– Spoiler Review –
In the season premiere of Resistance season 2, Kaz and Neeku’s blind jump into hyperspace puts the Colossus in danger. Meanwhile, an old friend adapts to life in the First Order…
This is the story about how Resistance almost lost me, got me back, and didn’t decide if it wanted to keep me or not. Or, maybe, more accurately, how I judged Resistance against shows that it was never trying to emulate and how that put me down a path to disappointment before the show won me back.
I want to take a few paragraphs and look back on season one as I prepare to review the new season of Star Wars Resistance. I haven’t been too quiet on Twitter about the fact that I am not personally moved by the show very often. In short, I find the show a bit too heavy on the slapstick, a bit too slow in the pacing, and too constrained by having to remain on the Colossus, “docked” on Castillon. But before I really spend too much time talking about what I wasn’t a fan of, let me talk about what I was a fan of.
One of the strengths of the show for a while was the characters. I wasn’t initially enamored with Kazuda Xiono, the New Republic-pilot-turned-Resistance-spy because, well, I didn’t totally understand why a pilot would need to be grounded and turned into a spy if the Resistance has actual spies. (You’d think Leia would want to send Vi to do what Kaz is doing and vice versa, but I digress.) My mind was slowly changed, though, when I started to ask why he would be sent as a spy. It sort of works for me now that I’ve made a realization: it’s simply because the Resistance wasn’t really in a spot to be picky about the people it sent to complete some missions. Not only that, Kaz started to grow on me. At first, his personality was a little grating. But the more we got to know him and see his character, the more I realized he was a pretty good guy. He was friendly, tried his best (even if he was distracted and would rather fly and spy than learn how to live undercover), and was always willing to help.
Even though I grew to like Kaz, there were a handful of characters that I was more enamored with more quickly. Neeku has quickly become one of my (and probably quite a few people’s!) favorite characters in the show, and maybe even in Star Wars animation as a whole. He consistently gets a laugh from me, and it’s honestly really nice to have a genuine character in the series. There are too many badasses and ultra-serious military types that a little levity is a much welcomed break. I really enjoyed the different types of characters that we saw, from pirates to pilots to shopkeepers to mechanics. Star Wars doesn’t always seem interested in those types of characters, and when they are, we only see a few at a time. The large side cast really helped sell the Colossus as a living community.
The Colossus itself, though, proved to be far too limiting a context for me to totally be engrossed in. I know some viewers liked having a smaller world, one that we could grow more familiar with more quickly. I personally found that too limited, not allowing the series to explore a lot of the galaxy that Star Wars has teased. Thankfully, this was amended a bit when we saw some of the sea life of Castillon. These were some of my favorite parts, reminding me of the quirkiness that helped me fall in love with Star Wars the first time.
I mentioned in the beginning of this article that I compared the show too quickly to previous animated shows. I think, when both The Clone Wars and Rebels started, a lot of older fans had concerns that the shows would be too kid-friendly. The worry was first caused when we realized that the shows would be animated cartoons rather than the live-action shows we might have wanted or expected. The fears weren’t alleviated when the first couple episodes of both were fairly kid-friendly. (Who could forget Snips, Skyguy, Stinky, or Ezra and Zeb’s ill-fated meiloorun shopping adventure?) It only took a few episodes for the entire tenor of each show to change. While there were some kid-friendly episodes later, the series generally maintained that more serious tone. Resistance never had that total tonal shift, so I was left a bit disappointed, waiting for the darker shoe to finally drop.
Resistance doesn’t seem interested in matching that tone. And, to an extent, it doesn’t need to – the series clearly has a different audience and tone in mind, and I admire them for sticking to their guns. It may not have entirely worked for me, but I was determined to push through. (That’s what happens when you are a completist and read, watch, and listen to everything that’s released.) Unfortunately, the slapstick was always way too over-the-top for me in a way that was extremely distracting.
I think I’ve said enough about the past season. Or, at least, enough for now. I’m sure quite a bit of it will come up as I continue to review the remainder of the season. But for now, let me turn my sights on the first episode of season 2!After the Colossus jumps to (near? in the general area of?) D’Qar in last season’s finale, I was pretty pleased to learn that the galaxy was opening up for us. I was maybe looking a bit too far into the future, though, as this episode is still based mostly within the Colossus. We do see some new areas, like the control room and some new spaces below the deck. I would have enjoyed seeing new areas last season, but I was a little underwhelmed here, looking for something more.
Thankfully, it was really the character moments that helped the episode stand out. The series was billed, to an extent, as a series about racing and racers. While we got to know the Aces (the best pilots around!) some last season, we really only got to know Torra Doza, daughter of Captain Doza, captain of the Colossus, and Hype Faizon. Torra is a young woman, but brave beyond her years. Last season, she helped undermine the First Order while they were on the Colossus. Now she steps up to take part in repairing the Colossus and helping the crew reach D’Qar. While we’re not seeing a full character arc yet, I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent with Torra and I am excited to see her continue to mature as the danger around her does.
But the real star of this episode is Tam Ryvora. Over the course of the season, we learn that she is somewhat sympathetic to the First Order. Really, she has bought into their idea that they are dedicated to bringing order to the galaxy, something that she seemed to think was missing under the New Republic. We also learn that her grandfather was once employed by the Empire, which helps her believe that the Empire was dedicated to helping the little guy. All of this seems to cast aspersions on her view of the Resistance, so she and Kaz are sometimes at odds, even though she doesn’t entirely know why. But, that’s not the only distance between them. Last season, Tam was constantly side-lined by the main plot and the events within the plot. Though she is the more talented mechanic and pilot, spending countless hours and credits on the Fireball, only Kaz is allowed to fly it. She is also constantly kept in the dark by Kaz, BB-8, and Yeager, which alienates her from people she considered to be her family. As Kaz’s secret mission is brought to light, and she learns that he was a spy for the Resistance, she leaves the Colossus with the First Order and becomes a TIE pilot for them. One of the best moments of the series, especially this episode, was the scene where we see her finally don a TIE pilot helmet and take stock of herself in the mirror. This is a decisive moment for her: not only has she dressed herself in First Order finery, but she does so after ignoring a coded message from Kaz where he tries to explain himself and apologize. The cord has been cut, and Tam’s choice is made: now, the season will see her take part in the chase to find the Colossus and bring down the Resistance.
The episode wasn’t entirely dark, though. There were moments of levity that both brought the mood up (literally) and some that just fell flat for me. Most of this episode’s plot is based on the main cast’s effort to restore both communications to the Colossus and turn its gravity back on. The Colossus is stranded in space near, but not entirely close to, D’Qar, so they are floating aimlessly, hoping that they might soon be found. Without communications, though, they are doomed to float and wait for the First Order to catch them. Unfortunately, a First Order BB unit from the previous season has stowed away, aiming to send a coded message to the First Order so they can track down the Colossus. The tension in this episode is real, so the humor helps cut it a bit. While the gravity is off, we see the patrons of Aunt Z’s cantina floating in the air, having fun in zero-g. These make for some delightful moments in a way only Star Wars can provide. Unfortunately, we also see a lot of slapstick humor where Kaz falls…or can’t lift something heavy…or just bumbles around. I hope kids find it funny, I truly do, but I just can’t handle as much as this episode tried to offer. It does help cut the tension a bit, but it might cut it too much. (Some might compare this to The Phantom Menace. Others might just do it subtly.)
In all, this was a strong start to the season. I’m excited to see what happens to the crew and where the series goes from here. But I am also excited to be a part of the review process here!
+ Broadens the Colossus and promises new adventures
+ Great character work on Tam and Torra
+ Danger feels more real now than before
– Slapstick still too much
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. 2.2: “A Quick Salvage Run”
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