Review: Star Wars Resistance “The Doza Dilemma”

“This can’t get any worse- Oh no, the First Order! Okay, it’s worse.”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

When the First Order is tiring of the pirates’ failure to secure a deal with Captain Doza to provide the platform with security, Commander Pyre gives them an ultimatum: capture Doza’s daughter until he agrees to the First Order’s plans for protection. Using Synara’s insider knowledge, two pirate henchpeople sneak onto the Colossus and spirit away Torra Doza.

But Torra is lucky because Kaz and Synara are both trying to find ways to foil the pirates’ plans. Synara alerts Captain Doza while Kaz goes after the pirates in his very reliable ship. In the end, it isn’t Kaz or the Aces who rescue Torra. Everything goes according to plan, and the First Order takes the credit – and leaves Captain Doza with a small security detail while he considers their offer.

Our Take:

There’s only one right way to start off this review, and that’s by calling attention to the fact that we have Torra to thank for bringing back the classic Star Wars exclamation: “That’s so wizard!” I couldn’t help but chuckle when I heard it. It’s nice to know kids in this day and age will grow up knowing what it means in 2019.

On to the episode! For such a dramatic turn of events, it wasn’t quite as exciting as I’d expected. Sure, Torra gets kidnapped and the First Order makes a dramatic rescue operation, but I expectations was never in danger of being subverted. I guess it’s obvious that nothing would wind up happening to Torra, but it was also obvious to me that Synara would have to put her change of heart into action against her pirate pals. There was never any real sense of suspense, for me maybe. I still enjoyed the episode (as usual), but it definitely didn’t have me on the edge of my seat.

There’s a lot to discuss regarding everything that occurred, but I want to state my commiseration for the Doza family. Poor Torra is so bored that she offers her friends her security code to access the tower whenever they feel like coming over. She’s living day to day, only getting excited over new video games. Even her pet is kind of sad and boring. And what’s the deal with her father’s constant quandary about whether to take the First Order’s deal or not? Honestly, I don’t blame the First Order for taking such drastic measures. Captain Doza has been stalling for what, months now? Since we’ve seen a bit of his hidden past, I’m guessing he might know the First Order’s true intentions and is just stalling to avoid giving them a hard refusal.

Regarding Synara… Kaz has a crush on her, apparently? I still think it’s a little strange considering what I’ve assumed to be her age and their differing levels of experience, but it could work. It’s nice to know for sure where her true loyalties lie, even if I never really doubted them. It’s clear the Colossus has made a big impression on her if she’s willing to give up her entire livelihood for it. Does she love scavenging that much, or does she see something in Kaz and his friends?

I’m glad that I got to finally see a realistic depiction of sneaking after someone with a droid. Tailing someone with a droid is every bit as awkward as I always imagined it should be. “Let’s follow them. But not too close. And don’t beep too loudly!” The look on Kaz’s face when BB-8 rolls over his foot is priceless. Droids are just not good spying partners! Also, Tora’s reactions to being kidnapped are exactly what I’d expect. Her interferences with her captor’s plans are helpful: “What? I slipped!” And I’m glad to see her visibly struggling every step of the way when they attempt to move her.

All in all, The Doza Dilemma is a significant episode of Resistance as it sets the stage for the First Order’s arrival on the Colossus. The First Order’s plan to seamlessly ‘save’ Tora while scamming the pirates out of their payment is brilliant and seems to have worked for now – though Captain Doza is still wary of inviting their full presence. Kaz and Synara’s relationship will change going forward, and I’m eager to see how Kaz will deal with his new suspicions.