Ricky Church reviews the eighteenth episode of Star Wars Resistance…
As we build towards the season finale of Star Wars Resistance, its latest episode was fairly good but mostly involved a lot of set-up for the final couple episodes. ‘The Disappeared’ increased the threat of the First Order and their hold on the Colossus even as Kaz tried to undermine them as best he could. It brought in quite a few of the series’ supporting characters while having Kaz take the initiative in finding out where some of the Colossus’ residents had gone due to the Stormtroopers. Overall, ‘The Disappeared’ was another good installment for the series.
The Fist Order’s presence on the Colossus has grown tremendously over the last few weeks and it seems to have finally hit a tipping out in ‘The Disappeared’ as Commander Pyre and his Stormtroopers aren’t quite interested in keeping up appearances any longer. Between ordering the bar to display their propaganda posters to grounding all of the Ace pilots and their ships, they’re pretty much done with the pretense of being a security force. It didn’t take long for them to start rounding up people who vocally opposed them and shipping them to who knows where, forcing Kaz and Torra to take action. It still would have been a bit better had there been more build-up to people on the Colossus turning against the First Order since it seems to have happened pretty rapidly, but the points where the tensions come to a head are all believable. For Hype it was because he and the Aces could no longer fly while Aunt Z refused to display First Order recruitment propaganda in her bar while others were taken simply for mouthing off.
It was nice to see Kaz and Torra team up again to find out what happened to the missing people. Torra has often been on the sidelines thanks to her father’s strict rules, but when she has appeared she’s shown a nice chemistry with Kaz that has made them a fun duo to watch. It was also a good touch that she had a proactive role in the story as she informed Kaz of Hype’s disappearance, which then kicked off Z’s own disappearance. From that point, Kaz was the one taking charge trying to discover where the Stormtroopers had taken everyone. They displayed some nice teamwork as they rescued people on the platform, though it was a little too easy and – once again – slapstick in how they defeated the Stormtroopers or snuck by them. Another questionable moment even comes from the Stormtroopers who were using stun blasts against Kaz and Torra rather than real baster shots. It didn’t make too much sense, especially as one Stormtrooper was intent on knocking Kaz off the platform anyway. Aside from that, though, Kaz and Torra made a good team.
While Kaz and Torra got the spotlight, some of the supporting characters were also given good moments that moved the story along. Captain Doza is apparently ready to work with Yeager in getting the First Order off the station after seeing they don’t intend to leave on their own. That is an interesting development and one that has seemed to be building towards for a while, though we still don’t quite know his intentions, especially as a former Imperial officer even if he left the Empire of his own accord. One intriguing development, however, comes from Tam, who again voiced her support for the First Order and even thanked a Stormtrooper for their ‘help’ in ‘locating’ Hype. The development that might bear the most fruit comes from a not-so-subtle piece of dialogue where the Stormtrooper reminded Tam that recruitment is open if she’d like to join. Given the growing animosity towards Kaz and Yeager and her misguided support for the First Order, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if she ends up joining the organization or, perhaps, was the one who seemingly ratted them out at the episode’s conclusion.
‘The Disappeared’ told a good story of Kaz and Torra taking charge and utilized their friendship to its advantage. While the character moments between everyone were well done, the action was a little too much on the silly side with the little creatures attacking Stormtroopers or stun blasts being used in the place of lasers. Nothing too major happened as everything was mostly set-up for the final episodes, but the cliffhanger certainly leaves the characters in an intriguing place. With Pyre arresting Kaz, Yeager and their shop, it will be interesting to see how they get out of it and if the First Order spy will be revealed anytime soon. It’s also important to remember that we are in the continuity of The Force Awakens now and the situation will get more heated before the season is out.
Rating: 7/10
Ricky Church
