REVIEW: Star Wars Resistance: "The Escape"
Star Wars Resistance ended its short two-season run in style with a very strong series finale, "The Escape." It was dark. It was emotional. It was action-packed. The stakes were never higher in the show. It was everything, in theory, that you could have wanted in a series finale. That being said, while this episode is one of the show's best, and one of my favorite episodes, to me, it doesn't feel quite as definitive as it could have been, nor does it fully connect to The Rise of Skywalker in a way that I would have wanted.
One thing I mentioned earlier is that this is easily the darkest episode of the show. Go fitting, since this is the finale. The episode literally starts with the First Order bombing and destroying the Aeosian people for helping the Colossus, which was unexpected to me, but in a good way. It didn't expect the show to showcase the brutality of the First Order like that, but it makes sense, given their track record in the movies, books, and comics.
This is the final straw for Tam, as she finally sees the First Order for what they are, and sends a message to Kaz to try and get him to rescue her. While I still would have liked to see more of Tam's solo adventures in the First Order to make her defection more convincing, showing the opening sequence the way that it did gives a little more credence, rather than only relying on last week's episode.
Eventually, Kaz, Yeager, and CB-23 agree to meet up with Tam on the place the show began, Castilon. As George Lucas would say: "It's like poetry, it rhymes." Anyway, Tam is forced to lie and say she is on a training mission with her squad, forced to be accompanied by two other Tie Fighters and Rucklin. Eventually, Tam has to make the decision to kill the other ships and knock out Rucklin (he was in her Tie). It's here where the three members of Team Fireball reunite, and I thought the scene was handled perfectly. Kaz is willing to forgive and accept Tam back with open arms, which is fitting with his character, while Yeager, while still happy to see her, is mad and calls her out on her decision, which also makes sense for his character.
However, their reunion is cut short when the First Order, led by Commander Pyre and Agent Tierney arrive, and trap them in a tractor beam. This is where part one of the episode ends.
From here on out, part two is one giant, tense, action-packed romp through a star destroyer, and it was awesome to me. I'll admit, the action in Resistance usually isn't as good as Rebels, and especially the Clone Wars, but this episode had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The episode sees the four rebels desperately on the run and vulnerable, which was refreshing to see. I also thought the First Order was threatening and intimidating. It was also nice seeing the interactions between Tam, Yeager, and Kaz, as they worked together to try and get out of the situation they were placed in alive.
The one minor complaint I have with the episode is that, like the Empire before them, the First Order seems to ignore, or don't take the threat of a rebel droid seriously, as they know CB-23 is with them, and on board, but don't even bother trying to search the ship for her, which, proves to be their downfall, as all good rebel droids do.
Meanwhile, all the residents of the Colossus, throughout the episode, finally decide enough is enough, and decides to not run, but hold their ground against the First Order. Venisa also leads the Aces and her squadron in a beautifully animated space battle that destroys the star destroyer. It's nothing we haven't seen before in Star Wars, that being people rising up against tyranny, but for the purposes of this show, I thought it was handled well and was well earned, considering all the hell the First Order put the residents of the Colossus through.
As mentioned previously, the Aces help destroy the star destroyer, the residents of the Colossus hold off a First Order invasion, and the members of Team Fireball are able to escape in time and return home. The series ends in a very sweet scene where everyone reunites and celebrates back at Aunt Z's. Also, I forgot to mention, all the villains died in the explosion, including Tierney, Pyre, and Rucklin. Again, easily the darkest episode.
That being said. That leads into my biggest issue with the episode. Nothing per say was horrible with the actual episode itself, as I thought it wrapped up the individual stories of the characters well. My problem was that it doesn't really fully connect to the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Yes, StarWars.com revealed at least Kaz, Yeager, and Torra participated in the final battle at the end of the film, but I would have liked an epilogue of some kind, like what was done in Rebels, to show what happened to the characters, and perhaps them meeting the bigger Resistance.
Hell, it could have been something as simple as a message played by Lando stating all ships across the galaxy are needed for a final battle. It would have made the finale, and the show as a whole, feel more connected to the events of the sequel trilogy, as that was what the show was originally marketed as, bridging the films together.
Still, as it is, I thought the overall finale was handled really well, and easily one of the best episodes of the series.
I wanted to use this section to talk about Kylo Ren in this episode. While I wanted to see him more throughout the season, and do more overall, I can understand why he was only used in the limited capacity that he was, because, like Vader in Rebels, if you use him too much, he will either be neutered down in power, or would realistically make short work of the Colossus crew.
That being said, his two appearances in the episode were awesome. In his first appearance, he, across the galaxy through a hologram, forces both Tierney and Pyre to move and point their blasters at each other in a way of threatening them with failure. The second time, when Tierney does fail, he forces chokes her, through a hologram again, preventing her from trying to escape from the exploding ship. In each appearance, a rendition of his theme, "Torn Apart," plays, which was a bit of great fan service if I'm being honest.
