Star Wars Resistance Season One Finale Review: “No Escape” – Part One

– Spoiler Review –

Star Wars Resistance‘s first season is coming to a close, and while the first part of its finale, “No Escape,” starts like most other episodes, it ends on a devastating note for Kazuda Xiono.

The destruction Starkiller Base wrought on the galaxy stung only a little when watching The Force Awakens, John Williams’ score doing most of the heavy lifting, as we didn’t know much about the Hosnian system or its people there. But watching it again here, through the eyes of Kaz, who grew up there and whose dad is Hosnian Prime’s Senator, the destruction caused by Starkiller Base digs straight for the feels. Ever since the mid-season trailer teased we’d be crossing over with TFA and Hosnain’s destruction, I’ve been curious to see how/when Kaz would learn about it, but having him watch it happen is far beyond how I ever expected the news to reach him. For what had been quite the fun, bumbling antics-full episode up until Hux’s speech, it’s one helluva 180° turn at the end, like a gut punch right in the stomach. The show hasn’t made it as readily known that Kaz was from Hosnian, originally revealing such information in a supplementary video, but it was made loud and clear this episode that’s exactly where Kaz comes from, and I appreciate such clarity as we headed towards the unfortunate moment from the films. How this affects Kaz will be the most interesting to see, as he’s in the middle of an operation to free his friends from the First Order, which had an end goal of heading home and getting help from his dad to free the Colossus, but now that option has been completely wiped and we already know the Resistance won’t be able to come help, General Leia’s message last episode notwithstanding. Will this only strengthen Kaz’s resolve earned back in “Descent,” or will he sink like the station already is? Considering we have another season coming, I imagine it’ll be the former, but it might not be easy as he deals with the trauma of losing his family and his home, much like Leia did all those years ago.

One of the ways they might free themselves from the First Order is the revelation the Colossus isn’t really a station…it’s a ship in itself, as it has its own hyperdrive! A little over a month ago, one eagle-eyed fan realized that a BTS concept art rendition of the full Colossus looked eerily similar to Skystrike Academy, a ship which housed an Imperial training program for TIE Fighters back in the early days of the Empire, as seen in the Star Wars Rebels episode, “The Antilles Extraction,” where the Rebellion, via Sabine, recruits Wedge Antilles. Knowing the Colossus has a hyperdrive, the comparison is all but confirmed, and while it might not be Skystrike itself, it’s not entirely impossible, and I’m curious if Captain Doza’s time in the Empire had him there at one point/he had anything to do with bringing Skystrike out to Castilon, otherwise the Colossus is another version of ship like Skystrike. This points to a wildly different second season, because if the show is still on the Colossus but it’s now mobile, maybe Kaz can be out and about with the Aces, striking against the First Order, saving planets/recruiting allies to the Resistance’s cause while they are being whittled away by the First Order. I expect the show will travel into a timeline post-The Last Jedi at some point in its second season, if not straight from the beginning, as well. This is an exciting development I can’t wait for the show to take advantage of in season two, as I won’t lie, I’d be disappointed if they kept the Colossus on Castilon, as taking it elsewhere would help mess up the First Order’s plans, and keeping it there would give them the option to return and use it as originally intended.

Who might throw a literal wrench into what happens in the second half of the season one finale, or even the second season of the show? Tam, of course, who is no match for Agent Tierny, though her friends helped create her situation a little themselves. Tierny uses the lack of information Yeager gave to Team Fireball about Kaz’s true purpose against him, because as Tam sees his fake confession on Kaz’s behalf and calls him out on it, Tierny argues he didn’t trust her enough with the truth. It’s not entirely incorrect, but Yeager’s silence was more to keep the innocent members of the team safe from any fallout, but instead of revealing everything as the FO’s presence increased and Tam’s point-of-view regarding their arrival was clear, he doubled down on his silence and helped create a situation Tierny could so easily exploit. In what I am sure was a planned moment by Tierny, Tam runs into Yeager as he’s being thrown in a cell with Captain Doza (arrested at the outset of the episode), and she lets him have it for keeping her in the dark, though it’s more Tierny’s words than Tam’s own. Yeager tries to warn Tam she’s being manipulated, instead of doing the right thing and confessing why he didn’t tell her anything, and her resentment against Yeager only grows. When we last see Tam this episode, Tierny is offering her a chance to be the pilot she always dreamed of by joining the First Order, and Tam seems to accept the offer. Will Kaz coming to rescue her, if he can manage it, be enough to help her see Tierny’s manipulations? Will the Hosnian System’s destruction remind her of Kel and Eila’s words about their village’s destruction and help her get out of Tierny’s spell? Or will the show surprise, especially despite its younger skewing mentality which hasn’t been as much of a hindrance as I was originally concerned about, and have Tam go all in on the First Order and trying to bring her back to the light will be a major focus of season two?

Update: Here’s my review of the second part of the season one finale, “No Escape”

Here are a few other things:

• True highlight of the episode for me: CB-23 vs BB-Hate! Oh my word, a battle of ball droids was everything I ever wanted to see and the battle here didn’t disappoint, as I loved CB’s tactics and Chopper-esque destruction of the FO’s evil BB.
• Getting to see 4D, Captain Doza’s protocol droid, kick some major butt was a great little reveal.
• Flix and Orka’s plan was funny and a nice little distraction/check-in, but it felt a little bit like a waste of time for the episode, but hopefully they’ll get involved someway with the second half of the finale.
• Didn’t Kel and Eila say the shell-folk, one of which was used as a hilarious distraction, taught them to control the ship but then they are all just slamming buttons? It was funny and provided some good tension as Kaz escaped Scuba Steve Troopers, but it seemed silly to have them say they learned what to do than be of no help when needed the most.

Plenty of questions and plenty of options ahead for Star Wars Resistance to take the second half of the season one finale, “No Escape,” as the first part’s brutal ending is just the tip of the iceberg (or Colossus, as it were).

+ Gut punch of an ending

+ Tienry using Yeager’s silence against him to manipulate Tam

+ Exciting potential ahead for the second half of the finale!

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. 1.18: “The Disappeared” | Ep. 1.19: “Descent” | Ep. 1.21: “No Escape” Part Two