– Spoiler Review –
The Colossus, near D’Qar, is in desperate need of supplies and the crew needs to come together if they are to survive! A downed First Order Destroyer might hold salvation for our heroes – or their destruction in the latest episode of Star Wars Resistance, “A Quick Salvage Run!”
This episode reminds me that all people don’t consume all of Star Wars. This episode is filled with in-jokes, references, and similar plot points to recent movies; the thing is, I’m learning that this isn’t really a bad thing. Let me start with a minor example before talking about the episode as a whole. In A New Hope, while Ben is taking down the tractor beam so that the Falcon can escape the Death Star, two stormtroopers discuss the VT-15 and 16. Both The Force Awakens and Rogue One reference this conversation as well. This episode opens with a similar conversation as Tam contemplates listening to Kaz’s message a second (maybe more?) time. Two TIE pilots pass talking about yet another advanced piece of technology. At first, this made me roll my eyes: this is at least the fourth time I can remember hearing a similar conversation. The joke has lost its charm!
But then I realize: maybe to me, who has heard it four times. But I started to wonder how many of the audience members have seen all of the movies, or maybe even any of them. When I started to think about it this way, I felt a bit better about the joke. But there are a few other similarities, which will structure the rest of the review.
The star of the episode is, again, Tam Ryvora. One similarity between this show and the films is that the main antagonist is troubled by their decision to join the dark side, and we see their pain play out across their face for most of their screen time. Both this series and the Sequel Trilogy, so far, rely heavily on mask imagery. Let’s start with The Force Awakens. As we meet Finn, Kylo, and Rey, all of their faces are covered by masks. Rey and Finn quickly unmask to show us the human beneath, helping us empathize with them more quickly. Kylo’s mask stays on, keeping his identity obscured until he tries to get the map to Ahch-To from Rey. Once his mask is removed, we see a more vulnerable, human side to him as well. In The Last Jedi, the mask is cracked, symbolizing his fractured psyche. Tam’s mask plays a similar role in the show. At the end of the previous episode, she dons her new TIE pilot helmet, showing that she is now committed to the First Order. In this episode, we see her resolve already begin to fracture a few times. First, she is asked to give her comlink to Agent Tierny, which creates a moral conundrum for her. Second, she is asked to watch the destruction of the Colossus outside of D’Qar, which she is not very eager to follow up on. Rather than wear her helmet as protocol might demand, she holds the helmet in hand, only wearing it when instructed to do so. This creates a visual language that displays her reticence to completely buy the First Order’s MO that is almost as effective as the way that the show demonstrates it.
Another similarity in this episode to the films is the plot. The latter half of this episode feels very similar to Solo: A Star Wars Story, as it focuses on Kaz, Neeku, CB-23, and Kragan Gorr taking coaxium from the downed First Order ship that was destroyed and left orbiting D’Qar. As First Order opens fire on the ship, the crew has to find a safe way to deliver the coaxium to the Colossus before it explodes. While they don’t make the Kessel Run with superheating coaxium, the tension feels similar: will the fuel explode and destroy the ship, or will they be able to use it to escape the First Order? This doesn’t bring a lot of tension to older viewers (not only do they have plot armor, but we know they probably won’t explode in a brutal fashion), but I can sense that the tension for younger viewers might be ramping up a lot.
A final comparison (that I’ll make, but I definitely haven’t exhausted the comparisons) is between an episode of Star Wars Rebels and this one. In “Brothers of the Broken Horn” Ezra feels overloaded from the training he is receiving from both Rex and Kanan, especially as both are pulling him in opposite directions. When he meets Hondo Ohnaka, the pirate life offers a welcome reprieve from the stresses of Jedi training and preparing to fight in the Galactic Civil War. In this episode of Resistance, Neeku wonders what it would be like to be a pirate. This is played mostly for comedic effect, and doesn’t have the same heart behind it as Ezra’s considerations. That being said, it was still a funny subplot, and I thought it was a nice call-back.
I said I would explain why this is a good thing. As a lot of Star Wars fans become parents, it could be hard to find ways to introduce the series to our kids. Thankfully, while there are some series geared toward younger viewers, like Forces of Destiny, Galaxy of Adventures, or Roll-Out, Resistance offers a TV show built on the same themes as the films. This thematic introduction to Star Wars would prepare younger viewers perfectly for the series they are about to watch.
I do want to note that I am growing more frustrated with how the show handles Kaz. I know that the show is built on the concept that he is a terrible spy, but he has heart, so we should accept him, but this series is pushing it on how bad of a spy he would really be at this rate. His message to Tam is intercepted by the First Order, who uses it to track the Colossus to D’Qar. Pirate Synara San intuits right away that this message led to the First Order finding them. On the top of the hierarchy, Captain Doza and Jerek Yeager also investigate how the First Order learned about their destination. Their only hint? A conversation Kaz had with his father on the bridge of the Colossus where he said, in detail, where they were heading. Not knowing how he survived the Hosnian Cataclysm, and doubting his allegiance, the pair begins to suspect that Senator Xiono might have turned them in. Either way, Kaz is becoming a huge liability to the ship, and I hope the show quickly addresses this.
For a few bonus looks into the episode, you can check out the main site’s Bucket’s List.
+ Tam’s journey continues to be the high point of the season
+ The character dynamics on the Colossus impress as new alliances are formed
– Kaz’s development seems stalled for the sake of manufactured issues.
You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor!
STAR WARS RESISTANCE REVIEWS:
Season Two (by Chris) – Ep. 2.1: “Into the Unknown”
Season One (by Ryan) – 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. 1.18: “The Disappeared” | Ep. 1.19: “Descent” | Ep. 1.20: “No Escape” – Part One | Ep. 1,21: “No Escape” – Part Two