Star Wars Resistance: An Overview

So I finally finished both seasons of Resistance the other day, and I have to say it was worth the time. Really.

I know Resistance doesn’t get that much respect, or attention for that matter. And I understand why–it doesn’t have the same gravitas or stakes as The Clone Wars or Rebels. It was made for a younger audience, after all, and isn’t quite as dark or tragic. But does that mean it’s bad? Heck no!

Resistance is Disney/Lucasfilm’s animated answer to the sequel trilogy, just as Clone Wars was to the prequels, and Rebels was to the OT. So here’s the basic rundown:

Kazuda Xiono is a young New Republic pilot recruited by Poe Dameron to be a Resistance spy on the refueling depot called the Colossus. The Colossus is a huge station in the middle of the waterworld Castellon. Poe introduces Kaz to Jarek Yeager, a former Rebellion soldier who fought at Jakku. Yeager is now a mechanic on the Colossus, but is privy to Poe’s activities and helps him when he can. He reluctantly agrees to take on Kaz as a mechanic on his payroll, as a cover. Apparently there has been some First Order activity on the Colossus, and Poe (as well as Leia Organa) would like to know what might be going on there.

Kaz is enthusiastic in his new duty as Resistance spy, perhaps a bit too eager. He’s young and naïve, prone to boasting (he happens to be a very good pilot), but also friendly and sweet, and just a tad clumsy. Okay, a lot clumsy. Turns out he’s the son of a wealthy New Republic Senator on Hosnian Prime, and apparently his father has micromanaged his life thus far; Kaz is eager to do something to prove to his father that he can do his own thing. He also believes in the purpose of the Resistance. But nobody is supposed to know any of that, so he’s just a mechanic for Yeager. Kaz, though an exceptional pilot, is a terrible mechanic, which leads to some problems, as you can imagine.

Also under Yeager’s employ is Tamara Ryvora, a young woman who left home to be an ace pilot in racing, but lost everything and is now trying to save enough to get another ship. Another member of Yeager’s team is Neeku Vozo, a Nikto who is a very skilled mechanic and my absolute favorite character in Resistance. He’s just so sweet and kind-hearted, and takes everything quite literally, which leads to some very funny moments. He takes to Kaz immediately, but Tam, not so much. She comes around after a while, but mostly just criticizes Kaz constantly.

No Star Wars show is complete without droids, and Poe left BB-8 behind on the Colossus to help Kaz (until he comes back to reclaim him for a “mission to Jakku”, at which point he leaves behind another roll-y, CB-23, who is just as adorable). Yeager’s team has their own droid in Bucket, who literally looks like a bucket of bolts with a helmet on.

The Colossus is a refueling depot, but it also has racing–and it’s own team of “Flying Aces” that put on a race every week to entertain the crew and people who live there. They’re also supposed to protect the station, from pirates and other undesirables. They’re made up of a group that includes a Rodian named Hype (who’s pretty annoying, most of the time), an former Imperial, a woman with (strangely) a Russian accent, a guy in a yellow suit whose face we never see, and a young woman named Torra Doza, who happens to be the daughter of the mysterious Captain of the Colossus. Torra eventually becomes friends with Kaz, and over the course of the show, Captain Doza becomes less mysterious. Turns out he used to be an Imperial, but defected when he met Torra’s mother, a Rebel back in the day. We don’t meet Torra’s mother until the second season, however, as she’s a Resistance fighter now.

Anyway, Kaz tries to fit in and do his “spying” thing, and it turns out he does give Poe and Leia important information about the First Order, who’s been nosing around a lot. We see Phasma early on in Season One, but the main antagonist becomes a golden-armored stormtrooper named Pyre. The First Order wants the Colossus for its own fueling needs, and comes up with a plan to take it over: they hire some pirates to attack the station and make the Captain feel he needs to let the First Order onto the station to help defend it. Captain Doza increasingly feels uneasy with the agreements he makes with the First Order, until he decides enough is enough. The First Order aren’t willing to give it up so easily, and when they find out a Resistance spy is on board, they make it their business to occupy the station.

That’s the basics of it, and most of Season One; I won’t go into detail about everything, or much of Season Two (which is actually even better than S1) except to say that the Colossus is actually a space ship and takes off from Castellon, and the First Order pursues them relentlessly.

There are a few cameos besides Poe (who’s always fun) and Phasma; later we get General Hux, and even Kylo Ren. Once Poe comes back for BB-8 for that mission to Jakku, we know that the events of The Force Awakens is beginning; we even see Hux’s mad speech on Starkiller Base through a hologram. Things get pretty personal for Kaz just then–his parents live on Hosnian Prime, and when the planet is destroyed, he’s distraught, naturally.

The big crisis of the end of Season One and all of Season Two is that Kaz’s friend, Tam, joins the First Order. Naively, she feels the First Order are simply bringing order and safety to the station; when she finds out that Kaz and Yeager have been lying to her about being with the Resistance, she’s extremely angry (unreasonably so, in my opinion). She feels betrayed by the people she had come to see as family, and lets herself be recruited by a new character, Agent Tierney. (Another character named Rucklan, who’s kind of a jerk on the station, also joins. I had no idea that Elijah Wood voiced him until I saw it pointed out elsewhere, and then I couldn’t unhear Elijah Wood, lol). Season Two was about getting rid of the First Order pursuing their station, and getting Tam back into the fold.

I just found it a joy to watch Resistance, simply because it was entertaining and quite funny sometimes, and I knew my heart wouldn’t get ripped to shreds over tragic events. I even wish there was a Season Three that coincides with The Rise of Skywalker. I’d love to see the crew of the Colossus join the Battle of Exegol (maybe they do–there were a lot of ships that Lando brought with him, and maybe the Colossus is there; I haven’t taken the time to study all those ships–I’m convinced someone else did take the time and made a list of all the recognizable ships, so maybe it’s research time!)

If you’ve got some time on your hands and never watched Resistance, you might want to give it a go. Like all the other animated series, it takes a while to get going, and is geared toward the younger audience, but grows as it goes along.

And I haven’t even mentioned Flix and Orka:

And pirates!

And a B-1 battle droid:

And Buggles!

And…oh, nevermind. Trust me, it’s fun.