The Acolyte episode 4’s major character death was not shown, with the episode’s writer detailing why this was the case. As of The Acolyte episode 4’s ending, the Sith Lord working in the shadows revealed themself to the Jedi. This marked a major cliffhanger, with The Acolyte’s Sith introduction promised to be built upon in next week’s episode. The Sith reveal took place on Khofar, outside the hut of The Acolyte’s Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca whose inclusion in the episode disappointed many. Upon reaching his house, Kelnacca is found dead by Mae, with his death taking place off-screen.
Despite this disappointment, one-half of The Acolyte episode 4’s writing team – Claire Kiechel – took to social media to explain the choice surrounding Kelnacca’s death. Kiechel responded to an underwhelmed fan who wished to see a Wookiee Jedi fight, explaining that some elements of stories need to be removed to better serve the plot. Kiechel explained that Kelnacca’s fight scene and subsequent death were initially included in an earlier draft of The Acolyte episode 4’s script, but were removed as the mystery better served the investigative point-of-view of the episode’s tone.
The Acolyte Made The Right Choice With Kelnacca’s Death
The Mystery Of Kelnacca’s Death Better Served The Episode’s Masterful Ending
While the disappointment at not seeing Kelnacca square off with the Sith Lord is echoed by many, it ultimately was the better choice to remove the sequence. The fight scene would definitely have been great, but Kiechel is correct in saying it does not fit the overall tone of the episode. Much of The Acolyte episode 4 centers around two groups racing to find Kelnacca, whose life is in danger. This investigative tone culminates in Kelnacca already being inexplicably dead, leading to The Acolyte episode 4’s brilliant cliffhanger sequence.
The Sith Lord’s terror-inducing appearance is great and would have been much less impactful if he had been seen earlier killing Kelnacca…
The Sith’s introduction to the show is perfectly foreboding. Kelnacca is already dead, the sun of Khofar sets, and darkness – figurative and literal – enters the scene. The Sith Lord’s terror-inducing appearance is great and would have been much less impactful if he had been seen earlier killing Kelnacca. Leaving his first appearance to be one with little action and a dreadful presence was a great choice by the writers of The Acolyte, regardless of how cool it would have been to see a Wookiee Jedi in action.