REVIEW: Star Wars Resistance "The Triple Dark"
In the series premiere, I was mostly positive, at least cautiously positive when it comes to the series. While I still maintain hope for the series, I'll admit, much like the episode "Fighter Flight" in Rebels, this episode, at least for the first two-thirds of it, was kind of a slog to go through. Again, I'd imagine the response is going to be, well, what do you expect for a kids' show? Even as kids' shows go, this episode was almost in a way redundant, and a waste of an opportunity to develop the show's characters more.
The main theme of the episode is the idea of Kaz not wanting to be a mechanic, instead, wanting to focus on her dual-role as a spy. It's all well and good, and I can understand his desires. However, the main problem I have with the episode, other than other stuff I'll into later, is that to me, it does much "tell," than "show." The episode almost spoon feeds you the messages and struggles Kaz is going through, whether it be through his over-the-top actions and antics, to his constant lines of wanting to be a spy out in the open, which, to me, was getting annoying, and would be annoying to me as a kid if I'm being honest.
We know by the end that Kaz is going to learn his "life lesson," and that his other work is important, as we've seen that lesson a thousand times, so nothing that is said or done in this episode felt new or refreshing, at least to me.
Like I mentioned, the first two-thirds of the episode were grating to me. While, "trying to be a spy," Kaz has to deal with an Aleen alien named Grevel, who Kaz owes money to based on the events of the last episode. He constantly chases down Kaz and BB-8 with his two thugs, and to me, it was getting old real fast. If it was a throwaway scene, that be one thing, but it goes on and on, to the point where I was thinking, is this what we're really focusing on?
The main reason I bring this up is because we could have used this time to give more development to other characters in the show. We haven't seen a scene, this episode included, where Tam isn't yelling at Kaz, and we haven't even been properly introduced to the other members of the Aces yet. I'd imagine they will be introduced soon, but again, why waste so much time and resources on focusing on something that, to me, isn't entertaining.
Although, on a more positive note, I do like the idea of Kaz's trophy, as it shows that he is a natural pilot, and is willing to work towards a goal that is against what is asked of him.
Eventually, it is revealed that a client for Yeager that was introduced at the beginning of the episode, is in fact, a spy for a band of pirates that attack the base. From there, the last third of the episode is...better. It is shown that the Aces, in addition to providing daily entertainment, are tasked with protecting the base from any attacks. The actual action sequence is anything special, but it does show that again, the environment and ship animations are beautiful.
Eventually, Kaz finds a way to halt the pirate attack, that only him and BB-8 know, and that he learns he needs to focus on his mechanic work to help with his spy role. While the lesson and execution is no doubt cliche, I do appreciate that this is a learning experience for Kaz, so that he will learn how to properly act and mature as a person.
In the end, it was revealed that the pirates were a setup by the First Order by the Tie Fighter pilot from last episode, Major Elrik Vonreg, and Captain Phasma.
First off, Gwendoline Christie does a great menacing job in her brief role in this episode. The First Order's plan seems to be to have the pirates cause as much chaos and destruction as possible in order to have the Colossus essentially beg to have the First Order take it over, which I actually find very unique and ingenious for Star Wars.
So yeah, if I'm being honest, this episode wasn't that good. Hopefully, much like Fighter Flight in Rebels, this is just a small, fillery, stepping stone the series takes to get on the right path. There are elements I liked and find intriguing. However, I don't want the tone, or at least the general storytelling of the episode to be the norm for the show. I understand you need to entertain, and on that level, it's not horrible for kids. But I think there are much better ways to do so without pandering to a juvenile level, or at the very least, balance it with moments that will matter more in the grand scheme of things.
