The Acolyte: Who Is Rayencourt?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Acolyte Season 1, Episode 6, “Teach / Corrupt.”

The Acolyte‘s latest installment, “Teach / Corrupt,” teases a new adversary for the Jedi Order: Rayencourt. So, who is Rayencourt and what kind of threat does he pose to the Jedi?

Related: Who Was the First Sith Lord in the Star Wars Canon?

The Acolyte’s Rayencourt, Explained

Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh and Senator Chuwant briefly discuss Rayencourt midway through The Acolyte Season 1, Episode 6. During this exchange, we learn that Rayencourt is a senator with significant pull in the Expansion Region – the area between the Inner and Outer Rim in the Star Wars universe.

Why does this matter to Vernestra and her fellow Jedi Knights? Because, according to Vern, Rayencourt “has never been a friend of the Jedi” and is using other senators’ “fear” of the order to stir up anti-Jedi sentiment in the Expansion Region. What’s more, Rayencourt’s efforts have been so successful that the Galactic Senate is virtually guaranteed to greenlight the external review of the Jedi Order he’s campaigning for.

Related: The Acolyte: How Does the Sith Master’s Special Lightsaber Work?

The timing of this isn’t great, considering The Acolyte‘s plot hinges on a potential Jedi cover-up 16 years earlier. As such, a third-party review risks exposing wrongdoing on the Jedi Order’s part, damaging its reputation as a galaxy far, far away’s gold standard peace-keeping force.

It’s unclear whether we’ll see this subplot expanded on in The Acolyte Season 1’s two remaining episodes. After all, showrunner Leslye Headland previously confirmed some narrative threads will remain unresolved when Season 1 wraps up. It’s similarly up in the air whether Rayencourt himself will turn up in Season 1.

Why Is Senator Rayencourt Causing Trouble for the Jedi?

At this point, you may be thinking: why would a senator mess with the Jedi? Aren’t they on the same side? Yes and no. While it’s true the Galactic Senate and the Jedi Order are sworn allies, individual senators sometimes rock the boat for their own gain.

As Chuwant tells Vernestra in The Acolyte Season 1, Episode 6, a go-getter like Rayencourt could increase his own power by chipping away at the order’s. This is especially true during The Acolyte‘s High Republic setting, when the Jedi are arguably at the height of their political influence.

Related: Is The Acolyte’s Sith Master Connected to the Sequel Trilogy’s Knights of Ren?

Jedi weighing up how to handle the Senate calls back to the wider Star Wars canon, too. Notably, in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Yoda advises Mace Windu not to inform the Senate that the Jedi Order’s Force capabilities are diminished. While this info seems like something the senators should know, Yoda successfully argues that airing it will attract additional enemies.

The Acolyte Season 1 is currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping Tuesdays.