The Barash Vow: Explaining the Star Wars comics term referenced on The Acolyte

The latest Star Wars TV show, The Acolyte, is now streaming on Disney Plus, with its third episode hitting the streamer today. As noted by the official Star Wars Twitter account, however, the second episode of the show, ‘Revenge/Justice,’ contained an intriguing link back to Marvel’s Star Wars comics.

In ‘Revenge/Justice’ the assassin Mae attempts to kill Jedi Master Torbin, only to find him silently meditating (and floating several feet off the ground). It turns out he was practising the Barash Vow – an oath of penitence taken by members of the Jedi Order that involves detaching themselves from the rest of the Order to concentrate on communing purely with the Force.

The term originated in the pages of Marvel’s Darth Vader comic, specifically 2017’s #2 by writer Charles Soule, artist Giuseppe Camuncoli, inker Cam Smith, and colorist David Curiel. In that issue the Dark Lord of the Sith is seeking the locations of the Jedi who took the Barash Vow, thinking them easy targets for assassination. When his search brings him face-to-face with Jedi Master Kirak Infil’a, however, he’s not quite the sitting duck that Vader was expecting.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Although this was the first time the term was used in the real world, in the Star Wars galaxy it dates back to hundreds of years earlier and the High Republic era – yes, the same time period as The Acolyte show. It’s named after Barash Silvain, a Jedi Master who vowed to temporarily halt her actions as a Jedi following a disastrous mission on the planet Gansevor which led to much bloodshed. Over the years many more Jedi have taken what quickly became known as the Barash Vow. 

It seems like there’s no set path for how long a repentant Jedi will spend pursuing the vow. Torbin in The Acolyte has been meditating in this state, we’re told, for more than ten years. Given that length of time and his dying response being, “Forgive me. We thought we were doing the right thing,” it seems clear that Mae probably has quite a lot to be angry about.

For more on The Acolyte, jump into these explainers, guides, and cast interviews:

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