those years ago as Mae surreptitiously tries to free herself. She claims her mother is dead because of Sol and he points out that the fire was down to her. He says that she and Osha are not twins or sisters - but before he can finish and reveal the truth, Mae frees herself from her restraints, stuns him and flees in the escape ship. Mae crash-lands on Brendok.

On Coruscant, Senator Rayencourt (David Harewood), who's looking to conduct a larger review into the Jedi, arrives to see Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson), confronting her for her murder investigation. Vernestra says she's very close to apprehending a suspect, and, getting very candid with her, Rayencourt says he thinks the Jedi are a "delusional cult" asking who will be strong enough to stop a Jedi who "snaps" and loses control of their emotions. Vernestra hastily shows him the door, but not before he reveals that he's reported her.

As Osha and Qimir fly away, we get our first ominous look at a figure in the shadows - more on him later!

Vernestra gets the news that Sol is on Brendok and she readies herself to fly there. Sol, meanwhile, is reliving the tragedy of Osha and Mae's youth and hears whispers from the fortress. Osha sees Qimir disappear. Mae, meanwhile, has braved the climb up the rocks and hears Sol shouting for her. Qimir emerges and thanks Sol for bringing him to Mae. The pair of them fight.

Osha and Mae reunite and they argue about what happened in their youth. Osha blames Mae, while Mae claims Sol lied to Osha. Osha reveals she never became a Jedi because she couldn't control her anger towards Mae or her grief over their mother. Mae says she witnessed Sol killing their mother, and Osha lunges at Mae. The pair fight, paralleling Sol's fight with Qimir.

Soon Mae interrupts the fight, disarming Sol. Qimir orders Mae to kill Sol but she refuses, saying she wants Sol to confess and pay for his crimes. Sol says he wanted to protect them both, revealing that they're not twins, but are the same person. He says their mother used the force to create the pair of them - again, more on this later!

Sol admits to killing Osha and Mae's mother and Osha overhears. He said he had no proof to tell the Jedi, and that he kept the truth from Osha so she could have the life she'd dreamed of. He begins to tell Osha that he loves her, but before he can get the words out, he starts to choke as Osha uses the force on him. Sol tells Osha it's OK, and she kills her former Master. She goes on to wield a red lightsaber, with Mae looking concerned.

Mae leads Osha away as Vernestra and her troops arrive and find Sol dead. They also hear whispers from the fortress and Vernestra orders her troops to search for Osha and Mae. They believe they've got to safety but Qimir finds them. Osha says she'll train with him if he lets Mae go. To protect them from the Jedi, Qimir wipes Mae's memory, to remove all traces of Osha and him. The sisters share a final hug and Osha promises to find Mae again. Vernestra's troops find Mae and arrest her - but of course she has no idea what for.

They take her to see Vernestra who asks Mae what she remembers. Mae remembers fire destroying her home and that a man killed her mother. She says there's someone she needs to tell but she can't find her. Vernestra gives testimony about what happened on Brendok all those years ago, and reveals that the Jedi conspired to cover it up. However, she claims that Sol killed his accomplices to keep the cover story, condemning Sol's actions, and claiming he ended his own life, using him to hide the emergence of the dark side.

Vernestra tells Mae that she's going to make things right for her, but that she needs help finding a former pupil of hers. But who could it be? Some fans have theorised it's Qimir and that the pair will come face to face once again.

We're left with a shot of Osha and Qimir looking into the distance as her training begins - or are we?

Why did Yoda make a cameo in The Acolyte?

There's one final surprise left in store for fans as we see Vernestra approaching a very familiar figure, appearing as though she's about to come clean.

She says: "Sorry to disturb you, Master. We need to talk," as the camera pans down to reveal none other than Jedi Master Yoda.

But why has Yoda made an appearance? It seems that Vernestra might need his help in tracking down this former pupil of hers - but it does complicate things somewhat. Vernestra using Sol to cover up the emergence of the dark side explains why the Jedi have no idea 100 years later about the rise of the Sith. But what if Yoda knew? Hopefully it's something that's going to be explored in a potential season 2!

Who is Darth Plagueis?

One other brief but key moment is the seeming appearance of Darth Plagueis, as we see a shadowy figure watch Osha and Qimir fly away to Brendok. Plagueis is mentioned in Revenge of the Sith by Palpatine, who tells Anakin about him using the Force to create life.

That should certainly sound familiar after it was revealed that Mother Aniseya "created" Mae and Osha using the Force. Will he have something to do with Aniseya going forward?

Again, we're hoping he has a key role to play in season 2!

Star Wars: The Acolyte is streaming now on Disney Plus. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £4.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.

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