Episode 13 of season 2 was… an episode, I’ll give it that. But was the dramatic conclusion of this two-part episode able to redeem the frustration I felt watching episode 12? Read on to find out! And beware lots of spoilers.
1. I need a hero… or do I?
While I appreciate that Resistance is trying to wade into deeper waters when it comes to the seriousness of Colossus-focused content, I’m kind of starting to feel like it’s ruining the show for me. It’s just not that well done? Thus far, season 2 of Resistance has succeeded more with the lighter “monster of the week” type episodes for Kaz and friends than with this suddenly serious two-part episode. Tam’s defection to the FIrst Order has always been the more interesting part of this season. It’s serious, has actual consequences, and delves into a much less explored aspect of the Star Wars universe, which is who are these bad guys and are they really so bad after all? Disney is oversaturating us with traditional hero narratives; do we really need more righteous freedom fighters? To be honest, I’ve never found the Resistance to be that compelling in general. We’ve been exploring these character archetypes for over 40 years, and they’ve been done better.
I get that Kaz is the main character in this show, but I really think Filoni and team made a mistake not focusing more on Tam for season 2. There’s so much meat there, so much possibility, and it’s basically being squandered as the b-plot to Kaz’s dumb luck and silly puns. The smart thing would have been to flip those two storylines with Tam’s story as the lead. So much of that narrative is going to be left unexplored once we hit the series finale, which is a shame. I think it’s a fargone conclusion that Tam will eventually come back to the light side, but wouldn’t the payoff be so much better if we took that journey with her fully? Some might say that’s too heavy for a kids show, but I would argue it’s the very type of story kids need to see. People make mistakes, sometimes huge ones, and while redemption is possible it’s not always wrapped up neatly in a couple of pointed conversations. But it is possible.
2. Who recruited these guys?!
Just when I thought no one could be more incompetent than Kaz, in comes Norath. Ugh. I basically spent the entire episode frustrated out of my mind at how dumbed down and incompetent these characters are. If you’ve been keeping up with my reviews, you know how I feel about super spy Kaz already. In terms of Norath, take that and multiply it by a lot and you’ll get the gist of what we’re dealing with. First of all, wasn’t he assigned to this planet to infiltrate and gather information on the First Order? So why is he completely relying on Kaz to develop a plan to get them to safety? How could he have no input? He’s literally a spy who’s been embedded on this planet for who knows how long. Come on, guy! Help out a little!
Kaz does come up with a plan (the ol’ stormtrooper switcharoo) and it works, but not before Norath almost gets them caught multiple times in between belittling Kaz for the plan Norath demanded he come up with.
At one point, a civilian who gets caught up in their spy games angrily throws a vegetable at their heads and they entirely deserve it. The fact that they were able to escape with their lives at the end is baffling to me.
3. At least Ax Tagrin has his act together
Ax Tagrin, the bounty hunter, is by far the most competent foe Kaz and team have faced thus far this season, which makes it a bit unbelievable that they’re able to eventually overcome him. Still, he doesn’t go down without a fight. He’s able to deliver Synara, Yeager, and CB-23 to the First Order, tap into Kaz and Norath’s comms to discover their plans (because why wouldn’t you give a step by step over your stolen, very much accessible stormtrooper comms?), break into their ship to contact the Colossus and deliver its location to Pyre, and ambush Kaz and crew on that same ship to almost re-deliver them to the First Order.
Continued belowI’m tired just thinking about it.
But of course, the only reason they’re able to defeat him is thanks to CB-23, adding more credence to my enduring argument that the galaxy would probably implode if it weren’t for droids.
4. Doza versus Doza
Captain Doza and his strong-willed daughter Torra are again at odds over the fate of Kaz, Yeager, and Synara when it becomes clear they might not have enough time to rendezvous with their crewmates without putting the entire Colossus in danger. Doza expressed his thoughts on this pretty plainly in the previous episode and again seems to stand his ground when it comes to sacrificing the many for the sake of the few. Remember, Doza isn’t in this for the Resistance, enemy of the First Order though he might be. Torra isn’t a member of the Resistance either, but she’s idealistic like her mom and refuses to give up the lives of her friends. The two end up reaching a compromise by leaving the Aces behind to scoop up Kaz and team and bringing them to the Colossus, though Resistance lets viewers think for a good amount of time that the refueling ship has taken off without them. Imagine, Kaz adrift in the galaxy with nary a pirate to fake curse him? The horror.
Speaking of the Colossus, though, we are treated to a very cool shot of it hiding within an electrical storm while it waits out the First Order. Kudos to the team who animated that.
5. Father figure Yeager still believes in Tam
At one point, Tierney is torturing Yeager and Synara via electrocution to try and get information out of them. Like any good bad guy, she does some monologuing, and of course brings up Tam’s defection to try and break Yeager’s resolve. Of course, it doesn’t work. Yeager tells her in no uncertain terms that he still believes in Tam; Tierney and the First Order have manipulated her and she’ll soon realize it and take them down.
We can only hope!
