“The Acolyte” proved what female fans have known all along: the powerful sex appeal of the dark side.

The dark side of the Force has never been more violent and compelling than in the latest Star Wars series, “The Acolyte.”

In the June 25 episode “Night,” we learn that the zany apothecary Qimir (Manny Jacinto) is actually a Sith Master known as the Stranger, who has been secretly training assassin and acolyte Mae Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg) for several years. In one shocking sequence, Qimir brutally kills several Jedi, including stabbing one in the chest multiple times and breaking another’s neck. Equally surprising are the reactions to Jacinto’s portrayal of the Stranger, or more specifically, the appeal of his Sith Master alter ego.

“I understand now what Kylo Ren’s daughters were doing. That’s my Kylo Ren. That’s my Adam Driver.” tweeted user X emmailene_.

Similar reactions to the Outlander have been pouring into the internet, with people commenting not only on his appearance but also on his sneering, nonchalant response to the murder of some of the major Jedi characters, both intrigued and horrified by his callousness. People who hadn’t even watched “The Acolyte” or weren’t Star Wars fans suddenly expressed interest in the series after seeing fan-made gifs and montages of the big reveal, like this one.

The online reaction to Qimir’s true identity reveals a tension common to the entire Star Wars franchise: Is the story serving up a dark side appeal to entice us to tune in, or perhaps to distract us – and the main characters – from the dangerous evil associated with the dark side?

Or are there other facets to the deliberate use of physically attractive dark side characters to tell a story from a different angle?

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) once chastised Rey (Daisy Ridley) for going to the dark side for “a pair of pretty eyes” in a deleted scene from “The Last Jedi,” after he caught her touching Kylo Ren’s (Adam Driver) hands with the Force.

Indeed, the dark side of the Force can be very seductive. In “The Empire Strikes Back,” Master Yoda tells Luke that it can “dominate your destiny; it will consume you,” referencing the central conflict of the Star Wars saga: the push and pull between the light side and the dark side, good and evil. Those words can also accurately describe how more recent dark side villains, especially those who have arrived on our screens in the 21st century, are among the most popular and coveted characters in the series. We’re talking about Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker, Driver’s Kylo Ren, “The Clone Wars”’ Asajj Ventress, “Ashoka’s” Shin Hati, to name a few.

In the case of “The Acolyte,” the series uses the female gaze to tell the story from a woman’s point of view, where women are portrayed as subjects with power and influence over the plot, rather than the other way around. The female gaze also filters the story and supporting characters through a lens that is opposite to the male gaze, which has traditionally objectified women on screen.

Manny Jacinto as the Stranger in “Star Wars: The Acolyte” (Lucasfilm Ltd.)As Qimir fights multiple Jedi, he is ruthless and unafraid to fight unfairly. In one extremely skillful move that dares to challenge audiences’ conceptions of what dark side Force users can do, he splits his red-bladed lightsaber into two separate ones, using the shorter one to attack his enemies by surprise. In another move, he short-circuits a Jedi’s lightsaber by headbutting him while wearing his helmet and uses the Force to move another onto his lightsaber to kill him. There is a raw aggression to Qimir’s Outlander persona that seems less refined than we’ve come to expect from the dark side. His confidence borders on arrogance and his demeanor somewhat disconcerting, evident when he nonchalantly reverts to his previous disguised voice while joking in the middle of a serious fight. The dark side is very, very human, which is what makes it appealing. And the show knows it.

Although the episode “Night” was directed and written by men, the female gaze is nonetheless at work in this particular episode. This is the main reason why Qimir and the revelation of his true identity became such a draw for the series, particularly for female viewers, practically overnight. It’s not just that Jacinto is portrayed in a physically appealing style, shown with wet, messy hair and bare, ripped arms, an image that seems to be aimed specifically at female viewers. It’s also the fact that Qimir is shown on screen from the point of view of Mae and later, her twin sister Osha (also Stenberg) – and “The Acolyte” never strays from this.

Empathy of Darkness

Applying the female gaze to the dark side of the Force takes anger, aggression, and power—traits that Yoda once called the “alluring” aspects of the dark side—and literally represents them in the guise of a villain who is not only frightening but also physically attractive and highly competent. From a female perspective, the temptation of the dark side can take many forms.

At the end of the episode, after the surviving Jedi have escaped the battle, Qimir is seen draping his cloak over an unconscious Osha in a show of tenderness that contrasts with his earlier acts of violence. This is a key aspect of Qimir’s appeal. Series creator Leslye Headland has said that when she cast Jacinto, she praised his approach to the character because he did so “with the most empathy possible.”

Manny Jacinto as the Stranger in “Star Wars: The Acolyte” (Lucasfilm Ltd.)Yes, Qimir is terrifying, but there is also a spark of humanity somewhere in the swirl of his violent nature and philosophy that makes him appealing. The dark side of the Force has always been characterized as a raw element of the galaxy that cannot exist without the light side and vice versa. Luke, Anakin, Rey, and now Mae and Osha have all been tempted by the dark side and struggled to come to terms with the darkness within them. In the cases of Rey, Mae, and Osha in particular, the female gaze paints their dark side villains with more complexity, whose inner conflicts and mysteries one can’t help but find compelling.

It is precisely because Qimir is scary and dark that he is attractive to women, as it implies that he would accept their dark side as well. He is violent, but he also does not judge Mae when she wants to exploit his darker tendencies, which allows him to be a more rounded and endearing character. He later does the same for Osha who, disguised as Mae, cannot help but look at Qimir with terrified interest when he questions her about killing a Jedi when they first met.

I’m a loser, baby

The female gaze also favorably portrays the side of Qimir that goes against conventional attractiveness, a characteristic that can only delicately be defined as “loserism.”

Long before Qimir is revealed as the stranger in “The Acolyte,” he presents himself as a simple apothecary who bumbling through life and selling shady goods for a living. His long side-swept bangs recall the emo types of early MySpace.com, which contrasts with the strict machismo of alpha males whose charm might lead them to explain things to women and talk over them. He seems a little pathetic, like the quiet guys who sit in the back of the class with a hoodie over their heads, but at the same time all the more intriguing for his mystery.

And yet, he can be approachable at times. There is a brief comedic scene where Qimir accidentally falls asleep while waiting for Mae and another moment with a humorous tone where he wears glasses and greets Osha lightly. But this side of Qimir is still intelligent and listens to the two women when they talk, leading Mae to call on his help despite being slightly wary of him and Osha finding him creepy but interesting.

Manny Jacinto as Qimir in “Star Wars: The Acolyte” (Lucasfilm Ltd.)Underdogism is appealing because these individuals have embraced their seemingly humble identities without seeking external validation, which contrasts with the typical male hero who may have underlying insecurities that he projects onto others. What’s exciting about Qimir is that it’s unexpected that a galactic outcast could be so confident and self-assured about his darker, more socially unacceptable traits.

The same can be said of Kylo Ren in the Star Wars trilogy. In fact, Headland draws a parallel between the two characters when she notes how Kylo Ren’s theme plays out in the aforementioned Qimir and Osha scene in “The Acolyte.”

In “The Last Jedi,” when Rey calls Kylo Ren a monster for killing Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in their second Force-bonding scene, he responds with “I know,” implying that he’s well aware of his own flaws and perhaps wracked with guilt over his choices. When he offers to train Rey not once, but twice, he puts himself at her mercy to accept or reject, which the female gaze describes as the culminations of both strands of Rey’s story.

Although “The Last Jedi” was written and directed by a man, director Rian Johnson always kept the story’s focus on Rey and every scene she had from his perspective. Kylo Ren not only represented the darker side of Rey’s emotions and temptations, but he also served as her companion who listened to her as she vented about her loneliness. In the cabin scene where they touch hands, Kylo Ren is literally bathed in a soft, warm light as he assures Rey that she is not alone. And remember the famous shirtless scene where Rey connects with Kylo Ren in another Force vision and he turns around in just his high-waisted pants, causing a huge…