Star Wars Resistance review: Kaz witnesses the destruction of Hosnian Prime

Part 1 of the Star Wars Resistance finale plays games with our hearts as Pyre arrests Doza, Tam feels betrayed, and Kaz watches the destruction of his home.

Before the series began back in October 2018, we reported how Star Wars Resistance would eventually tread into the territory of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. At the time, we didn’t know how that would unfold in the series. Now, we no longer have to guess. “No Escape, Part 1” turns things up to an 11 by showing us the destruction of the Hosnian system from a different perspective.

When the system was first destroyed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there was no emotional attachment because we didn’t know anyone from those planets at the time. Of course, we were saddened to see what the First Order was capable of doing, but things feel way more different now that we have a character, Kaz, who has a connection to Hosnian Prime.

Writer Brandon Auman and director Steward Lee knocked it out of the park yet again. Given where the story was going, we couldn’t help but feel equal amounts of stress and excitement throughout the episode. Most importantly, it changes the way we see Star Wars: The Force Awakens and adds another emotional layer to the mix. When a story is able to do that successfully, we consider that as storytelling at its best.

Arresting Captain Doza

Commander Pyre makes an announcement to the residents of the Colossus, but Captain Doza believes they’ve overstepped their bounds. He even mentions how the New Republic Senate would mark their activities as illegal.

In return, Commander Pyre says, “We are well beyond the Republic’s reach. Fortunately, they are not beyond ours.” With that, Pyre arrests Captain Doza for insubordination. Upon command, 4D attempts to stop this from happening, but Pyre shoots her down.

To start off, the entire opening sequence is a work of art. What really stands out is the choice of “camera angles” and focus. It almost feels like we’re watching a high-budget feature film. First, there’s the focus on Pyre’s lower half as he‘s hunched over Doza’s desk. Then, there’s the gorgeous close-up shot of Doza while 4D processes the command to stop the troopers. And again, another amazing close-up shot happens when the focus is on Pyre’s golden blaster. The entire sequence is brilliant, and it reminds us how far the show has come.

At the same time, it also bugs us when Doza tries to bring the New Republic Senate into the conversation. He had the chance to do that way back at the beginning of the series, but he refused to seek their help because it would have resulted in them discovering some of his illegal activities. The chance to do something about the First Order died when he chose himself over his people. So now, he and the people on the Colossus have to suffer the consequences.

Don’t get us wrong. We still love Captain Doza and accept his flaws, but it’s one of those “what if” questions that really gets to us. What if Captain Doza had contacted the Senate long ago? Granted, that couldn’t have happened because of the established timeline with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but it still keeps us guessing.

Kaz’s plan and Tierny’s chat

Meanwhile, Kaz wants to break his friends out of imprisonment and go to Hosnian Prime. Neeku reminds Kaz the Colossus is their home and they don’t want to leave the rest of the people behind. In response, Kaz mentions his father and his connections to the military. He believes they’re able to get the help they need that way.

At the same time, Tam and Tierny continue their conversation. Tierny shows her footage of Yeager taking the blame and adds, “Yeager clearly didn’t trust you enough to tell you the truth. They used you and put your life in danger every single day all under the guise of keeping you safe.” In saying this, she effectively turns Tam away from Yeager.

Agent Tierny is a master manipulator. She knows how to find a single detail and twist it for her own benefit. It’s almost Palpatine’s level of manipulation, and we think it’s fascinating to see this kind of villain at work in Star Wars Resistance. There are people like Pyre who bare their fangs right away, but Tierny warms up to you first before attacking.

Her line about Yeager not trusting her is one of our favorite deliveries in the episode because Sumalee Montano does such a fantastic job at making you believe that it’s true. Of course, we know that wasn’t the case. Kaz and Yeager weren’t maliciously keeping the truth from Tam, and it’s sad how Tierny twists the truth in order to win Tam over.

As for Kaz’s plan, we love how he has this level of boundless optimism even when things seem to be falling apart around him. He believes his father and the New Republic military will be able to help once they learn the truth, so he’s working with that thought in his head, completely unaware of what the First Order is planning. His innocent-like nature and optimism make it all the more heartbreaking in the end when he sees his planet go up in flames.

Control station and water chase

Kaz and his friends take over the main control station. Afterward, Kaz plans to swim to the tower, but on his way there, he gets discovered by stormtroopers. They have an underwater chase and fight, but Neeku and the others manage to help by pressurizing the hallway and expelling the water as well as the troopers. After their moment of victory, Neeku realizes the Colossus has a hyperdrive.

While the hyperdrive detail shouldn’t have come as a surprise, given that we’ve seen a version of the Colossus before in Star Wars Rebels, we still couldn’t help but clap excitedly at the discovery. We’ve stated before how the Colossus has the potential to fly, like the Skystrike Academy, but the idea of it being used as a space ship sent our minds reeling.

What could this mean for the second part of the finale? Or for the second season debuting later this fall? All we know for sure is that the discovery of the hyperdrive makes things all the more interesting moving forward.

Tam’s exchange with Yeager

On his way to the brig, Yeager sees Tam and he says the First Order is trying to manipulate her. Tam, on the other hand, is furious and says he and Kaz put her, Neeku, and the rest of the station in danger. After the heated exchange, Tierny tempts Tam with an offer to come with her, since Tam has a desire to fly and she has potential as a pilot.

The shattered relationship between Tam and Yeager is truly heartbreaking. We don’t really know what they were like before Kaz came into the picture, but we like to think he was sort of a mentor to her. He saw potential in Tam and took her in and they’ve been close ever since, but all of that is gone now. It’s interesting to see this relationship start to dissolve because of misunderstandings and the First Order manipulating Tam into thinking Yeager is the villain.

While we want the best for Tam, we also want to see how far this newfound relationship with the First Order will go. Will she join their ranks as a TIE fighter pilot? Will she be one of the few to give us a better glimpse at how the First Order operates from the inside? We’ve seen a handful of characters go from bad to good, but it’ll be fascinating to see this story go the other way around and have a naturally good character absorbed into a monstrous regime.

The destruction of the Hosnian system

As Kaz and Torra sneak around, they discover Starkiller Base is fully operational, but they have no idea what this means. They discover Hux delivering his speech, but as they continue to sneak past the stormtroopers, Kaz stops to hear the final part. In doing so, he witnesses the destruction of the Hosnian system, including his home on Hosnian Prime.

Christopher Sean has done a remarkable job voicing Kaz. He gives us such a wide range of emotions, and the last few seconds of this episode are no exception. While we haven’t seen Hosnian Prime in great detail or know much about Kaz’s parents, most of us will recognize the pain that comes with loss. We think Sean did a phenomenal job at conveying those emotions.

And while his performance comes off in a genuine way, we still can’t help but think that Kaz’s father is alive somewhere else in the galaxy. Ever since “Station Theta Black,” we’ve had a theory that Hamato Xiono has been profiting from First Order activities. Think of the drama surrounding a reveal like that? This could potentially lead to a father and son confrontation in the near future (Star Wars has a knack for this), and we honestly can’t wait for the possibility to come true.

For now, this episode sets up things nicely for the second part of the finale, where we’ll certainly see more action between the Resistance growing on the Colossus and the First Order.

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