Star Wars Resistance review: Poe and Kaz explore the Unknown Regions

In “The Core Problem,” Poe and Kaz go on one last mission together, they make an unsettling discovery, and Tam grows more suspicious of Kaz’s activities.

Last week, Kaz dressed himself up as a stormtrooper in “The New Trooper” and stole a data rod containing information about the First Order’s movements. With the stormtroopers guarding communications and with the platform under constant surveillance, Kaz has been unable to send the Resistance the intel he’s gathered. Not only that, but Kaz doesn’t know what’s happening outside the Colossus.

While Star Wars Resistance specializes in humor and making us laugh on a weekly basis, “The Core Problem” has a more serious tone. It builds on the intense aspects surrounding the First Order’s nefarious activities in the Unknown Regions. We can’t help but feel heartbroken over the destruction Kaz and Poe find, especially when it relates back to Kel and Eila. The episode brilliantly brings together these separate threads from past storylines and weaves together another great episode.

Poe’s unexpected arrival

Kaz constructs a device to contact the Resistance. Fortunately for him, Poe secretly arrives and announces how he and BB-8 will be going to Jakku on a special mission. When Kaz tells him of the information he acquired, Poe decides to squeeze in one last mission to the Unknown Regions with Kaz to find out what the First Order has been doing.

Kaz is still a novice when it comes to being a mechanic, so him trying to put a contraption together to contact the Resistance is hilarious. Poe popping up randomly and Kaz thinking he’s coming through the device only makes it funnier. It’s such a cleverly written scene, and it helps to ad some levity to an already tense situation made by all of the TIE fighters flying around.

We also love Poe’s “widow-maker” move and Kaz laughing it off by saying, “I’m not even married.” The entire sequence feels like a fun roller coaster, even though they’re falling to their deaths. We’ve said this before, but Poe and Kaz work incredibly well together, so we hope this isn’t the last time we see them interacting.

The Unknown Regions

Poe and Kaz arrive at the location only to find a system without a sun. The planetoids have been decimated and cored out by something beyond their comprehension. They decide to land on a nearby moon and find an abandoned settlement. Unfortunately, they’re not able to explore for too long as a First Order probe droid decides to cause some trouble.

We have to admit, this part of the episode is somewhat confusing. It’s obvious the weapon that was used was Starkiller Base because the system no longer has a sun. As we know from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the massive weapon sucks up the energy from the nearest star. But the name of the episode, “The Core Problem,” and the fact that Kaz mentions how the planetoids have been “cored out” has us scratching our heads. Poe also points out the cores have been left behind, so was this a Starkiller Base testing site and the First Order was trying to work out a few kinks? Or is this the result of an entirely new weapon?

Back in “Dangerous Business,” Teroj Kee was given the task of stealing a phase connector, but Kaz stopped him. Flix explained the device was used to open planetoids and asteroids for heavy mining. So, was this piece for Starkiller Base or something new and equally devastating? It’s probably the former, but it would be interesting to see the First Order have an alternate device in the works for future stories.

We also had an aha moment when Kel and Eila’s symbol showed up on the temple Kaz and Poe found. Kaz could be standing on Tehar itself, but he didn’t make the connection. It’s depressing to know their home is now a desolate place and a remnant of what it used to be. Although our hearts hurt, it is a brilliant way to insert that thread and have it all connect.

We know this wouldn’t have worked storywise, but we kind of wish Tam was there with them. It would have no doubt changed her mind about the First Order in a heartbeat.

Escaping the First Order

Major Vonreg and accompanying TIE fighters arrive to eliminate any witnesses. Kaz and Poe manage to jump into their ships and lure them to the empty core of a nearby planet. The gravitational currents from the planet’s mass mess with the TIE fighters systems, causing them to crash. Major Vonreg gets lost in the rubble, but Kaz and Poe manage to escape. Just before Poe departs for his next mission, he and Kaz switch droids and say goodbye.

The most impressive thing that happens in this part of the episode is Kaz surviving in the Fireball. That ship is so unpredictable. We kept fearing something terrible would happen because of either the joystick coming off or something vital going offline. Lucky for Kaz, any difficulties with the Fireball happened at the beginning of the episode, so thank goodness for that.

The droid swapping part is so adorable. BB-8 and CB-23’s friendship is too cute for words. While we’re sad to see BB go, we also seriously can’t wait to see CB in action and demonstrating just how awesome she is.

As for Vonreg, it won’t be the last time we see him. In the mid-season trailer, we saw him go up against Yeager in his racer, so we’ll see more of that red-armored pilot soon. The one thing we wish Star Wars Resistance would do is expound on the First Order characters. Star Wars Rebels did that with Agent Kallus and Governor Pryce, but Star Wars Resistance has primarily focused on the small Colossus group. We’d love to learn more about the characters on the other side of the war as well.

Returning to the Colossus

Kaz and CB-23 arrive at the Colossus, but Tam is annoyed with his disappearance. She and Neeku question the new droid Kaz has beside him, wondering what happened to BB-8. Kaz explains BB-8 is getting repairs, but Tam knows she’s being kept in the dark about something. She and Yeager exchange words, making it quite clear how frustrated she feels about Kaz’s activities.

Tam’s reaction to this entire situation worries us. We think Kaz and Yeager are unintentionally making an “enemy” out of Tam by keeping her in the dark about Kaz’s mission. Granted, the less people who know about Kaz’s connections to the Resistance, the better, but this situation with Tam has been building and building over the past few episodes.

For now, the water is hot. Things haven’t boiled over yet. To be honest, Yeager waited too long to tell Tam the truth, and it might be too late to even attempt that conversation. He and Kaz have made their beds and now they have to lie on them. The tension with Tam will no doubt explode in their faces somehow, and we’re extremely curious to find out how that will unfold in the coming weeks.

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