The villain in “The Acolyte” is Qimir (Manny Jacinto), a practitioner of the dark side at a time in “Star Wars” lore when there weren’t many. He wears a wicked mask and has been training Mae for years to get revenge on the Jedi who wronged her and killed her mother. He encourages Mae to be ruthless and powerful. Osha, meanwhile, spent her childhood training to be a Jedi, trying to master the light sie before burning out and becoming an engineer. At some point, the two twins swap places, with Osha finding herself in Qimir’s company.

Darth Plagueis is shown in a cave on Qimir’s distant beach hideout in the finale episode of “The Acolyte” season 1. His presence has set off a lot of alarm bells, with some fans instantly assuming that he has something to do with the creation of Mae and Osha.

Headland wanted Darth Plagueis to be a part of the story from the start, but was initially unsure as to how she wanted to introduce him into “The Acolyte.” She ultimately revealed him about a third of the way through the show’s eighth episode, leaving the final “stinger” at the end of season 1 for another notable “Star Wars” cameo (namely, Jedi Master Yoda). She felt that shoving Plaugueis into the end would distract from Osha’s story arc. “I was okay,” she explained, “with having the cameo come so early if it meant I could wrap up these characters in a way that their final shot was not [an] ‘And he’s been pulling the strings the whole time’ feeling.”

However, Headland hastened to add that Plagueis’ presence spells doom for Qimir and Osha. It’s an ending full of hope, undercut by the gazing ghoul in the background.