Why is the Resistance so pitiful?

[Steve]

I think the issue with these explanations is the movie offers none. We're given very little information on what's going on given the aversion to repeating the prequel trilogy's supposedly-despised "political stuff". And because they wanted to go "back to basics" with OT-style storytelling, including the Vietnam allegory of plucky ragtag rebels versus massive military with superior hardware.

Then TLJ went even further with trying to make the Resistance/Rebels look ragtag and outmatched.

I don't really see that TLJ went meaningfully further. TFA showed us a Resistance with even less forces than the Rebellion had in ANH - just a squadron of X-Wings. There was no hint in ANH that they had meaningfully larger forces and TESB didn't do much on that front either - presenting us with just Yavin, the Sequel at the start of the movie and a tiny fleet of greebles with a single ship the fraction of the size of a Star Destroyer at its centre. Suddenly, in ROTJ they have a fleet.

TLJ arguably one-upped TESB by giving them a much more impressive flagship, IMO.

Now in TRoS, it looks like they've got at least one commandeered ISD Mk 1.

A good point. OTOH, it showed the Resistance losing those assets, so that all it has left at the end is Leia, a fraction of the remaining HQ staff, and the Millennium Falcon.

[Gandalf]

Maybe the myth of Skywalker facing down the First Order with his laser sword, and thus enabling the Resistance to escape to fight another day might have something to do with more people rallying to their cause and bringing varied supplies.

[The Romulan Republic]

Maybe the myth of Skywalker facing down the First Order with his laser sword, and thus enabling the Resistance to escape to fight another day might have something to do with more people rallying to their cause and bringing varied supplies.

Pretty clearly they are getting some more support, given the apparent presence of an ISD with Republic markings, and of Lando.

[Silver Jedi]

Maybe Wedge Antilles is leading a holdout fleet somewhere

Would be cool. But I seem to recall that Wedge's actor refused point black to return back when they filmed TFA.

IIRC the old guy that gives Poe the map at the beginning of TFA was originally supposed to be Wedge. Which makes everything about that encounter make a lot more sense.

[The Romulan Republic]

Maybe Wedge Antilles is leading a holdout fleet somewhere

Would be cool. But I seem to recall that Wedge's actor refused point black to return back when they filmed TFA.

IIRC the old guy that gives Poe the map at the beginning of TFA was originally supposed to be Wedge. Which makes everything about that encounter make a lot more sense.

On the plus side, it not being Wedge means that Wedge wasn't killed off after a one-scene cameo.

[Rogue 9]

Denis Lawson rather famously resents his role in Star Wars and refuses to ever have anything to do with it again, probably mad that his story arc got cut twice, once from A New Hope and then again in Return of the Jedi. (To rub salt in, those particular deleted scenes didn't even get reused in Rogue One, because Wedge's presence at Scarif would have undercut his surprise at the size of the Death Star in A New Hope.) If Wedge makes an appearance, he'll have been recast, and because of the aforementioned story cuts he's not a major enough character in the films to be worth doing that with.

[RogueIce]

Denis Lawson rather famously resents his role in Star Wars and refuses to ever have anything to do with it again, probably mad that his story arc got cut twice, once from A New Hope and then again in Return of the Jedi. (To rub salt in, those particular deleted scenes didn't even get reused in Rogue One, because Wedge's presence at Scarif would have undercut his surprise at the size of the Death Star in A New Hope.) If Wedge makes an appearance, he'll have been recast, and because of the aforementioned story cuts he's not a major enough character in the films to be worth doing that with.

Huh, I never heard of that. Do you have any details? Were they released ever?

[Vympel]

Denis Lawson rather famously resents his role in Star Wars and refuses to ever have anything to do with it again, probably mad that his story arc got cut twice, once from A New Hope and then again in Return of the Jedi. (To rub salt in, those particular deleted scenes didn't even get reused in Rogue One, because Wedge's presence at Scarif would have undercut his surprise at the size of the Death Star in A New Hope.) If Wedge makes an appearance, he'll have been recast, and because of the aforementioned story cuts he's not a major enough character in the films to be worth doing that with.

There's been conflicting things about that. In 2014 there was a report that he was offered a role in Episode 7 but reportedly turned it down because it bored him, and then this came out in late 2017 (link is currently not working for me):

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/12/09 ... star-wars/

[MarxII]

I recall he did reprise his role in Rogue Squadron 2, which came out for the Gamecube around 2002.