Well, that was exciting.

The final episode of Star Wars Resistance's first season pretty much flips the table on the CGI animated series' comfortable formula, as Resistance spy Kazuda Xiono (aka Kaz, played by Christopher Sean) steps up immediately after losing his home and family.

The Colossus refueling platform remains submerged beneath the oceans of Outer Rim planet Castilon, but the First Order is eager to hunt down Kaz and reassert control over the platform.

With Tam Ryvora (Suzie McGrath), Jarek Yeager (Scott Lawrence), Colossus boss Captain Doza (Jason Hightower) and the Ace pilots in First Order custody, Kaz has to move quickly.

We have liftoff

Having just discovered that the Colossus has a hyperdrive, mechanic Neeku Vozo (Josh Brener) manages to get it airborne and off Castilon (despite the First Order sending a Star Destroyer to stop it!).

This is wildly exciting and sets up a completely different status quo. Could the Colossus end up as the new Resistance base in Episode 9? Will the show's second season fill in the time period between The Last Jedi and Episode 9?

During the episode, Doza mentions that the Colossus hasn't moved in 20 years -- that'd mean it arrived on Castilon six years after the Empire's final defeat at the Battle of Jakku. With any luck, we'll learn its full history sometime; Doza and Yeager (as former members of the Empire and Rebel Alliance respectively) seem like prime candidates to star in a novel.

The New Resistance?

The pirate group that the First Order betrayed, led by Synara San (Nazneen Contractor), and the prisoners that previously escaped return to stop the First Order from destroying the Colossus as it ascends to space.

After an exceptional aerial battle, in which Kaz finally takes down TIE fighter pilot Major Vonreg (Lex Lang), they all get onto the platform/space station before it jumps to hyperspace. Kaz gave Nekku the coordinates for the Resistance base on D'Qar, but he didn't input them fully and doesn't know where they'll end up.

"Well, wherever we're going at least we're all together... most of us," says Kaz.

Since the First Order obliterates the D'Qar base at the start of The Last Jedi, which takes place shortly after this point, Nekku probably saved their lives by failing to send them there.

It seems likely that this group (except maybe the less honorable pirates) will continue to fight the First Order in the aftermath of The Last Jedi, when the Resistance has almost been wiped out. So they could be some of the first members of the next generation of the Resistance, answering the distress beacon Leia sent out.

Tam chooses the First Order

After two episodes of the incredibly charming First Order Security Bureau Agent Tierny (Sumalee Montano) manipulating her, Tam turns away from her friends and joins the militaristic group. The events leading up to Tam's decision are perfectly handled, and it genuinely feels like she could go either way.

Kaz and Yeager plead with her to stay, but she's furious that they kept her out of the loop as they worked with the Resistance. From her point of view, going with Tierny and Commander Pyre (Liam McIntyre) is the logical choice.

Tierny realizes that Tam could be swayed one way or the other, since she stops the vicious Pyre from blasting Kaz so the First Order will continue to seem like a force for good. Also cool is Tierny's helmet design -- it's inspired by Darth Vader's iconic helmet and the one worn by Agent Kallus in Rebels. And she wields dual blasters, Jango Fett-style!

Will we see Tam return as antagonist in Season 2?

Stormtroopers in watery graves

Several Stormtroopers get washed off the Colossus as part of Nekku's plan to drive the First Order out, but they have surprisingly dark fates given the show's usual lighthearted tone -- they appear to either drown or get eaten by some of the planet's native fish.

We even see a fish swimming by with a helmet in its mouth in one of the establishing shots. Nekku's getting ruthless!

Overall, this is an amazing ending for a season that has occasionally struggled with pacing but found its groove and did a great job of raising the stakes in the latter half.

Star Wars Resistance will return for a second season in the fall, a few months before Episode 9 hits theaters on Dec. 20.