Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode 5.

Summary

• The Acolyte episode 5 gives us insight into some Sith helmets blocking mind-reading, adding depth to the dark side warriors.
• The show's exploration of Sith villains stays true to the promise of delving deeper into the Sith in ways unseen before.
• The clever twist of Sith helmets obstructing Jedi mind powers mirrors a storytelling trick seen in Marvel's X-Men franchise, in which Magneto's helmet blocks Charles Xaviers' mind powers.

dark Sith villain of The Acolyte.

In an episode full of twists, turns, and stellar lightsaber choreography, The Acolyte episode 5 delivered the promise made by showrunner Leslye Headland upon its creation. Headland once explained that the then- Star Wars TV show would delve into the Sith in a way nothing else in the franchise has. The Acolyte episode 5 conveyed this, detailing more about the mysterious Sith villain of the show, from his identity to his motivations. Furthermore, however, The Acolyte episode 5 added context to Sith helmets by borrowing a neat storytelling trick from Marvel's X-Men franchise.

Sith Helmets Block Telepathy, Making It Impossible To Read Their Minds

The Acolyte's Sith Lord Revealed An Interesting Tidbit About His Helmet

In The Acolyte episode 5, the action gets underway quickly as the Sith villain begins massacring the investigating Jedi. Eventually, it comes down to a one-on-one between the villain and Jedi Master Sol, played effortlessly by Lee Jung-jae in The Acolyte's cast of characters. After a brief spar, Sol asks his enemy to reveal his face, leading the Sith villain to reveal an interesting fact about this specific face-covering.

This seems to indicate that the helmet worn by The Acolyte's dark character makes his mind impermeable to Jedi mind tricks...

The Sith villain responds to Sol's request to remove his helmet with the words, "And let you read my thoughts?" This seems to indicate that the helmet worn by The Acolyte's dark character makes his mind impermeable to Jedi mind tricks. While Sith helmets have long been an element of Star Wars canon, be it simply stemming from cool designs or in-universe reasoning like the necessity to Darth Vader's life, this idea that they help to obscure warriors from Jedi powers is certainly interesting.

The Acolyte's Sith Helmet Idea Is Lifted Straight From The X-Men Movies

Magneto Would Be Proud Of The Sith's Ingenuity

Incidentally, it seems The Acolyte episode 5's Sith helmet trick is lifted from Marvel, specifically the X-Men franchise. In the X-Men movies, it was revealed that Magneto wore his iconic helmet to stop his friend-turned-rival Professor X from entering his mind. The helmet nullified Charles' psychic powers, giving the two a level playing field when facing off against one another.

This idea was so ingenious that many do not realize it was created for the X-Men movies specifically. As a testament to the plot point, X-Men comics have since embedded the idea that Magneto's helmet blocks Charles' powers. Now, Star Wars is following suit. The idea that Sith helmets can block Jedi mind powers adds a new level of depth to the former warriors and their designs, proving to be just another way that The Acolyte is delving into the dark side in a way no other project in Star Wars canon has.