– Spoiler Review –
The Colossus picks up a distress call broadcast across Resistance frequencies…Kaz, Yeager, and Synara investigate, but what dangers are they walking into? Join me as I review the latest episode of Star Wars Resistance “The Missing Agent!”
A Resistance spy is in trouble on Varkhana, in the middle of a small village with a bustling bazaar. A Duros named Norath Kev, a Resistance spy, is being chased through the village by an imposing bounty hunter, an Iktochi with a vibro-axe. The Duros has a list to protect, and is so desperate for help that he broadcasts a call for help across all Resistance channels. The list that he has is apparently so vital to the Resistance that he feels confident asking for help, despite the Resistance’s meager fleet and support system. (As far as we know, this episode takes place while they are building the fleet again, as chronicled in Journey to The Rise of Skywalker.) Unfortunately, no help arrives in time to protect Norath from Axe Tagrin’s…axe. (Which came first, the name or the axe? The world may never know…)
Kaz, on board the Colossus, monitoring Resistance frequencies, picks up the distress call and convinces Captain Doza to let him and Yeager check out the cause of the signal. They also bring Synara, who notes that she is usually only brought on missions when they need some added guns. The trio doesn’t really have a lot of chemistry together (Synara and Yeager don’t interact a ton, and when they do, it’s more mission focused than friend focused), making the leads for this episode odd bed-fellows. Despite a lack of chemistry, it’s nice to see both characters given more prominent roles, as both have been featured in previous episodes, but mostly with only one or two lines or serving as a background character. As the series has shuffled between different characters in each episode, some characters end up being side-lined for weeks, as these two have been lately.
As the three explore the surface of Varkhana, they are noticed by a local shopkeeper named Lechee (delighfully voiced by Fred Armisten and named after Leeland Che), who tries to offer them some of his many wares. Unfortunately, he has ulterior motives: he recognizes them as off-worlders and alerts his buddy Axe about their imminent arrival. Thankfully for our heroes, Axe doesn’t move very quickly, and they discover Norath’s list in his house, the same list that he was trying to protect. The list contains names for shopkeepers who work with the First Order, selling them weapons or materials on the black market. At some point, Leeche sold out Norath to the First Order and Axe came to collect him. As Axe arrives at the house, the heroes barely escape to confront Leeche. CB-23 does her best to intimidate Leeche in one of the series’ funniest moments, and he eventually spills his guts to them. This episode has some of the most natural humor of the series, proving that it doesn’t need to rely on the slapstick humor that it has in the past for two major reasons: First, it’s ultra-embarrassing to Kaz, who has now been proved as fairly competent; Secondly, the writers proved that they can be pretty funny on their own, and write great material for great comedians who can deliver the material super well.
They race to Axe’s ship, where they have a climactic battle after damaging his ship. Axe calls in the First Order, whom bring a Star Destroyer, putting both the crew on the ground and the Colossus in extra danger. The episode ends on a cliff-hanger, leaving us to wonder how our heroes will escape the First Order this time – or if it will be the final time they come across the dangerous Captain Pyre.
To be completely frank, I wasn’t sure how I felt about this episode before I started writing. Writing this review has helped clarify my feelings a little bit, as I realized that I was fairly bored with this episode. The MacGuffin, the list of First Order sympathizers, doesn’t seem like a pressing need for the Resistance to devote resources to. Or, if it is, the episode did not impress the importance upon me. I can probably extrapolate a reason to grab the list, but I think that’s more on the show to provide that than for me to figure it out. The stakes also feel pretty low, both in terms of how our heroes will escape and emotionally hollow, as it seems like the next episode will show a standard “escape the First Order story,” but it will be divorced from the Tam Ryvora storyline that gives any story featuring the First Order an emotional core.
+ Both Yeager and Synara have something to do in this episode – finally!
+ Natural humor both in the writing and delivery
– Low emotional and storytelling stakes prevent me from fully buying in
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” | Ep. 2.2: “A Quick Salvage Run” | Ep. 2.3: “Live Fire” | Ep. 2.4: “Hunt on Celsor 3” | Ep. 2.5: “The Engineer” | Ep. 2.6: “From Beneath” | Ep. 2.7: “The Relic Raiders” | Ep. 2.8: “Rendezvous Point” | Ep. 2.9: “The Voxx Vortex 5000” | Ep. 2.10: “Kaz’s Curse” | Ep. 2.11: “Station to Station”
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