Star Wars Resistance Season 1 Ending & Sequel Trilogy Connections Explained

Warning! SPOILERS for Star Wars Resistance season 1.

Star Wars Resistance season 1's finale sees Kaz and his friends fight off the First Order's occupation of the Colossus, but it also hints at how Star Wars Resistance season 2 will connect with the larger canon surrounding Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: Episode IX.

From the start, Star Wars Resistance was billed as a series that would center on the time period of the sequel trilogy, and season 1 does weave in connections and references to events happening before and during Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As Star Wars Resistance season 1 comes to a close, however, the timeline of events becomes quite compressed. The Last Jedi picks up events almost immediately following The Force Awakens, and then itself only spans a few days. That leaves Star Wars Resistance season 2 in a tricky spot, needing to continue its own narrative but unable to get too far ahead of the films.

In the Star Wars Resistance season 1 finale, though, there may be an answer for how Star Wars Resistance can continue to develop the larger story of the First Order-Resistance war, while still remaining separate enough from the sequel trilogy so as not to spoil Star Wars: Episode IX.

This Page: Star Wars Resistance Setting & Ending Explained
Page 2: How Star Wars Resistance Connects to Star Wars Canon

Exactly When Star Wars Resistance Takes Place

Star Wars Resistance Force Awakens Connections

Star Wars Resistance begins roughly six months before the events of The Force Awakens. Throughout the series, there are appearances from familiar characters (Poe Dameron, General Leia Organa, Captain Phasma) as well as mentions of familiar places (Hosnian Prime, Takadona) that help to establish this setting. Soon, however, Star Wars Resistance narrows the gap with an episode that finds Poe leaving on a secret mission for General Organa - the very same mission that brings Poe to Jakku at the beginning of The Force Awakens.

From there, the timeline of events becomes very compressed. This is reflected in Star Wars Resistance with the Hosnian Cataclysm - the climactic event from The Force Awakens where the First Order uses Starkiller Base to destroy the Hosnian System, home of the New Republic - following just three episodes after Poe's departure. The Hosnian Cataclysm occurs during Star Wars Resistance season 1's penultimate episode, leaving the season finale to tease how Resistance season 2 will tie in with the events of The Last Jedi and potentially Episode IX.

What Happens In Resistance's Ending

Star Wars Resistance Season 1 Finale Colossus Hyperspace

Come the Star Wars Resistance season 1 finale, the First Order is in control of the Colossus fueling station on Castilon. Kaz has been outed as Resistance spy and he and his friends have fled below to hide in the engineering decks. Once there, however, Neeku discovers that the Colossus isn't just a fueling station - it's a spaceship with its own hyperdrive. That gives Kaz an idea: if they can expel the First Order from the Colossus, they can launch the ship and possibly rendezvous with the Resistance. Kaz and Torra work together to trick stormtroopers into into particular corridors which Neeku then floods, thus flushing the stormtroopers out into the ocean.

With most of the First Order's forces now (literally) swimming with the fishes, Kaz frees Yeager and Captain Doza from the brig and they begin the launch sequence for the Colossus. Of course, the First Order won't simply let the station fly away, first sending out Major Vonregg and his TIE Fighters to attack, followed by the arrival of a Star Destroyer. Kaz, Yeager, and the Aces defend the Colossus, even getting some last minute help from Synara and the other pirates on Castilon. Eventually, the Colossus reaches the altitude necessary to makes the jump to hyperspace, and everyone falls back to the ship.

Once everyone's securely on board, the Colossus makes the jump to hyperspace. However, Neeku reveals that he was unable to fully input the coordinates Kaz gave him, so he isn't exactly sure where they're going. As best as he can tell, the Colossus will either arrive very near D'Qar - the planet which serves as the home of the Resistance in The Force Awakens, and from where the Resistance is fleeing at the start of The Last Jedi - or they'll drop out of hyperspace "unfathomable light years away".

Page 2 of 2: How Star Wars Resistance Ties Into Canon

How Star Wars Resistance Ties Into Canon

Star Wars Resistance is a TV show that examines what's happening in another part of the galaxy during the same time frame as the sequel trilogy. Unlike the Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which focuses heavily on major characters like Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars Resistance only includes characters from the films in supporting roles, such as Poe's role as a Resistance contact and mentor to Kaz. And unlike Star Wars Rebels, which recounts the birth of the Rebellion and is set five years before A New Hope, Star Wars Resistance begins much closer to the events of The Force Awakens, covering the entirety of that film's time frame in season 1's final four episodes.

The ways in which Star Wars Resistance connects with the larger Star Wars canon aren't as overt as either of Lucasfilm's previous animated series, but it does weave its story among the more significant galactic events, further developing the era of the sequel trilogy. For instance, there's discussion of devastating attacks led Kylo Ren prior to his arrival on Jakku, explanations for how the First Order took over the galaxy so quickly, as well a reveal of their first failed attempt at Starkiller Base. Even the Hosnian Cataclysm, which was intended as the "Alderaan" moment for the sequel trilogy, was given a greater emotional weight thanks to Star Wars Resistance.

Most of all, Star Wars Resistance illustrates the mood of the galaxy just before the First Order-Resistance war. There is no great fear of the First Order as there was the Empire, and the New Republic isn't strong enough to prevent their rise to power. Most systems are left to protect themselves, just like the Colossus, and when they can no longer manage, it's all too easy for the First Order to swoop in and play hero. On Star Wars Resistance, this is best exemplified by Tam, who, feeling betrayed by Kaz and Yeager lying to her about their involvement with the Resistance, chooses to leave the Colossus with the First Order.

What Star Wars Resistance's Ending Means For Season 2 & Episode IX

Star Wars Resistance Season 1 Finale No Escape

Star Wars Resistance season 1 ends with the Colossus in hyperspace traveling to either the planet D'Qar, the home of the Resistance, or literally anywhere else in the galaxy. This cliffhanger leaves Star Wars Resistance season 2 open to all sorts of possibilities once it returns in fall 2019. Were the Colossus to come out of hyperspace near D'Qar, for instance, then Star War Resistance season 2 could see its characters arriving just after the Resistance's evacuation in The Last Jedi. They may discover the destroyed base and even assume that the Resistance has been wiped out. Or, perhaps they find evidence of the Resistance's escape, and spend the first half of Star Wars Resistance season 2 trying to catch up with them.

Hinting that Kaz and his merry band of Resistance fighters could finally meet up with the larger Resistance led by General Organa is no doubt exciting, but it also seems the least likely of the two options. After all, Neeku's suggestion that the Colossus could potentially wind up light years away from D'Qar gives the series the perfect opportunity to avoid just that. Plus, with Star Wars Resistance season 2 airing in Fall 2019, the first half of the season will debut before the release of Star Wars: Episode IX. That leaves a very tiny window of time to explore seeing as The Last Jedi spans only a few days and Star Wars Resistance isn't about to spoil Star Wars: Episode IX just weeks ahead of its release (though it can certainly tease it). In which case, sending the Colossus far across the galaxy keeps their story separate from what's happening in the movies, but still connected to the Resistance's struggle since it's all too likely they'll run in to more of the First Order.

However, after the release of Star Wars: Episode IX, the galactic timeline will be completely open. The back half of Star Wars Resistance season 2 is likely to resume in January 2020, at which point Resistance can bring its narrative concurrent with that of Episode IX, possibly even surpassing it. If the first half of Star Wars Resistance season 2 focuses on trying to reunite with the Resistance - be it following them from D'Qar or from across the galaxy - then the back half of the season is where Kaz and his friends can finally take part in the real battle against the First Order, covering the same time frame as that of Star Wars: Episode IX.