– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars Resistance‘s first season premiered over the weekend with a two-parter, “The Recruit,” which sets the stage for the series and shows its heart is right on its sleeve, mainly for the better.
In all the press and media lead-up to the premiere of Star Wars Resistance, they’ve not made it a secret this show is aimed towards children, specifically referring to 10 year olds several times. Minutes into the premiere, it’s very clear the target audience is heavily aimed towards the aforementioned age, as the show wears its all on its sleeves, from the bright palette, very light violence compared to even Star Wars Rebels, to the high-speed racing focus. None of these aspects are bad, in fact, it’s a perfect fit for the age range but also can be enjoyed by people of all ages. In a way, I look at this like the IDW all-ages Star Wars Adventures comic series compared to the Marvel comics, as while both are SW comics, one will be packed with good messages and material suitable for any age fan who wants more SW, while other animated series like Rebels and The Clone Wars skew older like Marvel’s comics do, but neither is less or more SW than the other. It’s easy to tell if the show isn’t for you, and if you come in with the misguided ideal that Star Wars has been some grimdark DC Universe film all these years (which it has never been), you’ll be severely disappointed, as while this is the youngest skewing SW animated show yet, it’s true to the heart of what makes something Star Wars, from its main hero finding themselves with a found family that’s more important than their blood family to the hopeful attitude of those who are good in the galaxy far, far away.
From the very first trailer, I’ve enjoyed the design and animation of the series, and while it took a few minutes for me to get used to in a non-trailer setting, I love how it fits the tone and feel of the show. The bright, colorful palette makes it easy to identify certain individuals, as each character as a very distinct look, while events feel more lighthearted for its target audience. Fitting into that, the very light violence also keeps with the tone and feel of the show, as the throwing and the falling is played off for laughs but is a legitimate threat, while they set up the grimier aspects of the Colossus with some pushing and shoving between various background characters, there’s a full-on, funny bar fight where everyone seems more concerned about winning bets on who knocks out who than getting anyone killed, and the opening New Republic X-wing vs First Order Major Vonreg’s red TIE fighter battle ends up without anyone blown to pieces, with even the enemy TIE escaping relatively unscathed. In this opening hour at least, Resistance skews younger than Rebels, but there’s enough hints at deeper aspects to keep older viewers interested…if all the fun, humor, and racing focus didn’t hold their interest already.
Kazuda Xiono’s (Christopher Sean) mission sees him focusing on uncovering First Order activity on the Colossus, as the intel he and his fellow New Republic pilots were delivering to the Resistance confirms the First Order is amassing for an attack on the New Republic, with Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and General Leia believe the Colossus is being used to help fuel the attack. At one point in this series, someone we and Kaz have come to trust will show their true colors, revealing themselves to be a traitor, which will have repercussions for those who trust that person (my bets are on Jarek Yeager, by the way) and provide quite the twist for viewers. As for Kaz himself, after being handed things his whole life from a father who never asked him what he wanted, his journey of dealing with the hardships of finally being on his own, fitting in with Team Fireball, and fulfilling a mission he’s not properly trained for, seem like it’ll be full of good character growth and intriguing interactions with a wide cast across the show. And in a reveal from the Resistance Rewind series of videos, Kaz is from Hosnian Prime, aka one of the planets blown up by Starkiller Base (which made an appearance in the final seconds of the show), and since Resistance will crossover with The Force Awaken‘s timeline (the show is set 6 months prior), I can’t wait to see how this show deals with that juicy bombshell, no matter its target audience, as this is another example of opportunities for some real drama along the way.
Setting the show on some backwater planet refueling station makes for quite the fun setting, as its great variety of species, a different way of life than were used to seeing (zero Force users so far!), and the platform’s focus on ship racing combine together to offer tons of potential for exciting new adventures, unique storylines, and some high-flying action packed fun. I enjoy how the Colossus has its grimier aspects, but there’s glimpses of a better life lived by those who form Team Aces, the protectors and main racers of the Colossus, while the jokes about giant things in the water which might eat you has already been revealed to be true in trailers, meaning there’s going to be all sorts of dangers lurking in its corners. Torra Doza (Myrna Velasco) is high-energy, but quite the damn pilot, no matter if daddy runs the station or not, and I look forward to exploring more of her friendly relationship with Team Fireball and back-and-forth with Kaz. Jarek Yeager (Scott Lawrence), the leader of Team Fireball, was the most intriguing character of the premiere, as his past with Poe seems packed with quite a lot of tales, some good, some bad. And due to him taking on a bit of a mentor role to Kaz, albeit reluctantly, makes me vote for him to be playing both sides type of traitor, as doesn’t something bad always happen with the mentor character? The second most intriguing was Tam Ryvora (Suzie McGrath), as Yeager’s broken promise of her getting the Fireball sows some distrust between her and Kaz, while her headstrong attitude means there should be fun with her butting heads with various characters. The shop mechanics were neat characters, though how quickly they decided to help out Neeku once he so politely asks them leaves me curious about what he’s helped Flix and Orka with in the past. Speaking of Neeku, his naivete is endearing and provides plenty of good laughter, and I look forward to the next big misunderstanding he’ll make.
Here are a few other things:
- General Leia has a very brief appearance, but it might be far briefer than originally intended, as a bit of drama has unfolded with the voice actress Rachel Butera. When Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford was making a brave stand by giving a tough testimony to the entire world about the sexual assault she endured from the supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh (which unfortunately was not enough to prevent his nomination), Rachel Butera posted a video mocking Ford and her voice, which is about the most un-Leia like thing, the most un-Carrie Fisher like thing…ever. While Lucasfilm has been silent about the whole ordeal, was it possible her lines were cut from the episode? The scene feels like Leia is supposed to say something, while it’s completely dark in the hologram room one second and the next, when Poe is pushing Kaz out, it’s completely light in the room, so it feels like some scene was missing. Maybe they are cutting her lines until they can find someone else to take the role? I sure hope so and this powerful open letter should be enough for Butera to want to step down herself.
- The official site has an episode guide up already, including BTS trivia (it was really cool to finally see the New Republic logo on-screen!; reveals how we’ve actually seen gorgs before) and an episode gallery.
- Check out this series of interviews with several members of the Resistance cast: Christopher Sean (Kaz); Suzie McGrath (Tam); and Josh Brener (Neeku)
- At NYCC 2018, Hasbro revealed Resistance action figures! One of them is a yet to be revealed character, Synara San, who happens to be a salvager, which from her design alone, I’m already really intrigued to meet her character!
Star Wars Resistance‘s premiere, “The Recruit,” will help viewers know if this series is for them, and as long as they’re a Star Wars fan, then the answer should be yes, as while it certainly aims squarely for its target audience, it has tons of potential hidden in its shadows.
+ Fun, delightful tone, design/animation
+ Plenty of potential for stories in this intriguing new environment
+ Characters look distinct, feel varied
– Isn’t quite sure what its focus wants to be yet
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
All images via Lucasfilm
STAR WARS RESISTANCE REVIEWS
Season One: 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
RESISTANCE NEWS:
Extended Star Wars Resistance Trailer Hypes Season One Premiere
Star Wars Comics December 2018 Solicitations and New Age of Star Wars Maxi-series Details
Meet Star Wars Resistance’s Team Aces
Meet Team Fireball Video and Posters Released for Star Wars Resistance
Star Wars Comics November 2018 Solicitations
Star Wars Resistance Trailer Arrives, Series Premieres October 7!
New Animated TV Series, Star Wars Resistance, Premieres This Fall!