‘The Acolyte’: Is Carrie Ann Moss’s Jedi Master Indara Doomed?

The Acolyte promises to introduce us to an intriguing new cast of Jedi—and perhaps none more intriguing than Carrie-Anne Moss’s Indara. Described by StarWars.com as “a Jedi Master of great physical and mental skill,” she’s a key player in the ferocious face-off highlighted in the two trailers for the show so far, and she seems positioned as a leading figure for the Jedi during the High Republic era. However, on a show where Jedi are being hunted by a mysterious, dark force, that might not be a good thing. Here’s why we’re anxious about Indara’s fate.

She Might Be Too Powerful

In an interview with Empire, The Acolyte’s showrunner, Leslye Headlund, described Indara as “the most powerful Jedi in the room.” That’ll probably make for some eye-catching fight sequences, but will it also paint a target on Indara’s back? If the Sith are looking to destabilize the Jedi at this point in time, what better way to do it than to kill not only a leader among their ranks, but one of their most skilled and strongest warriors? Being powerful might win Indara the battle we glimpsed in the trailers, but it might not save her life.

In addition, in these types of stories, a powerful or unexpected character often dies to show that the villain is a credible threat; consider Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) killing Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) on The Walking Dead, or the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones. It’s always better to show the audience that they should fear an antagonist rather than tell them, and having a strong or beloved character die by that antagonist’s hand is a great way to build fear… and hatred.

There’s a Disturbance in the (Present-Day) Force

If you were paying attention to Carrie-Anne Moss’s character in the trailers—and why wouldn’t you? That’s Trinity!—you might be confused by this article. Indara appears in plenty of scenes, showing up with several other gold-robed Jedi in differing, as-yet unknown locations. If she’s so heavily highlighted in the trailers, how could she be killed off early? The answer is unfortunate, and simple: flashbacks.

If you pay even closer attention to Indara in the trailers, you’ll notice she sports two different hairstyles; a ‘do with sideswept bangs, and a ponytail with two strands of hair framing either side of her face. Based on Jedi Master Sol’s (Lee Jung-jae) two distinct hairstyles, one shorter (pictured above) and one longer, we can assume The Acolyte intends to incorporate flashbacks. In what we assume is the present, we only see Indara during the fight scene with Mae (Amandla Stenberg). In every other scene, Indara has bangs. Uh-oh.

The Classic Audience Misdirect

Casting a big-name actor only to kill their character off early is a time-honored tradition in television and movie storytelling. Scream did it with Drew Barrymore; more recently, Only Murders in the Building did it with Paul Rudd. While an early death for Indara would certainly sadden fans of Moss and The Matrix, it wouldn’t be unheard of for The Acolyte to feature Moss in promotional material only for her character not to survive. So, while we certainly hope it’s not the case, we’re preparing for Indara to become one with the Force.

The Acolyte, 2-Episode Series Premiere, Tuesday, June 4, Disney+