By Contributing Writer- Jeremy Wilkerson.
Only five months after the series finale of Rebels, the next Star Wars cartoon is here: Star Wars Resistance. The series premiered on Disney Channel this Sunday, and surprisingly, it’s pretty good. Going into the series, the reprisal of Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma was the main point of interest for fans. After the first episode, it is safe to say you can expect quality content in future episodes. In short, Star Wars Resistance is a breath of fresh air for the Star Wars cartoons.
The plot for this pilot is pretty simple, Poe Dameron, the cocky pilot from the Sequel Trilogy, recruits Kazuda Xiono, a quirky kid with skills in a X-Wing, to join the Resistance as a spy and find out what the First Order is up to. Unfortunately and fortunately, we don’t see a lot from the baddies in this episode. The focus is on Kaz meeting the supporting cast, including Neeku, Tam, and Yeager, and winning the race that he is unwillingly signed up for, this could be good and bad, we get some solid characters and a solid premise, but also not a lot of hints towards the bigger picture besides a Captain Phasma name drop and a look at Starkiller Base.
The story, at least in this pilot, isn’t as “resistance” as the title suggests. This could leave a misleading taste in the viewer’s mouth, who could’ve been expecting a little more of, well, resistance. However, the story set up here is smaller and nice, a great break from the Jedi drama and Empire fighting from ‘Rebels’. If the series keeps this smaller-scale tone, with a few First Order villainy every now and then, I wouldn’t be mad.
Now, let’s talk about the characters. Our main character for this series, Kaz, is reminiscent of early Luke Skywalker or Ezra Bridger, a little annoying, but enough ambition to be invested in him. He does have a different and interesting backstory, which we see hinted at with an appearance from his father. He’s hopefully going to grow over the course of the show, something that I look forward to. Poe Dameron plays a bit of a mentor role, teaching Kaz the ways of the Resistance. Oscar Isaac is still great in the role, even as the voice, breathing life into the character once again. Yeager has an intriguing history with Poe, something we don’t fully know of yet, but it’ll be exciting to figure out. The rest of the characters aren’t around a lot except for Neeku, a character I’m a little mixed on. He seems to have the characteristics of a droid, something I am not a fan of, but there’s always room for improvement. I am fascinated, however, at seeing how this crew will evolve.
Now, the show isn’t perfect, of course. The slapstick, which isn’t new to Star Wars cartoons, or even the movies, can be a little too much at times, and the animation looks great sometimes, and not so much at other times. It’s definitely a different style than The Clone Wars and Rebels, shows that also improved visually over seasons. These are just the few negatives I have with the show.
Overall, Star Wars Resistance is a good, fun and cute show, and a welcome addition to the always-growing Star Wars canon. I’ll be looking forward to a lot more from this show. I don’t mind the lighter tone or the lack of First Order conflict, and it’s a nice contrast to the bigger war going on, especially in this Sequel Era.
3.4/5
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