Star Wars Revisited: Resistance
The Rise of Skywalker is almost here, and it’s supposedly the conclusion to the Skywalker Saga. So, I’ve decided to attempt a full canon rewatch before it releases, reviewing each chapter as I go. That’s all the movies, as well as the Clone Wars, Rebels, and Resistance TV series. We continue today with Star Wars: Resistance.
I have to admit up front that I didn’t get around to watching all of this show. Not for lack of trying. I made a solid effort. Trouble was, there just isn’t enough time for me to get through this show AND watch The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi before Rise of Skywalker. Sacrifices had to be made.
The other problem was that I simply don’t care enough about the show to keep going.
I should probably clarify that last statement a bit because I think it comes off a little unfair. Me not caring much about about the show isn’t really the show’s fault. Resistance is aimed at a younger audience, and it brings with it certain types of characters that I just don’t enjoy watching as a nearly 40 year old dude. I’m sure my kids would enjoy it, and I’d show it to them if it weren’t for its other big issue: It’s already been cancelled.
It’s a weird situation. The show’s cancellation and season 2 trailer hit on the same day. They say the show is coming to its epic conclusion, but the ratings tell a different story. Folks didn’t really like this show, or at least they didn’t like it enough to want to buy action figures and, you know, actually keep watching it. That’s kind of a shame because the show really does play in an interesting sandbox. This is a Star Wars show that doesn’t really have anything to do with The Force. This show is all about pilots, which is actually pretty neat.
The main character is an annoying young man named Kaz. I really don’t know how to explain this guy except for “cartoon dude.” He’s kind of goofy, clumsy, and cracks lots of bad jokes that don’t land with the audience or the other people in the show. He’s not a believable character in any way shape or form. His closest friend is a green alien dude named Neeku, who is basically a cross between Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Drax from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. He’s kind of nerdy and extremely kind, but he takes everything “comedically” literally. His comedy never hit with me either.
The rest of the cast are a pretty by-the-numbers bunch, with the exception of Tam. Tam is a mechanic who is an incredibly underutilized character all through season 1. She’s your stereotypical sassy girl character, and she’s… fine, I guess? She’s completely forgettable, and the show doesn’t really pay her much attention as a character. I thought nothing of it, assuming she was just some background character they’d use to further plots when necessary, except it turns out her being overlooked was actually very intentional.
Kaz is an ace pilot, or at least he wants to be, who gets recruited to the Resistance by Poe Dameron (played gleefully here by Oscar Isaacs, which is super fun.) Instead of joining up and being the hotshot he wants to be, Poe sends Kaz to live as a spy, which is where he falls in with this mechanic crew lead by Yeager, who is also secretly a spy and Poe’s friend. Everyone else on the team thinks Kaz and Yeager are exactly who they say they are. At the end of season 1, their cover gets blown, and Tam feels so betrayed that she leaves them for the First Order. It isn’t played up like some stupid heel turn either, she genuinely feels betrayed by Kaz and Yeager, and the First Order is selling her on a bill of goods that seems pretty enticing for a struggling young mechanic. Steady work, a good job, and not working for a couple of people who have effectively been lying to her for months. It isn’t all that sudden either. She makes it pretty clear several times throughout the season that she doesn’t understand the hate for the First Order. They’re just trying to bring peace to the galaxy. She’s wring, obviously, but it’s a cool perspective to see presented here.
This is pretty cool stuff, and I’d like to know where it all goes, but getting here was DULL. Well, most of the time. Season 1 starts off really dull and honestly tough to get through. Again, this is a much more childish show than Rebels and Clone Wars. I’m good with watching kids shows when they have enough to offer adults that sitting through the super childish stuff is worth it. I like childish stuff, after all. But this show’s sense of humor, scope, and storytelling, especially through the bulk of season 1, just didn’t click with me. It was never flat out bad, and for as silly as some of the characters are, they never reach Jar Jar or Hondo levels, but no matter how much I watched, it really had a hard time getting its hooks into me until about 3/4 of the way through the season when we started getting some cool looks into the First Order’s rise to power, and how they made Starkiller base. We aren’t talking anything earth shattering, but it certainly got more interesting as it went on.
Like I said, that’s not really this show’s fault. Not everything has to be for me, and having a straight up Star Wars kids show that is genuinely considered canon and isn’t made of Legos is a cool thing. I just wish more kids felt the same because Resistance could probably have found its footing and really made something of itself.
I might watch season 2 because things did get interesting, but with so much other good television out there, I might wait for the finale and see if it actually wraps itself up. If it ends on some big cliffhanger that will never get resolved, I won’t bother. As for whether or not you should bother, that’s all going to depend on just how well you deal with children’s programming and how much you want to experience all of Star Wars canon.
Oh, who am I kidding? It’s Star Wars. I’m gonna watch it. I came this far.
And that’s it, folks. We’re all out of side stories and offshoots. All we have left are The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, two divisive movies that I genuinely love. And then, of course, the grand finale, Rise of Skywalker. It’s a heck of a time to be a Star Wars fan. See you soon!
