Ricky Church reviews the season 2 premiere of Star Wars Resistance…
On the final day of Star Wars Celebration, fans of the latest animated series Star Wars Resistance got a real treat at the end of the show’s panel. After discussing several elements from the first season and teasing what is to come for the second season, we were expecting a trailer to show off. Instead of a trailer, however, we got to see the entire second season premiere! A note for readers: this review will be spoiler-free. It won’t be discussing specific details other than when exactly it takes place and will focus on general impressions only.
After the high stakes and desperate attempt to rid the Colossus of the First Order in the two-part finale ‘No Escape‘ the premiere doesn’t waste any time in establishing the new status quo for the series now that the Colossus is up in space. Much like The Last Jedi‘s starting point, Star Wars Resistance picks up almost immediately after the events of the finale as Kaz, Neeku, Yeager, Torra and Captain Doza assess the status of the Colossus.
This was a good choice for the story as there is still a lot to decompress after the finale, particularly for Kaz as he deals with the emotions of watching his home planet get destroyed as well as Tam’s decision to join the First Order. It sticks with the weight on his shoulders and how he tries burying some of his feelings in the work to be done, though there are moments where the cracks show that display some nice character development. The other characters, namely Neeku and Torra, also get some nice moments throughout the premiere, but the focus remains on Kaz.
One element from the first season that I was often at odds with was the balance between Resistance‘s comedic and serious moments. The series would often play up its comedy aspects, such as Kaz’s clumsiness or Neeku’s literal translations of expressions and goals, to the point where it detracted from the story’s tension. Granted, Resistance is aimed at a bit of a younger demographic for Star Wars fans so obviously it would utilize slapstick comedy a bit more often than some fans like myself might like. However, the premiere had a very good balance of comedic moments, character drama and tension. All the comedy worked very well – even Neeku’s brand of comedy worked and I was fairly impartial to him throughout the first season. A good balance was definitely struck here and hopefully can be maintained for the season.
The animation looked great as well. Resistance‘s unique look sets it apart from The Clone Wars and Rebels, but still feels very much like Star Wars. The emotion behind Kaz and Tam’s faces are well detailed and the premiere has some very fun and cool sequences that hasn’t been done before on the series. The character’s emotions, their movement and the overall choreography of its action scenes were very detailed. It definitely took advantage of the ‘new’ setting in space to do something fresh and exciting within the halls of the Colossus.
If the first season of Resistance can be compared to anything, it might be the first seasons of The Clone Wars and Rebels. Both of the latter shows had pretty kid-friendly seasons at the start of their runs before growing a bit more mature as they aged with their audience. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Resistance follow suit, especially with some of the things the characters go through here and where the overall Star Wars story is heading in the Sequel Trilogy. Remember, everyone in the show is still about halfway through The Force Awakens right now and judging from the premiere, it will heavily focus on Kaz and Tam’s feelings toward one another and how their respective sides won’t be an easy thing to just shrug off. With this episode, Star Wars Resistance is in good shape for its second season.
Rating: 9/10
Ricky Church
