The following contains spoilers for The Acolyte, Episode 6, "Teach / Corrupt," now streaming on Disney+.

Mystery continues to surround the latest wielder of the dark side to enter the Star Wars universe. The Disney+ series The Acolyte unmasked its possible Sith Lord in Episode 5 and now Episode 6 of the series, "Teach / Corrupt," has delved deeper into the villain's motivations. Officially dubbed the Stranger, The Acolyte's fallen Jedi was initially introduced to viewers as the unassuming Qimir, a trader who was able to source the deadly equipment required by Mae as she completed her training in the ways of the dark side. Episode 5, "Night," saw the Stranger's Cortosis mask removed by Jecki, revealing Mae's master and Qimir were one and the same.

"Teach / Corrupt" saw Qimir returning to the unnamed planet where he has made his home, bringing his acolyte's twin sister, Osha, along with him. Here, he began to tempt Osha towards the dark side, in hopes that she might succeed where her sister failed. While held captive by Qimir, Osha learned more about him, asking him about his history and what it was he was looking for. Qimir cryptically hinted at what he hoped to gain through training an acolyte, evoking both the traditions of the Sith and a rare Force power introduced in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

The Stranger Wants to Create a Force Dyad

In his cave on the unnamed world where he brought Osha, the Stranger told her that he made a mistake with Mae, believing she wanted the same as him. When Osha asked the Stranger what it was that he wanted, he told her that he sought "the power of two." Duality has always been a prominent theme in Star Wars, as the franchise is built on stories of masters and apprentices, twins and the conflict between light and dark. However, the Stranger's words seem to suggest he wants to manipulate a specific and rare phenomenon that can occur within the Force, as established by the Star Wars sequel trilogy: Force dyads.

The concept of a dyad in the Force was first referenced and explained on screen in the final installment of Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker. The movie saw the Dark Lord of the Sith, Emperor Palpatine, return from the dead to seek out his "granddaughter," Rey. In order to capture Rey, he recruited the grandson of Darth Vader and former apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke, Kylo Ren. What Palpatine did not initially realize, however, was that a unique bond existed between Rey and Kylo in the Force. Kylo told Rey that they were a dyad in the Force: "Two that are one."

In the climactic final scenes of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine realized the truth of the bond between Kylo Ren -- now redeemed as the Jedi, Ben Solo -- and Rey in the Force. As he attacked the two Jedi, Palpatine found he was able to feed on the life force of their connection, fully reviving his desiccated form. While Palpatine's followers in the Sith Eternal cult on Exegol had 30 years to create a new body for the slain Sith Lord, their efforts had only succeeded in producing a frail and half-formed clone of Palpatine's original body, reliant on an external life support system. However, the power of Ben and Rey's Force dyad was enough to fully restore Palpatine with minimal impact on the two Jedi, demonstrating the power of this unique Force bond.

Individuals bound as a Force dyad have been shown to possess Force abilities beyond those of other Force wielders. Controversially, The Rise of Skywalker also introduced Force healing, showing both Rey and Ben using this ability to heal one another and others by transferring some of their life essence through the Force. Following the movie's release, the 2020 reference book The Star Wars Book retconned this power to be something that was only made possible by Rey and Ben's bond as a Force dyad, rather than a power that could be utilized by any Jedi or Sith. As well as explaining why the ability hasn't been used more in Star Wars history, this addition to the lore hints at the breadth of power that is only accessible to Force dyads.

The Sith Rule of Two and Dyads in the Force

Of course, hearing Qimir -- who suggested the Jedi might label him a Sith, whether he truly is one or not -- speak of "the power of two" also evokes the Sith Rule of Two. First mentioned in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, the Rule of Two was a Sith doctrine that dictated there could only ever be two Sith Lords in the galaxy: a master and an apprentice. This philosophy emerged shortly before the Sith went into hiding and was created in response to the Sith's collapse through infighting. Sith Lords' inherent lust for power drove them to constantly turn against each other in a desperate fight for supremacy, leading to the downfall of their order. Darth Bane introduced the Rule of Two so that the Sith would no longer be devastated by such internal conflicts.

The Rule of Two did not eradicate violence between Sith entirely, but rather made it an essential part of the Sith's continued existence. Eventually, every Sith apprentice would attempt to kill their master in order to take their place and take on an apprentice of their own. However, in Disney's new Star Wars canon, the Rule of Two was inspired by more than just preserving the Sith. The concept was preceded by the Doctrine of the Dyad, an ancient Sith teaching, proclaiming the significance of the Force dyad. Following on from the Doctrine of the Dyad, the Rule of Two saw Sith masters throughout the ages attempt to form Force dyads with their apprentices. Darth Plagueis was unsuccessful in his efforts to achieve this with Palpatine, who was in turn unsuccessful in attempting to create a Force dyad with Darth Vader.

The Acolyte could well be focusing on the connection between the Sith Rule of Two and Force dyads through Qimir. The Star Wars series may also be drawing one more connection. Qimir's description of his ultimate goal as "the power of two" echoed an earlier moment, from Episode 3, "Destiny." This episode -- which took place 16 years prior to the rest of the series and followed Osha and Mae as children on Brendok -- saw the twins attending their Ascension ceremony. This ritual was intended to mark the twins' transition into witches, as full members of their coven. The Ascension ritual saw the coven chanting the words "The power of one, the power of two, the power of many." It appeared to take two of these witches -- Aniseya and Koril -- to create the girls, who were born as twins. It's possible that the mothers or the twins were a Force dyad and this attracted Qimir's attention.

Darth Plagueis' Efforts to Form a Force Dyad

Qimir's interest in harnessing the power of a Force dyad could point to a connection to another major Sith Lord from Star Wars history. The novelization of The Rise of Skywalker revealed Darth Plagueis had attempted to forge a Force dyad with his own apprentice, Darth Sidious, later known to the galaxy as Emperor Palpatine. Plagueis' interest in creating a Force dyad may well have tied into his pursuit of using the Force to create life -- an ability that Palpatine told Anakin Skywalker Plagueis had mastered and one that was clearly known to the witches of Brendok.

Qimir has already hinted to Osha that he may possess the ability to prevent death or extend life through the Force. In "Teach / Corrupt," he told her he was once a Jedi. When Osha said she had never heard of him, he said it was a "very long time ago," implying he is far older than his relatively youthful appearance would suggest. Some fans are theorizing, based on the whip-like scar Qimir says he received from his Jedi master, that Qimir's master was Vernestra Rwoh, who was seen wielding her lightwhip in Episode 6. Rwoh is a long-lived Jedi Master, over 100 years old by the time of The Acolyte, so it is plausible she trained Qimir long ago and that he has maintained his youth through the Force. This could suggest that Qimir is -- or will become -- Disney's canon version of Darth Plagueis.

Further evidence that Qimir may be Plagueis, or at least have some kind of connection to the death-defying Sith Lord, has been presented by the unknown planet to which he has brought Osha. While fans initially assumed this might be Ahch-To (the site of the first Jedi temple, as seen in Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi), showrunner Leslye Headland has since confirmed that is not the case. A popular alternate fan theory claims the planet could be Bal'demnic, a world from Star Wars Legends rich in the rare Cortosis ore used by the Stranger in his helmet. Significantly, in Legends, Darth Plagueis held the rights to mine Cortosis on Bal'demnic in his civilian guise, Hego Damask II. Even more poignantly, it was on Bal'demnic that Plagueis killed his master, Darth Tenebrous. Perhaps Qimir's connection to this planet (if he and Osha were on Bal'demnic)is a nod to his true identity.

New episodes of The Acolyte are available to stream every Tuesday on Disney+.