Star Wars Resistance review: Pirates answer to a bigger boss

In the latest episode of Star Wars Resistance, Kaz finds it difficult to keep up his appearance as a mechanic and the pirates reveal the answer to a bigger boss within the First Order.

In the series premiere, Kazuda Xiono went from a New Republic X-wing fighter pilot to a Resistance spy. This sounds like the perfect opportunity for someone looking to make a difference. The thing is Kaz doesn’t know where to start with his mission and how to hold up his guise as a mechanic at the same time.

While Kaz’s cluelessness and blunders continue to make him an extremely relatable character, the First Order is secretly moving pieces around and using pirates to do their dirty work. It’s only a matter of time before Kaz sees the bigger picture. For now, he’s still trying to learn the ropes and we’re okay with that.

Kaz the mechanic

Yeager’s shop has a new customer, a Neimoidian called Hallion. It’s up to Tam, Neeku, and Kaz to repair his ship as quickly as possible. Kaz, on the other hand, thinks he’s going to jump straight into his spying business, but Yeager sets him straight and tells him he has to help fix the ship. The problem is Kaz only knows how to fly them, not fix them.

It makes sense Kaz wouldn’t know how to repair a ship. After all, not many people know how to fix their own cars when they start to break down. That’s what repair shops are for.

As Kaz and the others work on the ship together, we discover Neeku is aware the First Order exists. It’s not made clear in the movies, but it’s easy to forget how the First Order is recognized by the New Republic. The New Republic, however, doesn’t think of them as a big enough threat.

We appreciate how Resistance is dropping in and fleshing out some of these details, especially for people in the audience who haven’t read some of the comic books and novels.

Kaz the spy

Kaz is given specific instructions to pick up a part from Orka and Flix in acquisitions. On his way there, Kaz decides to lurk around and find whatever information he can on the First Order. Instead, he runs into Grevel and his goons.

When Kaz is scouring the market for hints of First Order activity, it’s so funny to see him tip-toeing around as if that helps in keeping a low profile. It feels like something inspired by the old Scooby-Doo animated series.

He clearly doesn’t know what it takes to be a spy, and to be honest, that’s totally fine because no one does. It’s not an ordinary job. Anyone in that field would need to have charm, finesse, and the knowledge to navigate any situation. Kaz has a long way to go in all of those areas.

He essentially has to be at the right place and at the right time to grab something of importance for the Resistance. For now, it’s amusing to see him exploring the Colossus because it gives us a better look at the environment and the people who work and live in it.

The pirates attack

Kaz overhears Hallion say Kragan is cleared for a triple dark. He dismisses it at first and Hallion heads off to his next destination. After stepping away, Kaz finds out Kragan is a pirate and a triple dark is a type of storm used by pirates prior to attacking. He and BB-8 do what they can to save the station.

While the First Order is the main bad guy in the series, it’s great to see pirates thrown in the mix because having them present affects the surrounding characters. At this point in time, nobody believes the First Order is capable of doing anything. As a result, a different threat is needed and that’s where crime syndicates and pirates come into play.

The threat to the Colossus pulls in some of the ace pilots. After all, it is their responsibility to protect the station. Seeing Torra Doza and Freya Fenris working off of each other is one of our favorite moments in this episode because they’re both amazing at what they do. We seriously can’t wait to see more of them in the future.

Another character who makes her debut is Synara San (voiced by Nazneen Contractor). She was recently unveiled as an upcoming Star Wars Resistance action figure from Hasbro. It’ll be interesting to see if this character causes trouble for Kaz and the others down the line or if there’s more to her than meets the eye.

First Order connection

Kaz and BB-8 help break off the attack by overloading the pirates’ communications systems. This failure gets back to Major Vonreg and Captain Phasma. Needless to say, they are not pleased. The episode ends with Kragan making another promise by stating, “We will take care of them, Phasma, just like you asked. Pretty soon, Doza will be begging you to take control of the Colossus.”

Our main question is why? What does the Colossus have that the First Order wants?

Decades ago, the Separatists, Republic, and Empire all fought for control of hyperspace lanes and convenient territories that gave them the upper hand. Is it because the Colossus is a major point of access? That might be it, but we also like that there’s a mystery building and fully capturing our attention.

As for Phasma, she’s one of those characters who looks awesome and intimidating, but she hasn’t done much screen-wise to feel threatening. In the final moments of the episode, the combination of the lighting and Michael Tavera’s score helps change that a bit. We hope the series continues to give us a different look at Phasma because the potential is definitely there, especially coming off of that one scene of her emerging from the shadows.

All that said, “The Triple Dark” is another entertaining story. What’s fun about these early episodes is that there are seeds being planted and what may seem as out of place or intriguing might become something more important in the near future.

Lingering thoughts

• Hallion’s Sheathipede-class transport shuttle brought back memories of the Phantom II from Star Wars Rebels.
• The young Nautolan in the market with the ponytail is just too cute for words.
• We noticed only 4 ace pilots fought off the pirates. Where was Griff Halloran, the ex-Imperial with the modified TIE Fighter ship?

What are your thoughts regarding this latest episode? Do you think Kaz will get better at his spying? Why do you think Phasma wants the Colossus?

Star Wars Resistance airs Sundays on the Disney Channel at 10 p.m. ET/PT and DisneyNOW.