In the third episode of season 2 of Star Wars: Resistance we learn a great many things about what sets the Resistance apart from the First Order. And Tam gets to experience it first hand. A great episode that allows for a good discussion … with spoilers.

The need for defence

In the second episode our friends aboard the Colossus barely managed to escape the First Order as they were attempting to resupply the ship. As a result they got the hyperdrive fuel they wanted, but the quest for the coaxium prevented them from finding any other goods. As a result the situation has become so bad that even the Colossus’s cantina has started to serve water as it s one-and-only drink available. But now is not yet the time to worry about supplies and Captain Dosa has more pressing worries on his mind … as do the Aces.

The Aces entered into combat with the First Order pilots and the result came as quite a shock to them. Although all managed to get out of episode 2 alive, they did realize they had their butts kicked. So in this episode we find our Ace-pilots reflecting on what could have turned out a nasty surprise: the First Order pilots are well-trained and will not intend to let go of their prey any time soon. As they are contemplating what they could do about that, they hear the inevitable conclusion from Dosa’s mouth. There will need to be a serious defensive training programme.

A world of contrast

And so it transpires that Yeager and Kazuda, as the new squadron leaders of the self-defence force of the Colossus, team up in an effort to teach these flying aces a lesson. Oh and how they do: especially Hype Fazon’s racer-mentality gets the better of him and instead of covering his wing-mates he strives to be the one to shoot down Kaz. However the result is that Yeager and Kaz in team-work easily dispose of the entire team of flying aces.

Initially Hype doesn’t take this to well. It might seem at this point that the story will revolve around Hype’s story-arc and in a way it does. But it is right here that a far more interesting arc gets woven into the story. Because parallel to the events aboard the Colossus we also see Tam’s first training as a First Order pilot. In part this means we see Tam’s genuine determination to do well … and her success in doing well. It leaves us with little doubt that Tam was a good pilot all along in season 1. She just never got the chance in Yeager’s team or aboard the Colossus.

But the episode then proceeds to also show us what the difference is between the two world: Colossus and First Order. Where Yeager & Kaz train their fellow pilots in team-work and how team-work makes the team much stronger than a collection of individuals could ever hope to be, The First Order operates a Darwinian survival of the fittest approach. Tam gets told off because she saves a squadron-mate and is by-passed for promotion because of it. The First Order simply wants to weed out weak pilots, the Colossus us a place that seeks to train them.

Why did she leave?

Hype Fazon in the end finds a way to … well I should say Tora Dosa finds a way to win Hype back to the team after Hype’s abysmal performance in the first training mission. It reveals a lot about Tora’s character that she on the one hand knows exactly which buttons she needs to push with Hype, but on the other hand she remains completely genuine and non-manipulative. That is quite some good writing there.

But Hype’s struggle with his own deficiencies isn’t his main contribution to this story. It is one question he asks Kaz that really resounded with me the most: why did she leave? Hype suggests that Tam might have left the Colossus because of Kaz. And to some extent that is true given how Kaz lied to her about his actual involvement with the Resistance. But much more is that, as we now know, Tam is actually a very good pilot who served as a mechanic in the shade of Hype Fazon and even Kaz under Yeager’s tutelage. Kaz failed to see it. Hype failed to see it … but also Yeager failed to see it. It is something they will need to face before Tam’s story arc can come full circle.

Conclusion

This was a very entertaining episode. For the lovers of dogfights there is more then enough to see her. For those who wanted some more background on The First Order and their insidious rise to power, they too were served well. Finally the viewers to appreciate character-development got their full delivery as well. Showing significant development in Tam, Hype and Kaz was a pleasure to watch. All in all a very good episode and all the more reason to recommend the series to people.

Link to watch:
you can watch the episode here.