I should have loved this episode of Star Wars Resistance. “The Relic Raiders” had all the hallmarks of my perfect Star Wars content: weird Force stuff! Indiana Jones-style temple raiding! New characters!
But all I could think of for the entire episode was Where. The. F$@&. Is. Tam.
After loving Season 1 with all my heart and being so excited for this final season, there’s no other way to say it, at this point: Resistance has been a disappointment for me so far this year. This is now the fourth consecutive episode that’s missing a character who got equal time in the trailers and shared top billing on the poster shown at Star Wars Celebration Chicago. After being criminally-underused for most of Season 1, clearly the show’s creators have still not learned how to work their most interesting star (voiced with incredible subtlety and nuance by Suzie McGrath) into anything more than a side plot.
It’s exhausting, and it is really taking its toll on my enjoyment of these weekly episodes. This week’s episode was interesting but one-dimensional; with no B-plot to speak of taking us out of the temple, there’s only so many times that “Kaz steps on something bad” jokes can land, especially in Season 2 when, to this point, Kaz has been improving as a spy and growing into a real hero. Where Season 1 thrived on character development and showing the hearts of the ordinary denizens of the Colossus, this episode felt like an idea that was thrown out in the writers’ room, sounded cool, but wasn’t executed in a way that felt meaningful to the show it’s a part of.
The episode’s high point is the introduction of Meeka Gray (although come on, with that name, did Filoni make you do this), a morally-ambiguous tomb raider who is just as annoyed by Kaz as I was this week. Time will tell if she proves to be a truly three-dimensional character or a one-off plot device, but I hope to see more of her and learn more about what the First Order wants with her. Her mysterious connection to the Force and, potentially, to Eila (who, along with Kel, made a welcome return to the plot for the first time this season) could provide the Colossus with more of a mission than continuing to go on weekly fetch-quests through space.
If I sound frustrated at this show right now, it’s because I am – and, to be fair, that’s not entirely Resistance‘s fault. It’s been a week where two episodes of The Mandalorian were released with only a single scene involving a female character between them, along with the launch of Jedi: Fallen Order which, while entertaining and fun, stars a main character as engaging and vibrant as the Tatooine desert. Resistance, in its short but mostly excellent run, has consistently been a ray of light showing what a focus on diverse characters and nuanced perspectives can do to liven up the franchise’s storytelling, and the marketing lead up to this season promised to put Tam at the forefront – marking the first time a black female character was to be given equal billing on a Star Wars project.
But that’s simply not what we’ve seen this season. We’ve heard Justin Ridge, Brandon Auman, and the other showrunners talk at length about what this show’s cast of characters means to them and how seriously they take the responsibility of depicting a galaxy as diverse as our own. Maybe the second half of the season will be all about Tam, and there will be some reason for her long absence. But until then – until we actually see characters like Tam on-screen consistently and not just teased as a plot point – they can respectfully take their good intentions and go stick them in an ancient Sith temple, for all the good they’re doing anyone.
