Star Wars Resistance "Descent" Review

Spoiler warning!

Episode 1.20 – “Descent”
Directed by – Bosco Ng
Written by – Paul Giacoppo

This week picks up right after last week with Commander Pyre and some Troopers at the fireball shop, there to arrest everybody. They know the Fireball was the ship that left Castilon and ventured off to Sector Epsilon 51-3, a restricted area, they just don’t know who was piloting it. With Neeku and Tam still in the dark about Kaz being a Resistance spy, they are thoroughly confused and plead their innocence. Yeager of course knows it was Kaz but protests anyways. Despite their pleas, the First Order is determined to take them all in.

Sensing it’s a lost cause, Yeager signals Bucket, who is hiding off to the side, and he fills the hangar with smoke, allowing them to fight off the Troopers and escape to Yeager’s office which they seal behind them. During the confusion Bucket was shot and fell off the platform and Tam was left behind and forced to surrender, still maintaining their innocence.

Kaz, Jarek, Neeku and CB-23 escape through a secret door in Yeager’s office which leads to some tunnels under the floor grating in the station. Neeku is very scared and confused so Kaz comes clean and tells him he’s the Resistance spy they’re looking for. Neeku thinks Kaz is making a joke to break the tension and instead of convincing him further, they carry on.

We cut to Captain Doza’s office where Torra and her father are talking about the First Order and how difficult things are now with them around. He tells her he’s doing all he can when they are interrupted by Commander Pyre. He informs them about the raid on the Fireball shop and that they have Tam in custody. Pyre tells them another ship is coming in with Agent Tierny of the Fist Order Security Bureau who is there to interrogate Tam. Doza is more or less helpless still as he’s still trying to appear neutral.

Meanwhile, the boys are still roaming the tunnels when they are spotted by some Troopers through some grating. They make a run for it and when they are eventually trapped, the floor below suddenly opens and they fall into the arms of some awaiting Chelidae, safe for now. While down there they run into the children Kel and Eila who tell hem about a safe place where they can lay low for a bit. They are excited to learn that Kaz is a Resistance spy, something they overheard earlier when Kaz told Neeku, who for his part still doesn’t believe him.

When they arrive at the hiding space, much to Yeager’s delight, Bucket is there waiting for them seemingly unharmed. They begin to formulate a plan with step one involving getting a message the Resistance and the step two, rescuing Tam. They will deal with the First Order later once reinforcements arrive, in the form of the Resistance.

Meanwhile, the First Order brings Tam to see Agent Tierny who is waiting in Captain Doza’s office. She asks Tam if she knows anything about the Resistance and tells her that Poe Dameron and the rest of the Resistance are dangerous and enemies of the New Republic and the First Order. Tam of course doesn’t know anything, and Doza is getting angry with the questioning so Tierny takes her away to someplace with more privacy.

They go to the Aces’s Lounge and Tierny continues her questioning of Tam who maintains they are all innocent. She tells Tam that Kaz is not a poor racing pilot but in reality, a wealthy member of the New Republic Fleet and Resistance spy. She has the records to prove it and shows them to Tam show is shocked. Tierny is a smooth and charming interrogator and seems to be wooing Tam. How will Kaz’s lies affect Tam once they are reunited? We should find out next week.

In order to contact the Resistance, the guys down below need to shut down the signal jammer located in the tower that the First Order has set up. With all the added security that seems like an impossible task so Kaz gets the crazy idea to lower the entire station into the water leaving only the tower above the surface. In order to do that and keep everyone from drowning, they must get Doza to seal all the station’s hatches first, a mission they assign to CB-23. He manages to reach Doza and Torra, posing as a food service droid, and relays the plan to them. It’s a funny moment seeing Doza’s reaction against Torra’s who thinks it will be exciting and fun.

If you ever wondered, here’s how you sink the Colossus in three easy steps: decrease the ballast, increase downward thrust, and shutdown the main turbines. Done.

As the station begins to sink, we get reactions from various denizens are scrambling for shelter. The hatches and bulkheads close just in time. Jarek and Kaz swim out underneath the station and make it to the signal jammer which is still above water. They disable it and get a message to General Organa…

“This is Kazuda Xiono of the Colossus. The First Order has taken complete control of the station, we are under total lockdown and in danger. Please, send help immediately.”

Pyre and Tierny who are in Doza’s office get word the jammer is down feel like this whole thing is no coincidence. Pyre sends some Troopers go to investigate the jammer’s disturbance and they spot Kaz, CB and Yeager but before they can arrest Kaz, Jarek shoves him into the ocean and surrender’s himself, saving Kaz and CB-23 in the process. So, for those keeping track, the First Order now has Tam and Yeager. CB-23 received an answer from the Resistance but didn’t have a chance to listen to it before they were interrupted by the First Order.

We then pan out to the ocean where we see Kragan and the rest of pirates who have intercepted and are listening to the signal that Kaz sent! Synara is with them and shows great concern for her friends on the platform and it looks like the Pirates, who still have a score to settle with the First Order, will come to Kaz’s aid by the season’s end.



Back in the hideout, Kaz managed to swim back and tells the others that Jarek was arrested saving him and CB-23 in the process. Together they watch the response from General Organa…

“Kazuda, I have received your message. Our forces are few and divided and as much as it pains me to say we have no ships to spare. I am sending coordinates to the location of our next base, if you can leave Castilon, join us. You should know that throughout the galaxy many people are fighting oppression in any way they can. You are not alone Kazuda, may the Force be with you.”

While saddened and disappointed to hear that the Resistance can’t help, Kaz doesn’t give the offer a second thought. He says they will continue to fight, free their friends and save the Colossus!

The end.

So, this is the third last episode before we get to the season finale which is a two-parter and it was a doozy. As was the case for weeks, war is coming to Colossus and Kaz was faced with an incredible decision really, leave Colossus and join up with the Resistance or stay behind and help his friends. Since he’s the star of the show, not hard to predict his answer but it’s nice to hear him say it.

Kaz has stepped up considerably the last couple of episodes and even Yeager at one point this episode makes note of it, saying he’d follow him into battle any time. As for Tam, she has finally learned the truth about Kaz thanks to Agent Tierny, so it’ll be interesting to see how she reacts the next time they see each other which should be during her rescue. Also, will Tierny’s sale’s pitch harden Tam’s position that the First Order isn’t the bad guys everyone thinks they are?

Her feeling of betrayal and disappointment towards Kaz will be palpable and it’ll be interesting to see the state of their relationship by the end of the season. There are rumors Tam may join the First Order, that may be true temporarily, but don’t expect it to last. I could see a situation where they go to rescue her and she refuses to leave, a little Stockholm syndrome situation.

Captain Doza for his part is doing the best he can while still maintaining a working relationship with Pyre and the First Order. He has decided to trust Kaz for the time being but at some point, the First Order will figure out that Doza is helping him, and I would expect them to attempt to arrest him as well.

Neeku continues to fade into the background and is easily the most disposable lead character this season. Especially as the dramatic stakes reach insane heights his brand of humor, which makes up most of his character profile, is increasingly misplaced and distracting. Hopefully they explore more of his background in Season Two once things have settled a little bit.

The big surprise at the end was of course seeing Kragan and the pirates intercept the message meant for the Resistance. How will they respond? Synara will obviously want to help her friends but what will Kragan and the rest do? They still have a score to settle with the First Order so I’d bet we’re looking at an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” situation and they will join Kaz in his fight against the First Order.

I love this scenario so much and I can’t wait to see the reaction from Commander Pyre and Kaz both when Kragan, Synara and the rest show up. Remember, Kaz’s plea for help from the Resistance was turned down so he’ll be just as surprised as Pyre is. I’m hoping for a scene where Kragan and Kaz shake hands after the battle is won and agree on a temporary truce of some kind.

Amazingly this late in the season, we get a fantastic new character in the form of Agent Tierny voiced by Sumalee Montano. She seems like a great and thoughtful character and I can’t wait to see more of her. As we are now officially into The Force Awakens territory, the show will have to materialize a roster of villains to stick around. They already have Commander Pyre and Captain Vonreg so Tierny will make a great addition. She’s smooth, calculating, devious and even a little charming. I know they’re comparing her to Kallus, but she will be this show’s Thrawn, mark my words.

"Descent" is great example of this show doing everything well. The writing is incredibly efficient, the pacing is airtight, the acting some of the best of the season, and conception and execution of the episode's specific plot specifically is dynamic. This show makes use of the space as good as any and early on in the season I figured I'd be tired of Colossus by now, but the writers keep finding smart and creative ways to not letting it go stale. As with the recent trend, this show is achieving a high mark heading into the end of Season One, approaching what should be a wild 2-part finale.

As for next week, we’ve got “No Escape, Part 1” …

“Kaz, Neeku, Torra devise a plan to free their friends, but it’s upended when Kaz bears witness to the full might of the First Order.”

This is the clip we’ve seen from the mid-season trailer where Kaz and Torra witness the now famous speech by General Hux right before the Starkiller Base destroys the Hosnian System. This should be a fairly emotional moment for Kaz whose parents live on Hosnian Prime.

Will he be able to overcome his grief and focus on the task at hand? It wouldn’t be much of a show if he didn’t so expect Kaz to turn his sorrow into resolve and take on the First Order with a fury and might. Besides, with Tam and Jarek still under lock and key, he’ll have time to grieve later should he choose.

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