At the beginning of Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 2, Mae arrives to kill Master Torbin. After an unsuccessful attempt at physically attacking him, Mae tries to poison him with a green, glowing vial. To everyone’s surprise, he willingly drinks the poison offered to him by Mae.
Here’s an explanation of why Master Torbin drank the poison.
Why did Master Torbin commit suicide by drinking poison in Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 2?
Master Torbin drank the poison to gain forgiveness from Mae for an unknown crime he committed in the past.
When Mae enters Master Torbin’s chamber for the first time, she learns about the impenetrable force field surrounding him. In his meditative state, which he has been in for more than 10 years before the events of The Acolyte, Torbin is invulnerable to physical attacks. Upon realizing this, Mae leaves and goes to an apothecary’s shop where Qimir is waiting for her. He then prepares the Bunta poison and hands it over to her in a glowing green vial.
When Mae arrives with the poison, she says to a meditating Master Torbin, “Confess your crime to the Jedi Council or receive the forgiveness you seek…Right here. Right now. From me.” While what exactly went down years ago is still unknown to viewers at the end of Episode 2, it was enough to cause Torbin great distress and make him commit suicide by drinking the poison.
Just before picking up the vial, Torbin tells Mae, “Forgive me. We thought we were doing the right thing.” Osha arrives first at the scene where she discovers Master Torbin lying dead on the ground. She spots the vial and realizes they are too late. Soon after, the rest of the gang arrives with Master Sol.
We will most likely learn about Master Torbin’s crimes in the past before the end of the first season of Star Wars: The Acolyte.