Warning: The following contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode 5! Turn back now if you’re not up to date on the Star Wars show!
The Acolyte episode 5 had its fair share of shocking moments: two major deaths (RIP Yord and Jecki), that mysterious Sith Lord finally unmasked, and Mae and Osha switching places.
One reveal, then, might have got lost in the mix – but it seems The Acolyte episode 5 has finally brought a Star Wars Legends concept into live-action.
In the episode, the Sith Lord is exposed as Manny Jacinto’s Qimir. During the lightsaber battles that follow, he’s repeatedly able to disable the weapons entirely. He’s not cutting off the energy blades, though, as they power back up again a few moments later. It seems his helmet and parts of his outfit are made from the metal cortosis.
Cortosis was introduced in Legends, and it makes lightsabers short circuit on impact. It’s also resistant to blaster fire, which explains why Qimir was able to shake off being shot by Osha.
It’s also appeared in canon before, first mentioned in the Star Wars Rebels novel A New Dawn. Cortosis has shown up a handful of times since, but this is the first time we’ve ever seen it in live-action.
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