In the wake of The Acolyte’s first-season finale, Amandla Stenberg described Mae and Osha as distinct people shaped by different lives—not simple embodiments of good and evil. She saw Osha’s choice to kill Sol and bleed his kyber crystal as both a reclamation of agency and a tragedy, and said she played the tension between Osha and the Stranger without treating it as an explicitly romantic relationship.
How Stenberg made Mae and Osha feel like different people
Stenberg played both twins and approached them as separate characters with their own physicality, histories and ideological differences. “First off, I thought it would just be more interesting if they were very different people,” she told James Whitbrook in io9’s July 19, 2024 interview, “The Acolyte‘s Amandla Stenberg Reflects on the Duality of Her Star Wars Journey”.
She wrote extensive backstories for each sister and used the flashback material to imagine how their paths had diverged. That preparation gave her a way to make their differences specific to their experiences, rather than relying only on the fact that one was Mae and the other Osha.
What Stenberg meant by the twins’ connection to the Force
Stenberg recalled asking creator Leslye Headland during pre-production whether the twins were clones. Headland told her, “No, it’s going to be related to a vergence in the Force.” Stenberg then used the idea of the sisters as “representations of the light and the dark side of the Force,” with their essences shifting “like yin and yang.”
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That was Stenberg’s acting lens for the relationship, not a complete technical account of how a vergence works in Star Wars canon. Her emphasis was on duality and movement between opposing forces, not on making either sister a fixed symbol of virtue or evil.
Why Osha’s choice is a “victorious tragedy”
In the finale, Mae gives up the chance to kill Sol with his own lightsaber. After Sol confesses what happened on Brendok, Osha kills him through the Force and bleeds the kyber crystal in his blue blade, turning it red. The official StarWars.com recap of episode eight confirms that sequence.
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Stenberg described the moment as “kind of like… sort of a victorious tragedy, or a tragic victory.” In her reading, Osha is shocked, but also feels that she has reclaimed power. After suppressing her emotions, she has permission to feel—and makes a consequential choice rather than simply being carried along by events.
Stenberg expanded on that idea in a July 23, 2024 StarWars.com interview with editor-in-chief Kristin Baver. She called Osha “the true main character, not Mae” and described her arc as finally allowing herself to “let go, release control, and let the Force come through her.” Stenberg said the team wanted Osha to face options and choose one, rather than be manipulated into her decision.
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What Stenberg said about Osha and the Stranger
Stenberg said she was not consciously playing Osha and the Stranger’s relationship as an active romance. What mattered to her was that Osha encountered someone who saw her in her darkest and deepest parts. That recognition creates intimacy and tension, even as Osha’s allegiance changes.
She also said the story was intended to carry romantic tension and a sense of union without explicitly portraying the relationship as romantic. That distinction matters: Stenberg described an emotional undercurrent in her performance and the story, not a confirmed romance.
Rank #4
- STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE: This action figure is inspired by the live-action series on Disney+ -- a great gift for collectors and fans ages 4 and up
- PREMIUM DESIGN AND ARTICULATION: Star Wars fans and collectors can display this 6 inch action figure (15 cm) -- featuring premium design and multiple points of articulation, including soft goods -- in their collections
- SERIES-INSPIRED ACCESSORIES: This Mae (Assassin) figure comes with four knife accessories and a removable face wrap
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How the finale leaves the twins
The ending reverses the sisters’ positions. The io9 interview describes Mae choosing memory loss to protect Osha, while Osha takes Mae’s place as the Stranger’s apprentice. The official recap says the Stranger leaves Mae with no memory of her murder spree; it also notes Yoda’s appearance in the closing scene.
That reversal connects the finale’s plot to Stenberg’s interest in duality: the sisters’ roles shift, but neither becomes a simple stand-in for one side of a moral binary. The series is set about 100 years before The Phantom Menace, according to Lucasfilm’s series page, which identifies Stenberg as playing Mae and Osha, Lee Jung-jae as Sol, and Manny Jacinto as the Stranger.
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Best Value
- STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE: This action figure is inspired by the live-action series on Disney+ -- a great gift for collectors and fans ages 4 and up
- PREMIUM DESIGN AND ARTICULATION: Star Wars fans and collectors can display this 6 inch action figure (15 cm) -- featuring premium design and multiple points of articulation, including a soft goods robe -- in their collections
- SERIES-INSPIRED ACCESSORIES: This Padawan Jecki Lon figure comes with a Lightsaber accessory, including a removable blade
- WINDOW BOX PACKAGING: Display Star Wars fandom on your shelf with window box packaging featuring sleek character design
- BUILD YOUR INTERSTELLAR SCENE: Look for more Star Wars Black Series action figures to build a collection of galactic proportions on your shelf! (Each sold separately. Subject to availability)
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