Hello there!
Welcome to my latest review for Star Wars Resistance. It took me a few weeks to get into the show, but by the end of “The High Tower” I knew that I was in for the long haul and have decided to start writing about it. This post will be focusing on episode 19: “Descent”
Plot Summary
The episode follows on directly from the ending of “The Disappeared”, with Pyre announcing that Kaz, Yeager, Tam and Neeku are all under arrest for conspiring against the First Order. Pyre asks Yeager if he has ever been to Sector Epsilon 51-3, as they have visual confirmation that the Fireball was there. Tam begs Kaz to tell them it is a mistake, but he just says that it is “complicated”, leaving her in shock.
As the troopers move to arrest the group, Bucket fires out a cloud of foam, which the group use as cover to escape, though Bucket is shot and falls out of the platform and Tam – believing this to all be a mistake – stays behind, surrendering to the troopers. Yeager, Kaz and Neeku escape through the ventilation system.
“This isn’t right! This is just a misunderstanding!”
In Captain Doza’s office, Doza and Torra are discussing what they can do about the First Order. Pyre arrives and informs them that he has found a Resistance cell on the platform. Both Doza and Torra are shocked to hear that the group is Yeager and his group and that Tam has been taken into custody. He tells them that Agent Tierny of the First Order Security Bureau is arriving to question Tam.
In the ventilation system, Kaz wants to rescue Tam but Yeager says that they need to get a message to the Resistance. The group are overheard by a squad of stormtroopers, who follow them through the ventilation system, eventually cornering them. A trapdoor beneath the group opens and they drop through, to the engineering deck, where they find the Chelidae, Kel and Eila, who overheard Kaz telling Neeku that he is a Resistance spy. At Yeager’s request, the children agree to take the group to their safe place, where Yeager finds Bucket, who had been caught by the Shell Folk.
Tam is taken to Doza’s office, where she is put in front of Doza, Tierny and Pyre. Tierny questions Tam about the Resistance and asks if she has had any contact with Poe Dameron, to which Tam tells her that she does not know him but she knows that he is a friend of Yeager and Kaz. Tierny tells Tam that Dameron is a Resistance agent who has destroyed First Order ships in “unprovoked” attacks. Unhappy with Doza’s interruptions, Tierny takes Tam off alone to the Aces Lounge to continue her questioning. Tam tries explaining that this must be a misunderstanding as her friends can’t be spies, however Tierny shows her that Kaz’s story of being a poor kid from Coruscant who just wants to race is a lie by showing her his service record, explaining that Kaz is part of one of the wealthiest families on Hosnian Prime, a pilot in the New Republic Navy who was recruited by the Resistance.
“This is not what you expected, is it? I am not a monster, Tamara. Our goal is galactic peace through absolute order, nothing more.”
While discussing their plan to contact the Resistance, Kaz notes the need to disable the communications jammer at the top of the tower. Kaz devises a plan to sink the platform into the water, allowing them to swim straight to the top. In order to do this without flooding the platform, they send CB-23 to get a message to Doza to seal the hatches. CB-23 successfully infiltrates the tower, finding Doza with Torra. CB-23 tells them the plan, before taking a message back to Kaz telling him to do it.
The group successfully lower the platform until just the tower is above water, Doza closing the hatches just in time. Tierny and Pyre discuss their suspicions at the timing of the sinking with 3 Resistance agents running amok.
“Kaz if there’s one thing I believe you can do, it’s sink this station.”
Kaz, Yeager and CB-23 exit the engineering deck and swim up to the tower, where they successfully disable the jammer. Kaz sends a message to the General Organa saying that the First Order have taken over the Colossus and that they are in total lockdown and in danger, requesting immediate help from the Resistance. Pyre and a pair of stormtroopers arrive and while Yeager exchanges fire with them, Kaz receives a response from Leia. Yeager pushes Kaz into the water and sends CB-23 after him, allowing himself to be captured by the stormtroopers. Away from the platform, Kragan’s gang – including Synara – listen to Kaz’s message, which they have intercepted.
Kaz and CB-23 return to engineering, where they tell the group that Yeager has been captured. CB-23 plays Leia’s message: the Resistance forces are few and divided. She has no starships to spare but is sending them the coordinates of the Resistance’s next base, telling him to join them if he can get off Castilon. The group feel that they are alone, but Kaz tells them that they are not alone. They will free their friends and take back the Colossus.
Review
This was a great episode and there was very little I could fault with this episode.
“Bucket!”
“He’s gone. We have to go!”
I loved how the Fireball was identified in First Order space and this has led to Yeager’s garage coming under suspicion, yet it is clear that Pyre does not know specifically who has been piloting. While I desperately want Tam to start trusting Kaz and realising the First Order are not there to help, I love how her confusion and naivety leads to er not running with her friends and instead surrendering. Continuing this, I love how Tierny’s act as the “good cop” does a good job of shaking her faith in her friends but helping keep her faith in the First Order. Right now, I really can’t figure out who she will side with come the end of the season, though she seems at heart too nice a person to look past the upcoming destruction of the Hosnian system.
I really liked the escape from the hangar. It was nice seeing everyone have a moment, with Bucket creating the distraction, Yeager and CB-23 taking out troopers, Neeku getting to safety and Kaz’s reluctance to leave without Tam, while I was so gutted to see Pyre shoot Bucket and far too happy to see that he had survived (my feelings for him in this episode made me happy I included him in my Top 10 Droids list). I also thought that this was a great way to add some menace to Pyre as I have been critical of how Vonreg has not been as dangerous as he is implied to be due to his lack of kills.
“And who are you expecting now, Pyre? More troops?”
I’ve been saying for a while how I’ve wanted Yeager to have a bigger role in the show so it was great to finally get that in this episode. I also really liked How Doza tries to help Yeager and the team without making it obvious to the First Order, he is playing a dangerous game and I am beginning to think that he will not make it beyond the season finale. Tierny was a great addition to the First Order and considering Phasma cannot have much if any input in the show going forward (considering that we are now in the time frame of the Sequel Trilogy movies) I hope she is going to become a regular character on the First Order side. I loved the return of Kel, Eila and the Chelidae and think that they have all been used well since being introduced into the show – bringing back characters or ideas from earlier in the season is something that this show has done very well – and it was also great to see that Kragan and his crew are still around to play a part. I think it is just a matter of time before Synara either convinces the pirates to fight against the First Order or goes off alone to help the Colossus.
Kaz has really matured well on the whole during this season and that has never been more clear than in the last couple of episodes. Once again, it is Kaz who is coming up with the clever plan to help his friends and while Yeager may have had to convince him to prioritise the Resistance over Tam, this is just a clever way of showing Kaz cares deeply for his friends. His reaction to Leia’s message, telling his friends that they are the Resistance now and will take back the Colossus shows how he has gone from just a young pilot looking for excitement to someone who is capable of leading a Resistance cell – something even Yeager comments on.
“The Resistance isn’t coming? We’re alone?”
“No. We have each other. We are the Resistance now, all of us. First we’re going to free our friends, then I promise you, we’re taking back the Colossus!”
My only negatives for this episode were Torra’s excitement at sinking the Colossus (it went with her fun-loving character but felt out of place with her usual seriousness surrounding the First Order occupation) and Neeku’s insistence throughout the episode that Kaz was joking about being a spy. However, all of this combined to just a small fraction of the episode and did not harm my enjoyment of the episode.
I also want to take a quick moment to applaud the decision to remind everyone in this episode that Kaz is from Hosnian Prime. Judging by the trailer, we are weeks away (at most) from watching the Hosnian system being destroyed so reminding young children watching of the personal significance of the destruction to Kaz was a really clever move.
With just a couple of episodes left, I can’t wait to see how the series continues cos at this point I really can’t predict exactly what’s going to happen!
Moments in Canon
- The First Order Security Bureau is the latest similarity between the Empire and the First Order
- Kaz’s service record notes that he was recruited by the Resistance
What did you think about the episode? Thanks for reading and May the Force be with you…
The Canon Padawan 