“A vergence in the Force.” It’s a term we first heard in The Phantom Menace, when Qui-Gon Jinn described young Anakin Skywalker as a vergence in the Force to the Jedi Council. Because of this fact, Qui-Gon believed it was absolutely imperative that the Jedi must train Anakin. And we heard the Star Wars terminology, “a vergence in the Force,” used again in episode seven of The Acolyte, “Choice.” We learned that sixteen years earlier, Master Indara’s team of Jedi on Brendok, including Master Sol and Kelnacca, viewed the Star Wars planet as a vergence in the Force and that the Jedi Council sent them to investigate this potential phenomenon.
The Acolyte Introduces a new “Vergence in the Force”
On The Acolyte, Master Indira described a vergence as “a concentration of Force energy centered around a location.” Thanks to a hyperspace disaster a century earlier, chronicled in the High Republic novel Light of the Jedi, the Jedi thought Brendok was lifeless. But its ecosystem was actually thriving, leading the Jedi to believe that this remote Star Wars world was a vergence in the Force. Master Sol elaborated, saying a vergence could create life, such as they see appear on Brendok. “Nothing could be more important to the Jedi,” said Sol. When Torbin learns that the Brendok coven created the twins Mae and Osha on The Acolyte, he says that could only happen because of a vergence. He says the twins are living proof of a vergence on Brendok.
Other Vergences in Star Wars
Brendok is not the first location Star Wars implies to be a vergence. However, it is the first time anyone uses that specific term. In The Clone Wars animated series, the world of Mortis was such a place. As a Force ghost, Qui-Gon explained it to Obi-Wan, telling him that Mortis is “a conduit through which the entire Force of the universe flows.” That world was the home to entities that were avatars for the dark and light side of the Force. The Clone Wars also describes Dagobah in terms that suggest that the planet is also a vergence in the Force, which is why Yoda chose it as his home during his exile. But here, the vergence is used in a whole new way in the Star Wars series.
A vergence in the Force surrounding a person was a new Star Wars phenomenon in The Phantom Menace. Mace Windu seemed shocked a vergence could even form around a person when Qui-Gon presented him with young Anakin. But on The Acolyte, we encounter a different kind of named vergence. This time, the vergence is a place, one that can be used by Force users to heighten their own powers and to literally create a specific kind life. Interestingly, life that ends up being very powerful and attuned to the Force.
The Acolyte‘s Vergence is a Star Wars Location, Not a Person
The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland confirmed for Nerdist that the vergence is not Mae and Osha. She said plainly, “The girls themselves are not a vergence in the Force.” And added, “They needed…again, however they got here…the act of creating them was going to need amplification. Therefore, we came around to the decision that the vergence was on Brendok, and that it would remain mysterious. So that way, if we went back there in future tellings of the story, we could uncover a little bit more about what is actually there.” The twins were created on Brendok because the Star Wars planet itself was a vergence.
What Could This New Vergence From The Acolyte Mean for Star Wars?
In The Acolyte, Qimir (potentially a Sith, or something else dark-sided) is looking to manipulate an unusually strong Force user for his own benefit. First Mae, and now Osha. Maybe he knows they share a consciousness. In The Acolyte, we see the tug of war over a prodigy in the Force play out a century earlier than it will over Anakin. But since we know the Jedi survive another century into the prequel era, we also know this plan will fail for the Sith. However, when Darth Sidious discovers a vergence in the Force, which is a living being, that plan will work. But Star Wars: The Acolyte certainly begs the question, what if the wrong hands knew a vergence of the Force could create Force-sensitive life?
We’ll have to wait and see what role this new vergence plays in The Acolyte and in the greater Star Wars universe.