TV REVIEW: ‘Star Wars Resistance’ – ‘Secrets and Holograms’ & ‘Station Theta Black’ – “Star Wars Resistance” continues its solid run into the origins of the First Order and also debuts a legacy “Star Wars” character

Warning: Spoilers for “Secrets and Holograms,” “Station Theta Black” and prior episodes of “Star Wars Resistance” follow.

While it hasn’t enamored me completely yet, “Star Wars Resistance” has continued to provide solid explorations into the sequel trilogy era, and these two episodes are no different. The threat of the First Order is fleshed out even more, especially in the most recent episode, “Station Theta Black,” with Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) taking charge for once. One of the things that has interested me most about the newest trilogy of films has been the mystery behind the formation of the First Order as well as simply the state of the galaxy at large. Both of these questions are being answered by the series, and besides its diverse cast, they may be my favorite aspect of “Resistance” thus far.

“Secrets and Holograms”

Probably my favorite of the Aces, Torra Doza (Myrna Velasco) gets the spotlight for this episode, as does her relationship with her father. I like that the episode tells the story through her point of view in a way and that it gives further insight into just how cool of a character she is. Myrna Velasco does such a great job at giving the character a sort of spunk and fun outlook on life, which pairs her nicely with Kaz (Christopher Sean) for the episode.

With Commander Pyre (Liam McIntyre) arriving to discuss a deal of protection from pirates with Captain Doza (Jason Hightower), Doza keeps his daughter locked in her room as his way of protecting her. Torra very quickly manages to sneak out and ends up coming across Kaz, who is on his own mission to spy on Doza’s meeting with Pyre. Starved of social interaction, Torra takes Kaz to hang out, which Kaz happily agrees to in order to gain access to where the meeting is being held. While Kaz does come to enjoy this spot of friendship as well, Torra is pretty quick to figure out his true motive.

Image courtesy of Lucasfilm

While I knew he had to have some sympathy to make a deal with the First Order, I will say I was surprised to learn the revelation that Doza was an Imperial Officer, which Kaz discovers through hiding in his closet and discovering his old uniform. This adds another dimension to his character, primarily showing how his decisions up until now can be viewed in this new light. Even though he wasn’t a bad character by any means, I think that this surprise — plus the deeper exploration into the relationship with his daughter — makes him a lot more interesting to learn more about.

Not much else was really explored more in this episode, though we did see the return of Jace Rucklin (Elijah Wood). Since blowing up his racer with the misuse of hyperfuel — which he still blames Kaz for — Jace is now working as a sort of server and errand boy for the residents of the Tower to make up the lost credits. There is also a cute moment where Kaz believes to have fallen into a trash compactor, though Torra calms him by assuring him it is not a trash compactor, it is actually a trash incinerator!

“Station Theta Black”

This was a bit more of a meatier episode, with Poe (Oscar Isaac) returning to take Kaz on a reconnaissance mission at an abandoned mining outpost of the First Order. Though I really dig the setting and atmosphere of the Colossus, it is nice to have these breaks every so often off-world to experience a new environment. A standout moment of the episode comes right in the beginning with General Leia Organa (Carolyn Hennesy) herself delivering the mission to the two, as we only got a glimpse of her on a hologram in the first episode. I don’t think her voice actress quite nailed the voice, though I don’t discredit her in the slightest as the late Carrie Fisher’s voice had a unique flair in the latest entries of the trilogy and I imagine it had to be extremely difficult to even get that close.

On the mission itself, Poe is a bit cockier than usual and even makes Kaz seem like the sane and responsible one. I appreciate this attention to detail though, as it does fall in line much more with the character we see at the start of “The Force Awakens,” since we’re still a few months out supposedly from the events of that film. The two discover that the First Order used the facility to mine dedlanite, used in the construction of blasters, and that the facility’s demolition was scheduled for that day. Phasma personally escorts the demolition team after learning of possible lifeforms aboard the station, which shortly ends in the pair’s quick escape. The escape of the two results in the station’s explosion, which both looks and sounds excellent as the episode’s climax.

Image courtesy of Lucasfilm

One thing I really like about this era of “Star Wars” storytelling is the cohesion of the different mediums with one another. In this episode, we see Poe and Kaz come across one of the First Order’s sentry droids, which was especially cool as it is one of Phasma’s abilities in “Battlefront 2” (I assure you it is a lot cooler than I am making it sound). While it is seen in the background of the most recent films, both here and “Battlefront” are the only instances we can actually see it in action and perform its job. I think it is just neat to see this thing that I often see in-game actually come across on-screen in another medium that I enjoy, despite how niche that thing may be.

As a pair of episodes, both “Secrets and Holograms” and “Station Theta Black” deliver another excellent dive into these characters and their problems. Torra is quickly becoming one of my favorites on the show, and I am glad that we finally got an episode dedicated to finding out more about her specifically. The adventure with Kaz and Poe was probably my favorite of the two, and it was cool to see Kaz become the level-headed one for once. Despite my overly-picky grievances, General Organa’s debut on the series was strong, and her relationship with Poe — especially with what we see in “The Last Jedi” — was on par with the films. The series keeps on showing this less-seen side of the galaxy and I am loving every minute of it. The latest episode was the first time the lead protagonist even held a blaster, which I think speaks to why I am personally enjoying this unique take within the show. Going into the mid-season break, I am pleased with what we’ve gotten from this new series so far and I’m excited for what’s in store for the second half.

Read more here: https://ninertimes.com/2018/12/tv-review-star-wars-resistance-secrets-and-holograms-station-theta-black/
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