REVIEW: Star Wars Resistance: "The New World" and "No Place Safe"
This week, Resistance gave us two back-to-back episodes, and for the most part, I thought they were pretty good, though I have some complaints, Surprisingly, I have been enjoying the last couple weeks of Resistance, which gives me hope the show will give a satisfying finale in the coming weeks.
The New World
First up, I'll talk about the first episode, "The New World." The episode sees the Colossus find a potential new home after months of searching, on a new water type planet no less. The Aces are tasked with scouting the planet to see if it's safe, with Kaz and Griff discovering the First Order recently attacked the planet because it once hosted a Rebel Alliance outpost years ago.
First off, the episode surprisingly highlights Griff, even if it was for a little bit. We find out Captain Doza was his commanding officer in the Empire, and that he gave him the option to leave with him. That being said, I feel like it is too little, too late to try and give any development at this point to any member of the Aces. Other than Torra, and perhaps Hype, none of the other members of the Aces has gotten any real development or growth, and just serve as secondary characters that are used to fly ships and shoot targets, which is a shame.
On the other hand, this episode, as well as the next episode, continues to highlight how far Kaz has grown as a person. He feels uncomfortable about hiding, as he knows the stakes of the war and the Resistance, and wants to do everything he can to help, which is certainly a far cry from the scared coward he was at the beginning of the show. While he is still clumsy, I do appreciate how Kaz has grown and accepted the galaxy as a whole, as yeah, he should be there to help the Resistance, and he does want to do the right thing in the end, which is a good role model to have for kids...which is this show's target audience.
Eventually, Griff and Kaz get captured by the natives of the planet, the Aeosians, while others begin to attack the Colossus. They think the Colossus and its members are First Order, so the rest of the episode deals with Kaz trying to prove they mean no harm, before more fighting breaks out, which again, shows how far Kaz has come. The two groups ultimately come to an agreement and the Aeosian queen allows the Colossus to stay, which, as you can imagine, isn't going to last long.
Overall, I thought this episode was pretty good, with great animation and designs. It highlights Kaz's growth, and I suppose any development for the Aces is appreciated, but again, feels too late to make an impact.
No Place Safe
The next episode, "No Place Safe," I also thought was pretty good. We see Kaz make the decision to leave the Colossus to join the Resistance. Again, it makes sense, and I thought Kaz saying goodbye to Neeku, Doza, Torra, Synara, and Yeager were honestly pretty emotional.
However, if I'm being honest, I knew it wasn't going to last. I knew that something was going to happen to alert the First Order, and drag Kaz back to protect the Colossus. And sure enough, that's exactly what happens. In fact, that leads to my biggest problem with the episode, time, or lack thereof. What do I mean by this?
Well, this episode takes place immediately after "The New World," so Kaz immediately decides to leave right then and there. I think the episode would have been better, and made more of an impact, if it took place a few weeks, of even a month after they got settled, allowing Kaz's leave to feel more organic. Plus, it would mirror Han's decision to leave Echo Base in The Empire Strikes Back. Also, when Kaz leaves the Colossus, he doesn't even get a chance to leave the system to go to hyperspace when he gets attacked, and has his ship disabled by a probe droid. Again, it felt kind of forced and rushed to me. The message was there, I just wish the execution was a lot better.
Granted, the rest of the episode is one giant action sequence, and I thought it was handled well, as it was easily the biggest, and best ship fight in the series so far, thanks in no small part due to the Aeosians helping the Colossus fight the First Order, "Avatar style."
The battle showcases just how far Kaz has progressed as a leader, as well as how the Aces have improved as a fighting force.
The episode also gives a special highlight to Tam as well, as during the battle and beforehand, she seems apprehensive to fight the Aces, and when she has Kaz locked in her sights, she doesn't pull the trigger, but does save a star destroyer from Kaz's proton torpedo. I wish Tam got more screen time throughout the season, as I feel like it would help make it more convincing when she eventually turns against the First Order.
Once again, the Colossus is able to escape and are on the run. It is kind of frustrating how useless the star destroyers are in this show as they barely do any real damage against the Colossus, other than slowly damaging their shields. For her bravery, Tam is made a second squad lieutenant, which isn't probably going to matter much.
Overall, despite my complaints, I really enjoyed this episode. I just wished this episode was given more time to breathe and not rush through everything at a breakneck pace. Huh, I guess this episode is like The Rise of Skywalker in a way.
