The Triple Dark is the third episode of Star Wars Resistance and the first to come after the initial premiere episodes. Kaz Xiono is struggling to find his footing on the Colossus space station. He’s not a good mechanic, he’s not a good spy, he’s not terribly intelligent, either.
In fact, much of the humor of this episode comes from the fact that Kaz is an incredibly bad spy. He has redeeming qualities, to be sure. He might one day be a good spy. But it is not this day. On this day, his awkward and clumsy and I find it rather charming. Near the beginning of the episode, Kaz and Neeku pull off a classic gag from The Phantom Menace, with the whole “clumsy character doing maintenance on a machine getting shocked” thing, and it just put a smile on my face.
The whole episode brought the laughs, but when the sky over the Colossus darkened, it was exactly what I needed and was hoping from the show. Not because the show was turning dark, but because the stakes I’d hoped for in the first episode are starting to become apparent. First, it comes in the form of the underworld. Kaz has been sloppy in drawing attention to himself and the ire of the Aleena gangster Grevel makes for some of the most threating, but also hilarious, dynamics we’ve seen on the show so far. And since Grevel (voiced by Clone Wars and Rebels alum Dee Bradley Baker) is one of the most beautifully rendered characters in the style of Resistance.
But that’s not the only way the stakes are being raised. What kind of show would Resistance be if there wasn’t some warring in the stars going on? As the episode progresses, pirates, led by Kragan Gorr, attack the station and we find that they’re working in league with the First Order toward their nefarious goals. This is the stage setting I was hoping to get out of the show. The First Order, still too timid to overtly attack the Republic because of a desire to not provoke the Republic fleet too soon, work with warriors and entities that grant them cover.
This is exactly what they’ve been doing for years. They did it with the Amaxine Warriors in Claudia Gray’s Bloodline, and there’s no reason to think they haven’t with others. This adds a layer of intrigue to the First Order that I’m excited to see more of. I’m also interested to see if Cardinal from the book Phasma makes an appearance. This would have been around the time that he’d have already been brought back to the Resistance by Vi Moradi, so he could definitely play a part here.
The thing I love most about the show, though, is the look of it. The art direction and the color of the show is incredible. It almost looks like it’s hand colored and there are times where the characters just look beyond incredible. Kragan, a punk-rock-like Quarren, looks incredible. Grevel is one of the best animated in Star Wars, though part of that might be his classic prequel era design.
The station itself is a wonderful character, too. The Colossus (designed by ILM Legend Bill George) just looks great out there. In the rain, it looks as if a Star Destroyer and Tipoca City had a baby, which is a perfect marriage of the prequel trilogy and the classic trilogy in the present timeline. That might be the thing I love about this show the most so far: the blend between the classic trilogies of the saga with the new era. Seeing a Rodian, a Neimoidian, and a BB unit all in the same timeframe, animated beautifully, is something that makes me happy.
For the sharp humor, tense action, and slow boil of stakes simmering on the show, I’m giving this episode a 7.5 of 10.
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Season 1 Scorecard
- The Recruit (7 of 10)
- The Triple Dark (7.5 of 10)
Season Average – 7.25 of 10