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Star Wars Resistance episode 11: First Order danger strikes on Station Theta Black

The midseason finale sees Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma battling it out, and Kaz earns a Skywalker's approval

Sean Keane Former Senior Writer
Sean knows far too much about Marvel, DC and Star Wars, and poured this knowledge into recaps and explainers on CNET. He also worked on breaking news, with a passion for tech, video game and culture.
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Sean Keane
3 min read
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Kaz tries to get Poe to follow orders.

Lucasfilm

A pair of movie characters clash in the 11th episode of CGI animated series Star Wars Resistance.

Kazuda Xiono (aka Kaz, played by Christopher Sean) leaves the Colossus refueling platform to rendezvous with the Resistance on the Tantive IV. He hands over the First Order's secret proposal to Captain Doza and learns that his reports have led the Resistance to a mysterious outpost used by the sinister regime.

Delightfully, he teams up with Commander Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) once again -- it would seem Poe enjoyed their dynamic last time -- to investigate Station Theta Black.

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General Leia Organa is pleased with Kaz's work

Leia (Carolyn Hennesy, who's apparently replaced Rachel Butera) lets Kaz know that his work is vital, even if the New Republic Senate won't act to stop the First Order. This inaction is what led her to secretly establish the Resistance -- as seen in the 2016 novel Bloodline -- and search for her missing brother, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.

She's also very aware of how trigger-happy Poe is when it comes to the First Order, and her command not to engage falls on deaf ears -- foreshadowing the tension between them in The Last Jedi.

"I am thrilled to be playing the iconic General Organa; it's truly a one-of-kind honor," Hennesy said of her role, in an emailed statement.

Lucasfilm and Butera didn't respond to requests for comment on the apparent casting change over the weekend.

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Leia reveals how vital Kaz's work is.

Lucasfilm

The First Order prepares for war

On the station, Kaz finds out that the First Order mined the asteroid it built into for ore, used to make blasters. It's clearly a step toward the First Order's galactic takeover, but Kaz knows that senators like his father won't think that's enough evidence to sanction New Republic action.

This attitude leads to the destruction of the New Republic capital, Hosnian Prime (seen in The Force Awakens), and the First Order march on the galaxy.

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Phasma isn't a great shot in this episode, but looks super cool.

Lucasfilm

Phasma is a pretty bad shot

Awesomely, we get to see the First Order's Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) in action in this episode as she and Major Vonreg (Lex Lang) oversee the station's demolition and hunt the Resistance intruders.

She's a deadly combatant in the novel about her past and almost overcomes Finn in The Last Jedi, but seems to be afflicted with that iconic Stormtrooper trait: having terrible aim. Poe easily dodges her shots at point-blank range, then she and her troops fail to stop them from escaping.

Afterward however, she does an awesome little cape sweep while turning, so all is forgiven.

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Kaz is still improving

"Figured I needed to do the saving for once, y'know? To be fair."

The young Resistance spy manages to save Poe from a collapsing platform -- a nice change from their usual dynamic. He also urges Poe to stick to Leia's orders regarding engagement, suggesting that he's still pretty by the book when it comes to superiors.

His piloting is improving too -- he realizes that he can't outrun the explosion after the station detonates, so he lands on an asteroid to use it as a shield against the blast.

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We get a glimpse of Starkiller Base, the First Order's star system-destroying superweapon.

Lucasfilm

Poe remains a joy

The slick Resistance pilot has lots of sharp, fun dialogue -- "Not engaging you, not engaging you -- just pointing my blaster at these explosives."

It's clear that Isaac enjoys playing this role, even in animated form, his performance a standout. The same applies to Christie as Phasma -- hopefully we'll see a lot more of this pair in upcoming episodes.

Star Wars Resistance will return in 2019 and airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Disney Channel, DisneyNOW and Disney Channel VOD.

First published at 7:30 p.m. PT on Dec. 9.
Updated at 1:30 a.m. PT on Dec. 10: Adds Hennesy.

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