Lessons from Star Wars Resistance

Dave Filoni’s animated series Star Wars Resistance was inspired by his grandfather’s time as a pilot during WWII.

For two seasons audiences were taken on high-octane adventure set six months before the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The series centered around Kazuda “Kaz” Xiono, a Resistance spy who is assigned to the refueling station Colossus to discover the allegiance of the local population.

Star Wars has always been a franchise steeped in lessons of morality, loss, love, and strength, and Resistance is no different. 

***SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers!***

If you haven’t seen this show  yet and don’t want any spoilers, then save, bookmark, or pin this post so you can come back to it later after you watch it!

Youth 

“Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter” – Yoda

Throughout the history of Star Wars, it’s evident that young characters are an integral part of the story. Luke and Leia are nineteen at the start of A New Hope, in The Phantom Menace we first meet Anakin Skywalker when he’s nine years old and Padmé is a fourteen-year-old queen, Ahsoka Tano is fourteen at the start of her journey in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rey is only nineteen years old.

In Resistance, the young characters continue to prove that the only way to change the world is by taking action. Kaz is twenty, Torra is fifteen, and Tam is also young and they rally their skills and abilities and work to fight against the threat of the First Order. To do what’s right.

It’s a great message for young audiences, reinforcing that they have a voice that they can use to stand up for what is right. Across the world, we’re already seeing this as the youth are rising up to fight against gun violence or climate change. 

 

Resistance 

At the close of the first season, Tam was coerced into joining the First Order. After feeling betrayed by Kaz and Yeager, Tam found herself susceptible to the temptation of the First Order and the promise of becoming a valued and trusted member of the organization.

She excelled within the First Order, even rising to the rank of Second Squadron Commander, but when she was faced with the loss of innocent lives she realized she had joined the wrong side of history.

Unlike many characters throughout the franchise who didn’t always have a choice about what side of the war they joined, Tam had a choice. She chose to join the First Order, but more importantly, she chose to resist the lure of the “bad guys” and defected — throwing her support behind the Resistance.

It was refreshing to see that a character like Tam can come back from the temptation of evil and a reminder that no one is beyond redemption and even good people mistakenly make bad choices. 

 

Forgiveness 

“It’s not my fault.” – Han Solo

During the Platform Classic race on the Colossus, audiences learn how Yaeger lost his wife and daughter. His brother, Speedstar, had injected his racer with hyperfuel in the pursuit of a quick victory. Instead of winning the race, Speedstar clipped his brother’s racer sending him careening into the grandstand and causing the death of Yaeger’s family.

Understandably, Yaeger resented his brother and found himself unable to forgive him. After Kaz discovered that Speedstar was racing to save his friend Oplock, he encouraged Yaeger to mend their differences.

In the final moments of the race, Yaeger pulled back, allowing Speedstar to win the race and save his friend. Ultimately, Yaeger is thankful that Kaz pressured him to forgive his brother.

This is such an important lesson to be learned. Even after devastating loss, reconciliation can still be found. Life is too short to hold hatred against the family. 

 

Redemption 

“There is still good in him” – Luke Skywalker

Kaz wasn’t the only one hiding his true intentions on the Colossus. Synara San was rescued by the Resistance during a failed raid for Kragan Gorr’s Warbird pirates. Her loyalties to Kragan were tested as she became close to Kaz and the other residents of the Colossus.

She encouraged the Warbirds to assist the Resistance, but when Kragan pushed for a mutiny she sided with her new friends. Synara’s story is interesting because she had to turn her back on her father-figure in order to stand on the right side of history. Kragan was not just the leader of the Warbirds, but the man who rescued her and raised her as his own child.

Following the attempted coup, Synara saw that Kragan’s life was spared and that he was exiled, an act she saw as repayment for the mercy he showed her as a child. Sometimes standing up for your beliefs means letting go of parts of your life.

There’s no doubt that Synara did bad things as a Warbird, especially as they worked for the First Order, but ultimately she redeemed herself by choosing to assist the Resistance and showing mercy. 

 

Trust 

“Your eyes can deceive you; don’t trust them.” – Yoda

Throughout the course of Star Wars Resistance trust is such a vital part of the story. Tam’s fall to the First Order is precipitated by feeling betrayed by those she placed her trust in.

Kaz relies heavily on the trust he builds with his team and those they align with. It’s the trust that allows them to rescue Torra when she’s kidnapped, trust that allows them to save the Colossus time and time again, and trust that ultimately inspires them to give their all to support the Resistance.

Sometimes trust is all you have and you have to rely on that to get through a situation. It’s important to surround yourself with people you trust and also understand that sometimes broken trust can be salvaged overtime. 

 

Freedom 

“We are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down.” – Poe Dameron

War is a looming threat throughout all of Star Wars (“war” is in the name after all!) and Resistance is no different. Set at the start of the Sequel Trilogy, we see familiar faces like General Organa and Poe Dameron, as they pull together the forces necessary to face the First Order. 

Resistance lets audiences see just how easy it is for planets to hand over their freedom, in return for being spared by the First Order. The Colossus is a refueling station that houses rebels, outcasts, and refugees—all clamoring to fight for their freedom. 

Torra is a great example of this. She struggles with loneliness, isolated due to her father’s over-protectiveness. She longs for freedom, to be part of the action she only experiences through her simulation games. The freedom she longs for comes at a cost, but doesn’t all freedom have a price?

 

The Bottom Line

For a series developed for a younger audience, Star Wars Resistance was refreshingly crafted with stories that everyone can understand. Some episodes aren’t as heavy-handed with parables as Star Wars: The Clone Wars often is, but the undercurrent of moral lessons is present. 

---

Did you enjoy this post? You can read more from Michael at Wealth of Geeks.

If you’d like to read more posts in this series, A Geek’s Guide to Life, click here.