I've only played a male Exile so far, so I got Handmaiden instead of Disciple. Now I'm having the impression that Handmaiden being in my party was quite important for the main plot to continue. I often got cutscenes from the Polar Academy with Atris and the other handmaidens talking, especially after I turned her into a Jedi Guardian. After the last visit to the Dantooine enclave, Handmaiden became for a short time a crucial figure, once I even was playing as her instead of the Exile.
Now I'm asking for the following SPOILERS:
1. If the Exile is female: do you still get cutscenes with Atris? And if not, are there cutscenes related to the Disciple?
2. If the Exile is female: what happens after the meeting with the Jedi Masters on Dantooine has been ... terminated?
3. If the Exile is male: if you have Handmaiden in your party, yet do not train her to become a Jedi Guardian, does Atris still declare her to have betrayed her?