– Spoiler Review –
Neeku is overworking himself to repair the Colossus as quickly as possible, almost to the point of exhaustion, he needs help. The discovery of an engineer’s distress call brings hope to the ship, but treachery seems to be afoot from the usual suspects… join me as I review the latest episode of Star Wars Resistance: “The Engineer”!
Life on the Colossus has never been harder. After jumping blindly into hyperspace to escape the clutches of Commander Pyre and the First Order, the Colossus is in bad shape. Having escaped the First Order, the ship needed hyperfuel, a new defense force, and food. Having recently secured all of those necessities, the crew feels like they can finally turn their attention to fixing the many mechanical problems that plague the ship. Neeku and Kaz are working as fast – and as best as they can, whatever that means for them individually – to fix these issues, but it is taking a toll on Neeku. He even at one point says that he doesn’t need to sleep, but is far more concerned with fixing the ship! I can’t help but love Neeku and his self-sacrificial personality, but this was a really sad moment. Thankfully, Doza and the crew knows that Neeku can’t keep this up forever, and think that they’ve found him help after intercepting a distress call.
This episode made me really happy at first, mostly because Neeku is one of my all-time favorite characters in a Star Wars franchise ever. I love watching him interact with the crew. His genuine compassion and excitement for life and the other passengers is really heart-warming, adding a layer of genuine likability to the show. Unfortunately, the episode isn’t all roses when Nena’s involvement on the Colossus adds some drama to the already tense crew’s days.
Kaz and Synara investigate the distress call, finding another Nikto stranded in the middle of space. Synara is initially suspicious of this woman, who claims to be the sole survivor of a First Order assault on her planet. Nena, the rescued woman, understands how lucky she is to have escaped from the First Order, and when brought aboard the Colossus, she quickly jumps to help Neeku fix the ship and its systems. The two work perfectly together, bringing the ship back into full operation sooner than Neeku could on his own. (A certain custodian is reunited with his cleaning device thanks to this amazing teamwork!) The pair were a lot of fun together, and for good reason: Neeku and Nena’s voice actors are married in real life. The two are quick to share their backstory, and we learn a lot about Neeku here. His parents, bantha farmers by trade, were supportive of Neeku’s engineering skills, despite their inability to understand what he was really doing. Nena shares that she was sold as a slave by Hutts and pirates, which causes her to doubt the pirates on board the Colossus.
Nena’s distrust of the pirates surfaces when she uncovers data suggesting the pirates are siphoning off energy for their own gain, taking more than their fair share. This season has explored, low-key, the growing tension between the pirates (who spent the entirety of season 1 attacking the fueling station) and the crew, but this episode really brings that to the center. I always wondered what life on the Colossus is like with the added wrinkle of living with pirates: can we trust Doza would fairly divide resources? Would they be treated like full citizens? This episode uses this tension to build more of a rift between the crew and the pirates than we had already begun to see in the previous episode. In light of the accusations, Kaz investigates Nena’s claims, but Synara proves them false – it’s not the pirates who are siphoning the energy. In fact, an investigation into Nena’s ship reveals that she has been tracking the Colossus and communicating with the First Order.
Once the secret is out, the rest of the episode plays out as you might expect. Nena returns to the First Order having disabled our heroes’ ship, leaving them defenseless as Commander Pyre and Agent Tierny (minus Tam, unfortunately) arrive to destroy the station. The heroes scramble to fix the freighter before time runs out, and they do. I can’t fault the show for wrapping up the plot line in a more generic action-adventure finale, but I was a little 
disappointed that we didn’t get to spend more time watching Neeku process the revelation that Nena was actually working against them.
Thankfully, the episode leaves the possibility of her returning to the show, one way or another, so it’s not like we’ll never have the chance to see her again. If anything, the first 3/4 of the episode shined as it gave Neeku the spotlight and let him really shine as a genuine person, fleshing out his back story and adding more layers to our favorite secondary character. Hopefully he gets more time in the spotlight as the episodes continue!
You can read fun behind the scenes details about this episode in the newest edition of Bucket’s List.
+ Neeku gets the spotlight
+ The cast grows a bit outside of the Colossus
– A generic ending hampers a fantastic front half
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”
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