How the Narrative Regarding ‘The Acolyte’ Review-Bombing Is Changing – The Show Is Just Bad

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been bombarded by headlines about how critics are praising this about ‘The Acolyte’ or praising that about ‘The Acolyte’. The word “praise” was the most used word associated with the show, so when the audience score plummeted on Rotten Tomatoes and other aggregator sites, both the studio and critics had an explanation ready – it must be the hate surrounding the show.

Now media outlets are collecting their own opinions on what could cause ‘The Acolyte’ to lose ratings, and it’s likely that it’s not hate – the show is just bad.

Recently, ComicBookMovie.com published an opinion piece titled “THE ACOLYTE Review Bombing – A Counter Argument From A Traditionalist.” The author discusses criticism and controversy surrounding the series ‘The Acolyte’, particularly addressing accusations of review bombing due to its diverse, primarily female-led cast.

They critique media narratives blaming fans for negative reviews and argue that issues such as poor writing, inconsistent storytelling, and mishandled character development are more likely reasons for the show’s negative reception. The author questions the focus on diversity as a scapegoat for criticism, emphasizing the importance of balanced storytelling and effective world-building in engaging audiences.

It was a fairly detailed piece that summarized everything that was wrong with the show starting with portraying the Jedi in a bad light, like they are the ones doing the oppression (oh the horror! laying down the ground rules on how to use something extremely powerful and dangerous) and ending with the argument that the show actually wants to to sympathize with the villains.

This is something that bothered me the most about episode 3, the fact that I’m pushed in the direction of empathizing with the witches, despite them clearly being the bad guys. Forcing children to lie, forcing them to join the cult, brainwashing them, and putting the burden of the world on their backs before they can even begin to comprehend what kind of powers they have at their disposal.

There’s also the fact that the witches did something really nasty with the force to create life. So no, you can’t exactly empathize with them no matter how it is framed.

Forbes’ own Erik Kain pointed out that critics did not approach ‘The Acolyte’ objectively, and it seems that being a critic nowadays requires you to “like the right things” and “dislike the wrong things.”

Again, I feel like I’m living in an alternative universe reading these, one in which being a critic no longer requires you to be critical, but rather rewards you for simply liking the Right Things and disliking the Wrong Things. One of these quotes gushes over the “impressive fight sequences” while another says it doesn’t rely on “copious action scenes.” But really, the number of reviews calling this some version of a “compelling mystery” or a “riveting thriller” or “STAR WARS HAS NEVER DONE THIS THING BEFORE’ simply boggles my mind. None of this is even remotely true. I say this as someone who has been mildly entertained by this series so far and will gladly watch the next four episodes. But really, you have to be realistic about these things. The only ground being broken here is in the cemetery where they bury our hopes and dreams.

It’s too early to tell whether ‘The Acolyte’ will be a definitive flop since we still have 5 episodes to go through, and I’m honestly very scared at what comes next. The writing is clearly extremely amateurish and the creator relied on the wrong plot devices to keep the “audience” engaged.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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