Star Wars Resistance - "Rebuilding The Resistance" Review

Spoiler Warning!!!

Episode 2.17 – “Rebuilding the Resistance”
Written by – Jennifer Corbett
Directed by – Bosco Ng

Second last episode of Star Wars Resistance ever!!! Okay, take a deep breath and let’s see what they’ve given us besides the pretty obvious title.

We know how things work out for both the Resistance and the First Order as far as the war is concerned, but in this little corner of the galaxy, there’s still lots to do as we approach that part of the cinematic timeline.

We start off at the Colossus with four Resistance X-Wings showing up being led by none other than Venisa Doza (Tasia Valenza)! She’s greeted on the flight deck by Yeager and Kaz, who exchange some pleasantries and some jabbing. It’s not long before Captain Doza and Torra show up who are obviously happy to see her. It’s a family reunion for the Doza’s who didn’t get to see Venisa last time thanks to the First Order. Venisa is introduced to Kaz for the first time and Bucket and Torch have a nice reunion as well.

Like I said, she’s not alone and Kaz runs into Norath Kev (Daveed Diggs) and old buddy Hugh Sion (Sam Witwer), who are flying with Venisa. Kaz hasn’t seen his friend Hugh since their New Republic Navy days so they do a bit of reminiscing. They tell Kaz the Resistance is in trouble and needs more recruits than ever if they are going to stand a chance against the Fist Order.

We find out it’s not just some random pop-in, but a planned visit. Doza has agreed to help Venisa and the Resistance with a mission, and maybe it’s the fact that Venisa is back but Doza has pulled a bit of 180 and now seems a little more at ease when it comes to the Resistance.

The mission involves rescuing a bunch of Resistance recruits who are trapped on Dantooine, with a First Order blockade making it nearly impossible for their shuttles to leave. Venisa wants to relocate them to the Colossus, just until she can find where the Resistance needs them most. Doza surprises her with offering up the Colossus for as long as she needs and helping with the mission by providing some Aces.

Torra and Kaz who are eavesdropping, volunteer for the mission, and along with Hype Fazon and Venisa’s squad, make-up the rescue team. They all meet in the hangar after a mission briefing and prepare for their trip to Dantooine. Before Venisa joins them, she tells Yeager about her encounter with Tam back when she was being held prisoner and that she needs more time but was most assuredly conflicted. So, they gear up and leave and Doza and Yeager watch from the hangar.

Not long after coming out of hyperspace, the group runs into some TIE Fighters, who they take care of will relatively ease, but not before one of the TIE’s gets word to Commander Pyre. With the coast clear for now, Venisa sends word to the recruits that it’s now safe to take-off and they are there to escort them safely.



On Pyre’s Star Destroyer, the brass is meeting on the bridge when they get the report from Dantooine. They set course immediately with orders to Lieutenant Galek to launch her TIE’s upon arrival, and hunt down the Resistance convoy. Tam is nearby and questions the orders, having a tough time reconciling firing on defenseless personnel carriers. Galek snaps at her and puts her in her place immediately, questioning her loyalty.

Afterwards, back in Agent Tierny’s office, she presents Tam’s old commlink to her, telling her she’s done a good job forgetting her past and impressing upon Tierny her willingness to achieve. She encourages her to continue along the path of glory and puts the commlink back in her desk drawer.

Back at the convoy, they are in formation waiting to clear the planet so they can jump back to the Colossus, but the First Order shows up and disrupts their plan. The Destroyer launches TIE’s immediately (Tam and Jace among them), and they all engage in a dogfight. During the melee, Tam targets and locks onto Kaz, recognizing the Fireball, when Hugh swoops in and damages her TIE, but not fatally.

Before they can clear the planet and make the jump, one of the shuttles gets hit and their hyperdrive is damaged. It’s up to the Aces to buy the shuttle’s captain some time so she can repair the hyperdrive.

The battle begins to drag and with half their squadron gone, Tam wants them to fall back, but Galek, who is flying with them, orders them to press on with the attack. Galek, who is a very good pilot, has Kaz locked on and in trouble but then at the last second, Venisa swoops in and destroys Lieutenant Galek.

After Jace eventually destroys the damaged shuttle, the rest have no reason to stick around so Venisa has no choice but to order them all back to the station. Kaz, who lingered a bit, is shocked by the shuttle’s destruction, along with the people on board. For the First Order, with Galek gone, Tam assumes command and orders them all back to the Destroyer.

Back on board, Tam is getting praise from Agent Tierny for taking out one of the shuttles and thinks her sad demeanor is due to the loss of Galek, not the shuttle’s crew. She makes Tam squad leader which pisses off Jace, who was the one who destroyed the shuttle. He storms off, leaving a very troubled Tam alone in the hangar.

Back on the Colossus, they are mourning the loss of the people on the shuttle, each taking some part of the blame. Venisa and Doza each gives them a little speech, lifting their spirits, and they join the rest who are welcoming the recruits that did make it back safely.

Off to the side, Doza tells Venisa that her squadron and the recruits can stay on Colossus for as long as they want, saying “and whatever the Resistance needs, they can count on the Colossus. I’m done running from this fight.”

The end.



Okay, so, the Resistance has come to Kaz, not the other way around. This keeps him on the station anyways until the show wraps up next week with a 2-part special. After that, who knows what kind of life Kaz will lead.

This episode raised the stakes considerably with some key deaths dealing emotional blows to both sides. Poor Lieutenant Galek is the Captain Vonreg of Season 2 I suppose and for Kaz and the rest, they’ve come face to face with the casualties of war.

Jennifer Corbett wrote this episode, her third this season, and it was a great script. Having the crew mourn the loss of the fallen and come face to face with the ugliness of war, is something this lighthearted bunch hasn’t really had to do. So, kudos to Jennifer for that part.

And because of that great script and the nice editing, especially during the aerials, the pacing was tremendous, even with the sense of urgency sort of begging us to go faster quicker. It was nice getting to see Dantooine again, a planet we’ve only really heard about, read about, and seen briefly in shows like Star Wars Rebels and the performances were all good.

The Doza’s obviously were the stars of this episode and the voice work by all three of them was pretty darn good. Christopher Sean plays Kaz best when he’s giving us a sense of desperation and a feeling of isolation, like maybe the stakes are too high. That’s part of what makes Kaz a great character, he’s a fighter, and fighter’s fight.

Looks like their keeping Tam with the First Order right up until the very end which makes me think we’re headed for perhaps a little heartbreak in some fashion. The show is too glossy for a major death, but I can’t help but think something is coming, especially already knowing who wins the larger war. Gotta be some drama left right?

Great space dogfighting in this one and Venisa is a force to be reckoned with, but we already knew that. It was also nice to bring back Kaz’s buddy Hugh, giving him a peer in the Resistance should only make his resolve more so.

What will become of Tierny and Pyre? These types don’t typically live to see their efforts either rewarded or condemned so it’ll be interesting to see what happens. I can imagine Tam getting a tiny case of Stockholm syndrome, or at least feel a little bit of sympathy for Tierny, and not pull the “trigger” on her demise. Pyre is doomed, no doubt about that, and the reason we never see his face should tell you at least that much.

Okay, for the series finale we’ve got, “The Rescue” …

Kaz and Yeager attempt to rescue Tam from the First Order while trying to evade capture on a Star Destroyer.
Meanwhile, the Colossus is in trouble and faces an impossible choice.

Interesting, what gives them the idea to rescue Tam in the first place? The commlink Tierny showed Tam will most definitely come into play and smells like a trap to me, something Tierny has been hatching for some time. So, will Tam sneak into Tierny’s office and send a message to the Colossus that she wants help? Falling right into Pyre and Tierny’s lap?

And what about Tierny and Pyre? We still haven’t seen Kylo Ren this season, something that was indicated in the trailer, so we know he’ll show up next week as well. When he does, is that end of Pyre and Tierny?

We know how the war ends so it’s just a matter of resolving this little micro transgression with as little casualties as possible. This “impossible choice” the Colossus must make I’m sure involves leaving some folks behind or risk getting destroyed. And where will all our Colossus friends call home? Aeos? Somewhere else?

Lots to resolve next week and they’ve only got 45 minutes to do it! Oh gosh!

Till next time…MTFBWY.

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