Anna Daniels
A love and pining for home haunts the fast-paced action of Star Wars Resistance in “Station to Station.” This episode would not have worked as well if the viewer hadn’t witnessed the civilian idyllics on the Colossus in the lighthearted “Kaz’s Curse.” Even though the Colossus never appears in this episode, its humble homeliness is an emotional core in “Station to Station”.
Tam (Suzie McGrath) and Jace Rucklin (Elijah Wood) begin their day-in-the-life with the First Order by performing the menial task of plugging gas tubes into a TIE Defender, debating whether their station is worse or better than their old life aboard the Colossus, finding their circumstances to be the same, or sorta the same, maybe better, maybe just as frustrating. Then their officer sends them on yet another menial task: a supply run to a First Order refueling station, the Titan, which happens to be identical to the Colossus, except rife with First Order bureaucracy and resources.
But meanwhile, Kaz (Christopher Sean) and Neeku (Josh Brener) happen to be aboard the refueling station, disguised as First Order technicians, searching to steal a crucial piece of tech to replace a dying Colossus part so Colossus civilians won’t die of space radiation. But their mission on the Titan is complicated by the arrival of two of those former civilians, Tam and Jace, on the same platform. Not to mention General Hux (Ben Prendergast) has arrived.
Directed by Bosco Ng and written by Mark Henry, “Station to Station” contains stealth, gunfire, a scrambling escapade, and teeth-clenching tension.
Kaz
For as comedic as the premise sounds, “Kaz and Hux in an elevator,” the elevator scene acquires tragic layers as Kaz’s expression grimaces at Hux’s demeaning words against refueling stations. Kaz is forced into a tight space with the Imperial who ordered the destruction of his homeworld, as witnessed in The Force Awakens and the season one penultimate episode. He also fumes at how an Imperial contemptuously backtalks his own home with elitist vile.
For those frustrated with Kaz’s off-and-on competence, he is on his game here. Considering he relied on Poe Dameron in on-field missions like these, he holds his own with undercover work and is good at guiding and guarding Neeku, complete with Kaz doing a gravelly voice to ward off stormtroopers. Neeku also keeps some of Kaz’s shortcomings in tech in check.
For a script and direction that fires in all cylinders, it somehow missed one crucial aspect, attributed to the season’s underwhelming work at fleshing it out. Kaz and Neeku emotionally react to Tam’s prospective presence not in terms of their history but the Colossus’s stakes. Kaz’s performance and gesture suggest he feels personally about her presence, but then it is undercut by Neeku dropping exposition for the welfare of the Colossus and how Tam’s presence threatens their mission. Despite having a previous, even if aloof, closeness to Tam in season one, Neeku doesn’t seem emotionally invested in being in proximity to an old friend.
Class
Resistance stands out against Clone Wars and Rebels by insinuating the effects of class. Other than just being a recognizable movie face, Hux’s presence lends itself to the motif of class tensions. He refers to technicians as “lowly,” and his mouthy elitism fumigates the air.
Jace is a pretty atypical jerk and he’s fueled by resentment of his old home–a place that broke its promises of grandeur and glory as much as he had sabotaged his own standing–so “good riddance to those low-class ruffians.” He’s a lower-class lackey like Tam but relishes residing in the First Order’s polished environment and clings to an elitist attitude as much as Hux, despite being a world below him. And he’s willing to sweep aside the human cost of turning in Kaz and Neeku to the First Order if it means a promotion for him. It’s a thematic missed opportunity that Hux and Jace never interact for they were drawn as foils. Hux is that very level of position Jace would covet, though I doubt Jace would match the posh.
However, Tam lets herself feel for the Colossus and she has more empathy for “low-class ruffians,” aspiring for something better.
Tam’s Disillusionment
Tam’s internal conflict anchors this episode. Seeing a refueling station almost identical to her old home has her contend with her life now and then. Tam is willing, even if reluctantly, to clandestinely free Neeku and Kaz from a tight spot so they could make a run for it.
McGrath has two rich delicate moments in her voice performance. When she whispers, “Kaz,” when she perceives his presence and when she utters the episode’s final word, “desperate,” processing the weight of the Colossus’s survival while not losing her poker-face to Jace. The latter delivery says plenty about Tam’s introspection: that desperation aboard the wear-and-tear Colossus is something she still knows in her heart.
The Larger Resistance at Stake
Commander Pyre (Liam McIntyre) updates on First Order attacks on the Resistance, “Security operations are closing in on the last resistance cells.” For viewers of The Last Jedi, this suggests a reason why rebel cells do not fly to the rescue Leia Organa and Poe Dameron’s team on Crait: The First Order already got to the other cells. A “Supreme Leader” is mentioned, and while never clarified whether the person is Snoke or Kylo Ren, the latter who seized the mantle, it does lean toward Snoke being around considering Hux’s performance does not seem to imply the shocking power shift.
Final Thoughts
“Station and Station” delivers on humor, action, and dramatically restrained emotional teeth-clenching. At the heart are individuals like Tam, Neeku, and Kaz who hold home to their hearts even if they can’t admit it aloud. Neeku and Kaz fight for its survival, and Tam realizes she is still in that fight whether she knows it or not. It’s Tam’s introspection that anchors this episode. She reckons that the worst is coming for the place she once called home.
Tidbits
- Yes, Neeku’s and Kaz’s technician disguises sure look like a nod to Adam Driver’s “Undercover Boss” Saturday Night Live sketch where Driver, a-hem, Kylo Ren, dresses up as Matt the Radar Technician.
- Keen-eyed fans who paid attention to background details would find Jace’s dismissal crueler when you consider that Jace had left behind a Sullustan friend on the Colossus.
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