Star Wars Resistance episode 18: The Descent washes out the truth
We're getting that sinking feeling as the season finale looms.
Some beautiful synchronized moves from the First Order.
Goodbye, status quo.
The 18th episode of CGI animated series Star Wars Resistance changes everything after last week's cliffhanger ending saw the First Order arresting Team Fireball.
Turns out the Fireball got spotted when Resistance spy Kazuda Xiono (aka Kaz, played by Christopher Sean) took a scouting trip into First Order space.
The team manages to escape, but not unscathed. Eccentric astromech droid Bucket gets blasted by Commander Pyre (Liam McIntyre) and apparently falls into the ocean, while mechanic Tam Ryvora (Suzie McGrath) is captured.
This leaves Kaz, Neeku Vozo (Josh Brener) and Jarek Yeager (Scott Lawrence) with the task of rescuing their friends and taking down the First Order's communication blackout so they can contact the Resistance for help.
Everybody knows
Kaz has done a poor job of maintaining his cover as a mechanic while trying to root out a First Order spy on the Colossus refueling platform, but it's been under wraps until now. He comes clean with Neeku, Kel (Anthony Del Rio) and Eila (Nikki SooHoo) overhear, and the First Order tells Tam.
There's no going back from this. The show's comfortable established formula of Kaz sneaking off to investigate what the First Order is up to and then returning to his job has been washed away. It's a refreshing change and leaves things up in the air for season 2.
Oddly, the show seems to have abandoned the First Order spy plot thread. It was the original reason for Kaz going to the Colossus, but it's hardly developed at all since then and the list of possible suspects has dwindled. Perhaps the writers are playing the long game and we're in for a major betrayal from a character we trust?
At least it turns out Bucket survived his fall -- the Chelidae maintenance workers apparently caught him in a fishing net, much to Jaeger's delight.
Agent Tierny tries to convince Tam that the First Order is a force for good.
Tam is being charmed
First Order Security Bureau agent Tierny (Sumalee Montano) treats a captive Tam with respect and paints the Resistance as a terrorist group.
"I'm not a monster, Tamara," says Tierny (apparently referring to Tam's full name, which we hadn't heard in the show before). "Our goal is galactic peace through absolute order, nothing more."
Oh, is that all? It's likely that the village Kylo Ren orders slaughtered and the people of Hosnian Prime, the planet wiped out by the First Order in The Force Awakens, would disagree with its methods.
Tierny further convinces Tam by revealing that Kaz is actually a member of one of Hosnian Prime's richest families and a Resistance spy, leaving her feeling betrayed by her friends. Of course, the First Order is about to destroy Hosnian Prime. How will Tam react to this?
Even though Tierny is working for the bad guys, she's very slick and convincing. Her uniform is also really cool, but that's to be expected -- the villains in Star Wars are always the stylish ones.
Things get very wet on the Colossus.
New hairdos
To reach the First Order communication jammer at the peak of the Colossus, Team Fireball must lower the whole platform into the ocean so Kaz and Yaeger can swim to the top and deactivate the jamming.
CB-23 (who's proving as capable as the departed BB-8) manages to get a message to Colossus boss Captain Doza (Jason Hightower) and his daughter Torra (Myrna Velasco) to seal the platform's hatches so the residents won't all drown.
With the Colossus underwater, Kaz, Yaeger and CB take a dip and reach the jammer. The two humans end up with floppy wet hair -- such aesthetic changes are rare in a CGI animated show, where producing new assets can be expensive.
They send a message seeking backup from the Resistance, but Yaeger lets himself get captured so Kaz can escape.
CB-23 projects a holographic Leia, recreating an iconic Star Wars image.
Unexpected help may be on the way
Remember the group of pirates the First Order betrayed? They're still out there, and intercept Kaz's message to the Resistance. We know Synara San (Nazneen Contractor) sympathizes with the people of the Colossus, so she'll probably convince the pirates to take vengeance on the First Order (and help her friends in the process).
CB-23 downloaded a reply from the Resistance and projects a holographic General Leia Organa (Carolyn Hennesy), who has bad news. The rebel group's forces are too few to provide backup, but Leia sends Kaz the coordinates to its next base and suggests that he join them.
This is pretty exciting, as Leia must be referring to the base the Resistance was heading to in The Last Jedi -- it's highly likely we'll see it in season 2 and Episode IX. It's also cool to see the classic New Hope image of Leia projected as hologram.
Kaz declares that they're the Resistance now, and vows to take back the Colossus. But two of their allies are First Order captives and Tam could very well join the bad guys, so things are pretty exciting as we face the first episode of the two-part season finale next week.
Star Wars Resistance airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Disney Channel, DisneyNOW and Disney Channel VOD.