Evil rises in a galaxy far, far away, and the conclusion of “The Acolyte” finale paves the way for a phantom threat The “Star Wars” show concluded its first season with an episode packed with plot, action, death, cameos, and allusions to future events from the films

“Star Wars” fans are especially buzzing over these cameos and whether “The Acolyte” episode 8 will set up a possible second season And does “The Acolyte” Episode 8 hint at a possible second season?

Warning: spoilers

Episode 7 finally reveals what happened at Brendoc years ago Sol (Lee Jung-jae) killed his mother Aniseya (Jodi Turner-Smith), and the Jedi inadvertently wiped out the entire witch clan

In episode 8, all of the surviving players return to Brendock, the site of the incident and apparently where the Force originated They include Sol, twins May and Osha (Amandla Stenberg), Kimia/The Stranger (Manny Jacinto), Master Varnestra (Rebecca Henderson) and the Jedi team

As Osha and Kimir depart, a mysterious figure emerges from the cave - apparently Kimir's dark side master (more on this later)

A lightsaber fight ensues between Sol and Stranger until the Jedi team's ship arrives at the temple, where the twins engage in hand-to-hand combat May confronted Sol about her mother's death, and Osha secretly listened as Sol tried to explain and apologize An enraged Osha ended up choking her once beloved mentor to death, killing him without a weapon, just as the Stranger wanted May to do

Osha and Stranger prepare to flee from the approaching Jedi, but first he erases May's memory so that she cannot tell him where they are

Back on Coruscant, Varnestra blames Sol for the past events and covers up the entire incident She then approaches someone to discuss the matter further

At the very end of the finale, Vernestra enters the room of one of the most famous Jedi of all time Although only the back of his head is visible, it is clear that it is Yoda

“Sorry to interrupt, Master I need to talk to you”

Of course, Yoda is still alive and well in these times In the film, he is several hundred years old, and “The Acolyte” takes place about 100 years before “The Phantom Menace”

The cameo appearance of the little green Jedi Master is a bridge between that film and the events of the show In the film, the Jedi Council is stunned to discover that the Sith are active

Clearly, Vernestra's cover-up by blaming Sol as a rogue Jedi is working Since Yoda appears to be as surprised as the other Council members in The Phantom Menace, it is unclear whether she will tell the truth It is also possible that it was an act

It is unknown if Yoda is complicit in the cover-up; a second season of “The Acolyte” may tell us more

Another cameo early in the finale caused a stir among “Star Wars” fans; as Qimir and Osha left his home base of Bal'demnic to go to Brendok, a shadowy figure appeared from a cave

He was not identified, but was most likely Darth Plagueis, the notorious Sith Lord Not only does the figure resemble Plagueis, but the timing of his being there is also correct

The story of Darth Plagueis the Wise was told to Anakin Skywalker by Chancellor Palpatine in “Revenge of the Sith” As Palpatine explained, Pragueis was obsessed with immortality and experimented with midi-chlorians to find ways to cheat death and create life Pragueis was eventually killed by his apprentice, Darth Sidious, aka Palpatine

Pragueis' appearance in the finale of “The Acolyte” raises many questions Is Kimia a young Palpatine? Or was there another apprentice before Sidious? Will Kimir adopt May and then Osha as his apprentices because of how they were created? Will they be experimented on by Playguis?

Disney Plus has not yet renewed “The Acolyte” for a second season

As noted above, the finale certainly set up many questions and potential storylines to explore in season two While most of the major Jedi characters like Sol are dead, others could be introduced Vernestra could become a more important character, and we could find out if Yoda is involved in her cover-up Season 2 may show Osha's apprenticeship with the dark side under Kimia and Preguis, and the latter's experiments with the midi-chlorians

However, the prospects for “The Acolyte” Season 2 are not very good The ratings are low Disney Plus does not release viewing data, but according to the Nielsen tracking service, “The Acolyte” has the second-lowest ratings of any “Star Wars” series and the second-lowest viewership (although the lowest is the critically acclaimed and praised “Andor”) Despite the fact that “Acolyte” is “not as beloved as” “Andor” and has a smaller audience than “Ahsoka,” it costs more to produce

So, there will be no money spent on “Acolyte” Season 2