– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars Resistance’s “The Disappeared” sees the First Order begin some truly sinister plans to bring the whole of the Colossus under heel.
There’s nothing wrong with being a fan of the bad guys, as it doesn’t automatically make you a bad person; look at the members of the 501st, who might dress up as the Empire, but are a wonderful charity organization around the world. In-universe, people like Tam are okay with a little order if it means losing chaos, like pirate attacks, but it doesn’t make her a bad person. Most denizens of the galaxy don’t understand the scale of evil from organizations like the Empire and the First Order, but “The Disappeared,” is a no-holds barred reminder that fascism, be it space/fantasy/real-life, is unequivocally evil. As the FO’s grip on the platform gets tighter, grounding the Aces and stopping any further races, their time spent over the past few episodes in taking the Colossus census data comes to fruition: any dissenters of the FO suddenly start to go missing. The top racer, Hype Fazon, is gone, leaving a vacuum of ego in his wake; Aunt Z is no longer around to tend bar, leaving her droid totally overwhelmed by the influx of the customers with nothing to do now that the races have been shut down. With the show spending so much time focusing on its characters, on the little things, their absence not only feels more glaring to us, but it’s even easier to feel how much of a vacuum they leave for our remaining characters. It should be a wake-up call to the Colossus, but most people don’t quite connect the dots between the FO’s presence and these disappearances, but we know they’ll all learn the lengths of the horrors the FO will go to once their strike on the New Republic in the Hosnian System happens.
Having Tam continue her investigation into Kaz’s whereabouts/actions was a great hold over from last week’s episode, as it would be a disservice to her character if her suspicions disappeared just like all the citizens this week. The Fireball still has scars from his little flight through a planet’s core and as a master mechanic, she’s unable to avoid wondering where the hell he got it from, as she continues to be kept out of the loop and her suspicions only deepen. Kaz is obviously not an FO fan, whom she still sees as protectors, and all his odd absences and actions have her concerned. At the end of the episode, Commander Pyre is in the Fireball’s hanger, waiting to arrest Kaz, so is she responsible for calling them in, thus explaining why she’s with Pyre and First Order Security Agent Tierny* as seen in the mid-season trailer? Or is it due to Kaz’s previous actions, like in “The New Trooper” and/or stuff gleaned from the cameras around the Colossus/Doza’s recordings? Or is it still my dark horse for the FO spy (if there truly is supposed to be one), Torra? This episode made it harder than ever to believe my suspicions regarding her, as she helps rescue their friends/beat up on some stormtroopers, but I won’t change my mind until she is well and truly debunked. In the end, if it was Tam, I still really like her character, as I appreciate how Resistance is showing us how peacetime can breed the mentality that even a little chaos, like occasional pirate attacks, is enough to make losing some freedoms for protection feel worth it, as all those living in peace have known is times of calmness.
When Aunt Z says she’ll take her fellow detainees to Takodana, in their newly stolen FO shuttle, because she has a friend there, of course one has to wonder: Maz Kanata?! I mean, they do both run bars. But them going to Takodana isn’t that simple given when this show is taking place, as we’ve officially stepped into The Force Awaken’s timeline after last episode, so when Aunt Z and co. make it to Takodana, will Maz’s castle already be destroyed? Will they get there before and get caught up in the battle there? If they get there before the FO’s strike, could they possibly end up dead, giving this little victory a sad ending? If they get there afterwards, are they the ones who get Maz off planet, as she was last seen handing Finn the Skywalker saber, and obviously survived considering we see her in The Last Jedi (already helping out a union dispute despite just losing her castle)? Or is Aunt Z’s friend not Maz, but someone else entirely? I can’t wait to find out if/where this leads or if it was just a neat little reference. Also, related to Aunt Z and Hype’s plight, I’m curious what the FO was planning on doing with the prisoners: hold them indefinitely, get them reprogrammed, or kill them? Easy way to scare people into joining your side if the those who dissent are all gone and never seen again, no matter which option the FO takes with those captured.
Here are a few other things:
- Getting excited for Star Wars Celebration Chicago in April and have wanted to cosplay as a Resistance character but haven’t had good reference photos? Then hear from Amy Beth Christenson, the Art Director, along with new hi-res reference photos, over at the official site for a great cosplay guide! *Also in the guide, revealing the identity of the female First Order security agent as seen in the mid-season trailer, interestingly enough.
- There’s only three episodes left and The Wookiee Gunner has the lowdown on their descriptions, including when we’ll see General Hux’s The Force Awakens‘ speech, as teased in the mid-season trailer.
- Another episode, another new, cool alien design. Keep it up, Resistance team!
Star Wars Resistance’s “The Disappeared” makes sure space fascism comes off just as bad as real life fascism, ending on quite the little cliffhanger.
+ Focus on the characters makes any of their disappearances more apparent
+ Tam’s suspicions
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
STAR WARS RESISTANCE REVIEWS:
Season One – Ep. 1.1/1.2: “The Recruit” | Ep. 1.3: “The Triple Dark” | Ep. 1.4 “Fuel for the Fire” | Ep. 1.5: “The High Tower” | Ep. 1.6: “The Children From Tehar” | Ep. 1.7: “Signal From Sector Six” | Ep. 1.8: “Synara’s Score” | Ep. 1.9: “The Platform Classic” | Ep. 1.10: “Secrets and Holograms” | Ep. 1.11: “Station Theta-Black” | Ep. 1.12: “Bibo” | Ep. 1.13 “Dangerous Business” | Ep. 1.14: “The Doza Dilemma” | Ep. 1.15: “The First Order Occupation” | Ep. 1.16: “The New Trooper” | Ep. 1.17: “The Core Problem” | Ep. 1.19: “Descent” | Ep. 1.20: “No Escape” – Part One | Ep. 1.21: “No Escape” Part Two