In Episode 2 of season 2 of Star Wars: Resistance we are already catching up with the events of The Last Jedi. Kaz and his friends face the aftermath of the battle over D’Qar system in what turns out to be a great episode. Spoilers!!

Echoes over D’Qar

After being reunited with our Resistance friends in the first episode of this season we also realize they are in pretty dire straits after their escape from the First Order in the Season One finale. That season ended with the destruction of Kaz’s homeworld, Hosnian Prime, and their narrow delivery from the claws of the First Order by the Colossus’ hyperdrive. In need of fuel and other supplies they had decided to connect with the Resistance and head over to D’Qar where Kaz knows them to have a base.

In this episode we see a little more of the inside of our new community of refugees. Uniting the former enemies of Colossus crew and Pirates definitely works out well in the Cantina where there is a definite pub-spirit with occasional fights and scrambles breaking out, but also the shortage of supplies becoming noticeable. In parallel we see how Tam’s life as a First Order pilot-trainee is slowly taking shape. She discovers that Kaz has left her a message on her com and is put in an awkward position when a fellow trainee finds out about it. Is she really going to start her career at the First Order by communicating with the enemy?

Not only Tam has a “message from the past” haunting her. Kaz receives a message from his father. This brings him joy as he learns that most of his family was off-world when the Starkiller weapon destroyed their planet, but it also brings him dread as just before the signal breaks up his father adamantly warns him not to go to D’Qar to team up with the Resistance. However they are already set on their course there. So with anticipation they away the jump out of hyperspace.

Upon their arrival at D’Qar they see the remnants and debris of the battle that has taken place there perhaps only hours before. The First Order fleet has evidently jumped away, but the orbits around D’Qar are littered with the debris of smashed up Resistance X-Wings and bombers as well as First Order Tie’s. At the center of it all is the ‘corpse’ of the Dreadnaught that had been taken out by the Resistance’s doomed bomber-fleet. A deep red wound on the planet’s surface reminds us where the Resistance base once used to be.

A Salvage mission

The episode then transforms into a fairly standard, but entertaining, salvage & run mission. After realizing that the First Order dreadnaught might still have coaxium supplies that could feed the Colossus’ hyperdrive Kaz manages to convince the Pirates to join in for a salvage mission. Evidently the pirates are interested in whatever weaponry and gear the First Order have left behind, the Colossus crew goes for the fuel and the supply. It is an uneasy alliance, but it works. Neeku gets his moment to shine when only his hand is steady enough to plug the very volatile and explosive coaxium tube into the hyperdrive while the Colossus is under fire from the First Order.

Because of course that is what happens: the First Order jumps into the system not too long after the salvage mission has started and hence the “run”. Unbeknownst to our friends however, the reason why the First Order managed to find them is not hyperspace-tracking this time but Tam who handed her commlink in to her commanding officers. Tam’s officers invite her in to witness the destruction of her friends from the bridge of their First Order Star Destroyer. The unease this creates for Tam is clearly visible on her face, but along with it a determination to fit in.

Her superiors however note her unease and in a private conversation, after the Colossus escaped and Tam is sent back to her quarters, they discuss whether Tam needs “conditioning”. They decide not to as they want to preserve her usefulness as bait for the Colossus crew … for now. Tam is in way over her head and we are left in a little doubt whether she still supports her choice of joining them.

Summary

I really like how Star Wars: Resistance decides not to play around for time. We quickly have received confirmation about the fate of Kaz’s family, we swiftly see Tam’s First Order life taking off and Kaz’s storyline swiftly connects to the events of The Last Jedi. I like that. I think it is very likely that Leia’s desperate call at the end of The Last Jedi will either be with us during the mid-season finale, or perhaps already much sooner.

What I loved about the second half of season 1 was how Resistance successfully filled the Sequel Trilogy universe with more stories going on in parallel. For me this made the whole Sequel Trilogy universe more satisfying and multi-facetted. I am thoroughly enjoying that Season 2 picks up this thread straight away. It is fun to think about the first half of The Last Jedi while having in mind that Kaz is out there as well struggling with his friends on the Colossus for survival. It actually causes a real tension as we know that Leia’s call in Episode VIII is not answered by the Colossus! So something drastic must be on the near horizon that stops them from returning Leia’s plea for help. But it also does something else: what felt like utter abandonment and failure of the Resistance in The Last Jedi, “they heard the call but no one came“, now becomes: “they heard the call but couldn’t come! The First Order’s presence is far broader than just Hux pursueing Leia’s resistance fighters.

I loved how this episode sets up the stories of Tam and Kaz as a side-by-side and I surely hope this will be a feature of the entire half of this season. It gives both characters a chance to reflect on issues such as trust and betrayal, it allows us to explore the differences in live amongst the Order and amongst the free, frail and sometimes morally questionable crew of the Colossus. It makes the whole Sequel Trilogy universe come much more alive. The Sequel Trilogy films have so far not been very good at convincingly hinting at other worlds and the going-ons in the rest of the Galaxy. The Original and Prequel Trilogies excelled at this. But Star Wars: Resistance fills out that weakness in a very smart and well-executed way. It has me glued to its weekly schedule.

Want to Watch Star Wars: Resistance online? The site comes with “ads” and fairly low resolution. But it is free and definitely good enough for watching it with pleasure on your phone, tablet or laptop.