How Does The Resistance Come Back From This?
The Last Jedi begins with the Resistance in dire straights, with the First Order attacking their base, but it ends with them nearly extinct. Only a handful survive to the end of the movie: with their leaders and fleet destroyed, the entirety of the Resistance is now running from their enemies in the Millennium Falcon. Not to mention their Chosen One, Luke Skywalker, has died.
Of course, the final moments suggest that a new generation is going to rise up against evil (more on that in a moment), but that’s kind of a longterm thing. As TLJ made clear, there’s no more help coming – as no one responded to Leia’s coded call for assistance. So, how will the Resistance keep on fighting in the meantime?
Well, we suspect the answer is that they won’t. Episode IX will likely begin with the good guys at their lowest (especially as Leia may have died in the interim). However, it will probably see our heroes – Rey, Finn, Poe, maybe Rose, too – do their best to bring the First Order down in some clever way that uses little resources. We’re not sure how the movie’s going to tick off the mandatory space battles, though.