SPECULATION Just how big is the First Order at end of TLJ?

My feeling is that they're not huge, but now they managed to seize control of crucial systems which is a "good" starting point for them to expand. I imagine you wouldn't need something of the Empire's size to gain a significant advantage in the aftermath of the Republic being blown up.

Man, J.J. really dropped the ball when it comes to politics in TFA. It makes sense when you delve into tie-ins (The Visual Dictionary is an essential read) but it was the film's job to make it all clear. I don't blame people for being confused as to what the FO, the Resistance and the New Republic are... It takes some effort to grasp it.

 

How much of their fleet do you think they lost on the way to Crait? I mean I counted Snoke's Flagship and at least 4 others, all of which Holdo took out.

 

Rey says in TLJ that the First Order will control all the major systems within weeks from the events of the film. This means that they have much more at their disposal than we saw in Episode VIII, so Holdo's manouvre, while incredibly spectacular, is still a failure - it damaged but a fraction of FO's military potential (that's also why what Rose did to Finn at the end of the film makes sense, but that's not the topic of the thread.)

 

See, I also always got the impression that the FO and the new Republic were just shadows of the Empire and the Republic, standing in the ashes of war that's been going for almost half a century.

That RJ quote sounds exciting, but it seems too big to a fault.

 

Holdo took a shot at taking Snoke himself out, so it wasn't a wasted gamble ~ he just already happened to be dead. either way the loss of Snoke is going to be the doom of them as Kylo Ren and Hux are never going to be able to competently govern together.

also, we know that the FO is much larger/well-provisioned than anyone realized, but their ease of dominating the galaxy may have less to do with their actual resources than the fact of destroying the seat of government for the New Republic. the chaos has made it easy for them to take control.

this is part of why Luke refers to the others as the Rebellion (being reborn), because now it's up to the people (not just this depleted Resistance), to take the fight back.

 

I wouldn't call it a failure. It's probably the only thing that allowed any of the fleeing ships to make it to Crait. But you are right, it probably was but a fraction of the fleet.

 

Maybe not a failure, but a Pyrrhic victory, that's not much better.

 

An essential victory, as if she hadn't done that, Poe, Leia, and everyone else would be dead. It's infinitely better than had she not done it.

 

I can't remember where we get the information, but the FO is INCREDIBLY vast and is spread out in the galaxy conquering multiple systems at a time. Rey even eludes to this with Luke. In that DLC something in the dialogue talks about the size of the First Order.

 

the size of the FO is like the size of Hux's shoulders: well-padded on the outside to conceal the reality of how small he is underneath.
of course now with nothing to stop them, they will gain all this advantage, but up until now it's all been flash and fancy finger work.

 

Holdo's sacrificial act was crucial in protecting the remnants of the Resistance.

As for the size and galaxy-wide presence of the First Order, there is this entry from Wookieepedia:

"After thirty years of plotting their revenge against the government that overthrew the Empire, the First Order test-fired the superweapon of Starkiller Base on the Hosnian system and thereby destroyed Hosnian Prime, the capital world of the Republic. Shortly thereafter, the Resistance launched a counterattack that resulted in the base's destruction. Swiftly rallying, the First Order deployed their previously hidden flotillas against the galaxy, forcibly seizing control of thousands of systems and being poised to seize the Core Worlds within weeks. Desiring to crush their opposition, the First Order attacked the Resistance base on D'Qar and then pursued them using their new hyperspace tracking to the Crait system, where Supreme Leader Snoke perished at the hands of his apprentice, who then succeeded him. The few remaining rebels fled to Crait, where the First Order was poised to crush them completely. However, the sudden appearance of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker via a Force projection distracted the First Order forces long enough for the Resistance survivors to escape, inspiring hope against the rising darkness."​

Source: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/First_Order

See also their Sources:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/First_Order#Sources