Star Wars Resistance Review – Solid But Not Essential

The Show Between Two Juggernauts

There is a quiet irony in how Star Wars Resistance is talked about — or, more accurately, not talked about. It arrived in 2018, two years after Rebels concluded its run and two years before The Bad Batch began. That gap should have been its window. Instead, it spent two seasons quietly occupying a slot on Disney+ that most adults in the Dadnology household only noticed when we were systematically working through the animated catalogue.

That is not entirely fair to Resistance. Created by Dave Filoni and developed by Brandon Auman, the show is doing something genuinely different from its siblings: it is not interested in the Clone Wars era, the Jedi mythology, or the moral weight of the Force. It is interested in racing. In a ragtag crew of mechanics and pilots on a futuristic floating platform. In a young, optimistic protagonist who is not especially powerful with the Force and who makes mistakes — lots of them — while trying to figure out what being a Resistance spy actually means.

For the right audience, that is a perfectly good premise. The problem is that the right audience is roughly seven years old, and the animated Star Wars back-catalogue is increasingly crowded with options that reward older viewers more richly.

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Star Wars Resistance: Season 1 (opens in a new tab)

Start here — the Colossus, the races, the Resistance spy setup. The foundation of the show.

The Colossus: An Underused Setting

One of the genuine frustrations of Resistance is how underused its central setting feels. The Colossus is a massive, ocean-based fuelling and racing platform — a genuinely interesting Star Wars location that has the visual variety and social texture of something like Mos Eisley, if Mos Eisley were primarily concerned with refuelling spacecraft and hosting races.

The platform’s population includes Aces — elite racing pilots with distinctive designs and personalities — mechanics, traders, and refugees. The First Order lurks at the edges. There are interesting tensions built into the premise: who controls the fuel supply in a galactic conflict matters strategically, and the Colossus is contested territory.

The show uses about thirty percent of this potential. The racing sequences are visually exciting and well-staged. The platform’s architecture gives the animators room to create interesting spaces. But the social dynamics that could make the setting feel genuinely alive — the economics, the political complexity, the ethical weight of a neutral platform in a military conflict — are mostly pushed to the background in favour of episodic comedy-adventure plots.

By Season 2, when the Colossus actually departs the planet, the setting’s possibilities expand dramatically. But by then the show is also approaching its conclusion, and the expanded canvas feels slightly rushed.

Kazuda Xiono: Likeable Underdog or Frustrating Klutz?

Kaz is, genuinely, a different kind of Star Wars protagonist. He is wealthy, academically talented, eager to please, and comprehensively bad at espionage. His cover identity as a mechanic — which he has never actually trained as — is maintained primarily through the tolerance of the people around him rather than his own competence. He crashes things, he misjudges situations, and he wears his emotions on his sleeve in ways that constantly undermine his nominal role as a spy.

Whether you find this charming or exhausting depends largely on your tolerance for competence-adjacent protagonists. Younger viewers tend to like Kaz: his enthusiasm is infectious, his mistakes are relatable, and his heart is always in the right place. Adult viewers who have spent time with Ahsoka, Rex, and Rebels-era Ezra may find the gap in capability a little too wide to bridge.

The show is most engaging when it leans into Kaz’s genuine strengths — he is an excellent pilot, and the racing sequences give him room to be competent in his natural element. The episodes where Kaz’s piloting ability actually matters to the plot are consistently the show’s best.

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Star Wars The Black Series Poe Dameron Figure (opens in a new tab)

Poe Dameron features prominently in Resistance as Kaz's handler — a great companion collectible to the show.

The Sequel Era Connections

Resistance is, among other things, a bridge show — and in that specific function, it works well. The First Order’s rise from background menace to active occupier mirrors the trajectory of the sequel films, and watching it through the lens of a low-level Resistance operative gives the galactic conflict a different texture than the film’s ground-level or command-level perspectives.

Poe Dameron’s appearances are handled with care — he feels consistent with his film version, and the early season one episodes do a good job establishing why he would recruit someone as raw as Kaz. Captain Phasma’s appearances are understandably limited (the character was always more impressive in design than in actual screen presence), but the First Order troopers and officers are written with enough menace to make the threat feel real.

The show is also honest about what the sequel trilogy’s version of the Resistance actually looks like at ground level: outnumbered, outgunned, and dependent on loyalty and improvisation. That honesty is one of Resistance’s better qualities.

Season 1 vs Season 2: A Clear Improvement

Season 1 is primarily a setup season — lots of world-building, character introductions, and episodic missions that establish the Colossus as a location before the larger conflict arrives. The pacing is slower than necessary, and the comedy sometimes tips too far toward broad slapstick. But it also establishes genuinely interesting supporting characters: Yeager (Kaz’s mechanic mentor, with a backstory that earns real weight), the Aces, and the Colossus regulars who give the platform community a sense of real life.

Season 2 improves across the board. With the platform now mobile and the stakes escalated, the show commits more fully to its serialized story. The tone shifts noticeably — more consequence, more genuine threat, more willingness to sit with difficult moments. Several episodes in Season 2 come close to the emotional register that makes Rebels and Clone Wars so rewarding for adult viewers.

It is not enough to fully close the gap. But it is enough to make Season 2 a meaningful improvement that suggests the show was finding its footing just as it was ending.

What Kids vs Adults Get From It

The divide here is unusually clear, and it is worth being honest about rather than pretending Resistance is something it isn’t.

For a child who loved The Force Awakens and is excited about BB-8, X-wings, and the First Order as villains — Resistance is genuinely good. It puts familiar sequel-era elements in an accessible format, gives them a protagonist who is their age rather than a war veteran or a Jedi prodigy, and delivers racing sequences and comedy at a pitch that works for younger attention spans. For that audience, it absolutely delivers.

For an adult who has worked through Clone Wars and Rebels — Resistance is a pleasant watch at a lower engagement level. The world is good, the setting is interesting in patches, and Season 2 has real merit. But if you have two hours on a weeknight and you are choosing between revisiting a Rebels episode and watching new Resistance episodes, Rebels wins every time. It is not a competition.

The honest parenting move is to know your child and use the show accordingly. As a gateway to the sequel era, or as something to watch alongside The Force Awakens, Resistance earns its place. As a prestige animated drama for adults, it does not.

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Star Wars Resistance: Season 1 (opens in a new tab)

Start here — the Colossus, the races, the Resistance spy setup. The foundation of the show.

Pros and Cons

From the screen to the shelf: set in the sequel-trilogy era, Resistance pairs nicely with the LEGO BB-8 (75452) review — and the best LEGO Star Wars sets guide and LEGO Star Wars hub have more.

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LEGO Star Wars BB-8 75452 (opens in a new tab)

The sequel-era droid, in brick — a charming, age-appropriate build to pair with this animated adventure.

📺 Movie night sorted: thousands of films and shows are streaming on Prime Video — free for 30 days. Worth a look before you buy the disc.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Star Wars Resistance worth watching?

Yes, with the right expectations. If you have younger kids who loved The Force Awakens and want more of that world, Resistance is a solid pick. For adults who have already done Clone Wars and Rebels, it is a pleasant but lower-priority watch — enjoyable but rarely gripping.

What age is Star Wars Resistance for?

Resistance is aimed squarely at younger children — roughly 6 to 10 years old. The tone is lighter than Clone Wars or Rebels, the conflict is mostly mild peril and racing adventure, and the humor is gentle. Adults can watch it, but the target audience is clear.

Is Resistance part of the main Star Wars story?

It is canon and set between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, but its events are largely self-contained. The First Order and a few familiar faces like Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma appear, but Resistance does not significantly change how the sequel films read. You can watch the sequel trilogy without it.

Does Resistance connect to The Force Awakens?

Yes. Resistance is set directly before and during the events of the sequel trilogy, with Kaz working as a Resistance spy on a fuelling station. Poe Dameron recruits him, Captain Phasma and the First Order are the antagonists, and the timeline runs through the events of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

Should I watch Resistance or Young Jedi Adventures?

Depends entirely on the age of your child. Young Jedi Adventures is designed for ages 4 to 7 and is gentler, values-focused, and excellent as a gateway. Resistance suits 6 to 10 year olds and has more adventure, racing, and sequel-era connections. For very young children, start with Young Jedi Adventures. For kids who already know and love the films, Resistance is the better fit.