The third episode of Disney+’s Star Wars series The Acolyte is, if nothing else, a bold swing. After two episodes of fast-moving storyline in which Jedi are investigating what appears to be an open-and-shut murder case that (of course) gets more complicated — two episodes which notably end in a cliffhanger — the third episode entirely shifts back in time 16 years to explain the backstory of the show, and seemingly answer some of the core mysteries at play. (Key word: “seemingly.”) It is, I suspect, the episode that will make or break The Acolyte for many fans.

I’ll be honest — I’m in the former category. I love that the show is making these kinds of choices, and that it’s still being sneaky in doing so. I really don’t think we have the full story of what actually happened on Brandok 16 years earlier, which is a surprisingly exciting thing to watch unfold. (I note with no small sense of suspicion that the director of this episode, Kogonada, is slated to direct the penultimate episode of the season as well; I wonder if that will be another flashback episode to give more of the game away.) There’s something playful and thrilling in seeing a show so playful with its structure, and so confident in the same, that it chooses to spend the entire third episode as a flashback without even so much as a framing sequence.

Add to that, it’s an episode that challenges a lot of traditional elements of Star Wars lore. Mae and Osha being witches, and raised in an environment that actively rejected the very idea of the Force is a glimpse at a version of the franchise that is so much bigger than we’ve previously seen — as is, bluntly, the portrayal of the Jedi as authoritarian scolds, as opposed to the humorless-but-benign good guys we’re used to seeing. It’s an episode that is, ultimately, additive to Star Wars lore in a significant way, but in such a way that those who have fixed ideas of what Star Wars “is” might not be entirely down with. Which, in itself, is somewhat thrilling to see.

To do all of this in a show set at the earliest point in the chronology of the franchise, in terms of live-action projects, is also an exciting proposition, as it opens up the possibility of an entirely different history of Star Wars that follows the witches and their teachings throughout the timeline that we’ve seen unfold in the Skywalker Saga. Again, the galaxy ends up becoming larger as a result, if that idea is taken to its logical conclusion, with the addition of stories that don’t just rely on the established version of events, but arguably require an alternate viewpoint altogether.

But, again: maybe all of this is antitetical to what Star Wars means to fans, who expect something that hews closely to established canon, as well as stories that don’t jump around in time in the telling, and rely on the very clear morality of the universe as created by George Lucas back in 1977. That’s not a bad thing, if that’s the case — but it’ll be interesting to see how many fans stick with The Acolyte past this third episode, and if they’ve been turned on or off by what happened.

The Acolyte’s opening two episodes delivered the biggest series premiere for the streamer this year, with 4.8 million views in one day, and 11.1 million views across its first five days. Will this week’s episode shift the audience one way or another in any big way? We’ll keep our eyes peeled to find out. (Even though, as Jedi Master Sol told us, the eyes can deceive us…)

Turn back the clock 100 years before the earliest Star Wars movie and enter the era of the Disney+ series The Acolyte. We have everything you need from guides on the cast, the episodes (and their release dates), it's not-for-kids rating, where it fits in the Star Wars timeline, how the show asks who 'deserves' to use the Force, as well as bigger picture things such as a complete Star Wars watch order, and a comprehensive guide to the Star Wars timeline, and all the upcoming Star Wars movies & TV shows on the horizon.