Marcus Speedstar showing up to race in the Platform Classic reveals more about Yeager’s past and his struggle to forgive his brother after a tragic accident.
This week’s episode of Star Wars Resistance tugs at our heartstrings as we learn more about Yeager’s family and what happens to them. That said, we wanted the story to avoid the dead family trope. While our desire to see his family alive and well in some other part of the galaxy doesn’t come true, at least the way it happens isn’t as predictable. It isn’t because of the Empire or the First Order, for example. Instead, it was a sky race gone wrong.
“The Platform Classic” also makes us appreciate the episode “Fuel for the Fire” even more, since Jace Rucklin’s ship exploding due to the hyperfuel gives us a clearer idea of how things unraveled rapidly for Marcus on the fateful day when he used the hyperfuel himself.
Enter Marcus Speedstar
Captain Doza wants Yeager to race in the Platform Classic to win the 100,000-credit prize. Yeager, however, doesn’t want to partake in the race. He’s even less interested when his brother shows up after 10 long years of not seeing each other.
We like the fact that Yeager has a brother, but we would have liked the concept, even more, had Marcus been a sister instead. After the amazing interactions between Synara and Tam in last week’s episode, we want to see more ladies involved in the story. This would have been a great opportunity to change things up and introduce a sister who strove to be as impressive as her older brother because let’s face it, we’ve seen the hotshot pilot guy before.
Even though we consider this a missed opportunity, the storyline is still interesting and engaging. Marcus is the type of person who makes a tragic mistake, claims to have changed, and now wants to fix the relationship he broke all those years ago. Everyone always wants a second chance, but do they deserve it? Will they do something good and earn it in the process?
Kaz the assistant
The Guavian Death Gang follows Marcus to the Colossus, where they take his mechanic as collateral. Yeager officially lands himself in the race after he fails to make his brother back out of it. Feeling irritated, he assigns Kaz to be Marcus’ temporary mechanic. While working on his ship, however, Kaz and Marcus talk about Yeager’s past.
Last week, it was necessary for Kaz to stay out of the picture and let Synara and Tam do most of the talking. In this episode, the opposite happens. It’s important for him to interact with Marcus and act as a bridge between two people who have a seemingly broken relationship. The reason why is because he himself has a relationship in need of repair.
Although this episode is about Yeager and Marcus, we like how Kaz is exposed to two adults (one older and one younger) who are related and come to an understanding with each other. It’s something he has yet to do with his own father, a character we haven’t seen since the series premiere.
Star Wars Resistance is doing an excellent job at having certain threads and aspects of the story echo and come back around throughout the series. We see it especially in this episode and how it connects back to “Fuel for the Fire.” We look forward to how the events in this episode affect Kaz’s own relationship in the future.
The Platform Classic
The race begins and Yeager is already ahead of everyone else. Marcus is close behind, but he desperately tries to convince Yeager he’s a changed man. He apologizes for what happened to his wife and daughter, who sadly perished as a result of the hyperfuel incident.
It’s truly tragic how Yeager lost his family. You have a character who fought against a tyrannical government in order for him and the rest of the galaxy to live peaceful lives. He manages to survive and start his new life, but it suddenly comes to a halt before it crashes and burns. And on top of it all, this tragedy happens at the hands of his own brother, of all people. These Star Wars writers really know how to rip our hearts out, huh?
As for the race itself, it is a fun and intense ride. We particularly love the part when the pilots climb up to the edge of space before free falling back to the re-ignition hoop.
Also, Yeager wasn’t kidding when he said no one could touch him, especially his brother. It was fascinating to see him fly so effortlessly, like a hot knife cutting through butter. The animators just keep outdoing themselves with every episode.
Forgive, not forget
Yeager realizes Marcus is not running this race for himself like he originally assumed. Seeing this different side of his brother motivates him to pull away from the finish line, allowing Marcus to win the money and save his friend from the Guavian Death Gang. Marcus and Yeager talk afterward and the two come to an understanding.
As we mentioned earlier, people always want second chances. To be honest, Marcus doesn’t do enough in this episode to earn a second chance in our eyes. Maybe it’s because the truth of what he did is still fresh in our minds, whereas Yeager has had time to process everything and sees the change in his brother.
It also doesn’t help that Marcus has the Guavian Death Gang after him. Was he just saying those things to Yeager during the race so he could win the money and not have another death on his hands? Honestly, we don’t understand how Marcus had the audacity to get back into the cockpit of a ship after what happened to Yeager’s family. For the past 10 years, he’s been racing and winning titles for himself. He’s a walking contradiction and it’s going to take more than words of desperation to convince us of his change.
We do like, however, when Marcus says, “Are we good?” and Yeager flat out responds, “No, but we will be one day.” Just because someone forgives you, it doesn’t mean that what happened goes away and that you’re completely off the hook. It means that person acknowledges the change in you and sees the potential, but there’s still a long way to go before things get better.
Overall, the episode is a good reminder on the importance of forgiveness. Yeager says it best, “It’s important to forgive people. When you don’t, nobody wins.” Plain and simple. Star Wars has always taught us crucial life lessons. This episode is no exception.
What are your thoughts about this episode? Do you think Marcus should have said or done more to earn Yeager’s forgiveness?
Star Wars Resistance airs Sundays on the Disney Channel at 10 p.m. EST and DisneyNOW.