It’s all getting real now, kids.
This week’s episode of Star Wars Resistance took us closer to the inescapable doom of Hosnian Prime, and though Kaz and co. may not have foresight like we do, they know something’s amiss. Well, all except Tam.
This week’s episode was an example of just how far this show – and Lucasfilm’s animated shows as a whole – have come with their storytelling skills. On its face, not a ton happened here to move the plot forward: First Order is bad, kidnaps citizens of the Colossus, Kaz and Tora team up to set them free. Pretty typical stuff, until you stop and think just how many characters are featured in this episode, and yet we have a real emotional connection to all of them. One of the risks of a show like Resistance introducing so many characters in its first season is the possibility of keeping viewers’ interest a mile wide but an inch deep – there’s just too much to really care about, and so the whole ensemble suffers. But that’s not what happened here – we felt real stakes at the possibility of Hype and Aunt Z, two lovable but minor (at best) characters, getting shipped off-world.
That all comes back to the show’s identity – Kaz is rightfully billed as the hero here, but the show isn’t just about him. It’s about the Colossus, and how beings go about their daily lives in a galaxy getting ready to crumble around them. Putting together an ensemble show like this in a medium aimed at children is no small task for a series in its first season, but Resistance has done so and decided exactly what kind of tone it wants to have in the process. That’s even more impressive when you think back to Star Wars Rebels (a show that I love), which never really decided whether it wanted to be a serious, plot-driven drama with heart that happened to be animated or a funny romp about Ezra Bridger and his band of merry friends that had some serious moments, all the way up to the final episodes. Lucasfilm’s growth in animated storytelling is a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.
Speaking of the ensemble cast, we gotta talk about Tam. Tam, Tam, Tam, my friend, my lady, my dude. Why are you the way that you are? I’ve complained in this space before that I want to know more about Tam (and her lady-friend-to-be-I’m-saying-it-until-it’s-proven-false Synara), and we’re finally starting to get that, albeit slowly and in a roundabout way. I’m really hoping that this dancing around Tam’s views of the First Order (hint: she’s a fan) has been setting up a bigger role for Tam in the next few episodes/season 2 – even if it means that we don’t like the direction it goes. Tam’s something of a unicorn in Star Wars – a genuinely lovable and relatable character who identifies with the bad guys. I hope we see her fleshed out more so we can understand why.
That’s all for this week – tune in next Sunday when sh*t starts to go boom.
