Star Wars Resistance: Why BB-8 will eventually have to leave the show

Despite being a staple of Star Wars Resistance, BB-8 will soon — at least temporarily — need to exit the series for the sake of continuity. Let’s find out why.

The lovable and ever resourceful droid BB-8 has been among the most well-received characters of the Star Wars sequel trilogy films. In order to draw fans in — particularly the younger target audience for the show — Star Wars Resistance wisely emphasized BB-8 in its marketing and placed him at the forefront of the animated television series.

While characters such as General Leia Organa, Poe Dameron, and Captain Phasma only make appearances every now and then in Resistance, BB-8 has been in each and every episode.

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BB-8 consistently proves to be Kaz’s greatest ally in his mission to spy on the First Order. He’s helped Kaz get out of many tight spots, foiled schemes of the First Order and the pirates, and aided in gathering invaluable intelligence for the Resistance.

The mid-season trailer teased that by the end of Season 1, Resistance will catch up to the timeline of The Force Awakens. Such a convergence of timelines was teased in the trailer with Kaz, Torra Doza, and Stormtroopers watching footage of General Hux’s infamous speech to the First Order before Starkiller Base destroys the Hosnian system.

This is a thrilling prospect that will certainly raise the stakes of the show. However, it also means that for the sake of continuity, BB-8 cannot remain with Kaz aboard the Colossus when the timelines catch up to one another.

As fans know from when they first met the droid in The Force Awakens, BB-8 is with Poe Dameron on Jakku at the beginning of the movie, then meets Rey and Finn, and later on reunites with Poe. BB-8 is very talented, but he cannot be in two places at once. He can’t be with Kaz when Resistance catches up to The Force Awakens as he’s with Poe, Rey, and Finn during that time.

BB-8 is such an integral piece of Resistance and his dynamic with Kaz plays a major role in practically every episode. It will feel strange for Kaz to spy or even fly a ship without BB-8 by his side. Difficult as that may be, BB-8 can’t stick around forever as it’ll eventually create a gigantic plot hole.

Yet, this doesn’t mean that once the timelines catch up that BB-8 will never appear on Resistance again. With the show already confirmed to reach the time of The Force Awakens by the end of Season 1 and a Season 2 already confirmed as well, some fans think the second season will largely take place after The Last Jedi and before Episode IX.

That is mostly uncharted territory at this point and is expected to feature the Resistance rebuilding after their tremendous losses in The Last Jedi. It’s very likely that BB-8 and Kaz could reunite during this time as they work together to rebuild the Resistance leading up to Episode IX.

It will be intriguing to see at what point BB-8 will leave Kaz behind and join Poe on his mission to find the map to Luke Skywalker. If Resistance doesn’t reach The Force Awakens until the end of Season 1 and Season 2 starts in the timeline between The Last Jedi and Episode IX, BB-8 could potentially only be gone for a short while. The series isn’t there quite yet, so fans can take solace in knowing they still have a decent number of episodes left to continue enjoying BB-8 aboard the Colossus.

Star Wars Resistance airs on Disney Channel Sundays at 10/9c.